February 6, 2012 8:45 PM
State Journal Register
Someday in the not-too-distant future, Ellie and Michelle Tjelmeland should be able to hear each other perfectly.
Michelle was to take her first step toward that goal today, checking into Carle Clinic in Urbana for a cochlear implant, a procedure daughter Ellie had just over a year ago.
Ellie, now 21/2 years old, has been nearly deaf since birth; her mom has been losing her hearing gradually throughout her life.
Now, Ellie hears better than her mother.
That as much as anything else pushed her into making the decision to get an implant.
"I'm definitely starting to feel a bit isolated," she said.
The cochlea is a tiny, snail-shell-shaped organ buried deep within the ear. Inside it are tiny chambers called canals, which are lined with microscopic hair cells.
Vibrations transmitted via the ear drum pass into the cochlea, where they stimulate the hair cells, in turn activating the auditory nerve.
And she wants to get back to the old self that faced the world so confidently before sound began to fade away.
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