Chrissy F.
Parent – Baha® 5 Attract, Unilateral
My son, Alex, plays in his school’s performing arts music program.
Home » Connect with a mentor
Select from the mentors below and fill out a form. One of our mentors will respond as soon as they can!
Please be aware that Cochlear may connect you with a different mentor if the mentor you are currently trying to connect with is unavailable and that any correspondence between you and a mentor may be shared with Cochlear’s Volunteer Engagement Team.
No volunteers match the criteria.
Parent – Baha® 5 Attract, Unilateral
My son, Alex, plays in his school’s performing arts music program.
Osia® 1 Sound Processor – Unilateral
In addition to being outdoors I love to volunteer and help others in the hard-of-hearing/deaf community.
Nucleus® Kanso 2 System – Unilateral
My passion is helping people, so I share my experience with as many people as I can.
Nucleus® 7 Sound Processors – Bilateral
My CI’s are truly a gift that I appreciate every day! I love helping others along their own CI journey!
Nucleus® 7 Hybrid™ System*- Bimodal
I enjoy sharing my experience with others.
Nucleus® 6 System, Bilateral
I’ve had Cochlear™ implants for thirty years, ten years bilateral. I love going to concerts and listening to music.
Nucleus® 7 Sound Processors – Bilateral
I like to help others going through this similar situation by passing on the knowledge and experiences I have gained.
Language: English
Parent – Baha® 5 Attract, Unilateral | Single-sided cholesteatoma
My son, Alex, plays in his school’s performing arts music program.
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
A quick summary about Chrissy F.
My name is Chrissy, and my son, Alex, wears a Baha® 5 Attract System. When he was two, we learned that he had a unilateral cholesteatoma that caused severe damage to his hearing. When he was 9 years old, he tried a Baha demo in the Audiologist’s office and wanted it immediately. We moved forward with the Baha System shortly after that, and he has done very well with it. Today, Alex is enrolled in all advanced classes and active in his school marching band. He is passionate about a future in music and hopes to join a college with a music program. He is a strong, proud kid that embraces his situation and makes the very best of it. My advice to parents with children with hearing loss is to keep a positive attitude and teach your child to know that they are special and unique. If you do these things, they will thrive. Alex and I are both here to help with questions on your family’s hearing journey.
Language: English
Osia® 1 Sound Processor – Unilateral
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
In addition to being outdoors I love to volunteer and help others in the hard-of-hearing/deaf community.
A quick summary about Shelley J.
My moderately severe conductive hearing loss (when sounds cannot get through the outer and middle ear) started as a child due to chronic ear infections in my right ear. During the height of the nationwide lock down from COVID-19, I decided to proceed with Osia® System that had just been approved by the FDA and I was implanted in August 2020.
I enjoy walking outdoors and with the Osia 2 listening to the sounds of nature that I had missed the majority of my life. In addition to being outdoors I love to volunteer and help others in the hard-of-hearing/deaf community.
Language: English
Nucleus® Kanso™ 2 Sound Processor – Unilateral
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
My passion is helping people, so I share my experience with as many people as I can.
A quick summary about Sheiladawn F.
I lost my hearing overnight in 2003 due to an infection I contracted from an airbag. I felt so much frustration, exclusion and isolation due to only being able to communicate by reading lips. That all ended when I made the decision in 2010 to get my Cochlear™ Implant, which I call “Gracee” (YES, I named it). It has been such a blessing for me. My passion is helping people, so I share my experience with as many people as I can, and honestly, I can say I do that at least once a week.
In 2017 I became a registered private investigator in Texas. Besides helping others in their hearing journey, I love to travel and shop.
Language: English
Nucleus® 7 Sound Processors – Bilateral
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
My CI’s are truly a gift that I appreciate every day! I love helping others along their own CI journey!
A quick summary about Robin C. S.
My story began back in the early 1980’s when I realized that I was not hearing as I should. Following a hearing evaluation, I started wearing hearing aids, which were upgraded every few years. My hearing loss was gradual, but in 2009, my right ear lost all hearing. It was a very difficult time, and I became isolated and depressed. Upon hearing about the availability of Cochlear™ Implants (CI’s) from my hearing aid audiologist, I went for an evaluation and was excited about the opportunity to be able to hear again.
I received my first CI in February 2010 and wore a hearing aid (HA) in the other ear. But the HA ear also gradually worsened, so in Jan. 2012 I received my second CI and became bilateral. With listening practice, time, patience and audiology appointments, my CI’s changed my life immeasurably such that I became confident, engaged again in life’s activities, a successful career, talking with family and friends, riding and showing my horses, volunteering, going to movies and out to eat, talking on the phone easily and wirelessly and enjoying music again.
