Meet Glenda Froyland

Enjoying life in surround sound

"My other ear was no longer just a place to put earrings!"

At 50 years young, Glenda Froyland works as a teacher's aide at a state high school, where she provides learning support for the Special Education Unit. Married to Ian with three grown up children, Glenda tells us about her journey with bilateral cochlear implants.

I received my first cochlear implant in my left side in August 2006. I had great success! It was absolutely amazing to hear voices, understand people speaking and use the telephone again.

By the next year, I was seriously considering getting my right ear implanted. This was a difficult decision - and I have to admit I had reservations...mostly because my right ear had been profoundly deaf for over twenty years and I figured the rehabilitation would be a long, winding road.

My audiologist explained the pros and cons of binaural hearing and in June 2007, I took the plunge. I am so incredibly grateful that I made the decision. To my amazement, I was able to understand speech immediately after switch-on, which is truly unbelievable considering I'd been profoundly deaf in that ear for over 20 years.

The most obvious benefit for me was in noisy environments, where my hearing tested 30% better! The benefits were also obvious in my daily work - I no longer come home fatigued at the end of the day.

Not long after my second implant, it was my daughter's wedding. At the reception there was a band in the background and normally this would have made conversation difficult. But by using my SmartSound^TM 2 Noise program on my processor, I was able to talk to people and enjoy the music at the same time! WOW!

And I'm starting to appreciate music again - mostly the songs I was familiar with before losing my hearing. It's so good to enjoy Country and Western music again.

Having a second implant has far, far exceeded my expectations.

Speech sounds fuller and rounder with two ears. The sound seems more real; so much clearer and with more depth.

I can pick up the direction of sound now too - something I could never do with one implant. If I hear a siren, I no longer need to look around to work out where it's coming from. I just know. The safety aspect for me is a very big thing.

Life in general is wonderful - at work, at home and socially. I'm an independent person once again, actively participating in life with very few challenges.

I am what I am, and I consider myself a very blessed person.