‘The results were so life-changing and wonderful’

When the first cochlear implant was introduced in 1972, it was a revolution in treating hearing loss. Forty years later that revolution hit very close to home for Mount Horeb resident Rosemary Sutter.

Sutter, now 85 years old, suffered progressive hearing loss due to age and a lifetime of working around loud farm machinery. In 2012, she had surgery to install the cochlear implant, and her life changed for the better.

“I lost my hearing for a couple of years,” Sutter says. “I used hearing aids for about a year, but then they quit working. So my doctor suggested the implant. My daughter was with me at the time and sensed my uncertainty, so the doctor left us alone to discuss it. My daughter pointed out that, as things were, she and my other children could talk about me with me in the room. So I decided to go ahead. Dr. Samuel Gubbels then performed the surgery in Madison.”

The operation took two hours, with another hour in recovery. But even with the hardware installed, the software—Sutter’s brain—had to be upgraded to deal with this new input.

“It took one month for the surgery site to heal,” she says, referring to the placement of the receiver/stimulator under the skin behind the ear. “Then I was given the attachment,” she adds, meaning the sound processor that picks up signals from the visible external microphone. But this was only the beginning of the process.

“At first, everyone sounded like Alvin and the Chipmunks,” Sutter says. “And I kept hearing an electrical sparking noise, so my husband and I spent three days looking for the defective outlet, afraid the house was about to burn down. Then we realized I was actually hearing the electric ticking of the wall clock!”

Part of the recovery involved special games on the computer, retraining her brain to recognize sounds delivered through this new technology. It took, she recalls, another six months to learn how to interpret the information—to, in fact, learn to “hear” again. Voices did not sound the same to her; they sounded more mechanical and artificial. “But now I can tell my kids’ voices apart,” she says.

There are, of course, limitations. “The most disappointing part is that it’s not good with music, especially modern music, where all I can hear are the drums. But I can still listen to classical music.”

Asked how she would characterize the implant, she said, “It’s scary to think about the surgery, but the results were so life-changing and wonderful.”

For those interested in learning more, Sutter recommends the Madison chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) which meets at the New Heights Lutheran Church in Black Earth.

“At these meetings, various perspectives are presented and people are allowed to ask questions,” Sutter says. “At one meeting we had a policeman come in who discussed how to deal with compliance if you’re pulled over. Another time, a 17-year-old boy asked if getting the implant meant he’d have to give up sports and swimming. He was assured he’d be able to continue his normal lifestyle.”

The organization can be reached through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/HLAAMadisonChapter.