Carla B - Awareness Network Volunteer
- ProfileWho Has Hearing Loss: I do
Hearing Loss Type: Born Deaf
Hearing Loss Cause: Heriditary/Congenital Hearing Loss
Device: cochlear
Welcome to the Cochlear Community! It's an amazing place where you can connect with other cochlear implant users, even if you're just started thinking about getting cochlear implants! I encourage you to sign up and get in touch with us. We're here to help support, encourage and inform.
Here's my story & how I got to where I am today. I was born with congenital deafness in both ears. I was 3 years old before my parents found out I was completely deaf. The professionals at the Cincinnati Speech & Hearing Center told my parents that they didn't know if I would be able to talk. It was all unknown back then, especially since I was 3 years old before they found out. I was a very active child so they probably couldn't get me to stand still long enough to talk to me! LOL! They were advised by some people to just send me to St. Rita's School of the Deaf in Cincinnati, Ohio and forget about me. Boy, did they say the wrong thing to my parents! They refused to give up and kept searching for answers.
My parents took me to speech therapy 3 days a week, got me very powerful BTE hearing aids. They worked with me day and night, trying to teach a 3 year old to talk. My 1 year old brother was talking up a storm because he was a bystander to this therapy that I received! He watched and heard everything and could carry a conversation by 1-1/2 years old. It was explained to my parents that teaching a deaf kid to talk is like "filling up a well". It takes some time. By 4 years old, I was talking.
Even though I was profoundly deaf, through out the years, I managed to learn to eventually talk on the telephone with family, friends and even some strangers using the power BTE hearing aids. I excelled at sports like soccer, track, cross-country, softball. I did well in high school and graduated from 3 colleges with BS degree in Health Education with emphasis in Exercise Physiology, a certificate in Graphic Design and a diploma in Evangelistic Studies from Rhema Bible Training Center. I'm married to Kevin Birchfield, who is hearing, and he's been a wonderful and supportive husband and we have a beautiful 5 year old hearing daughter named Carmen.
In 1998, one night, I suddenly developed serious vertigo and a horrible ringing in my left ear. I visited an ENT and they did a MRI scan but found nothing. They told me it was a virus and it damaged what hearing I had left in my left ear. The benefits that I received from my hearing aid was gone. The sounds were now muffled and I couldn't understand anyone on the phone anymore. I was devasted! My husband helped me with the phone but I felt very dependent to him and very alone. Group events got even harder. I lip read great so I managed to squeak by but I was missing a lot and I knew it. I even bought the best high powered hearing aids in 2004 when Carmen was a year old to help me but they didn't provide what I was hoping for. I realized that I went as far as I could go. I had heard about cochlear implants back in 1997, but I wasn't happy with the ENT surgeon that I visited at that time. He was only interested in doing cochlear implants rather than focusing on what damaged my left ear. It was a turn off and at the time, I thought those things were "plugged" into a hole in my skull. I didn't know that they were actually magnets placed under the skin. I left the ENT's office upset and didn't give cochlear implants a thought until August 2008.
In August 2008, I saw some adults and kids on the street wearing cochlear implants and I decided to investigate fully to see what cochlear implants were and if they would help me. I researched cochlear implants on the internet and my husband called our insurance company (Anthem Blue Cross). My primary care physican sent a form to Anthem, letting them know that cochlear implants were medically necessary and he referred me to Dr. Ravi Samy, MD, FACS, at University Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. He is the director for the Adult Cochlear Implant program. I saw an audiologist at University Hospital in September 2008 and determined I was a wonderful candidate for cochlear implants. I also had a CAT scan, an regular MRI and a Functional MRI as well. In November 2008, we received a letter of approval from my insurance company for bilateral cochlear implants and my surgery date is scheduled for Wed. December 17th. It took about 4 months for the entire process with insurance and scheduling of the surgery. I was very excited and looking forward to being able to hear again prior to my activation in January 2009. I couldn't wait to get my life back and be able to hear my family and friends on the cell phone again. The biggest thing I was looking forward is being able to hear my husband and 5-year old daughter. Carmen is always talking my ears off and I knew I miss at least 80% of her conversations. She is so sweet, she couldn't wait for me to "hear" her when I got activated.
And let me tell you that it's absolutely fantastic! These cochlear implants completely blew my hearing aids away! I can't believe how much I was really missing! So many new sounds! I couldn't hear high frequency sounds before, even with hearing aids, and to hear them now is just nothing short of a miracle! The technology is so amazing! I've never looked back! I can talk to people behind me, in the dark, on the phone and in the other room. I can hear a lot of the TV without closed captioning now. It has been 2 months since activation as I'm writing this but it will keep getting better and better! I can only imagine what it'll be like a few years down the road!
I'm a creative graphic/web designer and I work for a large newspaper company in advertisting. I own www.picklevalley.com (domain name registration and website/blog hosting plans). My husband is an independent filmmaker. (www.kobipictures.com). He also buys and sells antique and vintage fishing lures from 1920s to 1980s and you can view his site at www.howiestackleshack.com. Our 5-year old daughter Carmen keeps us very busy with various activities.
