Already suffering severe hearing loss in his left ear, Paul was a successful lawyer in mid career when doctors discovered a meningioma (a benign tumor of the brain covering) on his right side, the removal of which he was told, would most likely result in loss of hearing in his “good” right ear.

This presented Paul with a dilemma. “I had to do something,” Paul said. “Being able to listen and talk is essential to my profession. I work as an arbitrator and mediator, and I frequently speak at national conferences,” Paul stated. Working with Dr. Derald Brackmann, Paul’s solution was a “prophylactic” cochlear implant in his left ear.

Replacing even very poor natural hearing with an artificial device is seldom done. In addition, Paul’s cochlear implant choice was the Cochlear Freedom N24 processor, which, at that time, was still considered experimental by the FDA. Doctors at House Clinic convinced the FDA that in Paul’s case, an early implant with the N24 system was the best plan, so that if he lost his biological hearing, the cochlear implant would be there to replace it.

As anticipated, the surgery did compromise the hearing nerve on the right, however, with his implant in place, Paul was able to leave the House Clinic with his “bionic hearing” functioning. He never lost the ability to hear. Today, most people consider him to be someone with only mild hearing loss. “Thanks to Dr. Brackmann and audiologist Dawna Mills, I was well taken care of at House. But when I went home, I had to figure out the rest of it for myself,” Paul stated. “In Chicago, in 1997 there were few resources for someone who wanted to aggressively resume a high powered business life with a new bionic hearing system,” he continued.

Environmental noise that overwhelms speech content (signal-to-noise ratio) is the problem faced by everyone with a hearing deficit, both in meetings and on telephones. Paul has learned methods of improving the signal-to-noise ratio that inputs to his cochlear implant. “I found that the products marketed to consumers through normal channels were limited in their capabilities. Often they were directed toward stay-at-home grandparents and not designed for the business person,” he indicated.

Paul hired a sound engineer who worked for a major audiovisual company and  together they looked at the products available in the commercial sound equipment market. Paul discovered that there were many products that improved his hearing by reducing the signal-to- noise ratio using microphones that utilize the t-coil function on his cochlear implant. “People with hearing disabilities don’t realize the many possibilities that are available with assistive technology

“Many people withdraw from business activities when they lose their hearing. If they are dependent on normal hearing for their entertainment, they also stop going to movies, concerts and plays. I learned to use equipment and strategies that allow me to communicate as a normal person with an occasional ‘Could you repeat that?’ I am much more successful in my law practice today than I was before I lost my natural hearing. Hearing loss only changes one’s choices, it doesn’t limit one’s potential for success and enjoyment,” Paul stated.