Hear Our Voices

Cochlear implant technology has revolutionized the deaf world since the late 1980s, reversing hearing loss and enabling many children and adults like these to hear and speak in a normal, hearing world. They invite you to "Hear our voices".

The following essay was brought to our attention by Josh Aronson, producer of “Sound & Fury”. Cochlear implant recipient Hadley Arnold, an architect and teacher living in Los Angeles, graciously allows us to share her personal experience. Age 42, Hadley was diagnosed with a profound sensorineural hearing loss in 1994. Derald E. Brackmann, MD at the House Ear Institute, her doctor for almost 13 years implanted Hadley with a CI September 25 2006. She says “hook-up”, with audiologist Dr. Jane Gay, followed on October 12 th and 13 th . On Friday October 13 th , it rained and Hadley heard it:

“Hello my dear friends: An update! Hookup to the external processor of my new cochlear implant was Thursday + Friday. I'm a work in progress who is feeling like writing, so buckle your seatbelts. Partly for my benefit (feel like yakking/recording this) and partly for yours (in case you think I have insta-hearing): Here's how everything is going.

Basically, I'm used to life in an aquarium. I look out, and there is Joe. His mouth is moving. I hear a muffled sound –eh aa i uh aa. He is pointing to the cat, and I know it's story time and I put things together and he is saying: “The Cat in the Hat”. This is the dinner party in Greek I have been attending for the last 12 years. Lots of what feel like mental adaptive habits are in place, correlating one muffled sound to Joe's vowels, other muffled sounds to car engine, dog bark, and not much else. In fact, at this point those habits are not so much behavioral or mental or cognitive habits as they are well-worn neurological paths (nothing mental or psychological or creative or intellectual about it -- just a program written by use). 90% visual/contextual + 10% muffled noise = meaning.

So then, I get a magnet on the side of my head and 24 electrodes in my cochlea/auditory nerve. Two weeks in silence (no eh aa i uh aa; very nice in fact). I get the outer piece Thursday, lots of programming in dicrete bits – tell me (mouthed by the audiologist) when you hear this beep: is this tone too loud? – for 24 frequencies at a range of decibels, each programmed individually, not as a whole processor. Then the audiologist hits on the button. And what I hear is the following:

I am still at the bottom of the aquarium. A deep dull noise registers in the vestige of the left auditory nerve: Joe must be talking so I look. My eyes say it's Joe, and my eyes say deep male voice, and my eyes get: eh aa i uh aa. What I hear on my right is the earpiece piping in a sound track from somewhere up on the surface: a lot of little bubbles, big bubbles, and a jungle full of parrots. Up on the surface, Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno are sitting in a very large metal warehouse, with deep echoes and sharp acoustic bouncing, and they are whispering and telling jokes while they work. They are listening to what Joe is saying to me through the aquarium, sampling the sounds of matter in motion all around Joe and around me, and they are piping their interpretation of that information to me. The environmental sounds of a very quiet room – maybe a computer or buzzing light fixture or whatever – form a thick bubbly background mixed in with a range of different voices that form a composite known as Joe: Darth Vader at the bottom, a couple of adults with marbles and mouthwash in their throat, a chorus of female spirits whispering, R2D2, and a jungle full of the ever-present parrots. Each of theses voices emits their unique version of “Cat” at a slightly different moment. So in comes a one-syllable word in multiple layers of frequency, and also staggered in time. You might think it's hard to stagger and stutter one syllable, but each pixilated voice utters each constituent frequency of the syllable – cat takes maybe 5? I'm guessing? Distinct little sounds to make one that we recognize as a one-syllable word. That it is a word is one level of realization, that it is a human voice is another, that it is Joe is another; all of that beyond reach at first.

On Thursday morning, my brain could not recognize that chatter, bubbling, shading, echoing and staggering as identifiable sound let alone a word with meaning. It could not distinguish the bubbles in the aquarium (layers of low-grade background noise) from the spikes that were apparently the most important thing to hear, Joe's voice. It was purely aesthetic, devoid of even bare meaning. I could see that someone was speaking, and correlate that to a spike in activity in my right ear, but to understand, I just lip read. Or I just looked without effort, stopped trying to read, just closed my eyes, and forgot about meaning for a while, while I tried to get a handle on Laurie and Brian's sound show.

