Kassie DePavia speaks out about Cochlear Implants

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Hearing Loss affects approximately one in every 10 Americans (over 32 million) and an estimated 500 million people worldwide. "One Life to Live" star Kassie DePaiva knows first-hand the impact hearing loss can have on a family. Kassie's son, J.Q., was diagnosed with profound hearing loss when he was one year old.

Research led Kassie, and her husband James, to learn about cochlear implants. A cochlear implant gives the sensation of hearing to someone who is severly hearing impaired or profoundly deaf by eletrically stimulating nerves inside the inner ear. At 18 months, J.Q. received his first cochlear implant and his second at almost 8 years old. This month marks his 11th birthday and his family is celebrating the sounds that he is able to hear and the fact that hearing loss has not slowed him down.