Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket

Hey Cricket! Have you ever heard of a Cochlear implant? I just got one a few months ago to help my hearing and it has done wonders for me! :D I got it because in first grade I lost some hearing so I got Hearing Aids and then throughout time I kinda lost some of it so the hearing aids weren't as helpful to me anymore because they weren't strong enough. Then last July/early August I put on my left hearing aid and it wasn't working so I went to get it checked but they said I had lost all my hearing in that ear . . . so they talked to me about other options that there were and they said cochlear implants work very well! :D So I had to go to a new doctor and they noticed how I was struggling to hear with my old hearing aid so my second appointment they gave me a better one. Everything sounded much better! Then they had to tell me about the implant and how I would have surgery and everything. At first I was kind of nervous but then I looked it up online and read stories about other people who have been through the same surgery and decided that it wouldn't be too bad because lots of people have had this surgery and it seemed like the majority of the surgeries were a sucess! :D I also knew that I had a fantastic surgeon who has done this many times. (I learned that Minnesota has lots of great doctors.) 

I got my surgery on December 19 in the early morning. I was very excited! A little nervous, but mostly excited. I quickly made friends with just about everyone in the children's hospital and going into the surgery I talked to my anesthesiologist about how excited I was and that this was going to be sooooooooooo awesome! 

The surgery turned out great and I went home that night (even though they went inside my head!!!! Gross!) And I was feeling much better in about 3 days or so. (I also had to miss the last three days of school before Christmas break, which was nice because then I could relax!) 

Almost an entire month later (after much impatience and waiting...) I went back to see my doctor and see my audiologist and get my implant turned ON! :D

It sounded really weird at first. But I knew that it would because I read many blogs online about other people who had a Cochlear Implant as well. It sounded a little bit better with my hearing aid in my other ear, but I wanted to get used to the weird sounds that my implant was giving me so I took off my hearing aids that night and listened to music! And slowly I began to recognize songs and actually understand what I was listening to and I think by the end of the week everything sounded MUCH more normal! ;) I was really proud of myself! I liked having two ears much better than one!

Now I am eight months into the process and must say, I like my implant a lot more than my hearing aid! For one, it doesn't go all the way into my ear, like my hearing aid. It feels very comfortable on top of my ear. It stays there because there is a magnet that stays connected to the piece inside my head. Anyways, it sounds much better and it is also very clear to me. But my hearing aid is nice to have because unlike my implant, my hearing aid can pick up lower frequencies. So it kind of evens everything out.

I think that getting a cochlear implant was an amazing process and maybe sometime in the future I will get another one on my other ear :) I think I'll wait for better technology to come out first. (Maybe waterproof?) Anyways, I thought you should know that about me! And I hope that if you ever lose your hearing you don't have to worry too much since there is some amazing technology in the world that can help you!

Oh also, if you wanted to learn more about the Cochlear Implant I recommend you look it up on google. There are lots of great sites that can show and tell you what it looks like a lot better than I can!  

(I think the hardest part of the process was figuring out which brand I wanted, not the surgery! haha :D) 

Yes, Maggie, I have heard about cochlear implants. I know a lady whose granddaughter has one. She's about your age, but she had the surgery many years ago, I think when she was about 7. She was born deaf. Thanks for telling us about your experience. It will be very helpful to anyone else considering an implant.

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