On the morning of July 3, 2017, after decades of reliance on hearing aids to help me cope with progressive, debilitating hearing loss, I began a new chapter in my years-long hearing loss journey when I received a cochlear implant (CI) at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. The decision to take this step had been long in coming, my significant and stubborn ambivalence finally giving way to encouragement from my peers who had Cis, and my efforts to educate myself about them.