Lorraine's Story

My Hearing Loss

My hearing loss started about 15 years ago. I first noticed that it was difficult for me to hear tour guides speaking to individuals in any public situation on a one on one basis. Finally I relented and bought hearing aids, which immediately landed in the night table drawer because I hated them. As time advanced and my hearing loss continued to decline, I depended on the hearing aids, took classes in lip reading, went to seminars, and changed audiologists looking for a magical fix. The deaf center had already supplied me with all the latest model technology, which I could no longer use. I could not speak to my children and grandchildren anymore on the phone. I was not enjoying my bridge game any longer, I could not hear the bidding, I did not socialize in noisy environments. I preferred staying home. I was so resigned to being completely deaf that my husband and I were discussing taking up ‘signing’. Mel was wonderful but his patience was wearing thin. I finally went to my new audiologist and suggested that we check my hearing again. She advised me that I had a severe to profound hearing loss and that I should speak to a surgeon about the possibility of getting a cochlear implant.

By now I accumulated a lot of information about cochlear implants and was reluctant to get the surgery at my age, however, I agreed to merely go for an evaluation. I did lots of research on which surgeon to go to and that is when I met Dr. Balkany. He turned my thinking around in one conversation.

Then it was evaluation time to determine if I was a candidate. From something that I didn’t want to do, this was now something I now had to have. Finally, a date for the surgery was set and with the best wishes of all my friends and family I nervously went forward with the operation.

The surgery was totally successful and then the anxiety set in. Would the device work when they hooked me up? Being that I was the first person in the country to get Cochlear’s System 4 in the clinical trial, there was a delay and my nervous system was ready to explode! No matter how much I was reassured that I was going to hear, no one could give me enough assurance that I actually would. Finally the day came when the audiologist was hooking me up. My husband and I sat white knuckled waiting for the results. She looked up, switched me on, and said, “it’s working!” and I heard!

It is now four weeks later and I can’t remember when I didn’t hear. How can words describe going from not being able to hear at all to being able to hear again with the flip of a switch? To say that this was an emotional moment for my husband and myself would be the understatement of the century.

It has been a tough six months, but what price do you place on hearing? I have renewed my old life. I am even starting to use the phone and watch TV! How do you thank somebody for giving you your hearing back?

I will forever be grateful for this miracle!

Lorraine Kohlreiter

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