Getting, and getting used to, a cochlear implant

Getting, and getting used to, a cochlear implant Geneva Durgin was 13 months old when she heard sound for the first time through a cochlear implant. Before the implant, she couldn't hear anything, even with hearing aids. Although Geneva spent the first year of her life in silence, she thrived developmentally, thanks in large part to sign language instruction and early intervention from the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Geneva's parents decided to get a cochlear implant for her because they thought it offered her the best chance at learning English and learning to talk. They also chose to continue signing with Geneva, in hopes of her learning two languages, English and American Sign Language. This is a web extra to an article that appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Dartmouth Medicine Magazine. To read the article, go to: http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/fall08/html/sound.php