Not only am I a person who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, but I am also deaf/hard of hearing with the assistance of cochlear implants. When considering this type of experience, I am brought back to my childhood. Unlike everyone who is hearing and can communicate normally, I never had the experience. Being on the boat and going to the beach meant putting my cochlear implant in a zip lock bag to keep dry. Going in the pool meant having to leave my cochlear implant somewhere dry. Same thing with trips at Splish Splash. No matter where I was, I always needed to take my cochlear implant off my ear because any contact with water would cause irreparable damage.
In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the approval for Cochlear, a company for cochlear implants, to release an accessory to use in the water. The Aqua Accessory left me a bit skeptical because it was a plastic bag and looked uncomfortable. All hope was not lost because in the next year, Cochlear released the Aqua+. The Aqua+ looked a lot better than the Aqua Accessory. Unlike the Aqua Accessory, which had to be thrown out after every use, the Aqua+ is reusable for up to 150 times. The Aqua+ comes with sleeves to use 50 times, for every two hours spent in or near water, and a coil to use specifically for the water. For something already worth the money, I held off buying it since buying the Aqua+ came at an expensive price ($250 for the recipient kit to get started).
Summer started, the pool opened, and everyone went in already. I didn't go in the pool yet not only because I cannot stand the cold, but also because I didn't want to be spending another summer feeling left out, and only using hand signs and gestures to communicate. It was before Father's Day when I began to question myself on what it would really be like if I could hear and communicate in the water. After putting it off the last couple of years, I finally made the decision to buy the Aqua+ recipient kit.
My package leading to a new experience came on June 24, and I already couldn't wait to go in the pool because it had been so long; I was excited to hear new sounds in the water. It was already becoming an even more exciting experience while looking through the kit, and I also had some nervous thoughts. While I was mostly excited, there were definitely some fears. The biggest fear I had was what if the Aqua+ does not work as well as I'd hoped.
Regardless of how long it took to get my cochlear implant inside the Aqua+ sleeve, I was so excited to go outside. Before I physically got in the water, I first dunked my cochlear implant in the water as a test to see if it still worked. It passed the test, and I went in the water while standing. I am a person who doesn't like cold water so it takes a few minutes to adjust to the cold before going underwater. When I finally did go underwater, it was an amazing feeling to be experiencing new sounds for the first time. In the water, the sound is completely silent unless a splashing or bubbling sound is close by. I am able to hear what is going on inside and outside the pool, and also have conversation.
I have not gone to the beach, boating or sailing, yet. Somehow, I waited until my parents had to drive my little brother up to camp to use the Aqua+ in the shower. Not only was this because I wanted to hear sounds and listen to music while in the shower, it is also because I spent the day alone dog sitting Buddy (my puppy). With my iPad set to play an album on Spotify and the Aqua+ on the cochlear implant on my right ear, I was set to go.
My iPad is set on the vanity, with the highest volume it can go up to, and I wheeled/walked into the shower while a song was playing. The sound while in the shower is different than sounds in the pool. There is the recognizable splashing, but when getting my hair wet, there is a loud sound when the water is close to my ear, and I couldn't hear the music. The cochlear implant fell off of my ear a few times, but it was OK since I could get it back onto my ear easier than I could being in the pool.
I will definitely use the Aqua+ the next time I am alone, and I will also either use my laptop to play music at a louder volume, or find a small Bluetooth enabled speaker for my iPad.
