My name is Veronika, I live in Graz, but I am also often in Upper Austria, which means I am also open to inquiries from there. I am a left-sided implant user myself, I have hearing on my right side and suffer from tinnitus. I was born with normal hearing and suddenly went deaf in my left ear at the age of three and a half. At the time, it was assumed that my auditory nerve was damaged and therefore no hearing aid was possible. At the age of twenty, I started looking for possible hearing solutions. In this context, an examination revealed that my auditory nerve was intact after all and that I qualified for a CI. Since my implantation, I have not wanted to be without my CI. The decision to have an implant is a very personal one that I would repeat at any time.
The one-sided deafness has made many things in my life more difficult: directional hearing is not possible, I constantly had to turn my head to hear better. This has changed thanks to CI and is now much better. I can cope much better in noisy environments and hearing is less stressful, especially in these situations. New situations are less stressful, lip-reading is hardly necessary any more. With the CI, I can also enjoy the full range of sound when making music.
I advise all those affected to take a positive approach and to be patient. Getting a CI is the start of a hearing journey, it takes time and, like any real journey, it is sometimes challenging, but at the same time there are many wonderful things to discover.