By Lindsey Geiss
Arianna Elder, Avon mother of three and Orange City Schools intervention specialist, did not have a disability when she went into special education. However, now she connects with her students on a whole new level thanks to a life-changing cochlear implant surgery she underwent this spring.
“My family started noticing my hearing loss when I was in my thirties,” Elder shares. “I realized I was compensating for it by reading lips. I could sit at basketball games and know who the coaches were taking out and what the players were saying… It was my superpower. Then I went to an ENT, who did tests and said I have the hearing loss of a 90-year-old.
“Originally, I was told there was nothing I could do and kept losing it at a fast pace,” she adds. “My children were young at the time, so I got hearing aids and dealt with that for 15 years, never thinking there was hope for me.”
She went to a University Hospitals doctor and was referred to an ENT, who immediately told her she was a cochlear implant candidate. Adding to Elder’s surprise, she was invited to participate in a research study that would allow her to have the approximately $107,000 procedure and implant at no cost.
“I was scared to death to make that decision,” Elder says. “Every choice I make weighs so heavily on me, but I was to a point where I was miserable at work and couldn’t function. The hearing loss was tearing me down… I felt like I was in the middle of life and my career with three children and everything on my shoulders. It was either do this or nothing gets better.”
Elder carefully considered potential outcomes. “The implant is irreversible and residual hearing could be lost,” she explains. “It’s a big risk losing your hearing — your self-confidence. I also worried how it would affect my dating life and who would want me.”
However, when she met with her surgeon, she decided to move forward.
“He is one of the best in the country and has a connection to Orange Schools. My goal was to hear the ocean on my 50th birthday.”
For the occasion, Elder flew to Florida, where she soaked up the sun — and sounds — on the beach.
“It’s been amazing,” she says of her experience receiving the Cochlear Nucleus 8 implant.
Steroid administration into the implant succeeded in preserving her residual hearing. Using a hearing aid in the right, non-implanted ear and special hearing aid attachment on the cochlear on the left ear, she went from baseline hearing of 0% for one-on-one with no background noise and no lip reading to 100% five weeks post-activation. With background noise, she went from a baseline of 0% to 20%.
“The goal is to use your cochlear to help you hear (birds, teapots, humming, etc.) and use the hearing aid to help you understand conversations,” Elder explains. “Having it all in one makes it so much more amazing.”
She marvels at being outside in nature with the birds and discovering quiet moments with her family members. “There is a lot to get used to and appreciate,” she adds.
The Rehabilitation Process
Four months post-surgery, Elder is still learning. “I don’t think people understand it is an ongoing process,” she says.
Rehabilitation is 12 months and includes speech and listening therapy and practice. Improvement in sound quality and speech understanding continues over time.
“I do therapy with an app, a speech appointment once a month and research doctor appointment every three months,” she explains. “At each check-up there is a psychological assessment component, and this last time my responses were much more positive.” Elder also notes feeling less tired and stressed now that her eyes have a break from lip-reading.
While profoundly transformative and rewarding, the experience has not been without challenges.
“The whole surgery was hard,” she says. “I had surgery on a Thursday and was back to school on Monday. Those first 17 days when I was not activated yet were the hardest and most challenging with pain, nausea and feeling unbalanced. I would encourage others not to go back to work until activated.”
Elder says that spring break was a necessary time to sit and listen after her activation to television shows without, and then with, closed-captioning. Grand grand jury duty also served as valuable therapy.
“Voices sound mechanic, so it’s a growing process,” she adds. “I do get headaches more often and am more sensitive to light now. My ears hurt a little after flying in planes, and I have to take the aid off when driving with the doors off my Jeep.”
She explains her goal was to never take it off, mainly for safety purposes, including waking with an alarm, hearing fire alarms and arriving to work in the dark. However, that led to so much redness, irritation and pain that she relaxed and wears it less.
Elder offers advice for others experiencing hearing loss and/or considering cochlear implant surgery:
- Consult an ENT doctor or otolaryngologist rather than relying solely on hearing aid centers.
- Stay abreast of new technology solutions, procedures and potential clinical trial/research study opportunities.
- Visit doctors regularly to seek different opinions and be conscious of your own changing needs over time, which may affect your eligibility and options.
- Talk with people in your age group. Someone 50 or older is different
than a child. - Join Facebook cochlear support groups to feel less alone and utilize apps, such as WordSuccess, for therapy.
Forming Deeper Connections
Looking ahead, Elder expects to have a new device every five years. Her hearing is only 35% in the right ear without aid. While her surgeon said she can be bi-cochlear by June, she adds, “right now things are exciting and perfect.”
After teaching high school for 18 years, Elder moved to seventh grade a couple years ago. She is grateful and honored to share this journey with her students, including those who have gone through many surgeries of their own.
Elder tells her students with autism how she has a deeper appreciation for what they are going through with sensory sensitivities and processing challenges, now that she is more sensitive to light, in addition to sound.
She highlights a special connection with a student who also has cochlear implants. “When she comes for specials at school, we sign ‘I love you’ to each other.” Also, the sign language teacher invited her to speak to her class. Elder sees her experience as a gift she is happy to share.
How do cochlear implants work?
According to cochlear.com, cochlear implants are designed to mimic the function of a healthy inner ear (or cochlea). They replace the function of damaged sensory hair cells inside the inner ear to help provide clearer sound than what hearing aids can provide.
A cochlear implant system has two parts:
- The external sound processor
- The implant that is surgically placed under the skin and attached to an electrode array that is placed in the inner ear
Together, these parts bypass the part of the ear that isn’t working, sending sound straight to the hearing nerve.
