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The best things in life take practice. Whether it’s running a marathon, learning a new language, or learning to hear with a Cochlear™ Implant, it’s not likely to happen overnight. You have to contribute time and effort in order to see lasting results.

Meet Anna, a bilateral Cochlear Implant recipient. She knows firsthand how important it is to persevere through the long haul—in both fitness and hearing.

Watch as she shares her story and offers advice to others on the journey to better hearing:

Defying expectations

When Anna was about a year old, her mother took her in to get her hearing tested. When the results came in, she was diagnosed with profound hearing loss.

Anna says her first audiologist told her parents not to get their hopes up.

“(They said) I would never talk and I would always be a discipline problem,” she recalls, laughing.

When she was 2 ½ years old, she received her first Cochlear Implant. Many years later, she opted to go bilateral with a second implant.

Today, Anna wears a Cochlear™ Nucleus® 6 Sound Processor on one side and a Cochlear™ Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor on the other. Thanks to her hard work and persistence, nothing can hold her back from achieving her goals.

Going the distance

Anna describes herself as “determined, goal-oriented, (and) very motivated.”

She uses music to kick-start the beginning of each practice session.

“When I go into any kind of workout, there’s always a challenge,” she says. “I will turn on my workout playlist. And from then on, the workout’s mine.”

She’s had a passion for exercise and fitness since she was a young girl. Anna completed her first triathlon when she was 9 years old and her first Ironman competition in 2015.

She continues to train and practice regularly in order to gain speed and strength.

“Before it was always about finishing— now I want to get fast,” she says.

Putting in the work

Anna remarks that learning to hear with a Cochlear Implant is similar to how she prepares to compete in a triathlon.

“If you want to become a better triathlete, you have to work at it. And if you want your hearing to be better, you have to work at it,” she says.

She cautions that it isn’t an easy journey—but the reward is enormous.

“Every day you have to put in the work, you have to put in the focus, and day after day, things will get there,” Anna says. “There’s times that you want to stop, you don’t want to work more at it. But that’s not ever going to make anybody better.”

Her advice for others is to stay determined to reach the end goal.

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” she says. “It’s not easy and there are lots of challenges. But, at the end of it, there’s nothing like crossing the finish line.”

Learn more about how a Cochlear Implant may benefit you!

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  1. The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is compatible with the Nucleus Profile Series, CI500 Series, CI24RE (Freedom) Series, CI24R and CI24M implants. The timeframe for Nucleus 7 Sound Processor compatibility for other implants depends on research and development timelines, manufacturing processes and regulatory approvals.
Skylar Mason
As a journalism student, Baha recipient, and Anders Tjellström Scholarship winner, Skylar is excited to join the team at Cochlear as an intern to tell the stories of other CI and Baha recipients! She attends the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.