About myself

I have been deaf all my life due to complications at birth. It’s not hereditary, the rest of my family are all hearing. My hearing loss is progressive. It has been getting worse. I also have bad vision in my left eye. I currently wear two digital hearing aids and lip-read. At work, I have visual alarms, a textphone and an electronic note taker to assist in meetings, lectures and other large groups. At home, I have my husband and daughter around me.

As I wear my hearing aids from morning to night, I often forget how deaf I am. I had never considered myself as a candidate for a Cochlear Implant and always thought I wouldn’t be ‘deaf enough’ for one. I felt I was managing okay with the support I already have and with my family around me.

It was bit of a shock when late 2011, my audiologist advised me to consider one and said she would refer me to the ENT consultant. My hearing loss had progressed to the stage where an implant would be enormously beneficial. When I met with the ENT consultant, I was still very sceptical as to whether I would be a candidate. I was still confused and feeling quite emotional and scared. The ENT Consultant’s words were that an implant would make my hearing ‘much much much better’.

So that was the start of my journey towards getting a Cochlear Implant. I will blog soon about my assessment days.