When Cochlear Korea launched a nation-wide competition asking recipients to share stories and artworks about their experiences with the latest Cochlear technology, the response was overwhelming. More than 40 stories, including narratives, poems, sketches and photographs, have been showcased in a book which brings to life the personal experiences of people who recently upgraded to a Cochlear™ Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor.
Increasing Awareness
The initial aim of the project was to increase awareness about cochlear implants and surface recipients’ real-life experiences with Nucleus 7 systems and how their daily lives are affected.
What surfaced were deeply personal stories and images about their experiences reconnecting with family and friends, enjoying music again and understanding conversations in noisy restaurants. For many, it was about having the courage to try new things, thanks to the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor1 and its features.
The stories were so impactful, Cochlear Korea has distributed more than 1,000 copies of the books to hospitals, rehabilitation centers, via social media and other online communities, and organizations, such as Snail of Love, a foundation that supports people with hearing loss.
“’Happiness’ has been placed behind the ears”
Sooyeon, a music teacher who has regained her passion for music, says she stayed up all night streaming music to her new Nucleus 7 Sound Processor.
“Most people say that happiness is very close to your heart. For me, my ‘happiness’ has been placed behind the ears,” writes Sooyeon in her story titled If you asked me where happiness comes from.
In a story titled My new friend, Nucleus 7, Gil Sun recounts how the ForwardFocus2 feature makes dining out much more fun, “A friend of mine who has healthy ears sometimes tells me to speak loudly, saying that she can’t understand what I say in noisy places, but I am able to hear her better no matter where I am through ForwardFocus.”
ForwardFocus is a user-activated feature controlled by the Nucleus Smart App3, which helps you hear better in challenging listening environments. When switched on, ForwardFocus reduces distracting noise coming from behind a person, so they can more easily enjoy a face-to-face conversation.
“It may seem like a minor change, but as this happens frequently in everyday life, I am getting more and more confident in communicating and working with people,” says Gil Sun.
Connecting with family was a big theme for many. Teenager EunSuh writes, “N7’s biggest gift is the most beautiful voice in the world. It is the voice of my parents who bore and raised me. Now I can speak two words very clearly: ‘Thank you. I love you.’”
Find more about the benefits of the Nucleus 7 sound processor here
- The Cochlear Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with Apple® and Android™ devices. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility
- ForwardFocus can only be enabled by a hearing implant specialist. It should only be activated for users 12 years and older who are able to reliably provide feedback on sound quality and understand how to use the feature when moving to different or changing environments. It may be possible to have decreased speech understanding when using ForwardFocus in a quiet environment.
- The Cochlear Nucleus Smart App is available on App Store and Google Play. For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility
