Hearing Our Way: Fall 2021

The magazine for kids and teens with hearing loss Everything’s coming up roses Fall 2021

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Contents 4 Things

Hi from Mel!

We Love

6 O vercoming Obstacles

10 Fun & Games 12 Sophie’s

Spotlight

Contributors Melanie Paticoff Grossman • Editor in Chief Magazine Design • N-KCreative.com Overcoming Obstacles • Abigail Mark it with an E • Evelyn With special thanks to all of our featured H W friends

www.HearingOurWay.com info@hearingourway.com PO Box 13, Greenlawn, New York 11740 Volume 8, No. 3 ©2021 Sophie’s Tales, LLC. All rights reserved.

Hearing Our Way is published quarterly and is a publication of Sophie’s Tales, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. See p.11 for more information about subscriptions for homes, schools, and offices or visit www.HearingOurWay.com. For promotional © opportunities, change of address, or other customer service, contact info@hearingourway.com. • All comments and suggestions received by Hearing Our Way become the sole property of Hearing Our Way and may be used without compensation or acknowledgment. Hearing Our Way disclaims liability for any losses or damages that may result from using information in this magazine. • Inquire today about sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Contact Info@HearingOurWay.com.

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Dear Readers,

say, d this year, I’m so glad to an g, nin gin be is r yea l oo Another sch d hard ming up roses. We learne ability to it looks like everything’s co little things in life—like the the te cia pre ap to e lik ic, it comes to lessons during the pandem re rosy than last year when mo le litt a g kin loo are s go to school. Luckily, thing d health. in person school, safety, an igail He ringe r, the t roses is our cover girl Ab ou ab o tw or ng thi a s ow ing Obst acles, Someone who kn on The Bachelor. In Overcom s los ng ari he nd fou pro h first contestant wit chlear implant, h hearing loss, getting a co wit up g win gro of ry sto r Abigail shares he skills throughout confidence and self-advocacy ng ini ga d an ak, spe d an learning to listen an me role model and has done her life. Abigail is an aweso . You areness on a huge platform incredible job of raising aw il_he ringe r. can follow her at @abiga with an E. y treat for fall in Mark it ros ct rfe pe st mo the up ing off As always, Evelyn cooked g (her final act) before head son an sw r he is e cip re rt , but I have Her Mini Apple Rose Ta e years since the age of 12 fiv for us for en itt wr s ha r own ideas to college this fall. Evelyn She came up with all of he l! oo sch pre in s wa she ce ud of the young actually known Evelyn sin rking with me. I am so pro wo en wh ity bil nsi po res university! and showed the utmost wishing her all the best at in me n joi l u’l yo pe ho d lady she has become an g h even more amazing youn This issue is jam-packed wit ct to inspire you people on every page, perfe l year. as you start the new schoo

MAKE IT A GREAT (AND ROSY!) ONE!

, M.S.D.E. Mel Paticoff Grossman Editor in Chief and maltipoo, Sophie

Look for these symbols throughout the magazine for special tips !

Hearing – Info about hearing aids, cochlear implants, and listening devices Talking – Tips for speech and language Self-Advocacy – Ideas for sharing your hearing loss story with others

Did you receive this issue from a friend, school, or office? Sign up for your own subscription to continue receiving Hearing Our Way ! www.HearingOurWay.com

COVER PHOTO: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Sophie

You Are Brave!

You can do anything you set your mind to.

Art We L

ve

Chelsey, an artist, play advocate, and nursery school teacher from Minneapolis,

Minnesota, creates beautiful works of art using loose bits of nature.

She likes to create scenes that show children of all abilities playing in nature. This piece was inspired by one of her fouryear-old students, Phoebe, who has single-sided deafness and has one cochlear implant. (See page 5)

Chelsey’s nature-inspired art is not to be missed!

Find more at @ChelseyBahe.

Look We L

Phoebe’s mom, Lindsey, says, “Chelsey’s creations harness the wonder of children and reflect the inclusivity that is so intuitive to a child. Her artwork, all from the forest floor, is fleeting—it could be blown away in the wind or covered by a Minnesota snowstorm, but the tribute Chelsey made to Phoebe will remain with us forever.”

ve: Mila’s Funky Fashion

Mila is a four-year-old girl with a fun sense of style. Every morning, she shows up for breakfast wearing a newly designed outfit—a princess dress with a tutu over it, rainbow leggings, glitter sunglasses, and unicorn headbands are par for the course with Mila. When Mila was younger, she wore hearing aids, but then her hearing loss progressed to profound. Now, she has two new accessories to dress up: her cochlear implants! She has sparkly ear molds, cute retention bands, patterned headbands, and colorful decals.

