Lost Hearing At Birth Or Preschool-Age

Is It Music To Your Ears?
What Adult Users Of Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implants Are Saying About Listening To Music...

The following statements were obtained from cochlear implant users in response to questions about their experiences listening to music before and after receiving a cochlear implant. The statements depict the unique experience of each individual and are not intended to be predictive or descriptive of the musical experiences of others.

Adults Whose Hearing Loss Began At Birth Or Preschool-Age

Dan Solcher: Hearing music through hearing aids was like seeing underwater-no crispness or clarity at all and very lifeless and distracting at times. Since I got my cochlear implant, I can now feel the vibe of what music is all about, and it really rocks my soul like never before! Almost every night I listen to music for an hour before going to bed. Sometimes, I follow along with the lyrics downloaded from the Internet, which really helps to sharpen my ear for music. I listen to different kinds of music to learn the meaning, cultural aspects, and purpose of the songs. I think I have downloaded 500 songs into my digital music player since I got my cochlear implant!

Carol McGowan: Music is beautiful! I was never able to hear any kind of instruments with my hearing aids except for the beats of the drum. I only heard the loudness and was not able to hear the words at all. With my cochlear implant, I was floored that I could tell the different instruments and pitches. I am still new to listening to the songs without captions, and I still can't hear the words yet. It's just garbled words for now. My sister gave me her music keyboard with different kinds of music and pitches, which has helped me a lot in learning to listen to music.

Debbie Bottles: Forty years of profound sensorineural hearing loss and wearing the strongest hearing aids did not give me the ability to hear words or even follow the rhythm. As a child, I had taken piano lessons and have played in several recitals and for a church offertory. Since I could not hear the music, it was not possible to know if I was playing the right notes, so I practiced and memorized. Upon getting my CI in June 2003, I was so eager to know how the music would sound.

It took some time for my brain to adapt to it. A few days after my hookup, I recognized someone playing the piano, which was such a beautiful experience for me. After about two months, I started to pick up the words to the songs. I was totally amazed how much my brain could follow the beat and love every minute of it. The most exciting music moment for me was during the Christmas season, which marked my fourth month with the implant. A man was playing the flute; and when I recognized the song he was playing, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," tears ran down my face.

Carol Ban: It was a long road to be able to hear music like I did before my CI. I was able to hear and enjoy music with my hearing aid before my CI surgery three years ago. After the hookup, I was warned that hearing music would come much later-and they were right! It was frustrating not to be able to hear the singing. Strangely enough, I was able to hear percussion sounds first. It took me about two-and-a-half years to be able to hear all types of music after several mappings and a lot of practice and patience. Now, I just love listening to music once again, but with more clarity and intensity than ever!

Paul Sommer: I was born with a profound hearing loss in a family with great appreciation for music. My mom was director of a local music school; my sister filled the house with sounds from her cello on a daily basis; and my dad moonlighted as my sister's accompanist at the piano. Lacking the benefits of early identification and cochlear implant technology, I often felt that I was switched at birth given my lack of musical appreciation or talents. I have many not-so-fond memories of countless music classes I spent during my elementary years pretending I could follow along with my class. Because hearing aids lacked the clarity that cochlear implants offer, I never gained any appreciation for music and it was not one of my high priorities for getting the CI (whereas being less dependent on lipreading and talking on the phone were).

Twenty years later, leading up to my cochlear implant in 2003, I abhorred any sounds of music. I'd often turn the music way down or off, or simply turn off my hearing aids. Since getting the cochlear implant, I have become much more tolerant of music thanks to the clarity of sound the HiRes Auria provides. I now take pleasure in letting my wife, who also wears the HiRes Auria, listen to her favorite music play very loudly without having to turn down my cochlear implant! I think I'm starting to slowly appreciate music.