What It’s Really Like to Teach With Cochlear Implants

I teach in a hearing classroom, but I do not hear the classroom the same way my students do. I am deaf and use cochlear implants. They give me access to sound and speech, but they do not turn my hearing into “normal” hearing—and they do not automatically separate one student’s voice from every other sound in the room.

The hardest moments are usually not dramatic. They are the ordinary, repeated moments when a student speaks too softly or unclearly while chairs scrape, papers shuffle, the air conditioner runs, and another conversation starts nearby. I may hear that someone is talking without understanding every word.

Hearing sound is not the same as understanding speech

A cochlear implant sends sound information to my brain, and my brain has to make sense of it. In a quiet conversation with a person facing me, that can work very well. In a busy classroom, the same sentence has to compete with many other sounds.

This is one of the biggest misunderstandings about cochlear implants: access to sound is not perfect access to speech. I still use context, visual information, facial expressions, repetition, and good classroom routines. Some days my listening energy also runs out faster than people realize.

The challenge is not that my students have something unimportant to say. The challenge is making sure their words reach me clearly enough for me to respond well.

Competing sounds change the conversation

Classrooms are active places. That energy is a good thing, but overlapping voices make listening much harder. When one student speaks while classmates are talking, moving, or working in groups, all those sounds can arrive together. The student who is farthest away—or speaking while looking down—can disappear into the noise.

I do not want students to stop participating. I want them to learn communication habits that help everyone: get my attention, face the person they are addressing, speak clearly at an audible classroom volume, and allow one speaker at a time during whole-group discussion.

What helps in my classroom

• Get my attention first. A student can say my name, raise a hand, or use the routine we have established before beginning a question.
• Face me and speak clearly. I should not have to guess at words spoken toward the floor, a wall, or the back of the room.
• Use one voice at a time. This matters most during instructions, questions, and class discussions.
• Reduce unnecessary background noise. Closing a door, pausing side conversations, or waiting a moment for the room to settle can make a major difference.
• Caption every video. Captions are not an optional extra. They give me and my students reliable access to names, unfamiliar words, and dialogue that might otherwise be missed.
• Offer a written communication option. Students can use email or a school-approved messaging app when they need to explain a concern privately or when a spoken conversation is not working well.
• Repeat or rephrase without embarrassment. “I missed that—please say it again” is a normal part of communication, not a failure by the student or by me.

Accessibility is not special treatment

These practices help far more than one deaf teacher. Captions support students who are learning English, students processing unfamiliar vocabulary, and anyone watching in a noisy room. Clear turn-taking helps students who need more processing time. Written follow-up gives shy students and students with speech differences another way to be heard.

Good accessibility often looks like good teaching because it removes uncertainty. Students know how to ask for help. Important information is available in more than one form. No one has to pretend they understood something they missed.

What I need from colleagues and school leaders

The most useful support begins with a simple question: “What will make this conversation accessible?” In a meeting, that may mean captions, an agenda, a quieter seat, or one person speaking at a time. In the classroom, it may mean helping students practice clear communication instead of answering for them.

Please do not assume that my devices solve every listening problem. At the same time, do not assume that deafness makes me less capable of teaching. I know my students, my subject, and the routines that allow us to communicate successfully. Access lets me do that work without spending unnecessary energy filling in missing words.

Why I am sharing this

I am writing again as Professor Jeff, Deaf Educator because deaf educators and the people who work with us deserve practical, honest information. Teaching with cochlear implants includes challenge, adaptation, humor, fatigue, and many rewarding moments. It is not one neat inspirational story. It is a profession I care about and a life I continue to learn from.

What helps communication in your classroom? Share a strategy in the comments. If you prefer a private conversation, use the contact form on this site.

This post describes my personal experience. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people use different technologies, languages, and communication strategies, and no single experience represents everyone.

Deaf Teacher Happy As a Clam

 

When I first started teaching, there weren't many resources available for deaf teachers. I had to learn how to use sign language on my own, and I often felt like I was the only one who understood what it was like to be deaf in a hearing world.

But things have changed a lot in the past decade. There are now more deaf teachers than ever before, and there are a lot of resources available to help them succeed. I'm grateful for the progress that has been made, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

I've learned a lot about myself and about deaf education over the years. I've learned that I'm capable of anything I set my mind to, and I've learned that deaf children can achieve anything they want.

I've also learned that cochlear implants are a wonderful tool, but they're not a cure for deafness. They can help me hear, but they can't give me perfect hearing. I still have to rely on sign language and other forms of communication to get by.

But I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for the cochlear implant, and I'm grateful for the opportunities it has given me. I'm able to teach my students, and I'm able to communicate with my family and friends. I'm living a full and rewarding life, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

A Millon Thanks To AB

Yesterday was amazing- a technological miracle.

They say, "Art is worth a thousand words", but what about a video.  I am a technological miracle.  I was able to video tape my special moment to share with you. 

But first let me take you back five or so years. 

Five years ago, I woke up with sudden hearing loss.  I didn't have any sound in my left ear and barely anything in my right.  The reason was an infection.  Although, the doctors are not complete sure what the infection was since I was on some strong antibiotics.  I had to learn sign language and adjust job responsilibies to my job and family environment.  I tried hearing aids for about one year which were great but my hearing got worse.  

You may read more about my story here. World of Silence - My Story

Thanks to medical science Advanced Bionics gave me hearing back again in my left ear.  Watch this amazing first video.

