{"id":17152,"date":"2012-01-11T05:33:37","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T10:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=17152"},"modified":"2012-01-11T05:57:10","modified_gmt":"2012-01-11T10:57:10","slug":"texan-known-as-groundbreaker-in-overcoming-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/11\/texan-known-as-groundbreaker-in-overcoming-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Texan Known as Groundbreaker in Overcoming Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texan Known as Groundbreaker in Overcoming Hearing Loss<\/strong><\/p>\n

January 4, 2012
\nPosted by ellen<\/p>\n

Texas native Teri Wathen never thought of her actions as being
\ngroundbreaking. But the woman\u2019s drive to get her own cochlear implant set
\nthings in motion for numerous others who also needed the life-changing
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n

In Teri\u2019s high school business class, the racket of her student\u2019s
\ntypewriters made it difficult for her to listen to questions. Her powerful
\nhearing aids, which she had worn since she was 12 years old, amplified the
\nsounds of their voices along with everything else. Because of the severity
\nof her hearing loss, she chose to spend the last nine years of her teaching
\ncareer working one-on-one with students at home on medical leave because it
\nprovided a quieter hearing environment.<\/p>\n

Hearing and communication skills are critically important in many
\nprofessions, especially teaching. Not to be discouraged, Teri\u2019s desire to
\nhear better sent her in search of a cochlear implant. \u201cI walked out laughing
\nin disbelief when told I hadn\u2019t met the criteria,\u201d Teri recalls after her
\nfirst evaluation. \u201cI was struggling so hard it just didn\u2019t make sense.\u201d Two
\nyears would pass before she would qualify for the device, and since she was
\nnearing retirement she wanted the surgery while she was still insured.<\/p>\n

A letter arrived in the mail from the insurance company denying Teri\u2019s
\ncoverage of \u201chearing aids.\u201d The school was self-insured, meaning her
\nemployer ultimately made the decision on coverage so Teri set off to appeal
\nthe denial. When she arrived at the school\u2019s insurance department,
\ncoincidentally the secretary was a former babysitter. \u201cI explained to her
\nthis wasn\u2019t a hearing aid \u2013 it was a cochlear implant,\u201d she said, \u201cWhen she
\nunderstood the difference she immediately let me speak with the risk
\nmanager. His first question was: Have you been deaf since birth?\u201d Teri\u2019s
\nprogressive loss let her answer no to this pre-existing condition question.
\n\u201cAt that moment he wrote \u201cCover This!\u201d on my letter and returned a copy of
\nthe denial to the insurance company. He never knew the impact he was making
\non my life,\u201d Teri remembers.<\/p>\n

Teri quickly spread the word to two other teachers in the school district
\nwho also needed cochlear implants \u2013 she was breaking ground for others
\ndesperately needing to improve their hearing. Surgery and activation of her
\nfirst cochlear implant occurred just weeks before Teri retired.<\/p>\n

After months of rehabilitation to train her brain and ear to interpret the
\nnew sounds, the teacher was ready to step up and help other people with
\nhearing loss. She approached a local ASL (American Sign Language) agency
\nwith an idea: create a division that could provide resources to individuals
\nwith hearing loss who didn\u2019t sign. There were hundreds of people she could
\neducate about hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive listening
\ndevices. The agency agreed and was awarded the state contract. Since 2003,
\nTeri, once again a groundbreaker, has mentored adults, parents and children
\non successfully living with hearing loss. Today she serves as a Hearing Loss
\nResource Specialist for the Texas Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative
\nServices.<\/p>\n

Hereditary hearing loss touches many of Teri\u2019s family members, including her
\nhusband, two sons and two grandchildren. She has led the way when it\u2019s time
\nfor them to consider a cochlear implant.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite traditions is attending a holiday party where a friend
\nplays music on a saxophone,\u201d Teri says. \u201cI\u2019m almost moved to tears by my new
\nability to enjoy music again because of my cochlear implants. In fact I
\nrecently invited my son\u2019s friend who just received his cochlear implant so
\nhe could experience it, too, for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teri will no doubt continue to discover new ways to reach people challenged
\nwith hearing loss and help them find ways to live more productively. Once a
\ngroundbreaker always a groundbreaker.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to visit with Teri about her personal journey I encourage you
\nto attend the Houston Hearing Health Seminar on January 21st.<\/p>\n

Hearing once again,<\/p>\n

Ellen<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.hearinghealthseminar.com\/2012\/01\/texan-groundbreaker\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texan Known as Groundbreaker in Overcoming Hearing Loss January 4, 2012 Posted by ellen Texas native Teri Wathen never thought of her actions as being groundbreaking. But the woman\u2019s drive to get her own cochlear implant set things in motion…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[1629,4621,23,6096,1554,768,34,1570,3249,1245,3247,11989,470,11990,11981,11988],"class_list":["post-17152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-american-sign-language","tag-article","tag-asl","tag-assistive-listening-devices","tag-cochlear-implant","tag-communication","tag-dars","tag-hearing","tag-hearing-aids","tag-hearing-loss","tag-hearing-loss-resource-specialist","tag-hereditary","tag-insurance","tag-pre-existing-condition","tag-teri-wathen","tag-texas-deptartment-of-assistive-and-rehabilitative-services"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4sE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17122,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/10\/cochlear-implant-health-seminar-12112-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":17152,"position":0},"title":"Cochlear Implant Health Seminar 1\/21\/12 – Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Cochlear Implant Health Seminar 1\/21\/12 - Houston This is an article about a Cochlear Implant recipient (Teri Wathen) and free Hearing Health Seminar http:\/\/www.hearinghealthseminar.com\/2012\/01\/texan-groundbreaker\/ Lois Johnson, Director HLAA Texas State Office http:\/\/www.hearingloss.org email: ettalois@sbcglobal.net The Hearing Health Seminar Saturday January 21, 2012 Marriott Westchase 2900 Briarpark Drive Houston, Texas 77042\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2335,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/10\/08\/workshop-on-hearing-loss\/","url_meta":{"origin":17152,"position":1},"title":"Workshop on Hearing Loss","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"FREE WORKSHOP ON HEARING LOSS \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I CAN HEAR YOU, BUT I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND YOU!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Come attend a free workshop on hearing loss Monday, October 29, 2007 from 8 a. m to 4 p.m. at the Bayer Conference Room, Student Center of Lee College, 200 Lee Drive, Baytown, TX, 77520. 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