Shobana Ramesh's Blog

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-...

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...