Beck: Good Morning Cindy. Thanks for your time today.
Campbell: Hi Dr. Beck. Its nice to meet you.
Beck: I guess after having a cochlear implant for 20 years, youve been asked just about all there is to ask.Nonetheless, I was wondering if you could tell us a little about what led up to getting implanted on the mid-1980s?
Campbell: Sure thing. As far as we know. I was born with normal hearing and my hearing loss started after I had the mumps, when I was about 4 years old. By the time I was 10 years old, my hearing in one ear had become bad enough that I started to wear a hearing aid in that ear, but the other ear was still pretty good. By the time I was 13, my worse ear was so bad that hearing aids no longer helped.
Beck: Did anyone ever figure out why this happened?
Campbell: Not really. The hearing loss fluctuated and I never knew if my hearing would be good or bad in advance. One doctor thought it mightve been related to a pet allergy, so we got rid of all of our pets, which was obviously very difficult, and it made no difference at all. So we never really knew what happened, but when I was 13 they started to look at my ears using CT and we also did spinal taps, and they never figured it out. By the time I was 14 or 15 I had occasional periods of total deafness, dizziness and vertigo attacks, and the hearing loss got worse, so pretty soon, in my teens, I had no known etiology, and I was usually deaf in both ears, but it varied almost daily.
Beck: My goodness. How did you get through your education? It mustve been very difficult for you to participate?
Campbell: Yes, it really was. I went to public school before main streaming was even thought of. I had to rely on lip reading most of the time. I finally attended Gallaudet University, which as you know is a college for deaf students, and I earned my bachelors degree in 1977 in Psychology & Social Work. At that time, I still had fluctuation in my hearing, and doing my practicum in a hospital was very tough. On days I was able to hear I worked with patients, and on my worse days I did lots of paperwork!
Beck: Did the fluctuation in hearing finally stop?
Campbell: Yes, when I was 27 it finally stopped, and I was very deaf, permanently from that point on.
Beck: And then you started to look into cochlear implants?
Campbell: Yes, soon after that I read an article in one of the deaf newspapers about a group in New York that was looking for volunteers for their cochlear implant program. I met all of the criteria, and I investigated the program, and pretty soon I was being tested to determine my candidacy and I was scheduled for implantation in July,1984.
Beck: That was the year the FDA approved cochlear implants.
Campbell: Thats right. I testified before the FDA for that approval. Back then we stayed in the hospital for quite a while. I was there for 11 days. Today, most people who get cochlear implants leave the hospital the next morning, or later that same day!
Beck: What can you recall about the initial sounds you heard?
Campbell: To me, it sounded like everyone was breathing and speaking with helium, high pitched, squeaky and artificial. But, by the end of the first day, I was actually picking out printed words here and there and sometimes a sentence on a page. But it was about 3 to 6 months before everything normalized for me. Buy then, I was able to hear really well, and things got better and better as I got more experience. I think I continue to improve even today.
Beck: As technology has improved over the last 20 years, have you had upgrades?
Campbell: Well, the Cochlear Corporation does upgrade the external equipment regularly, but the internal electrode array has remained intact and stable the whole time. So in other words, Ive not had any additional surgeries, just upgrades to the processor and the microphone. In fact, my current external implant system is the Cochlear 3G, which is worn behind the ear, like a hearing aid, no wires, no big box to carry, its wonderful.
Beck: Cindy, can you tell the difference in sound quality as upgrades became available?
Campbell: Oh yes. Pretty much every time weve been upgraded the sound quality got better and better. I think Ive had three upgrades in the last 20 years. In fact, now I can use my wireless phone, and actually, just about any phone while using my cochlear implant without any problem at all. Sometimes the upgrades take a while to program, but they have gotten better over time.
Beck: I think it would be a good time to reveal to the readers that you and I are actually conducting this interview on the regular telephone, no visual cues, and youre doing amazingly well.
Campbell: Yes, I am hearing you just fine.
Beck: Do you ever think about getting a second cochlear implant?
Campbell: Yes, I would love that. The only issue for me is the insurance wont cover it at this time. Im hopeful it will one day be a covered benefit, and when theyre ready to cover it, Ill be ready and willing to get it done.
Beck: Cindy, youre delightful to chat with. Thanks for sharing your time and your story with me.
Campbell: Youre welcome. Its been a lot of fun for me, too.
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For more information about cochlear implants, visit the Cochlear Americas website
