Survey....

Hey Everyone!

My friend wanted me to answer this survey for her project in college, and I thought it'd be interesting to post on here. I thought they were good questions and I figured they might be helpful to you....so enjoy!


1. What age were you when you received the Implant?

I got the implant in april of 2005 when I was just turning 16 years old.

2. Has Getting the implant limited what you can do?

Yes, there are some activites that I have to avoid now becuase I have the implant, for example different things with magnetic fiels such as some rollar coasters, MRI's, and plastic slides.

3. How does the Implant help you with your daily life?

The implant helps me to hear no matter where I am, such as the cafeteria, outside, at home, or even on the phone. I wasn't functioning good with two hearing aids, so thats why I got the implant. And now I can hear alot more and its helped me to understand people, music and environmental sounds better.

4. Is it noticeable to other people when you first meet them?

No, becuase the cochlear implant is a small device that sits behind my ear. And being that I have longer hair, its hard to see it because its being hid. Plus, people don't "look" for the implant becuase they don't realize that I'm deaf when they meet me because my speech quality is so good. I was taught spoken language through the auditory verbal approach to where I don't lip read or use sign language.

5. How has the implant affected your life?

Yes, dramtically. With it my grades have gone up becuase I can hear now, I have been more involved with clubs such as Key Club and Girl Scouts, I have volunteered at differnt places, and I can even get a job now because I can hear what I have to do. And of course music is my favorite thing, now I can really enjoy the music and words.
But then again, its also frustrating because I always have to make sure I have charged batteries to get me through the day. Because if my batteries go dead, I can not hear a thing and I'm in a silent world.

6. If you had not gotten the implant how would your life be different?

If I had not gotten the implant, I would not have been involved with the clubs, volunteering, and plus I probably wouldn't be at the public school that I am now. I also wouldn't have been able to do some things such as going to concerts, movies, and plays. Without the implant, I would have very few friends, I wouldn't be as socialble and I wouldn't be where I am today.

But yeah, it was a short survey but it had some interesting points about the implant...