Maria Anderson is a shining example of a cochlear implant recipient who has never let them slow her down for a moment.

A marathon runner, hiker and adventurer she recently completed a marathon in Greenland while wearing her Advanced Bionics processor clipped to her running shorts. She has also hiked Kilimanjaro, and to the base camp of Mt. Everest as well as around Mount Blanc.

Maria’s hearing loss began in her mid-30s. She continued to compensate, determined not to wear a hearing aid so not to show her disability. She continued to struggle for 10 years before a total loss in her right ear forced her to reconsider.

She received an Advanced Bionics implant in 2007 and two years later went bilateral. Both operations were done by Dr. John Niparko at Johns Hopkins.

She discusses her fear of losing the 8% residual hearing in her left before going bilateral, her work environment, and the support from her family.

At first embarrassed by her deafness, she discovered the Sarasota chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America where she learned how to advocate for herself, and others and her insights are invaluable and mentoring to help others has become a passion. TRANSCRIPT IS AVAILABLE AT COCHLEARIMPLANTBASICS.COM