Years ago, my ENT, Dr. Ronald Hoffman at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (now part of Mt. Sinai), assured me that I’d never be deaf. I wasn’t convinced. My hearing had been in steep decline over the previous two decades, and no one could determine why. What could possibly halt the downward plunge? I had already hit rock bottom in my left ear. The right seemed on track to do the same.
Back then, 20 years ago, I thought Dr. Hoffman was suggesting there might be an eventual cure, a way to restore my hearing, or at least to slow the decline. There was hope and excitement about ways to restore damaged hair cells in the cochlea, something that birds and fish do effortlessly but that mammals can’t do at all. With normal hearing, the hair cells propel sound to the auditory nerve, which processes it and sends it on to the brain. With sensorineural hearing loss, the most common kind of loss, sound can’t get past the cochlea. When I was writing “Shouting Won’t Help,” in 2011-12, I spent time with researchers tackling this challenge. How soon till we might see success?, I asked. Every researcher responded, “Maybe in a decade.” But no one was making predictions. Today the estimate is still “maybe in a decade.”
Most likely, Dr. Hoffman was thinking about technology, rather than biology. We had talked over the years about the possibility of my getting a cochlear implant. But the hearing in my “good” ear, with moderate to severe loss, disqualified me under FDA rules.
Finally, in 2008, I did qualify. It’s probably the only time I celebrated a hearing decline. At the same time, FDA rules were relaxed. My surgery was scheduled for September 2009.
As readers of my books and blog know, my C.I. was not an unqualified success. I had been deaf in my left ear for nearly 30 years, which meant the speech pathways in my brain had fallen into disuse. Instead of auditory rehab in a clinic, something that is now standard for adults. I was directed to online rehab programs. About two years after my implant, I got a chance to do auditory rehab in person, at NYEE, where my doctors were. I was the first adult in the program. It helped tremendously. Today I feel like I hear in my implant ear.
I feel like I hear, but my audiogram shows otherwise. My speech recognition (whole words) with the implant alone is only 20 percent. In my right ear, where my hearing ranges from severe to profound and where I still wear a hearing aid, I score 64% percent on a whole word test. With both ears aided, I get 68th percent of the words right. That’s not great but it allows me to function. In addition, I read lips and I use assistive devices like a companion mic in certain situations.
My right ear continues to decline, and I assume I will eventually have profound loss in both ears. Technically, I’ll be deaf. But I’ll continue to hear. The next time around, when I get a C.I., the speech pathways will have been in continual use right up to the time of the surgery. I’ll do auditory rehab. I fully expect to hear for the rest of my life.
Dr. Hoffman was right. I’ll never be deaf.
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For more about living with hearing loss, read my memoir Shouting Won’t Help, and for more practical advice try Smart Hearing. Both are available as Kindle or paperback.
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Katherine Bouton: Smart Hearing 
You expect to hear better? Are you planning another cochlear implant? Why not have it as so
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Because I do well with my hearing aid — in real life if not on tests. My audiologist agrees with me that if the hearing aid is still helping, I should stick with it. But I’ll get a second CI when the time seems right.
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Great to hear this Katherine, as my ENT (Dr. House in LA) said the same thing and I DO WONDER if he is correct. I have been wearing hearing aids for over 12 years, and have the same challenges as you – ambient noise being the biggest challenge. Apparently I do not yet qualify for a CI according to my current audiologist, so I am just dealing with it in terms of trying to continue working (70 years old) and hearing in meetings, etc… The assisted devices seem even more challenging to me (like the external mics on the table) but I may have to figure out how to make that work (I have one, it just doesn’t seem to help, as it acts like it is turning off my HA and everything has to go through the table mic. Anyway, your article was helpful in terms of that “long-term” diagnosis of losing our hearing completely. With grandkids, it has been quite a challenge to understand their precious voices, so that is a big bummer.
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I always had trouble with the Roger system, which I think is what you’re talking about, though others love it. The mini mic, or companion mic, works best with one speaker who wears it on a lapel or collar or someplace where it won’t be rubbed by clothing (because then all you’d hear would be the clothing). I use it mostly for exercise class — the teacher wears it. I could never do that with the Roger pen because the teacher was moving around too much and the pen was awkward to keep in place. You might try the companion mic — it’s much cheaper than the Roger. I’ve always found it reliable. I also use a phone captioning service — these days I use Innocaption because I have a smart phone. When I had a landline I used one of the captioning companies, which I won’t name since I can’t remember them all and don’t want to leave someone out.
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Dear Katherine, Today, I read your “Should Be Deaf” post. When I saw the phrase, “New York Eye & Ear,” I remembered my own experience there. I was 16 yrs old. Up until then, I made do with several years of lipreading lessons and front-row seating in every classroom. Then, just weeks before starting my Junior year of high school, my ENT referred me to NYEE for extensive auditory testing. By the end of the day, I was wearing my first pair of BTE hearing aids, and discovering all the clamor and noise of Manhattan! It’s now sixty years later, and I’m bimodal, having received my Med-el implant in 2018. Thank you for all you do to increase awareness of hearing loss — and in particular, of all the strategies and solutions available!
— Larry Kavanaugh
Visitor Engagement Associate
at Bok Tower Gardens
Hearing Loss Advocate:
Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) – Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) – MED-EL HearPeers Mentor – Network of Hearing Assistive Technology Trainers (N-CHATT)
*”Act justly, love tenderly, and h**umbly follow the Way of God.” (Micah 6:8)*
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What a good story! Congratulations on the implant. Are you still in New York City? Maybe you’d like to be part of our chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. We have monthly zoom presentations with captions and interaction between the audience and speakers. You can read about the chapter and our programs at hearinglossnyc.org.
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Thanks for the invitation! However, I have now been living in Florida for half my life go ahead and do the math — I’m 76!) I’ve been with HLAA since 1991 and more recently, ALDA, serving on the boards of both, which makes me truly admire your long-time advocacy. I’m sure that our paths have crossed at one of the conventions! I will definitely check out the NY website, and who knows? You just might find me at one of your Zoom meetings!
— Larry Kavanaugh
Visitor Engagement Associate
at Bok Tower Gardens
Hearing Loss Advocate:
Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) – Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) – MED-EL HearPeers Mentor – Network of Hearing Assistive Technology Trainers (N-CHATT)
*”Act justly, love tenderly, and h**umbly follow the Way of God.” (Micah 6:8)*
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I should have realized that from your online name WinterHavenLarry. Do join us at a chapter meeting. We get usually at least 50 people so it’s easy to come and go.
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