Several years later I found the funds to implant and activate my right ear.  I know have two working ears.  Here are the videos from yesterday.  I am so blessed to have the support of my family and friends.  For those who are not sure cochlear implants are the best route I hope this inspires you.

 

10 Percent

Prior to surgery, I had about 10 percent of hearing left in my right ear.  My left cochlea was already dead from my 1st cochlear implant surgery, do to hear I must turn on my hearing device.  But, it was not easy hearing with one ear at 90 percent and other ear with only 10 percent.  I am amazed how well I did with just that amount.  Now, I am completely without sound in both ears when I don’t wear my left ear implant.  I will hear from both ears in a few weeks.  The only thing I was able to do better with the 10 percent was understand people’s lips.  

It was not easy saying goodbye to the 10 percent.   I was not sure what it would be like with absolutely no sound at all.  I know it will get better with time.   This causes some challenges for my family and friends.  One, if I am not wearing my devices you will have to write out on paper what you want to say or learn sign language. Two, be patient with me because this deaf world is still new to me since I have only been deaf for five years.  Finally, practice makes perfect so I need conversation.   I can’t wait to have hearing with my new bionic ears.

Fatherhood

Happy Fathers Day

How should we define fatherhood?  We live in a world where some fathers are not around emotionally or physically.  We have families where children have two mother’s.  Do those type of families lack something?  I guess it depends on your convictions and how you define family.  For me, I am progressive in my thinking and believe relationships based upon love and encouragement are more important than the gender of the parents. The male child of a singl mom can still develop into being a successful adult.  I don’t want to diminish the male figure but want to recognize there are many ways to have a healthy family.  

I want to talk about the traditional family unit, when a father and mother and children.  I want to define what I believe makes a father and child experience healthy.  Let me first say, that if you have a poor father image you need to seek healthy relationships to develop your character.  DONT PUT IT OFF.  There  are organizations to help you learn what it means to be a “man”.  Also, this is my interpretation of  manhood.  

Fatherhood, like motherhood, take courage, the courage to set aside our own agenda and spend time with our children.  Courage to to continue to evolve into a better person. Courage sets apart those men who are healthy fathers from those who are mediocre fathers.  What does courage look like?  As a father I am continually presented with opportunities to stop bad habits in the ways I interact with my children.  Courage says, “I am going to share my thoughts and feelings with my children so they know I am not perfect.”

Another characteristic of good fathering is encouragement.  We live in a negative world.  We hear horrible stories of death and destruction in books, TV, and movies.  Sometimes the bad seem to outweigh the positive stories.  But encouragement is deeper than positive talk.  Webster’s defines encouragement as, “the act of making something more appealing or more likely to happen”.  I believe a father can’t encourage unless he sets aside his own agenda or thinking to focus on his son or daughter.  Encouragement is telling your child(ren) that they need to pursue their passion even even if those interests are not what you would have chosen for them.  Even if your child is thinking of going into a career field that sounds crazy, or changes her religious or political convictions, you will still be there to encourage and support her.  

I saved the most important fatherly trait for last.  Can you guess what it is?  Well if you guessed comfort you are right.  If not, listen up.  Affection is very important. Children want to be held and hugged.  They want to know that affection will always be there.  You drop everything and offer your arms, hands, ears, and sometimes tears to be sympathetic.  Your job, as a father, is for your children to be able to say when you die, “He loved and bonded with me.”

I am a proud father, but more importantly I want to continue to grow as a father. It’s a never-ending process.

 

HAPPY ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY TO ME

“Silence is still golden.”  A few years ago from this month I woke up and sound was gone.  I lost my hearing permanently and without reason.  The only thing the doctors can think of was multiple ear infections.  I stopped asking the questions “Why me? What now? How?”  After wasted hours trying to find answers to those questions, I concluded that being deaf is not the worst situation I could face and that I needed to live with my soundless world.  I learned a lot about deafness from talking with my new online friends, reading other blogs, and reading books.  There are a lot of stories similar to mine, and some that are much worse.  I had my hearing for forty years, and I’m thankful for that.  I missed the sound of rain, even the sound of the toilet flushing, and the whisper of my wife’s voice in bed.  We take sound for granted.  We are so busy talking or busy with our electronic devices that we block out the sounds of the larger world around us.

Hearing aids are a deaf person’s best friend.  The newer, smaller hearing aids are amazing, allowing you to stream wireless devices directly.  Hearing aids are available to those with slight to severe hearing loss.  I wore hearing aids for four months, until my hearing loss grew worse and their effectiveness declined. 

Thanks be to God for the next best thing – cochlear Implants.  I was implanted on November 1, 2013, and three weeks later my electrode, the device inside your cochlea, was turned on.  WOW!  The difference was incredible.  I adapted quickly to the new technology and now have hearing that is as close to normal as possible.

I do have a few advantages over hearing people:

1. In a loud environment hearing people struggle to block out sounds.  My implant allows me to focus on one voice and diminish others. 

2. You have to put in earplugs to block out loud, annoying sounds like a dog barking, loud music, or crying babies.  I just take off my cochlear implant and silence is back.

3. You have to put something in your ears to hear music.  I just Bluetooth my music to my ear.  Convenient.

4. I don’t need to argue with my wife and kids anymore because I can unplug.  You can’t.

 

I am fortunate to have been without hearing for a short period of time.  I am thankful I found Advanced Bionics, who manufactured my cochlear implant, as well as a trustworthy doctor.