By Thursday evening, this began to change a little. I had homework. Since the only sound I can hear, and know for sure what it is saying and how loud it is saying it, is my own voice (by feel in the throat and chest), I read a loud to Josie. (Mr. Popper's Penguins, in case you are wondering). By starting with my own voice, knowing the word, feeling the approximate decibel level at which I am saying it, and hearing it the old way (dull muffled left ear) and the new way (Brian and Laurie's version in the right), it gave the brain a basic set of information to work with: Oh: that is what the words Drake, polar, and ice box sound like when said at conversational level by the person we know as Hadley. Great, says the brain, that's a lot of information: let's start building a new database.

By keeping it simple, the database expands. I watched Josie read a poem at dinner on Thursday, then listened without eyes. I watched Peter speak, I took my eyes away and had him repeat; Oh, says my brain, those are the sounds we associate with these two people saying these simple words; let's call that set, Peter's voice, the other set Josie's. It's not really like a voice yet, either one, it's more like a tear or an event in the fabric of background noise – a spike that I can grasp is unique to them and soon will sound like a voice that I come to know as theirs. Strange, because I thought I knew their voices; the mind fills in so much to complete the portrait sketched by minimal sound. Likewise, mufflers squeal like what I would have remembered as a digital pig; a cat seems to be emitting a long synthesized croak that seems something more like a steroidal frog; and at the moment, the dogs quack.

Friday was back to the House Ear Institute for day 2 of more programming – let's bump this up. Reach further in this direction, let's cap and soften that one, then ‘on' again. Hi Laurie. Hi Brian. By 2.30 on Friday afternoon I drove to Josie's school and picked her up with two buddies for carpool. I am so accustomed to being the dumb butler/deaf chauffeur -- in other words hearing nothing from the back of the car – that I just assumed my usual servile driving persona and drove along in my accustomed aquarium. The bubbles and the parrots were chattering away; all the little background noises of engine, traffic, etc. The brain, so accustomed to aggressively sweeping all available info for meaning, keeps trying to pass off meaningless noise as words, so I have even in 48 hours gotten into the habit of ignoring the chorus of whispering voices – the car, I am quite sure, did not just say ‘miscarriage upstairs'.

So between the aquarial state, and the new skepticism that Laurie's and Brian's whispery avant-garde chorus might be playing tricks on me, I of course did not expect to hear anything from the back seat. And then I get a little tear, a spike, in the background chatter. At first it sounded like a pixie, an elf, and Tickle Me Elmo sitting at the bottom of an empty pool playing cards maybe, but then for a second it sounded like: ‘Mrs. Rauch is stricter'. It didn't even occur to me that I just heard my daughter talking, because the brain still thinks that can't be possible; must be the engine. But somehow it sinks in. Then I hear; ‘Tricky Tuesdays start next week'. And I am not even looking in the rearview mirror to get this! I almost drove off the road when I realized I am overhearing the children's conversation, without visual input. Then I got another spike, or event, indiscernible but new and intriguing: it sounded like bells and chimes, a light tinkling. I looked in the mirror to see if this was the unreliable Brian/Laurie chorus of fairies, or whether it could be related to activity in the back seat. It was the sound of little girls laughing.

I am staying a bit cocooned as I ramp up; simplifying the input seems to improve the rate and quality of processing going on though I do have to deal with classrooms and meetings beginning Monday and wonder how all that will go. For now, I see that this is a process, working outward in concentric circles, home at the center. They told me a million times that it would be a multi-month process, but I really did not get it until Thursday morning when they hit the on switch. They are not joking that the brain needs to re-wire itself, establish some new paths, as it integrates acoustic and electrical information, sight and memory, and comes up with a richer database for meaning and one hopes beauty. It really is quite a privilege to be witnessing this; it's not just that I feel grateful for sound (as you know, I am also grateful for quiet); I feel grateful to be able to encounter and observe this miracle called the human brain, doing it's thing – adapting, adapting, adapting – with little or no input from me.

As for spirits: you can only imagine the sensation of gratitude and communion brought on by last night's rain. It's the thing I have been most looking forward to, and that it occurred on my particular October day could not help but feel like a gift, sent specifically to me. WE realized it was raining as the three of us sat at dinner in the candlelight. We turned off all the lights so I could get as much visual cueing on the glass as possible, without reflections. Ah, says the brain, that event, that spike, correlated to those tiny spatters: I think we are hearing rain. So I had to go outside for a while, sat down and put my head close to the brick and held one hand out and leaned so close I was getting spattered up from the bouncing drops as well a dripped down upon from above and Josie came out and climbed into my soggy lap and we listened. She fell asleep and Peter took her in and I stayed out a while longer. And, yes, I couldn't just feel and see the rain, I could hear it.

