Meet Katie Roth

College student Katie Roth felt something was missing. She knew her hearing aids weren't picking up enough sound. Now her only regret is waiting so long for an implant.

Katie was a stubborn, independent child. She was born deaf, but insisted on being mainstreamed into a normal-hearing school with normal-hearing kids. Growing up, Katie had an oral deaf education and, with the help of hearing aids, quickly learned how to use the spoken language and lip-read. She worked hard to prove she could talk and learn normally.

After high school, Katie went to a private liberal arts college. Her freshman year was overwhelming. In class, she tended to miss what was being taught, and found it hard to lip-read the professors. She had to become dependent on interpreters that signed in exact English.

I had a great support system, but still I felt something was missing. I knew the hearing aids were not picking up much sound. I felt too deaf with sign language interpreters, having grown up in a hearing world. I still wanted to be able to hear on my own and not be dependent on others, Katie explains.

That's when friends started talking to Katie about a cochlear implant. With their encouragement, she decided to give one a try.

During the first three months with a cochlear implant, I was in the absolute dark about what I was hearing. All I could feel was vibration sensations. Not having heard sound my whole life, my brain was trying to figure out what sound was, says Katie. I admit, at first I depended upon my hearing aid in the other ear. Then I stopped wearing the hearing aid and started relying on my CI. Thats when my brain just clicked on and I heard sounds. It was amazing! The more I wore the implant on its own, the more my brain became used to the sounds.

When asked if she has any advice for others, this is what Katie has to say:
With the implant, I am experiencing my life in a whole different light and am amazed how many sounds I pick up. I strongly encourage deaf people to go ahead and get a cochlear implant. My biggest regret right now is that I didn't get one sooner.