Contributors | Pindrop Foundation

Two cochlear implants gave me my life back

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 05:57:43 +1200

Catherine Wolicki: Community Hospice Nurse Catherine was on the verge of walking away from her beloved nursing career before she received her first cochlear implant last year. She has lived with progressive hearing loss her whole life and relied on hearing aids and lip-reading until these...

Life with two cochlear implants

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 05:42:35 +1200

Richard Milne: Farmer Richard Milne, a farmer from South Taranaki has lived with hearing loss his whole life. My father decided that I wouldn’t have a hearing aid because of the stigma around being deaf back then. The technology was in its infancy and did not work that well...

Two ears are better than one

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 05:38:17 +1200

Josie Calcott: Care Manager and Registered Nurse Nurse and mother of three, Josie Calcott has spent her professional and personal life caring for others. Despite being profoundly deaf from the age of two after contracting chicken pox and relying on hearing aids and lip reading,...

My life as a cochlear implant surgeon

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 05:55:19 +1200

Well, I was born in Wellington on the 13th March 1944 to Bill and Jeanette Baber but 6 months later, Dad was transferred to Auckland as a psychiatrist, during the war. Mum was a professional musician, teaching piano and singing. I had 2 sisters, one older by 3 years and the other...

Communication tips during the festive season for cochlear implant users

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 11:04:02 +1200

It’s that time of year again, where the excitement is building, and plans are being made for Christmas get-togethers and celebrations. It’s a wonderful time for many, with the opportunity to have a holiday and reconnect with family and friends. The team here at Pindrop...

Face masks: The challenges of communication with hearing loss

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 11:14:25 +1200

So if it weren’t for having cochlear implants I would not be at work this week or next week. Since going into level two, this time around we have to wear masks. So everyone in the hospital is wearing masks. With two hearing aids that would be like working in a pitch dark room....

A few days in the life of Cabby Keyte, a cochlear implant user

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 17:03:50 +1200

These are the days in my CI life. Monday It’s AGM time at the local ladies club and I’m looking forward to it. I’m on the committee, something I wouldn’t have even considered before my CI, let alone going to a meeting. Meetings were intolerable:...

My Sounds of Life Experience, by Aynsley Staessens

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 15:45:20 +1200

On Friday 10 th June, my hubby and I navigated our way through the Auckland afternoon motorway traffic to arrive at the Sound of Life photo exhibition launch at The Thievery Studio on K-Road. The photos taken by Lara from Soul Sisters were outstanding. I had comments...

The Sounds of Life Launch Night

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:23:13 +1200

I was then greeted by another couple of cheerful faces, one I had met at a previous meeting, and who is also one of the faces in the photo exhibition. I was handed a glass of wine and was delighted to look around the room and sight several Cochlear Implants behind some ears! ...

My Boating Experience by Laurie Barber

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:16:21 +1200

I wanted to share an experience I had recently on my first solo travel expedition post implant. I was asked by a friend to come and cruise on his launch for 7 days in Marlborough Sounds. The worry for me was getting there- through the airport ad all the drama involved with self check in...

CI Team Meeting with Annette King by Josie Calcott

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 12:19:08 +1200

SUMMARY OF OUR CI TEAM MEETING WITH ANNETTE KING: by Josie Calcott In response to Lyn Polwart's letter sent at the end of last year, a meeting was set up with Annette King in her Wellington office on Thursday 18 February. Lyn, Karel and I flew down and introduced...

Laurie's Story

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 08:23:24 +1200

BEFORE: My hearing loss became extremely noticeable to everyone except me. One needs to realise and accept the disability and I did not for many years. I bumbled through and learnt to lip read. The hurt and humiliation is unimaginable to most and the damage to a marriage can...

My Story: by Raewyn Moffitt

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 16:44:01 +1200

I was first diagnosed with sensory neural hearing loss at the age of 17, and apart from my mum using a hearing aid in her fifties, my dad and three siblings all had very sharp hearing; so I lived in a...

My Journey with deafness, by Donna Smith

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 14:30:49 +1200

Hello, I’m Donna Smith When I'm using the word deaf it is with small ‘d’. The word Deaf with a big ‘D’ is embraced by the Deaf community who communicate using sign. Deafness is one of the most common disabilities worldwide....

Switch on! It’s magic! It’s immediate! It’s fun! It’s wondrous!

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:20:51 +1200

I was grieving for the loss of my hearing but also for the loss of my personality. I can’t tell you the joy I experienced to know that I was to get a cochlear implant. The news came a few days before my birthday in 2013 and I was switched on two months later. Switch on!...