Shobana Ramesh's Blog

My name is Shobana Ramesh. I completed my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Child Studies, with minors in psychology and disability studies, at Carleton University. Then, I went to teachers' college at the University of Toronto. I am now working as a supply teacher under the Ottawa public and catholic school boards. I am hoping to pursue a career as an Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf.  When I was 10 months old, I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss in both ears. When I was born in 1998, there was no hearing screening for newborns in Canada. After being diagnosed due to Mondini dysplasia, I was put on a waiting list to undergo the Cochlear implantation surgery. During this period, I wore hearing aids in 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 reached a compromise, and my parents decided to let me wear hearing aids inside the house and take them off when w...

It's been 25 years since I first got my Advanced Bionics cochlear implant. At the time, it was groundbreaking technology that allowed me to hear and experience life in a way I never thought I could. But as technology evolved over time, and after 20 years of use, I faced an upgrade decision that would lead to a positive change in my hearing and listening journey, something I could never have expected.  The Start of My Cochlear Implant Journey In 2000, I received the Clarion C-1 first-generation implant from Advanced Bionics. I was implanted on my left side, along with the body-worn processor. At the time, the device was groundbreaking and the start of a technology-forward lineage with AB, which continues today. But over time, and especially with advances such as Bluetooth technology, I found my implant lacked the automatic features and performance I needed. The sound quality was more robotic than that of later-generation processors. I also had limited opportunities to upgrade my ext...

Growing up, the deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing communities were black and white. You are either seen as deaf, hard-of-hearing or hearing, and I did not fit in any of these categories, due to a limited awareness of cochlear implants. People would ask me whether I am deaf. I respond yes, but I often question this myself because I do not fully belong in the deaf world since I have cochlear implants, spoke orally, and did not know American Sign Language (ASL) at the time. I also grew up in a hearing family and attended mainstream school, which also challenged my identity even further. I was often made fun of and bullied in grade school due to my hearing loss and the way I speak. People called me names, swore at me, ignored me and fought me physically and verbally. I transitioned to a public school in grade 1 (I was 6 years old at the time), and I made friends easily in my grade. Towards the middle of the grade 1 school year, a few older students viewed me as “special” and, unfortunately...

  *Note that Cochlear Implant users have various positive and negative experiences with music. Some experience it primarily positively, others experience it negatively, and a few in between*. My Childhood Experience with Music Throughout my childhood, I only listened to Hindi music since my family and I were only exposed to Hindi music. I do not speak in it nor understand the meaning behind the songs at the time. The children's shows I used to watch while growing up had music. However, as I mentioned in my previous blogs, there was no closed captioning during my childhood, so I needed help knowing and understanding the lyrics. When my family and friends would follow along with the lyrics, I would often vibe with them without knowing them. Because of these factors, I never connected with music as much when I was growing up. Still, I enjoyed observing and listening to others singing and playing instruments, which never bothered me.  When I was nine years old, I was exposed to En...

  “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-...