My name is Julia, I live in Upper Austria and I have a cochlear implant on one side. As a child, I often had middle ear infections and my hearing got worse and worse as a result. In 2016, I had a sudden hearing loss along with tinnitus and numbness in the left side of my face, triggered by a loud bang in a movie theater. I was fitted with a hearing aid and a tinnitus noiser. However, my hearing continued to deteriorate until cochlear implantation finally became an option. I had the operation in April 2023 and am very happy about the decision today.

Since my implantation, my quality of life has improved continuously. I can not only hear, but also understand properly and participate in society again. Not only my physical but also my mental health has improved significantly. My life with a hearing implant means that I can hear birds chirping, enjoy music, have normal conversations and be happy. With the CI, there are absolutely no restrictions in life, you can do almost anything - festivals, parties, diving, swimming, weight training, hiking, climbing. I see the CI as a second chance in my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Before the implantation, I didn't even have 20% speech understanding with the hearing aid. After six months with the CI, I was already at 80%. The tinnitus became very quiet with the CI and I hardly notice it when I wear my audio processor.