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Cochlear Implant Basics: What a Candidate for a Cochlear Implant Needs to Know is designed as both a guide and a companion. For many, the suggestion of a cochlear implant can be overwhelming—even frightening. Author Richard Pocker’s goal is to dispel misconceptions, answer common questions, and provide a clear path through what can often feel like uncharted territory. Within these pages, you’ll find the transcripts of twenty-five podcast interviews, rehabilitation exercises used after surgery and activation, and a carefully curated list of resources. Together, these resources form a roadmap for anyone considering or beginning the cochlear implant journey.

Above all, Cochlear Implant Basics is about hope and connection. A cochlear implant can restore not only speech comprehension and awareness of environmental sounds but also the joy of music, the ease of a phone call, and the simple yet profound gift of participation in daily life. This book’s objective is to reach those “sitting on the fence” and encourage them to step forward—to leave the isolation of deafness behind and rediscover the fullness of living.

Richard Pocker is a self-published author, philanthropist, and lifelong advocate for people with hearing loss. At the age of thirty, he experienced a sudden and total collapse of his hearing that led to thirty-five years of complete deafness. In 2016, with simultaneous bilateral cochlear implant surgery, he regained speech comprehension and dedicated himself to helping others find their way out of the isolation of deafness. His website, Cochlear Implant Basics, cochlearimplantbasics.com hosts a library of podcast interviews, resources, and transcripts that have guided hundreds of candidates and families through the cochlear implant journey.