• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Unshakeable Joy

Christian Encouragement and Christian Living

Bible Verse of the Day

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed.
Psalm 71:23
  • About
    • About Me
    • My Life Story
    • Contact
    • Policies
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Privacy Policy
  • Christian Growth
    • Christian Encouragement
    • Encouragement for Christian Teens
    • Friendship + Relationship
    • Living Life with Positivity
    • Marriage + Love
    • Parenting + Children
    • Work + Family Life
  • Life & More
    • Book Review
    • Budget 101
  • Resources
    • How To Start A Blog
    • Link Up Parties Directory
  • iHeart Verse Link Party
You are here: Home / Cochlear Implant Life / One Year of My Cochlear Implant: Part One

One Year of My Cochlear Implant: Part One

May 27, 2016 by Joyce Cortes Mackenroth 13 Comments

(This post may contain some affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.)


One Year of My Cochlear Implant Part One

One Year of My Cochlear Implant: Part One

Why I wanted to have a new cochlear implant

I am writing about one year of my cochlear implant because of my one anniversary of my cochlear implant surgery. Last year, I made my decision to get my new cochlear implant for many reasons. I had four reasons why I wanted to have a new cochlear implant. First, when I was 9 years old with my first cochlear implant, I enjoyed hearing music and voices from other people. Second, I missed talking with my own voice and hearing what everyone said. Third, I wanted to socialize with the hearing people and Cochlear Implantees. I felt a little guilty about forgetting my cochlear implant as I followed Deaf people’s selfish opinions, not my own personal choice. I forgot how I had two amazing worlds in my life experience which were too complicated. Yet, I was so wrong to follow Deaf people because I should have chosen my own personal choices instead of following them, their opinions were so different. So I realized that I now have two worlds in my life: Hearing and Deaf. Forth, I finally took my chance to get a new cochlear implant and I’ve been happier to hear so many sounds from anywhere.

One Reason…

As 9 year old little girl with a first-time cochlear implant, I used to know the voices and music at home. Unfortunately, my old cochlear implant did not have more channels; it only had one channel. It meant that it did not have enough to hear more familiar sounds. I missed so many sounds that were not good enough to understand and identify what sound it was. A few years later, I continued to wear my old one and moved to a new school where Deaf students attended. It was the school for the Deaf. I enrolled into the Middle School and found some wonderful friends who treated me well. Somehow, other students were disapproved of me being cochlear implantee. Three girls bullied me in the girls’ bathroom and threw my old cochlear implant in the toilet. I was very upset and lost it. I was kind of scared to tell my mother this happened. She was angry and called the school for the bullying issue and my old cochlear implant processor. The janitor got my old one out of the toilet and it broke down. After a few years of not wearing cochlear implant, I become pure Deaf person myself and I left my identity of being a cochlear implantee. Deaf people pushed me to choose my own identity, not my own decision or feelings. I should have explored my feelings and choices over their opinions, I wished that I could have said no and that I could prefer to make my decision instead of letting them push me to change my identity. I did not blame them, I partly blamed myself because I did not have the courage to stand up for myself and make my own decision. In my understanding, I was easy to be a gullible young girl at the school for the Deaf.

Second Reason…

In 1994, I went to Chabot College. I took classes and found some friends who were hearing. One day, I met a friend who was also a cochlear implantee and she told me that she had new cochlear implant. We talked about our different views of cochlear implant. Her boyfriend came to her, talking with her in the voice. What I had seen her talking with her boyfriend made me thinking of wearing my cochlear implant again; unluckily, my old cochlear implant processor broke and my old cochlear implant identity still left somehow in my life.

Third Reason…

In 2000, I had seen those who were cochlear implantees and I wish that I could have been involved with them and that I could make friends with them but I did not have my cochlear implant processor with me. It took me so long time to re-evaluate my identity. I wanted to hear the sounds and voices, yet I couldn’t. My decision was kind of complicated, I was scared of being judged and criticized by Deaf people, some of them were my friends. I knew that my friends were against cochlear implantees, they did talk so negative about cochlear implants. Inside my feelings, I did not know if I could wanted to have a new one or not. But what about my friends? What about my personal choice? I knew that I am Deaf but being a cochlear implantee did not mean that I am Hearing. How could I make my choice without insulting my friends? It was not so easy.