Mila’s mom says, “Mila is sassy, with a hilarious personality and infectious laugh. We love watching her sing and dance, seeing her colorful outfits every day, and hearing her say how pretty she looks with her new cochlear implants.”

We couldn’t agree more!

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My New Cochlear Implant: A Single-Sided Deafness Story When Phoebe was born, she passed her newborn hearing screening in the right ear, but needed more testing in her left ear. She was diagnosed with moderate-tosevere hearing loss in the left ear and got her first hearing aid at 9-months-old.

As Phoebe got older, her hearing loss dropped more.

This is called progressive hearing loss. By the time she was three, she was profoundly deaf in the left ear. Her hearing aid wasn’t helping her much anymore. Even though she could hear with her right ear, she had trouble localizing sound. She would go upstairs if her parents called her from downstairs. She didn’t know which direction to turn her head to find who was saying her name. In crowded places, it was very hard to hear.

W rds, W rds, W rds Coming Up Roses

Localizing - knowing what direction a sound is coming from Phoebe’s parents wanted her to have sound on both sides to help keep her safe and to help her have more auditory information in school and in social settings as she got older. They had a few options for single-sided deafness (SSD). They could try a bone-anchored hearing aid, a CROS receiver, or a cochlear implant, which was approved for SSD recently in 2019.

It was a hard decision because there weren’t many other families to talk to who had gotten cochlear implants for SSD yet. Finally, Phoebe’s parents met two families with daughters with SSD who had cochlear implants. This made them feel much better, and they chose the cochlear implant.

Phoebe is adjusting well to her new cochlear implant. In the morning, she wakes up and asks to put it on. She loves to decorate it with stickers and show it proudly to her friends. She goes to auditory therapy to learn to hear. One of the first new sounds she heard was the washing machine—her room is right next to the laundry room, but she had never heard it before!

Language can be tricky, especially idioms, which are groups of words or expressions that mean something different than what they say.

You might hear the idiom coming up roses and think it’s about growing a rose garden, but no! Coming up roses means that things are taking a positive turn and are going to be better. Like this: “Last school year was challenging with virtual learning. This school year, it feels like everything’s coming up roses, because we get to go back in person!”

Phoebe’s parents are really proud of how she has embraced her new cochlear implant. She is a happy and joyful kid, and with her cochlear implant, she is ready to fully experience and interact with the world around her!

Hearing loss is part of the whole family. Share your story with us: info@hearingourway.com

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Abigail’s Faves H FOOD Sushi

H TV FRIENDS

H MOVIE The Lion King

H MUSIC The Weeknd

H PLACES Scotland Paris

H SPORTS Golf

H W does Abigail hear?

With her golf club in one hand, rose in another, and cochlear implant!

All About Me

Hi, I’m Abigail, and I am a 26-year-old financial analyst from Portland, Oregon. I love to play golf, hang out with my friends, and discover new places and restaurants in my new home, New York City! Last year, I became the first contestant on The Bachelor with a cochlear implant, and this summer I had the opportunity to be on Bachelor in Paradise!

Hearing My Way

I was fortunate to have my hearing loss diagnosed early because my older sister Rachel was diagnosed first. We both got our cochlear implants at 2.5-years-old, the youngest age they were implanting at the time. We attended Tucker Maxon, a school that specializes in teaching children with hearing loss to listen and talk, before eventually being mainstreamed. We worked very hard to learn to talk through school, speech therapy, and work at home, too. Sometimes it was exhausting, but very worth it. My mom worked tirelessly to help us by meeting other families raising kids with hearing loss, learning from parent workshops, and doing speech therapy with us at home. I continued with speech therapy, focusing on sounding out harder words, until the beginning of high school.

1, 2, Cochlear Implants

Because my sister and I were doing so well with our cochlear implants, we decided in middle school to have surgery for our second cochlear implants. Back then, it wasn’t common to do them both at the same time.

Unfortunately, for us the time between our first cochlear implants and second cochlear implants was just too far apart. For anyone who is deciding to get a cochlear implant, my advice would be to do it as soon as possible and as close together as possible. It can be a scary decision if you haven’t been through it yet. It takes a lot of work and commitment— you have to wear it during all waking hours, do speech therapy and auditory training. I cannot imagine life without my cochlear implant!

