The Sarah Churman Effect

It was amazing to watch a YouTube video of Sarah Churman having her implantable hearing aid called the Esteem turned on for the first time and see her reaction to the clarity of sound around her. Her husband, Sloan, video taped the whole thing and was reluctant to put it on YouTube since it was supposed to be a private moment like getting married or having a baby as Sloan said.

There are one of three things I'm seeing in YouTube comments and elsewhere from people who objected to the whole video taping thing:

1) It's fake. The whole thing was acted out in order to help promote the Esteem implantable hearing aid.
2) The title of the YouTube video was "misleading" and that she didn't really hear her voice for the first time.
3) Her voice sounded too "hearing-like" and could be heard clearly raising questions if her hearing loss is really severe.

First off, check out Sarah Churman's first blog soon after her Esteem was activated describing her awareness about the new sound around here.

Anyway, I'm supposed to hold the remote up to the device implanted in my skull to activate it and I kept moving it which delayed it being turned on. Just about fainted, then 'viola!' it was on. For you mothers out there.......it was like that moment where time stands still as your baby slips into this world.......I just started crying, then crying more because I could hear myself crying. Then laughing, then freaking out over my laugh. That lead to the shakes and partial hyperventillating. Sloan's boisterous laugh and the grins from the docs was the icing on the cake. Then the tapping of the keys as the nurse lady did something on the computer, followed by the remote being set down on the counter.......I could HEAR it!!! Felt like quite the idiot as I left the center (OMG, Sloan just sneezed in the shower, too funny!) grinning ear to ear.........worse case of 'perma-grin' I've ever had! Stepped outside while Sloan was telling me I was whispering, and walked to the car taking it all in. Foot steps, car doors, engine starting, already tired of hearing myself swallow. Lol. I kept asking "Is this normal? Do you hear that? Does that always do that? Is there a cup rattling around in the back of the car? (WHOA). Made my first phone calls. Called Lari and immediately heard the girls in the background. *Let me take this time to apologize to anyone I've ever called while the girls were chattering..............how the heck do you 'normal folks' hear anything with them in the background?!? Lol. She had Oli tell me "I love you Mommy", then Elise said "I ove you".......I started bawling and had to hand the phone off to Sloan. THAT was an awesome moment. Called my Mom and she was like "Are you talking to me now with the new ear?!?" Called my Dad and if I'm not mistaken I think I heard him get a little choked up. Got to Outback to eat with Alexis and was blindsided by the road noise upon stepping out of the car. The place was on a service road and WOW the highway is NOISY! Hurried up and got inside to get relief from the noise. Could actually hear the servers speaking instead of doing my usual routine of smiling politely and praying to God that they haven't said something I've ignored or not answered. When the waitress brought our drinks on the table I asked Sloan "Do you think she'd find it funny if I asked her to stop slamming the cups and plates on the table?" (I of course knew she wasn't actually slamming anything, I just found it amusing) Real shocker was when she brought my salad and I started to eat. WOW was that loud..........eating a crouton is like fireworks going off. I was certain people 5 tables over were thinking 'you hear that cow chewing?' Sloan and Alexis assured me that no one could hear me chew. Sloan got much satisfaction out of the fact that I promptly started eating with my mouth closed. I've been an avid 'smacker' my whole life.........

Her blog description of sound around her and her reaction on YouTube video doesn't strike me as a fake video or that Sarah is faking it. What's interesting is that those noise she's hearing are in the higher frequency range.

Secondly, about people who objected to the title of Sarah's YouTube video need to chill since her hearing loss precluded her from hearing anything of clarity and loudness, especially her own voice, despite wearing a regular hearing aid. We don't even know exactly the kind of frequency loss she has (one guy is asking for the whole nine yard requesting more hearing loss details from her). She could have a higher frequency hearing loss which may prevent her from hearing her own voice and would hear better at a lower frequency such as a male's voice, hence her picking up a Texan accent. I don't know but this is not really a case worth arguing over the title of her YouTube video. Some people are just plain picky and overly demanding.

Thirdly, her voice sounded too much like a "hearing person"? So what? She obtained her hearing aid at age two enabling her an early start on acquiring sound around her. Her speech training must've gone extremely well and with family support. Until more details come forth I'm not overly concerned on how well she speaks. What's surprising is to hear from people who are basically saying that it's impossible for a deaf person to speak to clearly and well that one wouldn't tell if the person is deaf. Those people need to take their brains out of the gutter and stop with the stereotyping of what deaf people can or cannot do, especially on the ability to speak well. This is especially true coming from deaf people themselves which serves only an ironic and hypocritical reminder.  Yet people continue with this conspiracy theory thinking something's afoot. Practically insinuating that she is not deaf because there is no way she can speak that well. No way!! Well, get over it folks, she is deaf. She speaks very well. And she has a slight Texan accent. And she wears a $30,000 implantable hearing aid. Her life has improved dramatically with the Envoy Esteem implantable hearing aid allowing her to her the sound around her with increased clarity for the first time in her 29 years of her life.


Congratulations, Sarah!

What is John Tracy Clinic expertise in?

There seems to be a bit of a round robin by certain Deaf people in taking pot shots at the John Tracy Clinic program. What some Deaf people don't seem to understand is that the JTC program is very specific in what it can offer and the support they can give to parents of kids from age 0 to 5 years old that were diagnosed with hearing loss. Obviously, if an organization has a specific expertise in what it can offer then that is what they can offer and nothing else. The expertise at John Tracy Clinic is in spoken language which can be used with any other communication approaches. 

John Tracy Clinic offers information and distance courses for families of children with hearing loss ages birth to five. The focus is language development with ideas for learning through child play and family routines. The expertise at John Tracy Clinic is in spoken language which is emphasized in onsite programs such as the Parent/Infant Program and Preschool, as well as via Distance Education for Parents, but many of the techniques can be used in any communication approach. The key is to provide children with early and complete access to communication to help them fully develop their language skills. Development of complex communication skills helps children be ready for school. There are no limits to what children with hearing loss can achieve.

Many techniques used in the JTC spoken language program can be used with other communication choices or options such as Auditory-Verbal, Auditory-oral, Cued Speech, Total Communication, and Formal Sign Language (American Sign Language (ASL) or Sign Language of other countries).  It is obvious that JTC recognizes ASL but that is not their area of expertise. Their area of expertise is spoken language. It has always been like that. They do recognize that there is no one shoe size fits all and that the parents are the ones who make their own informed decision regarding their child with a hearing loss when it comes to communication and language options.

What does JTC offer?

1) Early detection of hearing loss and information on individualized intervention

2) A spoken language learning opportunity for infants and preschoolers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and their parents

3) Guidance, support and instruction for parents in the special skills necessary tohelp their children learn spoken language

4) Distance education serving parents and families throughout the world

5) Over 60 years of experience in teacher and professional education

Again, John Tracy Clinic main area of expertise is and has always been in the spoken language area. Without their help I would not be who I am today as seen in my video dedication to JTC. May they continue for many more decades.