twenty-something female from the united states. lives and breathes for music and sound. profoundly deaf since birth. unknown cause of deafness. bilateral hearing loss between 95-110 dB. type of hearing loss is sensorineural. loss identified at 2 months old, fitted with hearing aids at 4 months old. mainstreamed entire life. learned sign at age 17. tried for FDA trial in 1997, missed cutoff by 1% due to doing too well. has gone through the evaluation process at least 4 times, and got scared. finally took the plunge and implanted july 2006.
this is my journey.
note: (entries/comments have been moved from my personal journal)
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The Bionic Sound Project 
nice profile…
nice profile….
Mandy seems like an AWESOME audiologist!!!!!
ha, i know that’s you, mandy. :-p
Hey Allison … I came across your blog while looking for info on CIs (I’m waiting for approval from the surgeon, and trying to decide whether to go with AB or Cochlear). Would you mind answering some questions by email? I’m iansmith [at] gmail.com.
sure, i can do that! what’s up? email me at [email protected]
My 23 year old son received a cochlear implant last year. All he gets are beeps but I don’t think he’s working very hard at it. How long did it take for the beeps to become sounds? Did you work with the Sound & Beyond program? How did you get it?
Please email me: [email protected]
Thank you
Hello! I just wandered apon your blog. My daughter was diagnosed with 60-90dB hearing loss at two months and aided at 4 months (she’s now 8 months). I just wondered if your parents worked with you through any programs to help to teach you spoken language as a kid. How soon did you start speaking? You’re inspiring to me.
I’m around your age – and well I don’t know anyone who knows anything about this other than the doctors! I don’t know how wordpress works, so I’ll include my email addy ([email protected]). Thanks!
the follow-up to emily’s comment is located at