Ear Gear

My favorite feature of my cochlear implant is Bluetooth. I can stream music directly to my ‘ears’. It’s perfect for working out. It’s also the way I listen to all work meetings since going virtual. I much prefer it to using the computer speaker or over the ear headphones.

Overcoming Obstacles

Growing up, I was very active and sporty. I played soccer, but my parents were always worried about my head getting bumped and my cochlear implant magnet shifting. I had to wear a protective headband—it was bulky, and I felt embarrassed. I was at an age when I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself. I didn’t want any reminders that I was different.

I ended up quitting and picking up golf instead. For me, this ended up working out, and I thrived in golf and gained confidence in myself. Now that I’m older, when I do need to make adjustments for my hearing loss, I don’t feel embarrassed anymore. Maybe one day I’ll give soccer another try!

Above left: Abigail with her two biggest supporters, her mom and her sister Rachel.

Above: Abigail worked hard to learn to hear with her cochlear implant from a young age.

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WiLL you accept this rose?

Confidence Building

A+ Advocate

It’s always tricky to know if you should talk about your hearing loss in a college application, job interview, or first date!

From my experience, I have found that earlier is usually better. It lets them know, ‘This is a huge part of who she is, but it’s not all that she is. She said it right away, and now I can get to know all parts of her.’ If I don’t say anything, sometimes I will mishear something or answer a question wrong, and they might think I’m not listening! It could turn off an employer, date, or interviewer. Instead, at the beginning or the first time I don’t hear something I like to say, “I wanted to let you know I have hearing loss, so if I don’t hear a question, if you wouldn’t mind repeating it, I would appreciate it.” After that, they usually are very willing to accommodate.

Abigail shares more of her story on The Bachelor’s Women Tell All.

PHOTO: ABC/Craig Sjodin

I know I might seem pretty confident today, but it wasn’t always like that. Growing up, I avoided talking about my hearing loss. When I was in a group, conversation would move quickly, and I didn’t always speak up when I needed something repeated. Sometimes I wouldn’t hear something correctly, and I felt like people were giggling or talking about me.

When I would meet new people, sometimes I would wait months before bringing up that I had hearing loss. By that time, they had already figured it out! Once I brought it up, it made everyone feel more comfortable, and they were able to ask me questions about it.

They didn’t make fun of me after that. Looking back, I would have been way less stressed and insecure if I hadn’t let it build up for months and months before talking about it. Now that I’m so open about my hearing loss, I find that people embrace me for being confident about it like, ‘She’s different, she’s owning it, that’s cool.’ They were interested before but just scared to bring it up first, not knowing how I’d react. If you’re working on building your confidence, I would say fake it ‘til you make it.

I’ll tell you a secret—I’m not confident all the time, and sometimes, I still have to fake it just a little, but it’s definitely getting easier!

Very Accommodating

This past year, I’ve had all sorts of challenging new environments come up! First, I had to learn to work virtually during the pandemic. It actually worked out well for me- I often prefer communicating via email so that I have a record of everything said. It’s so much easier than taking notes during a meeting! When we do have meetings on Zoom, fortunately my coworkers are great about talking one at a time and keeping their cameras on. The visual input is so helpful. Group meetings without cameras are much more challenging. Second, being on The Bachelor, often in large group settings, pushed me to advocate for myself. I had to ask people to repeat things for me at times. I’m so glad I chose to share my hearing loss on the show—if I had tried to hide it, it would have been a completely different story!

Mom Knows Best

I feel so lucky to have had my mom and sister by my side throughout my entire hearing loss journey. With two daughters with hearing loss, my mom made a rule very early on—if you get into an argument, you can’t take off your cochlear implants, meaning, you can’t run away from your problems or use your hearing

loss as an excuse. It was funny to me how many messages I saw from Bachelor viewers saying, “Abigail is so lucky—when there is drama, she can just take her cochlear implant off!” Nope! I would never do that—it’s against my mom’s rules! I’ve worked too hard to listen and speak so that I could be a part of the conversation; I’m not going to remove myself from it!

One Last Word

I’m not a very long-term planner. I am happy in my current job and exploring my new city.

One day, I do hope to find a partner and get married. I don’t see my hearing loss as a barrier; the door is open to all possibilities right now. I feel really confident that hearing loss won’t slow me down from anything I want to do. In fact, it’s something that I’ve grown to love about myself. Without my hearing loss, I would not have had such a compelling story and platform to be on The Bachelor. Viewers were drawn to me because they like to root for someone who is different and has a positive outlook. Hearing loss does make me different, but it’s also a beautiful part of me. I’m so glad I learned to embrace my hearing loss and share it with the world!

