Nurse With Bilateral Bone Conduction Implants: Taiane’s Story

My name is Taiane, and I am a 34-year-old nurse and PhD student from Brazil. I have hearing loss in both ears, but with my bilateral BONEBRIDGE bone conduction implants, my hearing loss does not limit me. I am able to enjoy concerts, sing in a choir, and communicate with my friends, family, students, and patients.

Causes of My Hearing Loss

When I was four years old, I had meningitis, which caused me to lose the hearing in my right ear. I grew up thinking that hearing with only one ear was normal. I did my best to overcome the limitations of hearing with only my right ear, but I still dealt with bullying because I didn’t hear well. I also had trouble understanding what my teachers said in class, and interacting with my friends was difficult because I struggled to understand them.

At the age of 16, I began having recurrent infections in my left ear, which caused me to lose my hearing over time in that ear as well. Later, this made listening to my patients and colleagues at work very difficult. Although it wasn’t easy, I had managed everyday life with hearing loss in one ear—but after losing the hearing in my other ear as well, I realized that I needed to look for a solution.

In 2020, I received my first BONEBRIDGE implant. The improvement it made in my hearing was so impressive that I decided to get a BONEBRIDGE implant for my other ear as well in 2022.

Making the Decision

Even though my hearing loss was making many aspects of my life very difficult, I still had some doubts before the first surgery. What really helped me was having a mentor and implant user I could talk to: Sheila cleared away the doubts I had and helped me get rid of the fear I’d had about BONEBRIDGE surgery. And now I am a Hearpeers mentor so that I can do the same for other future BONEBRIDGE users!

I was also lucky enough to have the surgery in the hospital where I worked—having my coworkers as my nurses made me much calmer during surgery and throughout my stay at the hospital.

My journey didn’t end there, though. My fiancé—who is an audiologist—supports me and encourages me to continually seek ways to improve my hearing through rehabilitation and experiencing new sounds.

Hearing With BONEBRIDGE

I have two BONEBRIDGE implants with a SAMBA audio processor for one ear and SAMBA 2 for the other.

• The audio processors are so light that I don’t even feel that they’re there.
• My SAMBAs are also easy to handle, and changing the covers to match my look is simple and quick.
• The design covers are so beautiful that sometimes people even think they’re hair clips. I even decorated one myself with pearls.
• But even more important than the stylish look is the excellent sound quality, of course.

Daily Life With Hearing Implants

Before receiving my implants, I thought it would be impossible for me to work at a hospital. I take care of emergency patients with acute myocardial infarction, so I was worried about not being able to hear my colleagues ask for a medication or tool. But thanks to my BONEBRIDGE implants, I am able to perform my work as a nurse and communicate effectively with my colleagues, patients, and students.

My implants have given me autonomy and confidence. As a doctoral student in Clinical Care in Nursing and Health, I teach undergraduate students. Teaching was difficult before I received my implants, but now I can hear my students from anywhere in the classroom.

And at restaurants, bars, or parties, I am able to talk to my friends, which is something I wasn’t able to do before.

I can do everything I like: listen to an orchestra with my fiancé, sing in church, talk to my family and friends, be a teacher, go back to swimming or play sports.

My Advice to Others With Hearing Loss

My BONEBRIDGE implants changed my life by opening up many opportunities for me. I have the confidence and the ability to do and be whatever I want, and I don’t have to miss out on anything. The process of getting used to the implants can sometimes be difficult and time consuming, but take comfort in the happiness you will feel doing things you couldn’t do without an implant.

Although everyone has a different experience, talk to other implant users about what it’s like to experience sound with a hearing implant. Don’t let fear limit your possibilities, and allow yourself to experience new opportunities.