Lipreading Mom

It has been five days since the CI was activated, and I’m hearing all kinds of sounds that were silent before: birds chirping, the clicking of the car’s turn signal, the sound of running water from a faucet, and more.

Voices currently sound like a robotic Donald Duck with echoes after each word. This is because I’m learning to hear through an implanted device that stimulates the auditory nerve and sends sounds directly to the brain to process. I hear high-frequency sounds that haven’t been audible in 25+ years. It takes time for the brain to adjust to “hearing differently”.

The only time the CI’s robotic noise is annoying is when I hear my voice. I sound like Daisy Duck speaking from an old handheld microphone. All the more incentive to do less talking and more listening.

My three kids have not known me without hearing loss. Since my oldest son was a newborn, I’ve been aware that I can’t hear many of the things that they can: the sound of the doorbell, a cell phone chime, smoke detector chirps, noises from other rooms and outside. They volunteer to be my ears when we go in public places.

My daughter’s instinct when a cashier asks a question that I cannot hear is to restate it with clear articulation. She also knows some sign language and can fingerspell the alphabet. Across the room, she may sign “bathroom” and point if I can’t find a restaurant’s restroom.

My oldest son may repeat entire sentences I have missed with his deep baritone voice that is easier for me to hear and lip read. My youngest son taps me on the arm if someone is asking a question and I don’t respond.

One thing that is true is they never make fun of people with hearing loss. They don’t say “never mind” when I ask them to repeat something. They are patient with having to restate conversations I missed in noisy public places.

When I think of my three children, who are now fully grown, the words “empathy” and “compassion” come to mind. These are the gifts of them communicating with a Lipreading Mom since they learned to talk.

They and my husband are my greatest allies. 

(Photo: Side profile of my left ear with brown cochlear implant, taken by my oldest son)