Be on our next cover! info@hearingourway.com

Mini Apple Rose Tarts

Hi bakers!

I want to thank you all for baking with me all these years at Hearing Our Way. I have loved coming up with new recipes for my column, Mark It with an E. It is bittersweet to announce that this will be my last column as I begin my first semester at University of Guelph studying psychology and criminal justice this fall. Keep baking!

—Evelyn

Congratulations Evelyn

on your high school graduation and college acceptance!

Thank you for sharing your delicious treats with us for the last five years. We will miss you!

If you or someone you know would like to be part of our baking column, please contact info@hearingourway.com.

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CRUST

FILLING

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

6 apples, thinly sliced (I used Gala)

½ cup ice water, plus more as needed

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

3 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup packed brown sugar

CRUST DIRECTIONS: 1. Cut butter into small cubes. Refrigerate while preparing the flour mixture.

2. Place a few ice cubes in a 1 cup measuring cup and fill with cold water.

3. Place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

4. Scatter half of the butter cubes over the flour.

Pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal with pieces of butter no larger than a pea (15 to 20 pulses).

5. Drizzle ½ cup of the ice water over the butter-flour mixture. Scatter remaining butter cubes over the mixture. Pulse 4 times to combine.

6. Squeeze the dough in your hand. If it holds together and feels tacky, it’s ready. If it breaks apart, add a little more ice water a tablespoon at a time as needed.

7. Divide the dough into two piles. Use the palm of your hand to gather and press into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

8. Chill a mini muffin tin while preparing the dough. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles. Remove muffin tin from fridge.

Gently press circles into the muffin wells.

Place muffin tin back in the fridge while preparing filling.

5 Tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

FILLING DIRECTIONS: 1. Core the apples. With a parent’s help, use a mandolin apple slicer to cut apples into very thin half-moon shapes.

2. Place apples in a large bowl, add lemon juice, and toss to coat.

3. Place brown sugar, jam, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until ingredients are melted and combined.

Remove from heat.

4. Pour mixture over apples and toss to combine. Set aside 5-10 minutes so apples become pliable (flexible and easy to work with). If still not flexible, microwave in 15 second bursts until it is. Strain apples and discard liquid.

5. To form roses, arrange about 8 slices in a straight row, with each overlapping the next.

Starting at one end, gently roll apples.

Transfer rolled apples into mini muffin tin.

Repeat rolling apples until all crusts are filled.

Refrigerate.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until crust is golden and apples have cooked, about 30 minutes. If apples start to brown faster than crust, lightly place aluminum foil on top.

7. Remove from oven. Cool and enjoy this perfect treat for an after school snack, post-apple picking delight, or Bachelor viewing party!

Get baking, then send in your pics: @HearingOurWay

Sky CI Marvel lets you show off your style, and stream your music and audio directly into your cochlear implant. Let us know what is your favorite sound to stream, and you can win an AB Gift!

Enter our Contest today:* • Post a picture/video of yourself streaming music or any type of audio with your hearing device on Instagram • Use the hashtag #ABHearingOurWay and tag @advancedbionics • This contest is open to all users of hearing devices regardless of the technology or brand

*This contest is organized by Advanced Bionics LLC, of Valencia, CA, United states. This contest will run from September 1st to September 30th 2021. You participate automatically if you post a picture on Instagram, using the hashtag #ABHearingYourWay and tagging @AdvancedBionics. The single most liked picture on 30 September 2021 18:00 (Pacific time/GMT -7) posted with the #ABHearingourway will win. The winner can choose their own prize, specifically one of the following: an AB-branded Mug (msrp 13.95 US$), or an AB-branded Lunch cooler (mspr 16.95 US$), or an AB-branded cotton cap (msrp 19.95 US$). If you’re a minor, you must get consent from your parent or guardian before participating in the contest. Cheating or manipulating the contest is prohibited, and will lead to disqualification from the contest. The contest is open to any hearing instrument user, regardless of the brand or hearing device used, and regardless of where in the world they live. Advanced Bionics/Sonova employees cannot participate. Your personal data shall not be used by Advanced Bionics if you participate in the contest, except if you win. If you win, we will only use your personal details in order to send you your selected prize. Tagged pictures may be re-shared on Instagram and Facebook, subject to Instagram’s/Facebook’s rules and your own privacy settings on the respective platform. Advanced Bionics will not use tagged pictures for commercial advertisement or any other means. You are completely free to participate or not. You will not receive a different level of service if you do or don’t participate. Advanced Bionics will not correspond about the result of the contest. For general questions about Advanced Bionics or the contest, you can reach out to us on the social media platform of your preference, or marketing@advancedbioics.com.

