CochlearWorld.com

While working on CochlearWorld.com over the past couple of months, I have noticed that a lot of the cochlear implant resources on the internet are targeted at one of two things: helping people who are trying to solve a particular problem related to their cochlear implant, and/or providing basic educational information about cochlear implants. That is the kind of thing that I love about the the internet. It is truly magical that you can have a discussion about a speech therapy support issue in Dallas at 2AM on a Saturday and find out on Sunday that three people in Europe are facing the same issue. Still, I have the feeling that fewer resources are dedicated to documenting the amazing positive impact that cochlear implants are having on people’s lives. A notable exception are several great cochlear implant blogs (Toes comes to mind).

So, I have an idea for a project – let’s build a collection of all the most wonderful cochlear implant success stories from across the globe.

There are some stories collected here and there, but I have yet to find a really comprehensive and growing repository.

I will never forget the first time I walked into the Callier Center in Dallas. Up to that time in my life, I had limited contact with the deaf community. My three-year-old daughter had been deaf for 1 month, and I knew very little about cochlear implants. I felt sorry for myself and my daughter. I remember that audiologist (Jennifer) talking to me about cochlear implant technology and telling me that “everything would be OK.” The thing that stands out in my mind are the stories she told about a 1st-chair violinist and a highschool tennis champion – both with a cochlear implant. I knew that if other people were having success with this technology that we could too. The stories made it real.

So, I have created a new forum dedicated to great stories about how cochlear implant technology is making the world better.

I am imagining at least two kinds of contributions there – original stories that have yet to be told and links to or reprints of stories that are already published.

Visit the Cochlear Implant Stories area of the CochlearWorld.com Cochlear Implant Forums and tell your story today!

Also, leave me some feedback on this post, and tell me what you think.