Life with a Cochlear Implant - Interview with Jill Rivoli and Lauren Deckard

Gael Hannan sits down with Jill Rivoli and Lauren Deckard to discuss their hearing loss journey, and what led them to pursue cochlear implants. They talk about their experience from before and after the initial activation, how long it took to begin recognizing sounds again, things they still struggle with and what advise they have for others who might be considering a cochlear implant.

Lauren Deckard is the founder and owner of Peak Mobility, a holistic healing center in New Jersey. During her final semester of college, Lauren unexpectedly lost her hearing and adapting took a toll on her physical and mental health while stuck in the corporate world. After being implanted with a Nucleus 7 device in her right ear, Lauren left the corporate world and started her own business in holistic healing, healing clients using the same methods she applied for her various ailments due to hearing loss.

Jill Rivoli was 9 years old when she first realized she couldn’t hear the same as everyone else. Over the next 40 years, her hearing would continue to decline, resulting in complete deafness in her right ear and profound loss in her left. Though she was fitted for hearing aids, it wasn’t until she was implanted with a cochlear implant that she was able to experience the hearing world again. Today, Jill is an assistant general manager at a historic Montana working cattle ranch. An avid hiker and horsewoman, Jill has been able to rediscover the sounds of nature—horses eating grass, crickets chirping, birds singing, water running in a stream—sounds she didn’t hear for decades.

Transcript available here: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/this...

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest episodes each week, and follow This Week in Hearing on LinkedIn and Twitter:   / this-week-in-hearing     / weekinhearing