Before getting my cochlear implant, music was an important part of my life. I liked discovering new music, listening to full albums, and finding things that were different from what I already knew.

With the implant, that relationship changed. I didn’t stop listening to music, but now I mostly listen to music I already knew from before.

The main reason is that new music takes more effort. Listening to something unfamiliar means more work: understanding the voice, separating instruments, recognizing the rhythm. All of that is more tiring than it used to be.

Music I already know works better. Knowing how a song goes, when the voice comes in, or how the rhythm moves makes listening much easier.

That doesn’t mean I enjoy it less. On the contrary: I really like returning to songs that were already part of my life. I just listen to them in a different way.

I no longer put music on just as background. If I play music, it’s because I want to listen and I know I have the energy for it.

I’m not trying to go back to how I listened before. I don’t feel like music has stopped being important. It’s a different relationship, and for now, this is how it works for me.