Veda, age 8, is a third grader from Montpelier, Virginia who hears with two cochlear implants. When she was born, she was diagnosed with a mild/moderate hearing loss, but her hearing loss progressed and by age 6, she was profoundly deaf. Veda uses Total Communication, both talking and signing, to communicate. Even though she has bilateral cochlear implants, Veda sometimes misses out on things. In school she relies on an educational interpreter to help fill in those missing ga

DIY: Hearing Device Decorations Raina’s mom, Morgan, loves to decorate her hearing aids for every season. Get your hearing technology ready for summer with your own design! Materials: ✏ a pencil ❏ paper ✄ scissors ❍ stickers or washi tape 1. Trace the shape of your hearing device onto a piece of paper. 2. Cut out the hearing device shape. This will be your rough template. 3. Choose your favorite sticker or washi tape. Washi tape happens to be the perfect width for hearing ai

My Dream Career My dream is to be a cochlear implant audiologist. I would love to be a mentor to my patients, someone who can relate to the social and emotional aspects of hearing loss, while also being able to provide the best audiological care that I can. While I don’t have a cochlear implant myself, I did grow up with a mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss and wear hearing aids. In fact, I still remember the day I walked into kindergarten with my new hearing aids at

Fla-Mango Vanilla Cupcakes CUPCAKES 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda 1⁄4 teaspoon salt 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1⁄4 cup coconut flavored yogurt (or plain/vanilla yogurt) 3/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla BUTTERCREAM: • 3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature • 1⁄2 cup mango puree (see notes**) • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt • 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2–4 cups icing sugar (see notes***) Preh

Do you remember last summer’s awesome Hearing Our Way interview with Braden Baker, the 10-year-old who has raised $100,000 for kids in need of hearing aids? Ms. Stiene’s class from Long Island, New York loved that issue of Hearing Our Way so much that they wanted to learn more about Braden. They exchanged letters and even had a Skype call with Braden! He sent lots of goodies to the students, like Find Your Purpose sweatshirts and books about his story. Way to go, Braden and f

Meet three sisters from Albany, New York who never let hearing loss get in the way of fun! Big sister Carly, 8, does not have hearing loss but when her younger sisters Emma, 6, and Molly, 1, were diagnosed with hearing loss, they inspired Carly to start a non-profit called Lemon(aids), sewing plush lemons and selling them to raise money for hearing aids! Carly: My sisters are both fun and goofy—I just love them so much! I am really happy that they have hearing aids and can h

Eva is an 11-year-old girl from New Jersey who has always loved reading! She has hearing loss in her left ear, but with the help of her Roger Focus® receiver and wireless system, she never lets hearing loss hold her back ! Ready to discover your next favorite book? Eva invites you to explore her bookshelf. StarGirl by Jerry Spinelli is about a girl who calls herself StarGirl and how she changes her high school. Her small town was as normal as could be until she came. She was

Dear Sophie, Hi! My name is Tionna Mitchell, and I am 12-years-old. I live in Halifax County, Virginia. I have a mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss in my left ear. I wear a hearing aid and use an FM system in the classroom. My hearing aid helps me hear most speech sounds that I wouldn’t be able to hear without it. It also helps me to localize sounds and follow general conversations. My FM helps me hear my teacher as well as my classmates during group discussions and

Hearing My Way My mild/moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was discovered during my first routine hearing check in school. Little did I know that being called down to the nurse’s office in kindergarten would lead me to a future career in audiology! I want to work with kids to make sure they have the hearing technology and accommodations they need to succeed in the classroom. Overcoming Obstacles Growing up, I was always very athletic and played on a competitive soft

Meet five siblings from Minnesota who never let hearing loss get in the way of fun! Older siblings Hannah, Moriah, Isaac, and Hali do not have hearing loss, but love to support their little brother, Jesse, who has a mild hearing loss and uses an Oticon Star FM system in his right ear to help him hear. Hannah: Sometimes I have to repeat things I say to Jesse, but hearing loss doesn’t affect our relationship. We love playing cards, basketball, and watersports together. Moriah:

