It has now been 13 years since my vestibular neurectomy, and it ended up being the best decision I ever made for my Ménière’s. I’m back to a somewhat normal life, although I’ve lost about 80 percent of the hearing in my right ear and have high pitched tinnitus in the same ear 24/7. 

When I was obtaining my doctorate in audiology, I started noticing some telltale signs of hearing loss when talking to my grandmother.

We can now treat otoferlin-related hearing loss. In the next 10 years, we will continue to reach more groups with specific causes of hearing loss—momentum that will help accelerate the process for everyone.

My firsthand experience with hearing, speech, and language development challenges, both personally and as a parent, helped shape my writing.