Voice Within Silence

 When Silence Speaks: Surgery- What to Expect  There are moments in a family’s journey when time seems to behave differently. Chapter 7 of When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 focuses on one of those moments: the day of cochlear implant surgery. Not the procedure itself, but the experience that surrounds it. Parents described preparing for a day they had thought about for weeks, sometimes months. They spoke about early mornings, hospital corridors, and waiting rooms where minutes felt longer than usual. Many shared how the hours passed slowly, filled with quiet thoughts, hopes, and unspoken worries. What became clear while working on this chapter was that surgery is rarely experienced as a single event. It is a collection of moments. The conversations beforehand. The explanations offered by the care team. The waiting. The relief. And the emotions that linger even after the day has passed. Parents did not describe this experience as purely frightening or ...

When Silence Speaks: Culture, Identity and Belonging  As families move beyond diagnosis, information, and early decisions, a deeper set of questions often begins to surface. Questions not just about hearing, but about identity. Who is my child becoming? Where do they belong? How do we honour all parts of who they are? Chapter 6 of When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 turns toward these reflections. It explores culture, identity, and belonging, not as fixed destinations, but as experiences that grow and shift over time. While working on this chapter, I listened to parents describe how they gradually became aware that hearing loss was not only a medical or educational journey, but also a cultural and emotional one. Many found themselves learning about Deaf culture, hearing culture, and the meaningful space in between where their family lived day to day. Parents spoke openly about the responsibility they felt. The responsibility to listen. To learn. To avoid a...

 When Silence Speaks: Holding the Emotional Journey After diagnosis, after information begins to settle, and after decisions start to form, many families find themselves facing something quieter and harder to name: the emotional journey. Chapter 5 of When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 turns toward this inner landscape. Not the visible steps families take, but the feelings that move alongside them, often unnoticed and rarely spoken about. While working on this chapter, I listened to parents describe emotions that did not arrive one at a time. Fear and hope. Grief and gratitude. Doubt and determination. Many shared that they were surprised by how conflicting emotions could exist together, sometimes within the same hour, sometimes within the same moment. Parents spoke about mourning what they had imagined for their child, while also feeling deeply thankful for support, technology, and moments of progress. They talked about days when confidence felt str...

When Silence Speaks: Meeting the Experts After the diagnosis is shared and the first questions begin to form, many families find themselves stepping into unfamiliar rooms. Rooms filled with specialists, medical language, and decisions that feel important even before they are fully understood. Chapter 4 of When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 focuses on this moment: meeting the experts for the first time. Audiologists. Surgeons. Therapists. Educators. Parents spoke about walking into these appointments carrying far more than notebooks and reports. They carried uncertainty, fear, hope, and the quiet pressure to understand quickly. Many shared that they did not even know what questions to ask, only that they wanted to do the best possible thing for their child. While working on this chapter, I listened as parents described how those early encounters shaped their confidence. Some remembered feeling overwhelmed by information delivered too quickly. Others spok...

  When Silence Speaks: Hearing Aids vs Cochlear Implants After understanding begins to take shape, many families find themselves standing at a crossroads. Not an obvious one. Not a clearly marked one. But a moment where decisions feel deeply personal and difficult to hold. While working on When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 , I listened to parents describe this phase with a mixture of honesty and hesitation. Chapter 3 focuses on one of the most challenging moments many families encounter: deciding between hearing aids and cochlear implants. As a cochlear implant user, I’ve seen how this question often lingers. It is rarely answered quickly. Parents spoke about researching late into the night, listening to professionals, hearing opinions from family and friends, and still feeling unsure. What they were trying to decide went far beyond technology. They were thinking about identity, access, timing, and what felt right for their child. Working alongside Dr....

  When Silence Speaks: Learning to Understand   After the first wave of shock begins to settle, many parents find themselves facing a different challenge: understanding. Not understanding emotionally, but practically. What does this diagnosis actually mean? What do these charts and terms describe about their child’s world? While working on When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 , I listened to parents describe this phase with honesty and vulnerability. They spoke about appointments filled with unfamiliar language, audiograms that felt impossible to interpret, and the pressure to absorb information while still processing the emotional weight of the diagnosis. Chapter 2 focuses on this moment: the shift from hearing the news to trying to make sense of it. Parents shared how learning about hearing loss introduced new terms and concepts all at once. Degrees. Types. Test results that suddenly mattered deeply. For many, the challenge wasn’t lack of informati...

When Silence Speaks: The Moment Everything Changed There are moments in life when one sentence quietly divides everything into before and after . While working on When Silence Speaks: The Hearing Together Series, Volume 1 , I listened to parents talk about the moment they first heard their child’s diagnosis. Again and again, they described the same instant: sitting in a hospital room, holding their child close, trying to understand words that felt too heavy to process all at once. Chapter 1 of the book focuses on that moment. Not the medical details alone, but the human experience of hearing unexpected news. Parents spoke about the shock, the feeling that time slowed down. About the questions that came rushing in all at once, often without clear answers. And about the quiet strength they did not realize they possessed until that very moment. For many, the first 24 hours after diagnosis were filled with uncertainty. Some parents described feeling lost, others overwhelmed, and som...