WAIC In the News

Heather Whitestone McCallum didn't mind not hearing her name being called when she won the title of Miss America in 1995, but when it came to her family, it was another story. She couldn't accept missing out on what her children said.

When the winner of the 1995 Miss America pageant was announced, McCallum-then Whitestone-turned to a fellow finalist for a visual cue, knowing that the winner almost always cries. When she saw that the finalist was dry-eyed, she stepped forward, becoming the first woman with a disability to win the crown.

During her reign, McCallum-who lost her hearing when she was 18 months old-spoke at the ASHA Convention and described the Miss America role as a platform from which she could make a difference and serve as a role model for others. In an emotional speech, McCallum emphasized that "people who are deaf and hard of hearing should have the freedom to choose whatever communication option will help them build the self-esteem to be successful." For McCallum, learning to speak was a key factor in her success, but she noted that for others, it might be American Sign Language or total communication.

She also was honored with the Annie Glenn Award at the 19th Annual Communication Awards, a project of the National Council on Communicative Disorders sponsored by ASHA and the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action.

McCallum had long been aware of cochlear implants, but felt that she didn't need one. Despite a profound hearing loss, she was able to talk on the phone with her family and, using a hearing aid and FM system, was able to converse at noisy media receptions. But six years later, after marrying John McCallum, former aide to Newt Gingrich and now executive director of the TAG Foundation, and starting a family, the limitations of using hearing aids and speechreading became more apparent. When her sons, John and James, now 2 years and 13 months, respectively, became toddlers, she couldn't understand their speech. They spoke while looking down, walking away, or from behind her back.

But the turning point came when McCallum realized that visual cues are not always enough. Last fall, John Jr. fell and scraped his head on the patio. McCallum never heard his cries, although her husband responded. "He cried and I was not there to comfort him. That made me want to have an implant. I wanted the option to hear more," she said. "My boys have taught me a lot about my deafness-I have been missing far more sounds than I realized."

McCallum received a cochlear implant on Aug. 7 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD, where the surgery was performed by otolaryngologist John Niparko. Six weeks later, audiologist Jennifer Yeagle activated the device. She noted that, for all cochlear implant patients, learning to use the implant takes time, motivation, patience, and audiologic rehabilitation.

"Heather's motivation for a cochlear implant was generated by her strong desire to better communicate with her children as they grow," Yeagle said. "Her determination will allow her to work through the frustrations and be patient while learning to hear with the implant. She has already proven that she embraces difficult challenges."

In the weeks following the activation, McCallum, who had not heard anything out of her right ear for 28 years, was able to hear the sound of water, the whoosh of hairspray, the rolling wheels of her sons' bicycles, the zipper on her purse, and strains of music from the violin and piano.

She plans to seek audiologic rehabilitation services. "There will be new sounds that I did not hear with the hearing aid that I am not familiar with," she said. "Aural rehabilitation will help me better understand the sounds I'm hearing."

Meanwhile, voices, while still fuzzy, are gradually becoming clearer. After a week of using the implant, McCallum was able to hear the sound of her sons' voices at the breakfast table.

Reprint from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association ASHA Leader Volume 7 Number 20, November 5, 2002