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Molly Brown has a genetic disease that causes tumours to grow on the auditory nerves. She had one cochlea removed when a tumour was taken out in her 20s, and later had a cochlear implant in the other to stimulate the nerve electrically. When that cochlea also had to be removed she became an ideal candidate for the new type of implant, developed by the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. She is 44 and lives in Washington state, near Seattle.

When did you first notice problems with your hearing?

In 1982, when I was 22, I noticed I was…

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