Heather Arnone

• Hearing loss since later childhood, severe/profound for 10 years before implantation
• Received cochlear implant in 2001
• Implanted the only ear in which she had hearing

The following story is one person's experience with a cochlear implant. Your experience may be very different. Success with a cochlear implant is influenced by many factors including how long a person has had hearing loss, the age a person receives an implant, medical and anatomical factors and more. Please consult your cochlear implant professional and/or the Bionic Ear Association with questions.

My name is Heather Arnone. I am forty six years old, I have been married for twenty-five years, and I have three children. I have enjoyed hearing with my cochlear implant since March 2001.

My hearing had been progressively deteriorating since my teenage years prior to receiving my cochlear implant. Ten years before my implant my hearing was at the stage where I was not able to carry on a conversation with anyone unless I was facing them. It was a struggle to understand every time I tried to use the phone no matter how loud the caller spoke. Eventually I stopped answering or using the phone, depending on my husband and children to make appointments or take messages for me.

I felt self conscious about my hearing loss, kept my hair long to cover my hearing aid and bluffed my way through situations. When I did not understand the conversation I am sure that I gave the impression of not caring because of my response or lack of it!

My decision to have a cochlear implant was based on the fact that I wanted to be able to pick up the phone again, especially with my children just a few short years away from attending college & university. Even with the advent of email I was not happy thinking I would not be able to speak to them directly because of my advanced hearing loss.

I was a stay at home mom for seventeen years raising our three children. I was facing them leaving home to go to school and I needed to return to work to help pay for their education. Constantly scanning the want ads, I did not have the courage to attempt to contact the employer for fear of not understanding and I also did not want my husband to call for me. I was feeling hopeless.

During one of my many want ad searches I found an ad about a program sponsored by the Canadian government. A trial program was starting in attempt to get deaf or hard of hearing individuals back into the work force. This program turned out to be a blessing for me. Not only did I find a job, but I felt more confident within myself.

At the time I was attending the program, I was also investigating my candidacy for a cochlear implant. My audiologist had given me the name of an ENT whom she thought I would feel comfortable with. During my first and only appointment with this specialist I requested to be referred to a cochlear implant program. This would give me a chance to find out if I qualified for a cochlear implant. Thankfully I had an appointment within a month of my visit to the specialist.

The decision to undergo cochlear implant surgery was very personal. I had to educate myself not only about the outcome but also about the risks. It was a very exciting and emotional time. The feeling of excitement also leads to thoughts of "It's too good to be true" and "Can I let my guard down and believe that I will actually hear again?" I passed all the tests to qualify me as a candidate for a cochlear implant with flying colours! It was an amazing day despite the knowledge that I was deaf enough to qualify.

With surgery fast approaching I went for my pre-op blood work and sign up, following which I had an appointment with my implant surgeon. That was when the wind was knocked out of my sails (temporarily). My surgeon wanted to implant my left ear which was my better ear and the one that I was wearing my hearing aid in. His theory was that the hearing nerve in my better left ear had been stimulated over the years with a hearing aid, while the right one had not. He wanted to give me the best possible chance with the implant. I understood this except all along I was expecting my worse ear to be implanted allowing me to be able to "hear" in the waiting period after surgery before my activation day. Also I felt that I could rely on my better left ear for sound if the implant failed to produce the expected results. Even though I could not understand words with the hearing aid in my left ear I could at least hear sounds.

I went home from that appointment very confused. I immediately contacted people I was in touch with on the cochlear implant internet forum to ask for guidance and their experience. I knew that if I had my "good ear" implanted I would not be able to wear my hearing aid anymore. I questioned my fate if the implant was not a success "I would be deaf, I would not benefit from a hearing aid. Was I willing to take that risk?"

I went to bed that night tossing both scenarios around. When I woke up in the morning I had made a decision. I woke my husband and declared that I was having the surgery in my better left ear and there was no question in my mind that was the correct decision. I wanted this cochlear implant to be a success. If for some reason it did not work as hoped at least I had tried my best!

I was pumped and ready having made my decision. My surgery was a breeze, although I woke up from the anesthetic with a pounding headache. The drill that is used to make the indent for the implant is no larger than the dentist's drill however the pounding I experienced made it feel like much more. When the nurse asked how I felt and I explained about my head ache, I was given a painkiller and promptly felt as good as new! I returned to work 5 days after my surgery.

My activation day was as I expected it to be. I heard however I did not understand. My audiologist asked whether I could hear her (I was actually lip reading) I replied that I could hear her but it did not sound like her. Thankfully, I was not disappointed due to all the research that I had done. I knew my brain needed time to register all the high pitch sounds that I had been missing for years with my hearing loss.

I went home happy, looking forward to the challenge with the knowledge that my cochlear implant was working, I recognized that I had work to do. The homework was challenging. I practiced listening to groups of words by theme with my wonderful husband. This list included numbers, single words, short phrases, names of movies, restaurants and sports teams to name a few.

There were many high points within the first month post activation. I started to understand the car radio and the PA system at work. The day I heard "scattered showers and a high of sixteen" on the radio, I cried. The car radio had always been a sore spot with me, not being able to understand the words, the garble & noise that I did hear irritated me. I always shut it off much to my family's dismay. Now I was actually able to understand some of the words from the broadcast clear as a bell! I attempted to use the phone at about five weeks post hook up and it was great. Not perfect; however, I was able to carry on a conversation, yippee!

I am currently three years post-implant and I have excelled way past the level where I would have been content to reach on my journey into the hearing world again. I am using the telephone, cell phone, and listening to radio broadcasts and music. I am thrilled when I hear an old song come over the air and I actually recognize it.

I will always be deaf. However when I am powered by my cochlear implant I am charged! I can hear in the dark, I can talk to people standing behind me; I can hear. I know my implant is not 100% but I would say that it is 95% successful. I am happy with that!

I have to thank my ENT, my surgeon and the cochlear implant team that worked so wonderfully with me, and all the fantastic employees at Advanced Bionics who helped to make my cochlear implant and the programs that help me to hear. My cochlear implant has changed my life in a wonderful way and my family's lives too. If you choose to have surgery for a cochlear implant forgoing any unforeseen circumstances it can change yours too!