"I am definitely a new person since my cochlear implantation!"

My name is Ernst and I live in the city of Salzburg. Due to a growth defect in my middle ear, I am deaf on one side and therefore have a cochlear implant on one side. After cheating my way through life with various "techniques", I got tinnitus in the summer of 2018 - in one fell swoop I was as good as deaf on both sides.

A hearing test was carried out at Salzburg Hospital. Although I thought I was completely deaf on my left side, I heard very clearly for the first time via bone conduction. I was overjoyed! I subsequently received a middle ear implant and later a cochlear implant. Even before the operation, I gathered a lot of information from those affected. The implantation took place in January 2020, but I still had a long road of rehab ahead of me. An ear that hasn't heard for 56 years has to learn everything from scratch...

It's amazing how beautifully the gravel crunches underfoot, how loudly the birds chirp, how loudly airplanes thunder - I can hear all this and more on my "deaf" side. Even the smallest advances are milestones. Today I would like to pass on my experiences to others.