Hanna Benioff, president of the Hearing Loss Association of America’s Illinois Cochlear Implant Chapter, which is based in Downers Grove, is an advocate of using the implant devices in an attempt to restore people’s hearing. Here are her own words on the matter...

Q: Why did you choose to get a cochlear implant? How did you arrive at the decision? And how has the experience been — positive or negative?

A: I am deaf now. At the approximate age of 40, I began to lose my hearing and experiencing a continuing decline in hearing. After two hearing aids were no longer helpful, I joined the local chapter of Self Help of Hard of Hearing People, now HLAA, where I learned about cochlear implants. I then went to a meeting of the Illinois Cochlear Implant Chapter, where I was encouraged to obtain a cochlear implant.

For me, the implant has been nothing short of a miracle. After years of increasing difficulty with hearing, I can function quite well. Though I still have difficulty in certain situations — such as noisy environments — my cochlear implant, or CI, allows me to communicate more freely at work and with family and friends — both face to face and via telephone. This has lessened my feelings of isolation during conversations. Hearing in noise is a big challenge, and music is not enjoyable. My CI allows me to hear, giving me freedom to be myself again.

Q: Do you consider yourself a proponent of cochlear implants? If so, what makes you an avid supporter?

A: I am a definite supporter. Without an implant I would be totally isolated and unable to participate in life around me. Our lives are based on communication. Without hearing what others are saying, we are totally left out of conversations, activities, relationships and more. As a late-deafened person, I depend on spoken language to communicate. It is impossible to communicate by signing, as people with whom I come in contact with don’t use sign language. The wonderful thing about my cochlear implant is that it enables me to hear and lead a normal life — what a gift!
 
Q: What is your response to cochlear implant opponents who have safety concerns? Many also resent the implication that deafness is a disability that needs to be corrected or that American Sign Language is an inferior way of communicating. What are your thoughts?

A: Everyone has to make their own decision. I certainly understand that people who live in a deaf community and communicate by signing don’t find it necessary to have a CI.

Signing is a beautiful and expressive language which fulfills the communication needs of the deaf community. ASL is not an inferior language. It is a beautiful language, but very few people in the hearing world know it.

The story is different for late-deafened people who live in a “hearing” world, where communication is done via the spoken word. Without a CI, I would be totally isolated, lonely and very sad.

Regarding safety concerns, any type of surgery presents risks. But CI surgeries have a success rate of 98 percent. For the 2 percent failure, another surgery can usually succeed.

Deafness is not a disability for people who live in a deaf world and communicate by signing. However, for me, as a late-deafened person who lives in the hearing world, deafness is definitely a disability. Not being able to hear is isolating and traumatic.

Getting a CI is a personal decision. I would encourage persons who struggle with a hearing disability to have their hearing tested with an audiologist and to come to our meetings, where they can get information and support. At each meeting we offer presentations about CIs given by professionals. We also have member-led discussions, at which (time) members share their experiences and feelings. I would also encourage anyone to visit our Web site at www.illinoisci.com, which includes a list of our meetings, our newsletters and information about CIs.

For me, the CI is almost a miracle. Once again I can participate in life around me. I can hear my grandchildren’s sweet voices; I can hear the birds sing; I can hear the microwave beep; I can hear the tapping keys of my typewriter. I CAN HEAR! My life has meaning again. It is difficult to imagine being deaf.