Welcome back to the All About Audiology podcast. I’m your host Dr. Lilach Saperstein. In this episode we’re going to be talking all about Cochlear Implants. As you know, the reason I make this show is to spread information, support and guidance around everything that has to do with your journey in audiology; hearing, hearing loss, hearing aids, cochlear implants, sign language. What are the decisions that need to be made when you get a diagnosis or someone you know is dealing with hearing loss or navigating any of this. So the reason I’m making this episode is because there are so many myths about cochlear implants out there, just misinformation and things that people don’t really understand about the whole process.

So today I have invited Valli Gideons from mybattlecall.com, a mother of two children who have cochlear implants, who is a writer, who’s an advocate, who talks a lot about their journey. I’ve invited her onto the show to share some of that with us. And then also included in the show notes, a link to an article that I’ve written about the common myths and misconceptions around cochlear implants, such as cochlear implants restore hearing and cure deafness, cochlear implants are easy to use, cochlear implants will work instantaneously like flipping on a magic switch. I’m very passionate about this topic and spreading the information to the people that need to hear it. So if you are making a decision for yourself or your child or a loved one about the cochlear implant, it’s really important to be empowered, that means that you know what is coming, that you have information about the process and that you can be a really good advocate for yourself or your child. So you can go and read that article on the blog at allaboutaudiology.com and in the show notes you’ll have a link for that.

So let’s jump into the interview with Valli Gideons, a military bride who writes about raising kids with hearing loss, military life and other stories from the heart. She has a degree in journalism and wrote her first short story in second grade. She has co-written a children’s book with her twelve year old daughter about their hearing loss journey and is looking to get it published. You can find her on mybattlecall.com and on Facebook and on Instagram on the same name, mybattlecall. So welcome Valli.

Dr. Saperstein: “Welcome Valli to the All About Audiology podcast. I’m so glad you are here. You have a lot of experience to share and a lot of words of wisdom, so why don’t you start by introducing yourself.”

Valli: “Thank you so much. I’m so happy to be here. My name is Valli Gideons and I’m a mother of two children with cochlear implants. I’m an advocate, a writer and I’m married to a career marine so I’m also a military bride and I write about the perspective of raising children also with special needs, but in a military family which is kind of unique.”

LS: “Wow, that’s a lot of different moving parts and challenges.”

Valli: “Moving being the key word.”

LS: “Yeah, how many places have you lived?”

Valli: “We are getting ready to celebrate our 24th year of marriage and we have moved ten times.”