Whanganui woman’s love of piano restored through cochlear implant

Vivienne Anderson has received a successful cochlear implant which helped her to enjoy music again.

A cochlear implant has allowed a Whanganui woman to play the piano again.

The Southern Cochlear Implant Programme is commemorating 20 years of delivering hearing services to regions such as Manawatū-Whanganui.

Whanganui resident Vivienne Anderson said her hearing had been gradually declining since she was 8 years old.

As Anderson grew older, she withdrew from social activities, including church, as she could not lip-read in group situations and was embarrassed if she spoke too loud.

She worked as a financial administrator for a church organisation in Whakatāne and most of her role involved face-to-face interactions. However, she coped by lip reading and positioning herself where she could best follow discussions.

Her career had been focused on the written word – research, technical and policy writing, and creating training manuals.

Anderson had worn powerful hearing aids since she was in her 30s, but she felt her deafness stopped her from socialising and made her isolated.

In 2020, she was diagnosed as profoundly deaf and qualified for a cochlear implant.

“I couldn’t pretend any more.”

She said the cochlear implant allowed her to participate in church for the first time in a decade.

“I suffered from depression over the years, and I don’t have any of that any more.

“The world is available to me now. My hearing is restored, and I am just blown away.”

It enabled her to enjoy music and singing again - since the surgery, she has had her piano tuned twice.

Vivienne Anderson's piano has been tuned twice since she received her cochlear implant.

She has re-entered the workforce with a part-time job cooking at a rest home, and is the parish treasurer for Whanganui Anglicans. She also volunteers at the Salvation Army op-shop.

Anderson is now able to have weekly catch-ups with her sister Helen on the phone.

However, she takes out the cochlear implant to garden in peace so she doesn’t hear the traffic - she was unaware of it when she bought her house.