The Possibility of Hearing After Being Deaf All Your Life

nobody@vox.com(Amp It Up!) — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:53:13 -0700

I just watched a documentary about a long-married couple, who, having both been deaf since birth, decided to get cochlear implants at the age of 65.

Talk about amplifying possibility into reality.

The husband adapted more readily than the wife, primarily because he was less attached to the outcome. He thought, what have a I got to lose? I can always go back to being deaf.

His wife had higher expectations. She wanted to understand everything she heard right away. She thought if she turned up her implant all the way, somehow the sounds she was hearing would make sense to her.

Instead, they just gave her a headache.

A year after having the implants, both of them had figured out the role they wanted sound to play in their lives. They had unraveled some of its mysteries, and they had discarded some of its features.

But mostly, they had learned how to support each other through the process. They paced each other so that neither would get left behind.

Ultimately, these are the lessons we learn when we try something new. And our attachment or detachment from the end result will make the process easier or harder for us.

What I learned from watching this documentary is that if you want to make significant change in your life--if you want the possibility of hearing after being deaf your whole life--then you must take a risk; you must accept and weather it's consequences; and you must let go of your expectations and let the universe do its work.

And it doesn't hurt to have someone who loves you nearby.

Love and possibility! --Kim

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