Jess's cochlear implant

My name is Jess. I am 56 years old. I started to have hearing loss at the age of 26. Having had an MRI nothing was found to be the cause of my hearing loss other than I must have had some sort of viral infection that continued to attack my hearing for the next 30 years. Hearing aids helped a little but I was still struggling to be able to engage with the world and I started to become more and more withdrawn from life and the hearing people. It became a hidden disability that stopped me from doing so much and clouded a lot of my decision making in my life.

I was aware that the cochlear implant was available to people that meet the criteria. I was so desperate to be able to hear again I went to my audiologist who agreed that I could be a candidate for the cochlear implant. From referral to my first appointment at the cochlear implant centre at Crosshouse hospital only took six months. The assessment for the cochlear implant was very straight forward. There are quite a few appointments to attend before you’re given the opportunity to receive the implant which gave me time to reflect and weigh up the pros and cons of having the surgery.

For me the decision was easy -  what did I have to lose! I couldn’t hear anyway so I had my surgery in August 2025 and 4 weeks later I had my implant switched on. After switch on I could hear people did sound like mickey mouse but for the first time in years I could actually hear more naturally and things started to sound better within 2 weeks. Fast forward to 5 months after I received my implant I can only describe it as a life changing event. My advice to anyone considering the implant would be go for it, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. It has certainly changed my life for the better in 5 short months and I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to receive this special gift and looking forward to my new hearing journey in the future.