Totally deaf for 35 years, Richard received bilateral cochlear implant surgery just prior to his 65th birthday. He went from zero speech comprehension to 85% with time and effort at rehabilitation. He was implanted with two Cochlear implants and activated with two Cochlear Nucleus 6 (which he later upgraded to Nucleus 7 external processors. Only to prove that long term deafness does not necessarily result in poor results of getting a cochlear implant. Today he enjoys socializing, using the telephone (something he was unable to do for 35 years) and hanging out in the local vinyl record store, Daddy-O’s.