During COVID, we all started working from home.

I never really went back to the office, as I was working with a remote team in another country, so going into the office, just to spend the day on Teams calls was slight counterproductive, plus there was a time zone difference, and I was the one that always worked though lunch to make the most of our day. So when I did go into the office, I found I wasn’t having the water cooler conversation or getting the interaction I was needing, so working from home became the norm.

But what I didn’t realise, I was going deaf in my right ear.

Post COVID I never went out either, and it wasn’t till in early 2022, when catching up with people in a noisy café, I realised I was struggling to understand and hear them.

August 2022 I was fitted with a hearing aid for my right ear. Wow, I had forgotten what hearing was supposed to be like.

I suffer from Meniere’s disease, which means I get severe vertigo episodes that eventually subside, followed by hearing loss.

Over the last five years, I’ve had three major episodes, likely triggered by stress.

Each time, my right ear’s hearing took a nosedive. Even with my hearing aid, words in my right ear became just sounds. But the human body is amazing—I could still use those noises with my left ear to make out words if someone was talking to me on my right side.

Public places became a struggle, and I found myself avoiding social scenarios.

On a mountain biking trip last year, a friend pointed out that I was talking over people mid-conversation. That was a wake-up call. I felt like one of those grandparents who jump in with a comment that has nothing to do with the discussion. That was me.

As a naturally social person who fits squarely in the yellow quadrant of the DISC human behaviour model, I knew I needed to change my work life and get out more for my mental health. But first, I had to do something about my hearing.

Connect Hearing, who manage my hearing aid, recommended a Success Manager at Cochlear. They helped me navigate the process to be assessed for a cochlear implant. Here in Australia, Cochlear is the dominant brand, while in the US or UK, Advanced Bionics is more common.

During the assessment, I found out my left ear was also losing its hearing quickly. I got a loan hearing aid for my left ear and had another wow moment—I could hear people easily again, as long as they were on my left side. I realised I had been cranking up my computer speakers on Teams calls to compensate. Although, my kids’ complaints about me not hearing them suddenly made sense.

I was a good candidate for a cochlear implant in my right ear, plus using a hearing aid in my left. Although, it might only be a few years before my left ear needs an implant too.

It was at this stage that I was given the opportunity to choose which brand I wanted to go with – Cochlear or Advanced Bionics.

In doing research, I found this site – https://cochlearimplanthelp.com/

It was a great resource to help me understand the process and set expectations. As someone who works in technology, I wanted the best integrated solution for my use case – cochlear + hearing aid.

While I was very thankful for the Cochlear success manager in helping me start my journey, I chose AB because it offers a fully integrated solution that basically means I have a very expensive pair of AirPods on at all times. It makes using tech easier.

So, here we are today.

I had my surgery two days ago for my cochlear implant in my right ear. My tinnitus is screaming in my ear, but that is expected. My head feels like I have a golf ball behind my ear—slightly weird, but I am sure it’ll go away in a few days. The worst part has been the discomfort in my gut from the anaesthetics. I’ve had severe pain after eating, so I’ve switched to smoothies. Hopefully, it’ll help me lose some weight 🙂

In two weeks, I will have my activation (the hearing aid part connected) and I am looking forward to the learning to hear again.