Shobana Ramesh's Blog

  “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to new things” - Nate Berkus.  This quote relates to this blog because I will discuss my experiences using the Cochlear Implant aqua kit from Advanced Bionics (AB).  Before 2020, I did not have access to the aqua kit for my Cochlear Implants, so water was my biggest enemy. I could not be in the rain without protection. When I participated in water activities, I couldn’t wear my Implants, so I usually felt uncomfortable and vulnerable, especially not knowing sign language. When I was learning to swim, I often had difficulty communicating with my swim instructors. I also remember in elementary school, it was raining one afternoon, and I had to get off the bus to head home. I did not have any water protection on, and I remembered the driver previously told me to walk, not run home, so I followed that rule. Unfortunately, when I was halfway home, my...

  “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside of you” - Oprah Winfrey. In this blog, I will focus on my experiences as a Mentor of Advanced Bionics this past year.  My Experiences Before Being a Mentor: I grew up in a hearing family and attended mainstream school with hearing children, so there was little awareness towards deaf and hard-of-hearing people, especially those with Cochlear Implants and hearing aids. Since I was the only deaf person in my family, I felt isolated a lot back then. Even though my hearing friends and family gave me a lot of support, and I am grateful for them, I was unable to confide with them about my experiences with hearing loss fully. I could also not participate in a few activities at school due to my deafness and/or my  Cochlear Implants. I often got a ‘weird look’ from strangers when they saw my Cochlear Implants. The entertainment and media world (music, TV shows, movies, etc.) was not accommodating enough for deaf and hard-...

In this blog, I will focus on the best approach to communicating with individuals with a hearing impairment. I will discuss practical tips when conversing with a person with hearing loss who communicates verbally. Remember, these tips do not apply to every single deaf individual out there since we all have different experiences, levels of hearing loss, and accommodation needs.  Conversing with the Hearing Impaired I rarely feel shy or embarrassed when showing off my Cochlear Implants. I wear ponytails often, and am currently rocking a pixie cut! However, there were times when I felt insecure when people first approached me and noticed that I have a device attached to my ears. I’ve had people ask me whether I am deaf before we even introduced ourselves. I feel uncomfortable at first and my reply usually goes something like this: “Yes I am deaf. But I can hear almost like you. I just need to read your lips and I require some extra enunciation so that I can understand you fully.” This...

In my last blog about overcoming social anxiety, I mentioned that I am an extrovert and find comfort in socializing with family and friends. However, in the past, I rarely discussed personal issues with friends or family members. It was always a one-way street. My friends would talk to me about their problems, but not the other way around. I did not like talking about my issues because I was afraid of being vulnerable and showing my “dark side.” I was also scared that people might treat me differently. A few months ago, I started to share my feelings more and express my vulnerability. I was able to do this because my mental health was the strongest it had ever been. Funnily enough, I’ve realized that sharing my feelings, in turn, improves my mental health, and it’s something I continue to work on to this day.   Where did my fear of being vulnerable come from? It mostly came from facing obstacles regarding my hearing impairment and type 1 diabetes. For my whole life, I have tri...

  We are all familiar with the feeling of anxiety. Preparing for an exam, getting ready to go on stage, or handing in your thesis are all examples of situations that could cause anxiety. Anxiety can also occur at random times. The symptoms of anxiety vary for each individual. It usually consists of body shakes, racing heart, face turning red, feeling scared, irritated, sweating, feeling of doom or shortness of breath. Anxiety can become a disorder when these symptoms lead to difficulty in performing everyday tasks. There are different types of anxiety disorders. The most common disorder is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which consists of persistent anxiety and worry about different things. For example, while waiting to write an exam, the person could start shaking uncontrollably to the point where they could not write the exam. We will focus on social anxiety, which is another type of anxiety disorder that involves feeling anxious in social situations, such as talking to ...

  Hello All, Firstly, I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Shobana Ramesh, and I am a 22 year old student from Ottawa, currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts program in Child Studies with a minor in Disability and Psychology Studies at Carleton University. When I was 10 months old, I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss in both ears. In 1998, when I was born, there was no hearing screening for newborns in Canada, so I am unsure whether I was born with hearing loss.  After being diagnosed, I was put on a waiting list to undergo the Cochlear Implantation surgery. During this period, I wore hearing aids on both ears. My parents recall my unwillingness to wear the hearing aids at all times. I saw them more as toys and would constantly take them off and play with them! So, we came to a compromise and my parents decided to let me wear hearing aids inside the house and take them off when we were out and about.  Finally, it was time to get my Cochlear Implan...