I like to hear. As a cochlear implant user, I wear my processors for most all of my awake hours. When I fly, I usually change to a map (settings on my processors) that has ClearVoice medium to block out some of the background noise. This is enough to keep me comfortable on flights under five hours.

Recently, I flew from Atlanta, GA to Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a flight that takes more than 15 hours. Not wanting to miss announcements or service from the flight attendants, I wore my processors for most of the flight. I also used my compilot (a device that streams sound directly to my cochlear implant processors like bluetooth streams to headsets) to hear the television shows and movies that I watched. A few were captioned, but not all.

My cochlear implants give me digital impulses that my brain has learned to decipher versus sound waves that people with natural hearing perceive. The sound I hear is just like what I heard when I had near normal hearing. Throughout this excursion from my home in Minnesota to Johannesburg, South Africa, I kept my processors on to hear the world around me, my husband, my daughter and all service people I came in contact with.

It was a long trip and all of us were tired when we arrived in Johannesburg. After supper with our hosts, I was looking forward to some quiet and a good night of rest. Sometimes when I take my processors off and slip into complete silence, I can feel my body relax with an intense relief as sound is removed from my existence. This was a sensation I relished that night as I prepared for bed.

Waking in the morning, I felt refreshed and ready to explore and enjoy my South African experience, hearing and all. The two weeks flew by and I saw and heard many great things. One of the hearing highlights was the sound of the bird known as the “Go Away Bird.” Also known as grey lourie, this bird earned its nickname because its call sounds like it is saying, “Go Away.” Although I could not see the bird, I heard it clearly and it really does sound like it is saying, “Go Away.” This was a very exciting moment for me. I love hearing any and all birds. Probably because I did not hear them at all for many years.

When it was time to fly home I thought about and remembered how exhausting a lot of hours in an airplane can be with the constant drone of the engines. My daughter, who also travels often, uses Bose noise canceling earbuds. She told me that blocking out the background noise when she travels makes her much more comfortable and relaxed. I decided to remove my processors for most of the flight.

Wow! What a difference that made in how I felt when we arrived home. I did not experience the buzzing exhaustion that comes with hearing constant noise for hours on end. As much as I love to hear and be a part of the hearing world, there are times when it is good to embrace the silence.