The American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACI Alliance) announced that it has published the account of Michael Goldsmith, a COVID-19 survivor who was implanted with a cochlear implant after experiencing sudden single-sided deafness, a form of hearing loss.
Michael, a married father of two living in New Jersey, contracted a severe case of COVID in the spring of 2020. He was hospitalized for 32 days, including time spent on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. After he woke from the coma in March and returned home, he realized he had lost his hearing in his left ear. Prior to his hospitalization, he had not been aware of having hearing loss.
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After months of research and appointments with specialists, Michael received a cochlear implant at NYU Langone Health in September 2020—six months after his release from the hospital. Several months post-surgery, his results with the cochlear implant have been characterized by his medical team as “remarkable progress.”
Less than six months from his cochlear implant surgery, Michael has adapted to his “new normal” with his cochlear implant and is back to working at his full-time job in IT, back to listening to music with headphones, and back to interacting with his family and friends in a way remarkably similar to what he was able to do before.
To read Michael’s full story, please visit: www.acialliance.org/page/adultstoriesgoldsmith.
ACI Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization created with the purpose of eliminating barriers to cochlear implantation by sponsoring research, driving heightened awareness, and advocating for improved access to cochlear implants for people of all ages across the US. The ACI Alliance educates health care plan executives and government officials about cochlear implant technology, its economic and social benefits, and the relative value associated with coverage.
Source: ACI Alliance
Image: ACI Alliance