And those are my first two days. Happy to be able to tell you that. And in case I haven't mentioned it yet, Peter has been a saint. (And my buddy Josie is very articulate!). Thank you for all your great thoughts, good cheer, and loving support.

“I Can Hear You Now”

This presentation was made by Olympic Gold Medalist Vonetta Flowers when she received the Institute's “Hearing Hear-o-Award”.

“Tonight I stand before you as a parent of a child who has a hearing loss…..I accept the “Hearing Hear-o-Award” on behalf of all the people who have been touched by your medical advancements in technology, your financial contributions and the life changing devices that have enabled our kids to hear. Just a few years ago I knew nothing about the deaf community. I thought I had the perfect life . My teammate and I won the gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, my husband and I were pregnant with twins and all we needed was a dog, a white picket fence and we would have our chance at living the American Dream.

While imagining this ideal lifestyle we talked about how wonderful it would be raising kids and how we would interact as parents…..We thought how busy our lives would be chasing our kids from practice to practice since both my husband and I had been involved in athletics since we were young…..This is the perfect scenario that we dreamed of where good things happened to good people.

We never imagined…..that at 30 weeks I would deliver twin boys, who weighed two pounds, nine ounces and three pounds, eight ounces….that they would have to spend six to seven weeks in the hospitals NICU….that one of our sons would be born with a profound hearing loss and that we would have to learn sign language in order to communicate with him….We sought the advice of specialists; we researched the internet and felt like we had to become experts overnight. Each day we found ourselves trying to understand what level of hearing, if any, our son had. We tried the Baha or the bone conduction hearing aid…..which didn't work. We inquired about the cochlear implant, but since he was born without hearing nerves, he didn't qualify for this type of device.

After speaking with doctors in California, New York and Alabama, we were introduced to a new procedure called the ABI. Dr. Colletti, an Italian doctor, gave us hope……The Auditory Brainstem Implant had been successfully implanted in adults in the U.S., but it had not been approved by the FDA for kids under 12. Finding this option gave us a new enthusiasm and helped us to keep our dream alive of Jorden hearing our voices and eventually learning how to speak.

Jorden's life did not turn out the way we planned it, and that's okay, because he has already impacted more lives than we'd ever expected…..Over the past few years he's taught us how to be more thankful, he's helped us to be more appreciative of each gift that God has given us and encouraged us to fight for issues that affect our community. No, our life isn't the way we planned it, but we couldn't imagine it any other way….Jorden became the first child in the U.S. and the eighteenth child in the world to have the ABI surgery. His success and our petition to the FDA will depend on how well he responds to the device over the next few years…..

Corinne McGeorge first met Dr. Simon Parisier 14 years ago. He removed a tumor in her left ear and performed her first cochlear implant, just in time for her to hear the sounds of her grandson, who was born the same week. She recently sent this letter to Dr. Parisier and audiologist, Sabrina Alterman, MS CCC-A after having her earlier implant replaced. Ms. McGeorge’s implant surgery is among the 100 plus of its type now performed annually at The Beth Israel/New York Eye & Ear Cochlear implant Center by Dr. Parisier and his colleagues Ronald A. Hoffman, MD; Christopher Lindstrom, MD; George Alexiades, MD; Neil Sperling, MD; Darius Kohan, MD; and Paul Hammerschlag, MD. It is also among the many hundreds Dr. Parisier has performed since pioneering this restorative technique in the late 1970’s.

“ Dear Dr. Parisier and Sabrina,

Jonette Mamba At Bat

Our Board of Directors is a prestigious group of visionary individuals who support our mission to provide the gift of hearing to all infants and children in need, like thirteen-year old Jonette Mamba. A native of the Philippines who was brought to the U.S. at age one, she received a cochlear implant in 1998 after battling polyps in her right ear and a mastoid tumor in her left ear.

A number one Yankees fan, Jonette enjoys baseball, and loves to read and paint. A seventh grader from West Shore Middle School in Milford, Connecticut, she is functioning well and has self-confidence to participate in class, recently winning the United States Academy Achievement National Honor Student Award.

