If you follow this blog, you are likely aware that when I learned my daughter Sonya had profound hearing loss and would need cochlear implants, the belief that she would not hear music as we do was one of the most distressing aspects of the diagnosis.
Now that Sonya is two years and five months (and has had cochlear implants since she was seven months old), I still don’t know what she hears when we play music. I do know one thing, however: she loves to dance!
Not only does she love to dance, I see her interpret music in her dance. She seems to hear the dynamics and the tempo. She is also an amazing mimic as she attempts to plie and arabesque. I don’t know exactly where she learned these moves. I am not exactly a great dancer.
I can’t get enough of the joy that radiates from her as she dances. I hope that other parents who have children with cochlear implants find some comfort in it too. We know so little about how the brain interprets sound electronically versus acoustically – especially for children implanted so young. Sonya’s love of music and dance shows us that at least for her, cochlear implants are not yet adversely impacting an appreciation for music.
If you are interested, check out my earlier posts on Sonya and music:
Hearing Sonya Rose 
Watching Sonya dancing makes me so happy, nothing to do with hearing loss, just a beautiful little person having fun! Our kids surprise us everyday with what they can do, I’m starting to rethink all concerns that were outlined about hearing with CIs. On Sunday I saw a boy with CIs hold a full conversation in a noisy food hall with his mum, I have always been led to believe that without at last an FM system, a convo in that environment would be near impossible but clearly it’s not… And he wasn’t lip reading.
Grateful for amazing technology and even more amazing kids!
Ps.. Love your blog x
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That is amazing to hear! I am so grateful that our little ones are thriving despite everything. Agree – they are amazing 😍😘😘
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