Cochlear Implant User Kai Lin: Her Path to Self-Acceptance & Self-Belief

Receiving a cochlear implant (CI) at age 2.5 gave Singaporean Kai Lin a new lease of life after she was diagnosed with bilateral profound hearing loss at age 1. Today, two decades later, she is a young working woman in the island city-state with much to look forward to. Over a Zoom interview, Kai Lin shared how her attempts in trying new things at various stages of her life, while not necessarily pleasant all the time, paved the way to where she is today. Specifically, they paved the way for her self-acceptance, self-belief and equipped her with independent living skills.

The Onset of Her CI Journey

Kai Lin has been a unilateral CI user since she was 2.5 years old. It was suspected that she had profound hearing loss due to a high fever when she was one year old. Apart from a stint at a kindergarten dedicated to kids with hearing loss, she had been mainstreamed throughout her formal education journey.

Navigating the black-hole question: “Are you really deaf?”

At school, Kai Lin had access to support resources like the FM system and after-school tuition provided by the schools. They helped her to fare well at her studies. But, in the meantime, she first encountered questions concerning her identity: is she deaf or is she hearing? Or is she none of them? Once, a schoolmate asked her, “How can you be deaf when you can hear?” She wondered too.

Navigating Social Life: “Do I Belong Here?”

Outside the classroom, Kai Lin picked up Chinese and Modern dance and joined the dance club at her school. She made appearances with the club at various public occasions, like the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) opening ceremony and Singapore Youth Festival (where her team won the Gold award). However, her hearing condition came in the way when she couldn’t hear her teammates well and they did not want to repeat themselves. Such encounters didn’t sit well with her.

Elected as A Student Councillor: “Maybe I Actually Have More Than What I Could See in Myself”

Kai Lin also participated in the selection camp for Student Council in her junior college (a pre-university institution). She had to go through a round of interview (in which she disclosed her CI upfront), the selection camp and to carry out a public campaign (publicising herself to the whole school). She eventually got through it and was elected a Student Councillor. Reaching that stage required popularity besides the guts to take part and achievements to qualify in the first place. This helped Kai Lin realise that there might be something that others appreciated about her, which she had not.

Living Alone for the First Time: Affirming Her Independent Living Skills

Kai Lin was appreciative of her supportive family and the exposures in her school life. But she felt that she lacked the opportunity to exercise her agency in a real-world environment. That changed when she went on a five-month exchange trip to Switzerland. It was her first time living apart from her family. She took the opportunity to visit 18 countries, two of which were on solo trips. She learnt to feed herself, to take care of her belongings and to make decisions for herself. This was an affirmation that she could fend for herself and to live the way she wants to.

Mingling with Kids with CI: Normalising Her CI User Identity

Kai Lin had not had much interaction with other hard-of-hearing people most of her life. It was until her final year at university did she start to involve herself in the larger hard-of-hearing community. She joined a social service club at her university, where she taught kids with CI. Seeing them having fun and even being mischievous helped her to see people with CI, like herself, as normal beings who just happen to have CI.

Her Hope: Knowing More HOH People

Kai Lin advocates for the sharing of knowledge and tips among young deaf adults, like you and me, as we navigate major transitions in our 20s and 30s. For instance, getting a job, going into a relationship, and starting a family. For this, she hopes to know more hard-of-hearing people. Even better, to have events among ourselves.

Hear More from Kai Lin: Hear Me Out Blog

Kai Lin started sharing her personal experiences, like travelling alone, tackling a job interview and dating on a blog (Hear Me Out) in early 2019. She has also shared tips for the public, like how to make communication accessible for a deaf person. It is something that Kai Lin wished she had access to when she was younger. It was also through HMO that I got connected to her.

Kai Lin (left) and her family members.

You could find more cochlear implant user stories here.

CI Project collects cochlear implant user stories. I’d like to invite you to join the private Facebook group. You’ll receive an update of each new story (about once a month) and will get to interact with the characters of each story there. I’m also looking for more cochlear implant user stories. I’d appreciate it if you could nominate a cochlear implant user (including yourself) for me to write a story about!