Jonette is thankful for the great invention of cochlear technology and plans to become a doctor.

Original story in Spring 2005 Echoes.

Donations to CHI Honor Loving Grandfather of Cochlear Implant Recipient

Grace Dallaglio is a beautiful seven-year old girl who received a cochlear implant at 13 months of age by CHI Founder Simon C. Parisier, MD.

“We worship Dr. Parisier for enabling our daughter to have a normal life,” says her mother Lee.

When Grace’s loving grandfather Jack Dallaglio passed away recently, Lee and her husband Al Dallaglio, with encouragement from Al’s sisters, asked friends and family to make donations to The Children’s Hearing Institute in Jack’s memory. He was always very proud of Grace for her positive outlook on life and inquisitive nature. Grace is a second grade student in a mainstream classroom and is enjoying every minute. Grace’s older sister, Lauren, has become a significant role model for Grace. For her seventh birthday, Grace asked for her own personal CD player and walks around the house listening to music, just like her big sister. Grace is a very social, fun-loving little girl with a zest for life and everything it has to offer!

Original story in Autumn 2005 Echoes.

Newlyweds Direct Wedding Gifts to The Children’s Hearing Institute

Last June, when CHI supporter Stephen J. Paluszek married his wife Violeta, the couple and Mr. Paluszek’s seven-year old daughter Olivia, asked wedding guests to send donations to The Children’s Hearing Institute in lieu of wedding gifts.

“Olivia, Violeta and I thought it would be a wonderful gift on our wedding day to remember The Children’s Hearing Institute and try in our small way to enlighten others about its special mission,” Mr. Paluszek says.

“Having directly experienced hearing loss when I suffered from otosclerosis [an often hereditary disorder of the stapes, or innermost bone of the middle ear, causing progressive deafness], I have a keener awareness than most of how important hearing is in our everyday activities and how much we take this precious gift for granted. When Dr. Ronald Hoffman restored hearing to both my ears by stapedectomys [an operation in which the stapes is replaced with an artificial substitute], we were proud to become supporters of the work he shares with Dr. Parisier and Dr. Madell to address both the therapeutic and educational needs of children with hearing loss”.

Original story in Autumn 2005 Echoes.

Yoni Miller wrote “The Pearl” in gratitude to his surgeon Dr. Simon Parisier and Advanced Bionics. Implanted at age two years and four months, 10-year-old Yoni attends Yeshiva where he has scored in the 99th percentile in both mathematics and English Language Arts on the Stanford Achievement Test. He is interested in following in the footsteps of his grandfather who is a professor of chemistry and medicine. Yoni’s proud parents Arthur and Shoshannah say, “’The Pearl’ is a reflection of how deeply and profoundly we are indebted for the miracle…which unfolds before us each and every day.”

There was once an oyster whose story I will now tell
Who was born with some sand in his snail shaped shell.

It was only a grain, but brought him much pain
For oysters have feelings, even when they can’t hear their name.
Fate had decided to deal a harsh blow
No reason was given as far as I know.

All the other oysters had smiles on their faces,
For the cards in their hands were all the four aces.

The sad looking oyster drifted out to sea
Without much of a future as far as anyone could see.

Along came an angel named Simon, or someone MD.
Who said, “Wait a minute, let me have a look and see
Language, mind and technology…
Maybe, (?) there is a connection between all three.”

The miracle worker MD implanted some electrodes in me…
Inserted some wires…and even some electronics…
Made by a company called Advanced Bionics
And the tiny grain of sand that bothered me for sure
Became a pearl of wisdom that you never saw before.

Amy Filip was born hearing impaired and used hearing aids until receiving a cochlear implant at the age of 21. Following intensive hearing training, Amy attended law school where she had no problem understanding her professors in large lecture halls. Recently, Amy, now age 35, sent her wedding photo to Dr. Simon Parisier and his wife Elaine, expressing gratitude for her ability to hear her husband Marian propose to her (in the dark) and to hear their wedding vows!