HOW does Kasey hear? With her headshot in hand, two adorable Labradoodles, and a hearing aid and cochlear implant! All About Me Hi, I’m Kasey from Duxbury, Massachusetts! I am 10-years-old and will be starting fifth grade this fall. I have one older brother, one younger sister, and two Labradoodles (that’s a labrador + poodle) named Ollie and Finley. My family and I love spending time at the beach, but that’s not all I love to do! I also love reading, swimming, drawing, going

Meet Kennedi and Addison, siblings from California who never let hearing loss get in the way of fun! Kennedi, 8, and Addison, 6, both have hearing loss and wear Phonak hearing aids. Together they love to play, craft, and do Lego Robotics. Kennedi: I was diagnosed with moderate/severe hearing loss when I was seven-years-old. My parents told me I was going to get hearing aids, but when I went to school I told my friends I was getting hearing ‘eggs’! It was so funny. Now, I can

Eva is a 10-year-old girl from New Jersey who has always loved reading! She has hearing loss in her left ear, but with the help of her Roger Focus® receiver and wireless system, she never lets hearing loss hold her back! Ready to discover your next favorite book? Eva invites you to explore her bookshelf. El Deafo by Cece Bell is a graphic novel based on the author’s life. The main character, Cece, has ordinary kid struggles such as making friends, keeping them, getting good g

Live Out Loud A poem by Lindsay Cotterman Crying the first time you hear the refrigerator buzz because you’ve never heard it before... Receiving bad grades on video quizzes in school because they weren’t captioned... Closing your eyes during yoga and not knowing what the teacher is saying... Hating sleepovers because once the lights go out you can’t hear your friends... Watching others dancing to try to find the rhythm of the song... Saying “what” or “sorry” because you misse

Have you Heard? A message from Hearing Health Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to prevent, treat, and cure hearing loss and to promote hearing health. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is not hearing loss that you are born with. It is hearing loss that is caused by loud noise that damages hair cells in your inner ear. If you have hearing loss in one or both ears, it is important to take care of the residual hearing that you have. Use these tips to preserve your hearin

“Did I leave my left ear on the nightstand?” David says, “I had such a super busy day that I realized I forgot to put my left cochlear implant on (which never happens!). I went most of the day thinking, why does everything sound ‘off’?” Have you ever had a #hearinglossmoment? Have you ever asked someone to look for your ‘ears’? Send in your story to info@hearingourway.com! #hearinglossmoment #deafmoment #ear #funnymoment #deaf #cochlearimplant #hearingloss #story

Dear Sophie, Hi! My name is Gabe, I’m 11-years-old in 6th grade. I live in New York with my amazing parents and dog named Bear. When I was 5-years-old, my pediatrician found a cholesteatoma in my right ear, an extra skin growth that can grow and destroy the bones in the middle ear. I had surgery to remove it, and a year later, I had another surgery to put a titanium implant in my ear. It replaced two of my three middle ear bones. I use a Phonak CROS® hearing aid and an FM sys

An exciting new Pen Pal Program presented by Ryan Brady with Hearing Our Way! What's a Pen Pal? A friend made by sending and receiving letters. Pen pals usually live far away and have not met each other in person. Hi, I’m Ryan! I started HIPP Kids to connect kids and teens with hearing loss around the world and to help them practice their reading and writing skills in a fun and engaging way. I know how much it helped my sister to meet other kids with hearing loss and share he

HOW does Regan hear? With a lacrosse stick in one hand, a book in the other, and two cochlear implants! All About Me Hi, I’m Regan, and I am 19-years-old. I’m originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, but now I live in Boston, Massachusetts where I’m a freshman at Harvard University! Hearing My Way When I was born, there was no mandatory newborn hearing screening. It wasn’t until I was 9-months-old that my parents began to suspect I might have hearing loss. I was taken to many do

Meet Raymond, Isaac, and Audrey, siblings from Virginia who never let hearing loss get in the way of fun! Raymond, 13, and Audrey, 6, both have bilateral cochlear implants. Isaac, 11, does not have hearing loss. These siblings love to swim, rock climb, and play basketball together. Raymond: My brother Isaac always helped me at the pool and beach before I got the waterproof case for my cochlear implants. Even though he’s my younger brother, I feel like he watches over me a bit