It’s International Cochlear Implant Day today which has led me to reflect on my cochlear implants and all that has happened since I was implanted.
Growing Up with Hearing Aids
I grew up with hearing aids and mild-moderate hearing levels. Throughout my childhood, my hearing levels were fairly stable (except when I had a hearing test right when I had a cold!). At some point in my 20s, it ever so gradually became harder to hear, but I’d aged out of Australian Hearing Services (now known as Hearing Australia) and had no idea where to go for a hearing test … so I just didn’t!
It was when I was working as a Teacher of the Deaf that I really needed to get my ability to hear sorted so I could hear the students I was working with as I was just missing so much. This led me to my first hearing test in nearly 10 years (whoops!) which showed my hearing levels had dropped. I then realised I needed to keep a closer eye on it with regular tests.
The Moment Cochlear Implants Entered the Conversation
Fast forward to 2017 and cochlear implants for me were mentioned as an off-hand comment while I was at an ENT appointment for my daughter. The idea was a huge shock and I thought, ‘Surely my hearing isn’t THAT bad?!’, as I sat there, trying to hold back the tears.
It was a huge decision and one for me that was wrapped up in the knowledge that when I was growing up and cochlear implants were still new, the Deaf community did not approve of them. For me, as a member of the Deaf community (and eternal people pleaser!) this presented something of a dilemma. I thought long and hard, talked with friends who had been implanted as adults and weighed up the pros and cons.
In the end I decided to take the leap and received my first cochlear implant in August 2017 and my second 2 years later. It wasn’t a dramatic moment. Just a quiet decision that would change my life and I’m glad I made it.
What Cochlear Implants Give Me
My cochlear implants have given me so much – not necessarily the devices themselves, but what they have given me access to. They’ve given me confidence to step into the opportunities that were probably always there, but I was avoiding them as it was too tiring to listen all the time. Before cochlear implants, I stayed at home and rarely ventured out because it was just easier. Now, I run my own business, am a board member of DeafACT, facilitate a regular Auslan playgroup and have held a range of positions in different groups. All of which I probably wouldn’t have done beforehand.
Access, Not Identity
I grew up as an oral deaf person who learnt Auslan in her teens. While I’m very comfortable with “ears off” at home and in the signing Deaf community, being in the hearing community without relying on the hearing I have access to is a different story. Cochlear implants don’t make me less Deaf. They simply give me more options in how I move through the world.
I love that my cochlear implants give me access to sound. I also love having the choice not to wear them, and the blissful quiet that brings. That choice is very freeing. Sound when I want it. Silence when I need it.