Addy was born with single-sided deafness – her parents and doctors unable to find a diagnosis, conceded to a virus during pregnancy. What began as a casual conversation with her sister led to a new hearing solution and a new way of life: the Cochlear™ Osia® System. Her new hearing solution not only improved how Addy hears, but how she engages with the world around her. Read her story below:
“I was born deaf in my right ear. My parents did a lot of diagnostic and genetic testing when I was a baby, but my doctors could not find a cause for the deafness. I received a CT, and it showed that the anatomy of my inner ear is completely normal, which surprised me. My ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor told me the most likely case is that my mom got a virus during her pregnancy with me which probably caused my hearing loss.
Single-sided deafness as a child
There were not a lot of hearing device options for me when I was a child, but I did use an amplification device throughout elementary and part of middle school. This didn’t help my deaf ear; it just amplified the sound coming into my left ear. During middle school, I decided to stop using the amplification device. This made it easier to hear my teachers, but didn’t help the fact that I couldn’t hear people on my right side very well.
I honestly just wanted to be considered ‘normal’, and I was sick of people asking what was wrong with me. Looking back on this, it makes me sad that I cared so much about what people thought of me. It was hard because it was something I was so insecure about, and our society doesn’t exactly make it easy to be a person with a disability. I think a big part of this was surrounding the fact that I didn’t grow up around many people who had disabilities, so it made it hard for me to want to share this with friends and children at school. No one else really understood what I was going through and it wasn’t easy to bring up in conversation. I have always been able to hear well enough because my left ear has perfectly good hearing. Although I wasn’t using the amplification device anymore, I was still able to do everything all the other children could do, just with some slight obstacles.
A solution provided by my sister
This past summer, my younger sister brought up the fact that she had seen someone who had single-sided deafness12and had received a cochlear implant. I had no idea that people with single-sided deafness could receive cochlear implants, so I made an appointment with an audiologist to look into this. After meeting with my audiologist and ENT, I ended up deciding to schedule surgery to receive the Osia System – which is actually a bone conduction solution3. It is crazy to think that I had the surgery four months ago now when less than a year ago I didn’t even know there were options like the Osia System available for me out there.
I decided to move forward with the Osia System because I decided that life is simply too short to care about what other people think of me for being deaf. I wanted a device that was going to give me a step up so that I could hear people better from my right side; so, I didn’t have to worry so much about where I am sitting at a table so that people are talking to me from my left side. I always had such a hard time talking about my disability and deciding to get this surgery gave me the courage to feel more open talking about it.
Benefits of the Osia System and confidence gained
I have seen tremendous benefits from using the Cochlear™ Osia® 2 Sound Processor. I don’t have to strain to hear people talking to me from my right side, especially in loud environments. I don’t have to worry about where I have to sit in class or at a restaurant because the Osia Sound Processor helps me to be able to hear.
I have also enjoyed the Bluetooth® capabilities of the Osia Sound Processor. For the first time in my life, I can listen to music and also hear people around me. Since I can only hear out of one ear, listening to music with AirPods® in makes it really hard to hear what is going on around me. With the Osia Sound Processor, I can play music from my phone4 and hear the sounds happening around me.
A few hobbies of mine are going for walks, reading mystery books, going to country concerts, trying new restaurants with friends and spending time at my cabin. The Osia System has helped me be able to hear my friends better in social settings. I like to go for walks with friends, and now I don’t have to worry about which side I am standing on so I can hear them.
I have previously volunteered for Creighton’s Dance Marathon which raised money for Children’s Nebraska, and this is something I am very proud of. I worked at the bookstore on campus and at a nursing home as well. Although I have always been able to competently do my job with my single-sided hearing, having the Osia System has helped me be able to hear much easier while at work and school.
An outlook on the future, and giving back to the hearing loss community
I just finished my last semester of nursing school and graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing this past May. I have now moved back home to Minnesota and will be starting my first nursing job on the oncology unit at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Oncology has a very special place in my heart, and I am honored that I will get the opportunity to take care of these patients.
I believe that sharing my story is important and that it will hopefully reach someone like me who didn’t know all these options were available to help their hearing. I hope to be an advocate for people like me out there who are dealing with single-sided deafness.
A message to others with hearing loss
If there is someone out there reading this who is in the same position as me, I hope my story gives you the strength to feel comfortable in your disability and know that it is OK to be unique. The obstacles we face because of our hearing loss only make us stronger and more kind-hearted people.”
If you experience single-sided deafness like Addy, the Osia System may be a solution that can help.Learn about the Osia System by visiting our website today.
5
6
7
- Cochlear implants are FDA approved for those with moderate to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and for those with UHL/SSD.UHL is classified as hearing loss in one ear and near to near-normal hearing in the opposite ear, and SSD is specific to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss in one ear and normal or near-normal hearing in the other ear.
- The Cochlear Nucleus cochlear implant system is indicated for individuals with unilateral hearing loss who are 5 years or older and have one ear with a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss and obtain limited benefit from an appropriately fitted unilateral hearing device and one ear with normal or near normal hearing.
- In the United States and Canada, the Osia System is indicated for children ages five and older. Patients should have sufficient bone quality and quantity to support successful implant placement. Surgery is required to use this product. Any surgical procedure carries risk.
- For a full list of smartphone and app compatible devices, visit: www.cochlear.com/compatibility.
- The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Cochlear is under license.
- Airpods are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
- © 2025 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a not-for-profit, section 501(c)(3)