D000029790 ©2021 Advanced Bionics AG and affliates. All rights reserved.

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Looking for awesome educational resources designed just for kids with hearing loss? Check out TOD on Wheels, where you can find worksheets, games, teacher’s guides, and more! www.todonwheels.com • @todonwheels

Dear Sophie,

e in Indiana with my mom,

d I liv Hi, my na me is Megan, an , on our playing with my puppy, Callie

e dad, and brother Jake. I lov cows and rabbits, too.

100-acre-farm where we have ing on my didn’t have a left ear or hear I was born with microtia. I e first s to reconstruct my ear. Th rie rge su e fiv d ha ve ha I e. left sid onstruct t used my rib cartilage to rec d one was a major surgery tha my side! When I was 8½, I ha on r sca GE HU a ve ha I d my ear, an ing aid with rgery, a bone-anchored hear su nt pla im ct tra At ha Ba my school. s already helped me a lot in a magnetic connection. It ha perform. When I grow I love to dance, tumble, and tress and live in up, I want to be a famous ac surgeries took Holly wood. Having so many of myself for a lot of courage. I am proud obstacles. being brave and overcoming d me down !

Hearing loss has not slowe

sincerely, Megan

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An exciting PEN PAL PROGRAM presented

by Ryan Brady with Hearing Our Way !

Pen pals will receive an introductory letter from Ryan and an assigned pen pal.

Sign up is free for Hearing Our Way readers at www.HIPPkids.com

We all love our birthdays, but kids with hearing loss sometimes have a bonus celebration—the anniversary of the day they got their hearing devices—their hearing birthdays.

Izabella, 7, celebrates the hearing birthday of her Advanced Bionics bilateral cochlear implants every September. Happy hearing birthday, Izabella!

We want to see photos of your hearing birthday celebration!

Email them to us at info@hearingourway.com and you may be featured in Hearing Our Way.

Parents, want to surprise your child with a hearing birthday shoutout?

Get in touch via email: info@hearingourway.com

Azalea loves reading Hearing Our Way and you will, too!

Award-Winning Book Series

aring loss “Every child wit h he ine !” az shou ld have this mag is the

aring Our Way An annual subscription to He cher, or audiologist! tea perfect gift for any student, Bulk pricing is available Prices start at $19.99/year. doctors offices! for schools, hospitals, and

le worl dw ide.

Hearing Our Way is avail ab ay.com Subscribe NOW : hearingOurW

ECT GIFT THE PEdaRyFs, birthdays, , for holi implant surgery cochlears, students, and friend ger siblings! youn

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For free shipping, use code: hearingourway

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Everything’s coming up roses Fall 2021

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Like our Facebook page for all of the things we love Follow us on Twitter for inspiration and news Tag us on Instagram to show us where you read Hearing Our Way

Sophie loves shining a spotlight on amazing kids with hearing loss around the world. To shine a spotlight on someone you know, write to us at info@hearingourway.com!

Louella, 9, is a social butterfly who loves soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, and Girl Scouts. She even has her own dog-walking business, Leashes & Love!

Even as a baby, Louella had a loud personality, bright smile, and was very talkative.

When she failed her hearing screening at 2.5 years old, her parents were shocked.

They closely monitored her, and when she started talking loudly and saying ‘huh?’ a lot, she was diagnosed with moderate-severe hearing loss. At school, Lou rocks her hearing aids and FM system with confidence. She recently upgraded to new turquoise and neon green hearing aids with Bluetooth, which she loves.

Every time Louella visits the audiologist, she picks up a copy of Hearing Our Way. She loves to see other active young girls like herself expressing their happiness despite having hearing loss. Reading their stories has helped her gain confidence and build a sense of connection.

Louella’s mom says, “Lou has always been a bright shining star, not afraid of anything or anyone. Wearing hearing aids has never held her back. They help her to stay engaged in the action and are just a part of her now. We are so thankful for this technology that helps her function at the highest level and allows her to be the best student and friend she can be!”

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