FAQ |
| 1. What is the most difficult challenge in adjustment to hearing loss? |
| The single most difficult challenge that I have seen is to continue to believe in yourself and your dreams despite the challenge of communication with people who have normal hearing. |
| 2. For adults, who is the best candidate to have a cochlear implant? |
The four
things that I look for when I work with people are: |
| a. Are you unhappy with the hearing that you have? |
| b. Do you want to hear better? |
| c. Why do you want to hear better? |
| d. The process of getting a cochlear implant will involve changes in your life, how do you feel about that? |
| The answers to these questions will tell me a lot of about how difficult the process might be for an adult. |
| 3. For parents of children who are candidates, what are the things that I look at? |
| The things that I look at are: |
| a. The age of the child |
| b. The experience of language development to date |
| c. The hopes of the parents |
| d. The experience of evaluating deaf culture |
| 4. Is adjustment to hearing loss a one time experience? |
| I think adjustment to hearing loss is a life long experience that is rooted in relationships. Relationships are complex things and multi-layered. Since hearing loss impacts communication and language it inevitably impacts relationships. Hearing loss never really goes away and we all have some type of relationship with the world. |