Voices of Deafness Transcript Ken Levinson, 53, Former Executive Director, The Children's Hearing Institute "About 25 years ago, I had a drop in my hearing, so I could no longer use a hearing aid, and we decided that the technology was ready by then and I wanted the sound back. I was without sound for about 14 years and I really wanted that sound back ... The first sound I ever heard with the cochlear implant was really a lot of noise, but that was when I was first hooked up, and I think the first sound I clearly remember that was different from anything else that I'd heard before was probably a bird chirping. I'd never heard the bird chirp and with the implant, I was able to hear that ... When I first got the cochlear implant, I wasn't sure what direction it was gonna go in, but since I've gotten it, I've been more than delighted with it. I've had very positive experiences. When I'm in a store or I'm with some people, and I start walking away and my back is to them, and they say "Have a nice day," I hear it. And I'm able to turn to them and say, "You, too." Rather than walking out of there, and they're thinking I'm an idiot and I didn't respond and they say, "And yeah, and you, too, buddy." Back to Voices Main Page