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Hi, my name is Abbie Hlavacek and I just want to share a little bit about my experience getting a cochlear implant
I was born with a syndrome called Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome
and I lost my hearing at three, I started wearing hearing aids
and as a part of this syndrome, I began to progressively lose all of my hearing
by the time I was seven, I lost all of my hearing in my left ear
so I did not benefit from a hearing aid
I wore a hearing aid in my right ear until I was twenty-seven
until I went to have a surgery to repair a deviated septum
when I woke up, I was completely deaf I couldn't benefit from the hearing aid
so I decided to look into getting a cochlear implant, which took about seven months
once I got the cochlear implant, it was probably one of the best things that I've ever done
because I can hear so much better than I ever did with the hearing aids
since I implanted my left ear, which didn't have any auditory stimulation for almost about twenty-five years
it was a long process to get it up to speed
but it was worth it I did a lot of reading of audiobooks and it assisted with rehabilitation
it has given me independence back
where I can make phone calls for myself, I'm not afraid to walk up to strangers and introduce myself
it has alleviated a lot of stress
to be able to -- like, conference meetings, I can hear all sorts of people talking all at once I may not be able to catch everything, but mostly the majority of it
I have a seven month old son, and it's really important to me to be able to hear his different kinds of cries
if he's hungry, or if he's just tired, I can pick up on that -- it's one of the best things
my husband also has bilateral cochlear implants
his experience is different than mine, whereas he never really was able to really benefit from hearing aids
but he picks up on an awful lot of environmental sounds
where he has never been able to do that -- to hear cars just go by him or hearing the dog run across the floor, or even hearing his son cry
it's been an amazing journey, and each year that goes by, it gets better and better!