Susan Cheffo received her first cochlear implant at the age of 51 and now serves as Coordinator of Educational Services at The Beth Israel/New York Eye and Ear Cochlear Implant Center where she helps others learn to hear. She received a BS in Speech and Hearing from Boston University, an MS in Deaf Education from New York University, and certifications in School Administration and Supervision from Queens College and from the Ski*Hi Institute to train teachers on use of a home-based early intervention model for families of deaf infants. She was teacher of the deaf for children and became the principal at Nassau BOCES Program for Hearing and Vision Services. The following essay by Ms. Cheffo provides insight into the challenges of learning to listen with cochlear implants:

"I received my first cochlear implant in April 1997. As an adult with a progressive hearing loss who had no hearing in my implanted ear for more than 25 years, I was nervous as to what to expect with my new implant. Not only was I nervous, I was anxious and plain scared. What would I hear? Will sound be the same as I remembered? Will I love music as I once did? Will I understand speech? Will I be able to use the telephone? Will I be a successful cochlear implant user? These were constant questions going through my mind before my actual activation. Although I knew many successful children with cochlear implants, I had not networked with too many adults and did not have a ‘plan’ for listening after my cochlear implant. Only through practice, perseverance, and patience did I become a successful cochlear implant user. I also did not have formal therapy, which I strongly recommend. Instead, I devised my own techniques that aided my cochlear implant success. Many adults and older teens are looking for ways to develop their listening skills. These suggestions might prove beneficial.

Listening to the radio
Since I drove quite often, I put the news channel on in the car. I did this from the very beginning. At first, I understood nothing! I knew someone was talking, but could not comprehend any words. Although I wanted to know what was said immediately, I realized it was going to be a process. So, when I understood the first part of the news I cheered. It was the temperature—70 degrees. I could actually understand the weather report! From there it went to the time, calendar events, some quick jingles, until finally I could understand actual news stories! This took a couple of months, but I never gave up. When I went to work and actually reported a new event, someone at work asked me how I knew that. I responded, ‘I heard it on the news.’

Listening to people
Although prior to my cochlear implant I was an outstanding lip reader, I wanted to maximize my listening ability now that I could ‘hear.’ In order to understand speech without lip reading, I looked down or away from the speaker. I explained to people that I was not being rude, just listening. At the beginning, I could not perform this task well. In time, I could hear bits and pieces of sentences and fill in the rest. Understanding language was certainly helpful I did this in a one-to-one setting, and in small groups. Background noise was a challenge, and I relied on lip reading more during those situations (restaurants, parties, large groups). I also found one-to-one conversations better in those settings.

Listening on the telephone
Listening on the telephone was a goal of mine, and I was determined to succeed! After a few weeks, I began using the telephone adapter with my body worn processor. It was a direct way of listening on the telephone, eliminating any background interference. At first, I spoke only to people I knew well, who had the patience and understanding of what I needed to do. After a few more weeks, I attempted calling more unfamiliar people, making appointments or having short conversations. If I could not understand someone, I confessed to ‘hearing loss.’ I became a very good listener. At work, I used my adapter as well. Actually, I purchased a few for the various telephones at work and home. Within a few months, I became an excellent telephone user and could understand almost anyone. Many people never realized I was listening through a cochlear implant! I attribute my good skills to the adapter, and constant telephone practice.

Listening through an FM system
When I attended large meetings or conferences, I utilized an FM system. My first system was a desktop model, where the speaker’s voice came directly through a small speaker placed on my table. I situated it within three feet of my cochlear implant microphone, to obtain good benefit. Although I heard well using this system (as did all the people around me), it was not as beneficial as the personal FM system that I subsequently obtained. With a small cube directly placed into my processor, the system was ideal. I could hear everything the speaker said no matter where I moved within the room. I could stretch or take a coffee break while still understanding the speaker. This was another good way to practice listening.

Listening to music/books
I used to walk or jog during the week, and began listening to some of the music I used to love. I used a walkman or diskman at the time. I listened directly using an adapter that plugged into my cochlear implant. This was fantastic! Although I complained that music did not sound the same as I remembered, when I plugged in, it sounded quite good. And, I could understand the words far better than I had in the past. I also practiced listening to books on tape, and became adept at understanding those as well.

When I received my second cochlear implant two years ago, listening became easier but still a priority. I loved the fact that I could localize sound, better understand people in noisy settings, and did not have to rely on preferential seating as much. Clarity of speech and general quality of life had greatly improved. I still practice listening, use my telephone constantly, and find listening to music almost as it used to be—plugging in, of course. The key to good usage is to listen each day with the cochlear implant. That has to be a priority. Gradually, or fairly quickly for some, good listening will occur.”

