Every year on February 25, advocates for hearing health mark International Cochlear Implant Day to celebrate the remarkable medical advances and sophisticated technology that make cochlear implants life-changing solutions for individuals with severe or profound hearing loss. For millions worldwide who navigate the isolating world of hearing impairment, these devices represent more than just hardware; they are a bridge back to human connection, communication, and the vibrant sounds of everyday life.
Among those celebrating this milestone is Teri Breier, who received her cochlear implant in March 2025—four decades after she was first fitted with traditional hearing aids. It took Breier eight full years after she medically qualified for a cochlear implant to finally take that significant leap at the age of 60. Now, looking back after nearly a year of dramatically improved hearing, communication, and human connection enabled by this life-changing technology, she often finds herself asking a profound question: why didn’t she do it sooner?
The simple answer, as Breier reflects, is that she simply wasn’t ready—until she was. After a lifetime of depending on increasingly powerful hearing aids to cope with the slow, relentless progression of her hearing loss, she always expected that there would be an even more advanced conventional option waiting around the corner to help her get by.
Early Signs and Hearing Loss in School
Breier’s journey with hearing impairment began decades ago, long before modern digital screening tools and legal protections for students with disabilities were put in place. She was first diagnosed with mild sensorineural hearing loss during a routine school health screening when she was in the first grade. The year was 1971, a time that predated mandatory newborn hearing exams and the passage of the landmark Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which eventually evolved into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990.
At the time, aside from routine monitoring of her condition, doctors prescribed no medical intervention, and no one ever suggested classroom accommodations or special support for a student struggling to catch up. Throughout elementary school, junior high, and high school, Breier relied on her own intuition, consistently choosing to sit near the front of the classroom so she wouldn’t miss critical instructions. Although she performed well academically, she found herself increasingly struggling to understand her teachers and follow spontaneous conversations with her classmates. By the time she reached age 16, her hearing loss had deteriorated from mild to moderate. Yet, at that vulnerable age, the social stigma weighed heavily, and she was simply not willing to be labeled as "the girl with the hearing aids."
Navigating College and Career with Hearing Aids
As a freshman entering college, Breier faced the daunting acoustic challenges of large lecture halls, but she managed to follow along well enough to maintain her grades. However, upon returning to Los Angeles that summer, her grandmother insisted that she finally obtain hearing aids. Looking back, Breier recognizes what a turning point that was, noting that wearing them made an enormous, immediate difference in her ability to learn, understand, communicate, and connect meaningfully with her peers.
Nevertheless, the heavy burden of social stigma and perceived shame meant she continued to hide her invisible disability from the outside world. She spent the first 30 years of her professional life—spanning careers in journalism, advertising, and marketing—actively trying to blend in and conceal her impairment. Eventually, she stepped away from the corporate world to establish her own business as a freelance copywriting consultant.
As the years passed and her hearing loss continued to worsen naturally, it grew increasingly difficult to bluff her way through professional environments, daily life, and her beloved personal hobby as a choral singer. She frequently experienced deep embarrassment when she misunderstood a colleague or inadvertently sang out of tune during rehearsals. This frustration ultimately drove her to quit choir, pull back from social interactions, and retreat further into isolation.
The Transformative Support and Influence of HLAA
A major turning point arrived when Breier discovered the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) in 2015. By that time, she had dedicated herself to extensive inner healing work, built up her self-confidence, and reached a place where she was finally ready to "own" her hearing loss openly. She quickly integrated into the community, taking on leadership roles in two consecutive HLAA chapters and forging deep friendships with fellow members who had already received cochlear implants. Almost without exception, these peers shared that undergoing the procedure was the single best decision they had ever made.
Breier initially began the medical qualification process for a cochlear implant in 2017, but she ultimately decided not to proceed at that time. She was still managing to "get by" and was genuinely terrified of losing her remaining residual hearing, as well as her continued enjoyment of music. Furthermore, she worried about whether she could sustain her freelance business through the extensive downtime required for recovery and rigorous aural rehabilitation. Despite stepping back from the surgery then, she remained deeply active within the HLAA network, attending annual national conventions and volunteering tirelessly for the Long Beach Walk4Hearing initiative.
Her perspective shifted permanently in 2023 when she joined the staff of the HLAA. Working at the organization allowed her to make a tangible, meaningful difference for other individuals dealing with hearing loss across the country. Collaborating on a daily basis with colleagues who successfully wore cochlear implants provided the final push she needed to take action and stop missing out on the full richness of life.
Her First Year with a Cochlear Implant
Fortunately, Breier was able to understand speech right from the very first moment of her cochlear implant "Activation Day" in April 2025. This remarkable milestone occurred even though every single sound and syllable was initially overlaid by annoying robotic whistles and echoes as her brain struggled to interpret the unfamiliar digital signals. Through consistent, dedicated aural rehabilitation practices, those disruptive artificial noises completely disappeared after three months.
Since completing that adjustment period, Breier has successfully recaptured high-frequency sounds that she has not had direct access to since her twenties. She is once again rediscovering the daily joy—and occasional playful annoyance—of hearing birds singing outside her window. She can now easily understand songs and commercials playing on her car radio and hold clear telephone conversations without relying on captions.
Her engagement with the community has reached new heights as well. Just recently, she was elected to serve as president of the HLAA Los Angeles Chapter, marking the next chapter in her ongoing hearing health journey. To Breier, it feels as though an entirely new world has opened up to her. Most importantly, she finally feels like her old self, actively participating in conversations, nurturing relationships, and engaging fully in daily life.
At present, Breier remains bimodal, utilizing a traditional hearing aid in one ear and her cochlear implant in the other, though she is already thoughtfully considering when the right time might be to pursue a second cochlear implant. Every day, she remains profoundly grateful for the technology that restored her connection to the world, and especially for the role models within the HLAA community who boldly showed her what was truly possible.
