Find Out How Advanced Bionics’ Cochlear Implant Enriched A Retired School Teacher’s Life

Hymavathy Amma is a retired school teacher, from Kayamkulam, Kerala. Due to a uterus removal surgery that she had several years ago, she incurred a progressive hearing loss. Over a span of 30 years, her hearing ability went from perfectly functional to absolutely null, in 2017. She helplessly paused and observed hearing loss marring her personal as well as professional life.

It took me a few months to realise that something isn’t right.

As a teacher, I used to deal with naughty children on a daily basis. You all have been through that age, and certainly can imagine how noisy classrooms can get. And, as an experienced teacher, I know the best way to silence a noisy classroom. Ask the mischief-makers to recapitulate what you’ve taught so far, and voila! They become the most attentive and silent beings.

Anyhow, my hearing problem began a few months after my surgery. I couldn’t hear their answers from distance. Initially, I assumed that they murmur gibberish at inaudible volumes because they don’t know the answer to my questions.

She was reluctant to believe that her hearing was deteriorating. But when her family started pointing out certain peculiarities in her behavior, she decided to consult an audiologist.

The volume at which I had started speaking grew tremendously loud. There came a point when I was watching TV at such a high volume that even our neighbors could hear it. The psychological effect was the worst. I could no longer participate in conversations as actively as I used to. My self confidence stooped low, and it made me feel lonely and agitated. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to consult an ENT Specialist.

The doctor’s confirmation of her progressive hearing loss left her heartbroken. A pair of hearing aids was customized for her.

I really tried hard to get comfortable with it. Taking the ENT’s advice, I even wore it for 12-14 hours each day. It was definitely not a pleasant experience. Due to my progressive hearing loss, I had move to more powerful hearing aids from time to time. Getting them tuned to suit my needs was also a regular ordeal. Yet, the sound quality was never satisfactory.

Voices always seemed muffled and unclear. I would ask people to repeat themselves so many times and still fail to catch what they had said. Then, I’d awkwardly say okay and pretend that I understood.

Post my retirement, when everyone at home left for work, and there was nobody left to talk to, I would just take my hearing aids off. Even if it was for a few hours, I liked riddance from the extra loud, metallic noise.

In 2017, she completely lost her hearing. To find a solution, she paid a visit to an audiologist, who familiarized her with Cochlear Implant Systems. Due to lack of awareness, that came as some other-worldly concept to her.

The audiologist I consult assured us that Cochlear Implant Systems by Advanced Bionics are safe, and certainly worth the investment. I was dubious, but my family convinced me that we had nothing to lose. My situation was already beyond repair.

Here’s what she has to say about her Advanced Bionics’ Cochlear Implant System:

Feels like I wasted at least ten years of my life, trying to form a cordial relationship with those futile hearing aids. Cochlear Implants have enriched my life again. When I first got it done, I expected instant results. That, however, does not happen. It may take a couple of weeks for improvement to show up. So be patient!

After the surgery, we had to take a couple of trips to the audiologist, for my processor’s tuning. I felt the graph climbing. My hearing got better each day. About a month later, my hearing reached normalcy, I didn’t have to resort to lip-reading anymore.

I yearned to listen to my grandchildrens’ voices, back when I couldn’t hear. I can’t put to words, how much I enjoy narrating stories and watching cartoons on television with them. They call it my “magic machine.” Phone calls and video calls fascinate me. I can literally talk to my distant relatives all day.

It isn’t possible to experience all this with hearing aids. I would have ditched them right on the first day, had someone told me about the existence of Cochlear Implant Devices back then.