Flash!...News for Cell Phone Users

Susan Cheffo, MS, Coordinator of Educational Services at The Beth Israel/New York Eye and Ear Cochlear Implant Center, recently sent us this essay.

"As a cell phone user with a cochlear implant, I noticed that I could hear well in most quiet situations but I wanted better access in background noise. I travel a great deal on the train and in my car, and found that some noisy situations were impossible. One time a parent called me when I was on the LIRR and I thought I was talking to my dog groomer!

I was glad to find out that some models of cell phones were now t-coil compatible (all Samsung, some LG, Blackberry, or Treo). I went to my local Verizon store to listen to various t-coil compatible cell phones and was quite impressed with the quality. I particularly liked the clarity of the Samsung model 670 (I also liked the camera!). Since my present cell phone contract did not allow me an upgrade yet, I spoke to Verizon customer service. After much explaining about my cochlear implant and the need for a t-coil compatible cell phone, I was told to send a letter from my doctor (audiologist) and I would receive an authorization for an early upgrade. After waiting 10 days for the authorization, I became impatient. I went to the Verizon main store in the mall and explained my situation to a salesperson. This young man was extremely helpful and authorized my upgrade on-the-spot! I also explained that I was in the car a great deal and could not use a hands-free device. He suggested that I purchase the car charger/speaker combination that was compatible with my new Samsung cell phone. It also came with a microphone that clipped onto the overhead sun visor. He explained that the quality from the speaker was quite good as reported by other customers. I purchased it along with my new phone, and ran to my car to try out the new system. I was extremely impressed with the clarity from the speaker, and that people that I called could hear my voice easily. I even tested the system on the highway, where background noise is most prevalent and found that I could understand and be understood with almost no difficulty. I went back to the Verizon store to thank the salesperson and explained how successful this system was. He responded by letting me know that I helped him direct future customers who were hearing aid/cochlear implant users. What a great attitude!"

Molly Clair Lubin is a Yale University sophomore whose hearing is assisted by a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other. The Children’s Hearing Institute supports continuing research on double implantation and research on patients with an implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other ear. We are pleased to hear success stories like Molly’s:

“When I had my cochlear implant first turned on, it seemed impossible that I would ever hear with it as well as I had with my hearing aids. During the next few weeks, the noises around me were wholly unfamiliar and I struggled to make sense of them. Yet, after four exhausting months and many moments of hopelessness in adjusting to the implant, I am amazed at the ways in which my hearing has improved.

Now that I can perceive more noises and sounds, I am much more aware of the things going on around me. I hear when someone calls my name or walks up behind me. I can hear my cell phone ring while I’m in a noisy place, and I can tell when people are talking in the hallway outside my college dorm room. Now, when someone passes me and makes a comment, or shouts to me from across the street, I actually know what they are saying and don’t simply pretend to know.

My ability to function in aural situations has also improved significantly. When in the past I attended meetings for various student organizations, I constantly had to swivel around in my chair to read the lips of the people behind me and, if I failed to see their lips, I had no clue what they were talking about. Now I can remain facing front and, while I don’t understand every single word the people in back are saying, I understand enough to follow their general point or argument.

Before I was implanted, I would eat dinner every night with my friends in a crowded dining hall yet could never discern their voices through the background noise. Even reading their lips, I could hardly follow the conversation as I was receiving so little auditory information. Today, I still cannot understand all that my friends say if I don’t see their faces, yet I hear enough to know what they are talking about. If I read their lips, I understand everything with complete ease. One day my implant battery died during dinner, leaving me to rely on the hearing aid that I wear in my other ear. The voice of the person next to me instantly faded into the din as voices always used to do, and I found myself isolated from the conversation even as I struggled to keep up by frantically lip reading.

My hearing is still far from ‘normal,’ but my life has changed dramatically. Many aural situations are now so much easier, in ways that I could never have imagined. Sometimes I even cry when I think about how much I struggled for so many years. Even though I am still adjusting to the implant, I already perceive the same sounds as my friends with normal hearing. I consequently have come to think of myself as a hearing, and not a hearing impaired, person. Only four months after I received my cochlear implant, I cannot imagine how I ever lived without one.”