I have a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a successful career in the mental healthcare field. I have been an active volunteer and mentor with Cochlear since 2011. That same year I started and have been facilitating a local Cochlear support group here in the Atlanta area. My CI’s are truly a gift that I appreciate every day! I love helping others along their own CI journey!
Read more on my blog: https://hearandnow.cochlearamericas.com/hearing-solutions/cochlear-implants/horseback-rider-with-hearing-loss-gets-back-in-the-saddle-with-cochlear-implants
Language: English
Nucleus® 7 Hybrid™ Implant System* & ReSound Hearing Aid- Bimodal
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
I enjoy sharing my experience with others in support of their hearing journeys.
A quick summary about Susan H.
My hearing journey began after I experienced a severe viral infection. I remember not being able to hear the phone ring and realizing something was wrong. Shortly after, I got hearing aids and went on with my life. I didn’t realize my hearing loss would be progressive, dropping unpredictably through the next years until hearing aids were no longer effective. I struggled with my career and hearing my daughter, as well as most women’s and children’s voices. Men’s voices came next and I couldn’t function professionally. I was losing my career and my relationships were suffering, I was devastated. I learned about the Hybrid™ implant system through a friend, went in for an assessment and sometime later I scheduled the procedure. My sister shed tears of joy at my activation, and my family was thrilled. Although it took time, I could communicate with them again, and life got a lot more pleasant for all of us! I felt like I’d been given my life back.
I found a mentor early on in my hearing journey. She was tremendously helpful, and we remain friends today. I mentor others because this is a difficult journey and I don’t want anyone to go through it alone. My advice to others considering this type of hearing solution: Reach out, don’t try to go it alone. The fears and concerns you’re having are likely the same as we all had!
* The Acoustic Component should only be used when behavioral audiometric thresholds can be obtained and the recipient can provide feedback regarding sound quality. The Hybrid L24 Implant is approved in the US for adults ages 18 and older for unilateral use only.
Language: English
Kanso® 2 System, Bilateral
I’ve had Cochlear™ implants for thirty years, ten years bilateral. I love going to concerts and listening to music.
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
A quick summary about Margo K.
I’m Margo. My hearing challenges began when I was two years old after a car accident. I’d lost all hearing in my left ear and part of my hearing in my right ear. When I was 21 I received my first hearing aid for my right ear. At 25 a virus took what remained of my hearing. I was married with a one-year old son and suddenly my world became silent. It was traumatic. My biggest concern was whether I would be able to be a good mom to our son and wife to my husband. Our family adapted and grew. Some of my biggest challenges were constant fatigue due to the effort it took to communicate. In 1989, I received my first Cochlear™ implant (CI). My children were 5, 7, 9, and 12, and they became my teachers helping me learn to identify sounds. As I began to understand what was being said, my family and friends were very happy. I no longer struggled to communicate. I remember my 12-year-old son telling me “Now I can tell you anything Mom”.
In 2008, I received a Cochlear implant in my other ear, which had lived in silence for 54 years. My world of sound became richer and more vibrant compared to having only one CI ear. I was thrilled as it meant the new CI ear had the potential to learn to hear. The hearing journey took a bit longer for my second ear and required more effort and perseverance but, it was well worth the effort.
The biggest pieces of advice I like to give people with hearing loss in those early months after getting their CIs are the P words. Patience, practice, perseverance and a positive attitude are key in getting the most out of your Cochlear implants.
Language: English
Parent – Nucleus® 7 Sound Processors, Bilateral
I’m also available to connect on Cochlear Americas – Connect with a Mentor Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CochlearConnectwithaMentor
I like to help others going through this similar situation by passing on the knowledge and experiences I have gained.
A quick summary about Neil P.
I am a parent to Chad. He has been deaf since birth. He received his first implant at 4 years-old and went bilateral at 6 years-old. Chad is currently 23 years old. I chose to be a volunteer because of the experience I went through with my son. As new parents and no family history of hearing loss, my wife and I found that we had to search out answers to all the many questions we had. Questions varied from hearing solutions, to related health issues, to socialization, to insurance, to specialty doctors, to everything else surrounding raising a young child with hearing loss and with maybe other complications. It can be very overwhelming. I like to help others going through this similar situation by passing on the knowledge and experiences I have gained and to tell others, this time you are going through is a lot of work and there may be setbacks, but in the end, it is very rewarding.
Why did we decide to get a cochlear implant for Chad? Again, back to feeling overwhelmed, we started with hearing aids at age 2 and he went through a lot of testing, school, early assistance, and research. One ear was lagging behind the other. The thought of surgery on an infant was scary, but we finally decided the reward outweighed the risk. He got his first implant at 4 years old. Knowing what I know now and having been around infants and children who were implanted at a much earlier age, I wish we would have implanted Chad at age 1* bilaterally, but we didn’t have all the information and that was a different time in qualifying for an implant.