Manju Bansal Reacquaints Herself With The World, With Her Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant System

Human beings are social animals, after all. Hearing and speaking are two inter-related skills that empower the process of socializing.

Read on, to find out how a unilateral cochlear implant changed Mrs Manju Bansal’s life in her mid-sixties.

Mrs Manju Bansal faced a deteriorating hearing. It started when she was about 25 years old, and by 1984, she had lost her entire ability to hear. Here's what she has to say about regaining her ability to hear-

When did you get your implant?

I got it on the 30th of August, 2018. It’s a Naida Q30.

How has your life changed ever since?

“Oh, life has changed tremendously! I had been living like that for more than 25 years. My kids and everyone else around me had just accepted my impairment as a concrete part of my existence. It was pretty embarrassing to ask everyone to repeat themselves over and over again, so I preferred staying to myself.

Post CI, I have become an all-new person. I enjoy going out, hanging around with the people who live in our society. Since I've got my implant, there has hardly been an event around me that I haven't gone to. Weddings, pujas, festival-meets, you name it. My social life has improved to a great extent. I never went out to buy vegetables or groceries earlier. I’m enjoying this new activity that has been added to my schedule.

Earlier, my son had attached a bulb to the doorbell, in such a way that when someone was at the door, it lit up. The milkman and maid were requested to wait a while longer, just in case I didn’t notice the light. We detached the bulb a few days after my implant, and it felt like such a big achievement to me,” she said beaming from ear to ear.

Tell us about the struggle with hearing aids.

Initially, when I found my hearing degenerating, I experimented with hearing aids. Cochlear implants hadn’t come to India back then I suppose. I am not sure if they even existed in the mid-eighties.

I remember them to be uncomfortable and too loud in my ear. It was quite annoying. Cochlear implants are seriously, the best invention…something every person in need must opt for. The results do not emerge with the snap of a finger though. It took me several months to get here, and I am still walking to the road to reach the best results.

As a recipient, I claim that it has a better sound quality and provides more comfortable hearing than the hearing aids.

How easy has it become with the Cochlear Implants, to talk to your family members?

As I said, my family had accepted that I could not hear and we had developed our own ways of communicating with each other. I missed out on having heart-to-heart conversations with my kids when they were growing up, celebrating all their achievements, advising and guiding them when necessary. I never indulged in casual chit-chat or gossips with my neighbours. I didn’t have friends. I was only told what was necessary, as having a big talk was quite a challenge. I spent most of the time alone, avoiding interactions with the exterior world, and we lived in complete harmony, like that.

Things changed after my daughter-in-law entered the frame. She found it difficult to talk to me and was adamant to get rid of this difficulty. Few months down the line, she came up with the idea of getting me a cochlear implant. Both, my son and my daughter-in-law wanted to give it a shot. After some good planning, we got it done and my life finally changed for good.

I now keep myself updated with all that’s happening in the neighbourhood. (Courtesy: our domestic help). I share all the new gossip with my daughter-in-law when she comes back from work.

What about telephonic conversations?

Phones have definitely become so much better. There’s so much to do. What else do you need, if you own a mobile phone?! I do not get a lot of calls. I make use of my cellphone to keep in touch with my daughter, exchange WhatsApp greetings with our neighbours, and to stay updated on my son and daughter in-law’s whereabouts. Their voices are the easiest ones to understand. I make calls to my relatives too, but I still find a little difficulty in understanding what they say. Anyway, I have felt it improving with each passing day and each phone-call. I know that soon, I’ll overcome these small hurdles on the path.

Now, with the cochlear implant, do you face any difficulty in having group conversations?

Right after my surgery, I was quite disappointed because I had expected immediate results. Honestly, I couldn’t hear much at the initial stage. It took me a few weeks of therapy to get comfortable with that. Listening to a large group of people talking, understanding what each person is saying and being able to focus on the conversation that catches my interest is comparatively easier now. I only face a tinch of difficulty when everyone starts speaking together. Which I’m sure causes at least a little bit of problem to people with normal hearing as well.

How has your social life changed since the implant?

It had been null for more than two decades. My social life was a big fat void of infinite silence and boredom. I honestly wonder how I lived through that. No markets, no television…it was sad! I was cut off from the world, it seemed.

Due to an immense lack of self-confidence, I had confined my world within my family.

After an extremely long time, I got exposed to sound again. I had forgotten what it was like to hear, and it felt so good, so new!

I felt like a kid…I wanted to do everything at once. Watch the news, some TV drama, video-chat, attend the evening prayer meetings, and what not…

I wanted to indulge in all the things that I had only seen from a distance, and not participated in. So, like a kid with kindled curiosity, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and did everything that I wanted to do. I had nothing to be embarrassed or conscious about anymore. I was ready to reacquaint myself with the world.

It has become a part of my routine now. I have even made some friends in the locality, who meet me every day. My son has taught me how to use YouTube, where I browse through hundreds of cooking recipes daily. Seeing how my life has improved ever since I have started using my Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant system, my kids are planning to get me a bilateral cochlear implant soon.

What message would you like to give to adults who are struggling with hearing loss and not getting much benefit out of their hearing aids?

As far as I’ve observed, in India, a hearing aid is believed to be the one and only solution to every kind of hearing problem. Most of the people have not even heard of cochlear implants. I blame it on the lack of awareness. Most of the adults who suffer from hearing loss deny to acknowledge it, out of embarrassment. I think people need to be told that it is okay! They need not feel that way.

Cochlear implant systems are a boon for people like me. I wish I knew about them sooner. I would not have spent half of my life in that miserable state.

You only live once…no matter how old you are, leave no stone unturned to make your life better. Do not miss even a single chance of making memories! Do not waste this precious life that you’ve got! If you have hearing troubles, I highly recommend cochlear implant systems.