Growing Up With a Cochlear Implant

A few weeks ago I asked a question on my Instagram account asking, “What questions do you have about growing up with a cochlear implant?” Here are the common questions I got and my answers:

How was school?

School for me growing up was interesting. I lost my hearing overnight at age 6 and had ASL interpreters for kindergarten and then for 1st and 2nd grade, I was in a special deaf class that was 45 min away from home. By 5th grade, I asked to be homeschooled as I was tired of switching schools every year and wanted to have more control over how I was learning. During high school, I enrolled into a private school out of state that offered online classes. That was the best as I could crank up the volume and pause class recordings as I needed them. Best thing ever!

When did you take care of the sound processors yourself?

I was about 9 years old when I really started to take care of mostly everything. I remember doing a show and tell with my classmates at the time to show them my new “BTE” (behind the ear) processor. I treasured them and did not want anything bad to happen to them.

Fun fact: When I was about 13 or 14, I lost them in our backyard in a pile of leaves while swinging. It took us 5 hours to find it and we had to use a metal detector.

When did you start advocating for yourself?

It all started when I was 14 and had to make the choice about getting a 2nd cochlear implant for my left ear. It was then that I learned more about how they worked and what was involved. I developed a passion to learn and help others and helped the hospital start a support group for cochlear implant teens and their parents. It was so fun and I began to do speaking events where I shared my story. I also started writing blogs and doing a few youtube videos to help get me more comfortable with talking about my story.

How was Growing up in a hearing family?

Growing up my parents and I learned sign language to help prepare for when I might lose all my hearing so they were always able to communicate with me. I have two younger brothers and a little sister and it felt like a normal upbringing. However, I would get in trouble taking my “ears” off when I did not want to listen to my brothers. My brothers and I shared a room growing up and I remember sleeping in on Saturday mornings and waking up to my brothers playing and being loud but I had no clue. That was a blessing for me. There were challenges but my family always helped me push to reach my potential and not shy away from a hard thing.

Growing up with a cochlear implant felt very normal for me as it was really all I ever knew. If you have any other questions about growing up with a cochlear implant, please drop a comment or send me a message on chatbox.