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💬I was diagnosed with a moderate bilateral hearing loss when I was in the first grade. That's when I began wearing hearing aids. Although hearing aids became a par of who I was, I never allowed my hearing loss to define me. When I was a sophomore in high school, I realised my hearing loss was a disability for the first time when I had a sudden loss of hearing in my right ear. For the first time, I was unable to watch TV without subtitles. I got a more powerful pair of hearing aids--cochlear implants were not an option for me at that time because I still had "good" hearing in my left ear. Although that time of my life was challenging, I still did not let my hearing loss define me. I learned to compensate for the missing auditory information by reading 👄lips and using 👀visual cues. Two years later, at the end of my high school senior year, I had another sudden loss of hearing. This time it was in my left ear and I became a candidate for cochlear implants. At that point, my hearing loss was profound and I really didn't have much natural hearing left to lose, so I made the decision to be implanted in my right ear. After experiencing the success with the right ear implant, I made the decision to receive an implant in my left ear two years later! Advanced Bionics was the brand that was the most highly recommended by my audiologist and other hearing care professionals I spoke with. 💙 Being implanted was the best decision of my life. Prior to cochlear implantation, I had no idea how many sounds I was missing. It wasn't always smooth sailing post-activation, and I completed numerous hours of listening therapy to re-teach myself to hear as best as possible. Those hours were beyond worth it. After being implanted, I heard the sounds of the ocean for the first time. I learned that the blinker of a car makes a noise (😱). I am able to appreciate the sound of rain and the birds chirping. I enjoy social situations so much more than before. Rather than constantly focusing on making sense of what is being said, I am able to enjoy and participate in conversations. My experiences with my cochlear implants have been so positive that I have chosen to dedicate my life to the field that has given me so much. I am currently a second year student in the AuD Program at San Jose State University, training to be a pediatric audiologist to help patients have their own positive experiences in their hearing journeys, just as I did! @raquelmariemendoza