Patrick and Beverly Holloway:  A Family CI Story

The Holloway story demonstrates the impact that hearing loss has on the whole family. Patrick began using hearing aids in his 70s and received a cochlear implant in March 2021, the day after he turned 80.

What was your family’s experience with hearing loss before getting a cochlear implant?
Patrick drove a truck for many years, rode dirt bikes with his son, and pretty much did anything loud in the younger years—which left him with bilateral hearing loss and needing hearing aids in his 70s, which he purchased from a local ENT office. They worked well for him for about three years and then he repeatedly returned to the audiologist for adjustments and said "something’s wrong..." until it was clear that he was deaf. “We had basically no communication. No communication with an elderly man, 77 at the time, creates anger, frustration, humiliation, depression, and just about every negative word you can think of, and most of those emotions also describes the spouse.” It was a horrific experience.

What was your experience like with your hearing healthcare providers in terms of learning about cochlear implant candidacy and information about the surgery process and rehabilitation?
A cochlear implant was never mentioned by the local ENT or audiologist. Patrick noted that he had seen that Rush Limbaugh had a cochlear implant and wondered if that would help him. Time spent researching options in the area kept leading back to John Dornhoffer MD at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, AR. “Dr. Dornhoffer is remarkably well known, celebrated, honored and Arkansas is fortunate to have him! That's help a mere 30+ miles away. I could only pray that the team at UAMS could take this man who could not hear and make some sense out of why he was there. It worked out great.” Patrick was a candidate for cochlear implant surgery which was scheduled for March 18, 2021, the day after he turned 80.

What problems, if any, did you experience either getting information about cochlear implants or working with insurance to have it covered?
The clinic at University of Arkansas handled the insurance completely. “We think it is vital that people know that CI is covered by most insurance providers. With Medicare and our secondary Medicare policy that pays 100% of what Medicare does not cover, we have not paid one penny!”

What has your family’s experience been since getting cochlear implants in terms of follow-up appointments, rehabilitation and day-to-day hearing with the cochlear implant?
Dr. Matthew Brown, the CI audiologist, has been wonderful to work with in mapping the device and he is both knowledgeable and patient. Rachael Beckham, a speech language pathologist, has been fabulous with helping Patrick learn to recognize the sounds he was now hearing and suggesting home practice. The team at UAMS could not be more qualified.

Since the surgery, what advice or information would you want someone who is considering a cochlear implant to know?

First of all, we would want to share the miraculous event of the first day the when the CI was turned on. As the wife, you become protective of your husband who cannot hear, so, in watching the first activation appointment, I had to turn off that guard and be still. Patrick had learned to somewhat read lips and with everyone in masks, it was challenging. During the two visits that first day with Dr. Brown and Ms. Beckham, tears began to roll down my face as I sat behind him and could hear him answer questions because he could hear! You have no idea the relief I felt. Even before we left the offices, I could tell that prayers had been answered, and we had a lot of people praying through this process. Due to traffic and the time of the appointment, I asked my husband to drive home. After we left the appointment and were on the freeway in Little Rock, he was driving and watching the road, and we were having the first conversation we have had in 3 years!

Our desire is to help people realize that cochlear implants are not just for the wealthy but are available for anyone. The opportunity to have a cochlear implant changes a senior’s life and attitude from "my life is ending" to "my life has a new beginning."