By Rosemary Craig
Rosemary Lindsey and her husband Owen are no ordinary Alberta couple! Though you wouldn’t guess it at first glance, their journey with hearing loss has been one with many twists, turns, mountains and valleys. For Rosemary, coming to terms with being a late-deafened adult in 2009 was a significant struggle. It wasn’t until 2013 that she finally began wearing hearing aids, eventually leading to her cochlear implant (CI) surgery in April 2021.
Prior to her surgery, Rosemary’s hearing loss created complications with her manager at work, nearly jeopardizing her job. Rosemary was embarrassed to say she was losing her hearing, especially because she was young.
Myth: Hearing Loss Only Affects Older Adults
Rosemary and Owen spent 30 years working together as EMTs in rural Alberta, exposed to the undulating sound frequencies of the ambulance siren. In 1975, when they started working together, Owen explained that the ambulances were built with a light bar above the driver’s compartment, which contained the siren speaker. “And they never thought of dampening the sound into the driver’s compartment in those days,” he said. Owen currently wears bilateral hearing aids, and says he is “just so tickled with them and what they’ll do.”
Rosemary has sensorineural hearing loss, which generally occurs when some of the hair cells within the cochlea are damaged. Sensorineural loss is the most common type of hearing loss resulting from aging, exposure to loud noise, injury, disease, certain drugs, or an inherited condition. In Rosemary’s case, it was loud noise exposure that took its toll.
In 2019, Rosemary was referred to an ENT (Ear, nose, and throat doctor), who said there was nothing else to be done from a hearing aid perspective. He said, “Amplification is not going to do you any good.” That is when he closed his file and declared, “Cochlear implant” as he left the room.
Joined at the Hip
Richmond Road Diagnostic and Treatment Centre (RRDTC) is home to the southern half of Alberta’s Adult Cochlear Implant Service. Rosemary gives kudos to the audiology team there. She said there was no mention of CI support or resources from her doctors or nurses until she connected with RRDTC. During the first appointment, she and Owen received information about Cochlear and Advanced Bionics, which are the two prominent companies in Canada that manufacture sound processors and implants. Rosemary and Owen also learned about the Calgary Cochlear Implant Support Group and were connected with Sonja Reid, the support group’s coordinator. Many people do not realize the importance of a support group and a support person when they begin their CI journey. For Rosemary, she and Owen went on a hearing loss journey together, but Rosemary’s hearing loss became so pronounced that Owen had to be at her side for every interaction.
As Rosemary’s hearing declined, the close partnership with her husband was vital to her communication with others. She said Owen “was her ears.” After the CI surgery, it was equally vital for Owen to be at her side. I learned that when a person has cochlear implant surgery, they must wait a month before the implant is activated. Then the brain must re-learn how to interpret sounds, and to recognize words and sentences. Rosemary was fortunate in slowly recognizing words and phrases upon activation. For many people, activation brings only chirps, beeps and mechanical sounds until gradually, through rigorous rehab and a strong support person, this new kind of hearing evolves.
Rosemary says at first, she could not distinguish between male and female voices. “Everybody sounded like Mickey Mouse talking in a can.” Rosemary constantly questioned Owen about sounds inside and outside their home. She relied on him for simple tasks like grocery shopping, where she did not always hear approaching shopping carts. She also depended on him for safety at crosswalks, sometimes stepping off the curb too early because she did not hear a fast-approaching vehicle. Rosemary says you do not realize how much you need your support person until your cochlear implant is activated.
Keeping your brain active is key to adapting to a CI and so is support from others along the journey. According to Rosemary, her CI did not only change her life. It gave her life back. The fact that Rosemary can now enjoy her grandchildren even more because she can hear everything they say, is what Owen describes as “icing on the cake.”
There Are So Many Hearing Loss Solutions
Hearing loss can occur at any age. It has a huge impact on your social and emotional well-being. It affects job performance and intimate relationships. But the story does not have to end there. Rosemary said it is so easy to become depressed when you experience hearing loss. But there is so much that can be done to improve hearing. Find an audiologist who is willing to work with you. Don’t be afraid of the cost. Reach out to community supports and learn everything you can. If you are faced with the possibility of having a CI, Rosemary says, “Embrace it!”
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