Amy Ecklund is an actor who has played a deaf hospital administrator on the CBS-TV soap Guiding Light. The role mirrors Amy’s personal experience as a cochlear implantee in 1999 after years of progressive hearing loss. In a July 1999 People magazine story she was quoted as saying: “I connect with people much better now because I’m so much more able to be myself rather than putting up a shield to hide my fears. My whole place in the world has changed, just from understanding more of what is going on. Before, I did not even realize some the things I was missing, but that is okay. Every day is different now. Every day is a miracle.”

Susan Klein is an art historian who specializes in American folk art and American furniture. Her career began with the development of the docent program at The Museum of American Folk Art. Ms. Klein has authored several books, including Folk Hearts: A Celebration of the Heart Motif in American Folk Art and American Painted Furniture, and is currently researching a book on English painted furniture. She has lectured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cooper Hewitt Museum and Sotheby’s. Suffering progressive hearing loss as an adult, Ms. Klein received a cochlear implant several years ago and says it has “completely changed my life.” A member of CHI’s Board of Directors, Susan established The Susan Klein Family Center for Educational Outreach with her husband Robert in the hope services provided by the Center will provide assistance and hope to other families facing similar challenges.

Leonard Meranus,a 59-year-old cochlear implant recipient who is a retired New York City high school teacher, submitted the following essay with gratitude to Jane R. Madell, PhD, CCC-A/SLP, Cert. AVT, co-director of The Beth Israel/New York Eye & Ear Cochlear Implant Center:

“I had a cochlear implant in August 2004. This procedure has had a profound effect on my life. I can hear again, can be a part of group conversations and can understand speech on both the television and radio. People with disabilities have to make choices that affect their daily activities, and we often rely on the judgment and advice of professionals.

I relied on my audiologist for over 15 years, and over the years bought several different hearing aids from him, even though I was not happy with the performance of these aids. I kept asking him if there were some operation or technique that would help my discrimination problems. He always said that this was the best that I could do, even with the new digital hearing aids that I purchased in July 2004. I decided to go to another audiologist…who asked if I had thought about having a cochlear implant. To be honest, I did not know what she was talking about. I took her advice and began to do research on the internet, emailed some friends of my brother who worked with people with hearing problems, discussed the issue with my wife and family, and decided to go ahead with the evaluation process.

The next question was where to go for the evaluation and which surgeon to do the procedure. I have not looked backwards after deciding that Beth Israel was the correct choice for me. Each and every individual that I have met at the Cochlear Implant Center has been professional, knowledgeable, patient and experienced…..Surgery was in August 2004 and the activation was in September 2004. Five minutes after the activation, I was able to understand my audiologist….when she covered her mouth and asked me some questions. I told her that she sounded like a duck with a very tinny robotic sound, which I understand is very typical with the initial mapping. My wife was in the room and began to cry after she asked me some questions and I was able to answer her, because I could hear so well.

My wife drove home after the initial activation, and I was able to have a real conversation with her in the car. I understood everything that she said in the car, and I do not remember the last time that I was able to say that. I have had the best telephone conversations with my children, who knew how I hated phone conversations. My entire family has been patient over the years and realized how difficult and frustrating it was for me to understand speech. They are all truly amazed at how I can understand everyone so clearly. In some cases, this might not be such an advantage!! I can hear clearly on the golf course when friends talk to me, and I can even hear when someone yells “fore.” In short, I can be a participant instead of a bystander in family and other social gatherings. My speech is much clearer, I am more involved with friends and I love every minute of it! I can understand television programs and enjoy listening to the news on my car radio and I can begin to go to the movies (no more closed captioning for me) and Broadway shows.

As part of this process, I used the services of an auditory therapist which has enabled her to pinpoint those sounds which give me difficulty, and enabled the audiologist to fine-tune mapping. I realize that there is still a long way to go, but the progress that I have made in a relatively short period of time is truly remarkable and very gratifying. There are many individuals that I have to thank for their advice and professionalism….I asked many questions and they were always prepared to give encouragement and the correct answers. If anyone is interested in having the procedure, my advice is to read articles, surf the web, and attend meetings that are designed to help those people interested in the procedure. I met several people who had the procedure, and asked many questions about the surgery, the implant, batteries, audiologists. As a result, I have not regretted any of the decisions that I made. Be proactive, take chances, ask questions and do not be complacent. My speech is much clearer, I am more involved with family and friends, and I love every minute of it!!!!”