Fourth Reason…

Last year, I finally made my decision that I’d take the chance to get a new cochlear implant myself. I knew that I wanted to have a new one since I missed so many things I hadn’t heard for a long time. Last May 4, 2015 – I got cochlear implant surgery and it took me a few weeks to rest at home. I came to my audiologist and got my new cochlear implant processor and started to get activated! Since 25 years without hearing sounds, I finally heard more beautiful, amazing sounds from anywhere, especially the voices. I finally realized how my husband talked! Now I understand why people always ask where he’s from.  I was happy to hear many things again. Now what? Since one year, I have been practicing my speech and studying the skill of lipreading while wearing my cochlear implant. It takes a lot of time to practice. No rush.

Well, how about my friends? How would my friends deal with this if I am a cochlear implantee?

Stay tuned: One Year of My Cochlear Implant: Part Two


Filed Under: Cochlear Implant Life Tagged With: Cochlear Implant, Deafness

About Joyce Cortes Mackenroth

My name is Joyce. I'm a founder of Unshakeable Joy. I'm a follower of Christ and I am a woman to blog whatever I feel like - a faith-based blog where I write and share about food + drink, personal growth, spiritual encouragement, Christian living, and others. I am a mother of two adult sons and a blessed wife. Click here to learn more about starting a blog.

Previous Post: « Root Beer Sugar Cookies
Next Post: Jamba Juice’s Orange-A-Peel Smoothie »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. reena santos

    May 28, 2016 at 19:27

    Good thoughts here.

    Reply
  2. Enricoh Alfonzo

    May 29, 2016 at 07:20

    aw hey that’s brilliant, i really enjoyed this post. i’m so so happy for you

    Reply
  3. Rachel Mouton

    May 29, 2016 at 08:32

    Wow! This is amazing that you could see this kind of results and your quality of life could improve so much with them 🙂

    Reply
  4. Jasmine Eclipse

    May 29, 2016 at 09:57

    Congratulations. I am so happy for you. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be at the brink of not being able to hear again. It’s definitely something we take for granted until we’re faced with the problem ourselves. I hope you are doing well! Best wishes!

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth O.

    May 29, 2016 at 19:21

    It’s good to know that we have an option like this so that people can have better hearing. That’s really awesome and for me it’s a really good choice to get one.

    Reply
  6. R U S S

    May 29, 2016 at 21:35

    You are brave. I admire how you know what you want and how you are making life choices for yourself. I think that is very very important.

    Reply
  7. Danne Reed

    May 30, 2016 at 07:09

    I have a friend who did this and she has a great feedback about it. I recommend this procedure, it is safe.

    Reply
  8. Beauty that walks

    May 30, 2016 at 13:03

    I’ve never met anyone that wears cochlear. It’s a good thing that your husband understands you. I’m not fond of lip reading but my aunt knows how to read lips very well.

    Reply
  9. Chrishelle Ebner

    May 30, 2016 at 14:30

    Wow,beautiful story. I had to fight back the tears when you spoke about hearing your husband’s voice. Cannot wait for the next chapter.

    Reply
  10. Amy Jones

    May 30, 2016 at 15:32

    Brave woman, you are so inspirational!

    Reply
  11. Rosey

    May 31, 2016 at 03:42

    I’m so happy for you! And it’s wonderful that you’ve shared your story!

    Reply
  12. linda spiker

    May 31, 2016 at 07:01

    So interesting that you were afraid other deaf people would judge you. So happy the implant helped and that you are enjoying hearing! Good for you!

    Reply
  13. Ann Bacciaglia

    May 31, 2016 at 15:00

    I think you should follow your heart. It is not fair to be looked down on for your decision.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

My name is Joyce. I'm a founder of Unshakeable Joy. I'm a follower of Christ and I am a woman to blog whatever I feel like - a faith-based blog where I write and share about food + drink, personal growth, spiritual encouragement, Christian living, and others. I am a mother of two adult sons and a blessed wife. Click here to learn more about starting a blog. Read More…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Reader Favorites

  • 6 things christian woman should change 6 Things Christian Woman... 42.2k views
  • 7 Bible Verses about balancing work and family 7 Bible Verses About Bala... 26.6k views
  • 7 Bible Verses about Cleansing your Heart 7 Bible Verses About Clea... 24.5k views
  • bible verses about cutting off negative people 7 Bible Verses About Cutt... 23.1k views

Subscription

Sign up our newsletter to get free journal:
"The Sermon Notes Journal"!

Privacy Policy

Categories

Creative Commons License
Unshakeable Joy by Joyce Cortes Mackenroth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Please know that all contents and images are copyright protection. Contents with images are not permitted to be used without my knowledge. If you wish to share my contents with images in your blog, please link this to my blog back.

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Ok, no problem! Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT