From patient to provider: Husker student uses personal experience to prepare for audiology career

05 Mar 2024    

Lydia Teegerstrom doesn’t remember having her cochlear implants activated. She was implanted on her right side at 14 months and on her left at five years old. But she knows having them has changed her life. Now she’s using her experience to prepare to help others like her. 

Teegerstrom, a native of Firth, Nebraska, is a second-year student in the clinical doctorate in audiology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She eventually wants to work with adults with hearing aids and cochlear implants. 

“I will and already have connected with patients on a deeper level because of our shared experiences,” Teegerstrom said. “I feel they have more trust in audiological practices when I am serving them. Additionally, I have some tips and tricks that I have learned over my 20 years of being a CI user that the typical audiologist may not know about.” 

Early in Teegerstrom’s pursuit of her audiology degree, she was approached by professor of practice Stacie Ray about creating a cochlear implant support group at the Barkley Speech Language and Hearing Clinic. 

“She explained that this idea had been around for awhile, and that when I entered the program, I was the perfect person to execute for a capstone project.”

Teegerstrom acknowledges being a CI user does not come without challenges. 

“As I have become older, I am more aware about my challenges,” Teegerstrom said. “Like most people with hearing loss, background noise makes it harder to understand people. I feel like I have to make more of an effort to listen to conversations. Sometimes I do not realize someone is talking to me or a sound is occurring in the environment (like a firetruck while driving).” 

Regardless of the difficulties, Teegerstrom is grateful for the difference her cochlear implants have made in her life. 

“I would not be the person who I am today [without the cochlear implants],” Teegerstrom said. “With them, I can participate in the hearing world much more easily than if I did not have them. I can listen and speak for myself. Additionally, it allows me to hear the environment around me, which makes me feel safer. My friendships with my deaf and hard of hearing friends is on a different level than any of my other friendships I have.” 

The cochlear implant support group at the Barkley Clinic is open to individuals who are CI candidates themselves, a current CI user or a loved one of a CI user/candidate. Anyone interested in joining or getting more information about the group can contact Lydia at lteegerstrom3@huskers.unl.edu.