The Northeast Cochlear Implant Convention 2013 is coming up next week, being held at the Holiday Inn, in Boxborough, Massachusetts on July 26-28. This year, I am one of the presenters - doing a session on bilateral cochlear implants on Sunday, July 28 at 9 AM, and also doing a booksigning on Saturday, July 27 at 4:30 PM.
The history of this convention runs deep for me - I was at the very first one, held in June of 1997, researching my own cochlear implant options. I wasn't alone, either - it was there that I met many of what became a close-knit group of "first generation" cochlear implant users. We weren't exactly pioneers, but cochlear implants weren't exactly commonplace yet either.
Those were the days when you had to have very little hearing left to qualify - about 20% using hearing aids. I didn't have to worry, though - my hearing at that point was just 8% in my "better" ear. I met people like myself, researching their options - and I also met people who had already gotten their CI's. I didn't have to be sold, though - I was desperate - my long journey from normal to profound deafness had reached its ultimate destination.
I made a return visit to this convention in 2001, to sign copies of my first book, Hear Again - Back to Life with a Cochlear Implant. And now, in 2013, I'm looking forward to talking about bilateral cochlear implants, and also signing copies of my second book, Listening Closely: A Journey to Bilateral Hearing.
I have to smile at the thought of returning to my "alma mater" once again this year, as a member of its original graduating class.
