PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — I first began to go deaf several years ago when I developed Meniere’s disease, which damaged my inner ear and affected my ability to hear.
As I lost my hearing, I relied on a special device that streamed sound directly to my hearing aids while I was anchoring KOIN 6 Newscasts. It was the only way I could function to do my job and communicate to you. But outside the studio, unconnected from the device, I struggled to hear my friends and co-workers, my wife, my grandkids.
The sound of silence: Jeff Gianola’s journey with Meniere’s disease
I was lost. I was living in a world of silence.
To be able to hear again, to recognize sound, to lift the veil of silence I made the decision to get a cochlear implant…