My name is Paulina, I am in my early 30s and live in Berlin. When I was eight years old, I was diagnosed for the first time: I have bad hearing.
A marathon of visits to the doctor led neither to a clear diagnosis nor to an idea of what to do. And so, at first, everything remained the same.
Over the years, however, my hearing got progressively worse and when I had just finished my bachelor's degree and was ready to start my professional life, I realized that something had to change.
And so I got my Cochlear Implants (Cis). At first only one CI, the right one. In no case did I want to risk the loss of my residual hearing in my hitherto strong left ear during surgery, so I only wanted one CI.
During the initial fitting, some things were still strange and unfamiliar, but soon I became more familiar with my new hearing. It was an incredible improvement: conversations - even in groups and with background noise - were possible again, sounds I hadn't heard for years were suddenly clearly audible and I even dared to answer the phone again.
So it wasn't long before I decided to have my second ear implanted as well, because my residual hearing was actually a joke compared to the improvements the CI had brought.