Susan Heyroth, 65, struggled with hereditary hearing loss since her early 30s, but when she retired with her husband, Pete, in 2021, she thought the worst of her difficulties would be over. A teacher, she figured retirement meant she’d no longer have to work so hard to hear her students.
But retirement only highlighted the ways that hearing loss affected her quality of life.
“I finally had the time to do all the things I wanted to do, but I couldn’t hear well enough to do any of them,” Heyroth says. “We live in a lovely neighborhood with lots of activities, like book club and happy hours, but I couldn’t participate.”
What Heyroth thought would be one of the happiest times of her life was turning into a period of sadness and isolation. Her plans to volunteer weren’t possible, she no longer attended church or yoga class, and she could tell that friends and family were frustrated with her.
“If you want to age in a healthy fashion, you have to maintain your ability to communicate,” says UNC Health neurotologist Kevin Brown, MD, a specialist in surgery on the ear. “There’s a strong association between hearing loss with social isolation as well as cognitive deterioration with earlier onset of dementia.”
Dr. Brown’s solution—cochlear implants—was one that Heyroth did not think was an option for her.
Life with Hearing Aids
Heyroth had gotten in-ear hearing aids in her early 40s, when she returned to the classroom after spending time at home with her two sons, now grown. In her 50s, she could tell that her hearing was worsening, and an audiologist told her that she qualified for a cochlear implant. An implant creates a new pathway for sound to reach the brain instead of relying on the inner ear, where most hearing damage happens.
A cochlear implant has several parts—a receiver that’s surgically implanted behind the ear and a processor with a microphone that’s worn externally. The processor takes the sound from the mic and changes it into an electrical impulse that stimulates the hearing nerve. The hearing nerve carries the information to the brain to decipher and translate the impulses as speech or other sounds.
“A relative of mine had an implant in one ear years earlier and told me that it was the worst thing he had ever done, and that he regretted it every day,” Heyroth says. And as a teacher, she was concerned that recovery from the surgery wouldn’t be possible with the school’s calendar.
Instead, Heyroth opted for upgraded hearing aids and spent many years doing her best with her limited hearing. But the difficulties of teaching students wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic were too much. Since Heyroth and her husband were in a position to retire, they took that opportunity and moved to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. That’s when Heyroth realized her struggles weren’t over.
“Hearing aids make things louder, but they don’t make speech more understandable,” Dr. Brown says. “That ability to understand speech can deteriorate, even with hearing aids. And unfortunately, many people are not very patient with those who have hearing loss.”
Heyroth was told that another set of hearing aids likely wouldn’t improve her hearing, so she met with a surgeon and audiologist to learn more about cochlear implants. After the appointment, Heyroth and her husband still were not sure it was the right choice. She was despondent and didn’t know what to do.
“Because of my severe hearing loss, I came across outwardly as a clingy, weak, unfriendly, stupid person, when I have always been strong, independent, friendly, intelligent,” Heyroth says. “Those years were really depressing.”
Finding the Right Team for Cochlear Implants at UNC
In 2023, Heyroth met a woman who’d had cochlear implants at UNC with Dr. Brown.
“We had lunch and she told me how fabulous her experience was,” Heyroth says. “I was amazed to be sitting next to this confident, intelligent, hearing woman and realized I could be like her. Just realizing there was hope made everything possible.”
When Heyroth met with Dr. Brown, his optimism encouraged her to move forward with the surgery, getting her first implant in April 2024 and her second, on the other ear, in October 2024.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is the severity of the surgery,” Dr. Brown says. “It’s an outpatient procedure that usually lasts about 90 minutes, with very little pain. It’s straightforward and easy.”
That was Heyroth’s experience: All she needed were a few Advil for her recovery.
Adjusting to Cochlear Implants
After surgery, the implant must be programmed and adjusted for the person’s specific needs, and sounds may sound odd at first. To regain hearing successfully, people must undergo months of auditory and speech therapies.
Heyroth eventually learned that one of the reasons her family member had such a bad experience with his implant is that he didn’t follow through with recommended therapies. When Heyroth spoke to the woman who recommended Dr. Brown, she advised Heyroth to treat those therapies as her job.
“You have to be an active participant in the process,” Dr. Brown says.
Heyroth was determined to make the process work for her, working on sound and language training apps and asking family members to come over just to talk or read to her.
“People do need to know that it’s not instant, perfect hearing, but the more effort you put in, the easier it gets,” Heyroth says. “I encourage everyone, those first couple of months, to really try and hear all those different sounds and words.”
Heyroth said starting to hear all those sounds again provided tremendous joy.
“Every single day I marveled at being able to hear and understand people or at some sound I hadn’t heard in 15 years—the dryer beeping, birds chirping, leaves rustling,” she says. “I’ll hear something and think, ‘Don’t forget to be grateful for how wonderful this is.’”
Finally Enjoying Retirement
Heyroth says she’s still adjusting to the implants and getting comfortable in large groups with multiple conversations happening. But friends who knew her before have noticed a tremendous difference in her confidence and personality, and she delights in chance encounters where strangers don’t even notice her implants.
“There have been so many human interactions, which I love, that would not have been possible a few years ago, when I would have ignored someone because I was too self-conscious or not able to hear them,” she says.
Heyroth’s plans for her retirement are now finally a reality, complete with new friendships and travel, and she’s excited for the coming decades.
“One of the important things to know is that there’s no such thing as ‘too old’ for a cochlear implant,” Dr. Brown says. “You have to be healthy enough for surgery, but I’ve had patients as old as 99 who are doing terrific.”
While Heyroth does sometimes wish she could have spent more time in the classroom, she says the timing has been perfect for her, and she encourages others to talk to people who have had the procedure done and can recommend a good team.
“I feel like doing it at this time was meant to be, because I found the perfect surgeon and audiologists and the right encouragement to get my life back,” she says. “Regaining my hearing has allowed me to be me again, and I am at a point where I can appreciate that more.”
If you’re concerned about your hearing, talk to your doctor. If you need a doctor, find one near you.