Author: Angela
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Everything is Fine
*Author’s Note:* I originally wrote this piece in 2025 for a college course that asked us to reflect on a profound experience in our lives.…
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Better Can Be Better
My cochlear implant is working. I know that because I keep hearing things I have never heard before. I recently heard music playing while I…
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Keep On Keeping On
I can hear birds. Really well actually. I can hear their wings. I can hear tiny sounds outside that I didn’t know I was missing.…
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Progress Isn’t Linear
One of the things I am learning about having a cochlear implant is that progress isn’t linear. I wish it were. I would love to…
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Butterflies
I had my first major mapping adjustment on August 10, 2026. There were definitely some improvements. Things sounded a little clearer, and some of the…
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The Problem with Mapping
I went into this mapping appointment with one very specific complaint. I could hear…a lot. Actually, I was hearing more than I had in years.…
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Everyone Sounds Like a Man
I had heard all the stories about cochlear implants making voices sound robotic. Mine didn’t. Everyone just sounded like a man. A decrepit old man…
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Activation Day
Eleven days after surgery, it was finally time to turn on my cochlear implant. Until this morning, the device inside my head had remained silent.…
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Post-Op CT Scan
Five days after surgery, I returned to Northwestern for a postoperative CT scan. This scan wasn’t being done because anyone suspected a problem. It had…