Helping Sam Hear: A Family's Journey - Chapter Four: Breaking the Silence

It was the day before Sam's implant was activated and, like most days in the month after Sam's surgery, I spent the drive home from work imagining the moment our son would hear us for the first time. Halfway through the trip, "Here Comes the Sun" came on the radio as if cued by my daydream, bringing me to tears.

Although the big event was less dramatic than the Beatles-accompanied scenario scripted in my head, my wife and I were thrilled. The day marked a new beginning for Sam.

At 13 months old, Sam was "born" into the hearing world. While his progress will be incremental like a newborn's, each step will require extra time and effort. Still, helping Sam learn to use his implant hardly seems like sacrifice. Our days are filled with rewards, from watching him turn toward a noise at home to hearing him mimic a new sound during therapy.

Awaiting a New Beginning

The time passed quickly between Sam's surgery and the day his implant was activated. Since Sam was back to himself so soon after the operation, we held his first birthday party the following weekend. Our family sang "Happy Birthday" to Sam and, as he tried his first taste of cake, I thought about how it might be the last time we sang a song Sam couldn't hear.

Even as we pondered all of our hopes for life after activation, some concerns crept in. Teresa worried that introducing such a profound change to Sam's world might impact his personality. Sam had been happy and adventurous in his first year, a smiling little bulldozer. Would sound be an unsettling intrusion? We worried that he'd become irritable, introverted, or not himself in some other way.

As the day approached to activate his implant, we became more focused on practical matters. We needed to learn how to use and care for the implant components and make arrangements for our older son, Jack, on activation day and during the therapy sessions that would follow.

The Big Day

On activation day, Sam was in a chair at the hospital with his implant hooked to a computer for calibration. We were beside him anxiously waiting for the chance to speak to him. When the audiologist let us know the big moment was upon us, the room fell silent.

Once the implant was on, Teresa and I took turns saying things like "Hi, Sam!" and "Notice anything different?" Time passed without a notable reaction, and Sam remained focused on playing as the audiologist clapped loudly behind his head.

While there was no immediate payoff, we left the hospital smiling. Sam wore an earpiece with a wire that disappeared into his shirt to a battery pack below. Another wire connected the earpiece to a quarter-sized circle on the back of his head, linked magnetically to the implant inside. The equipment was an outward reminder of something incredible: Our deaf son was given the ability to hear.

Sam's First Sounds

Sound was new to Sam, so the implant was set at a whisper to avoid upsetting him. From there, we were told to adjust it higher over the next week through a series of four increasingly powerful programs until Sam's first "mapping" appointment, where the audiologist checked and reprogrammed the implant.