He was deaf for 35 years + Listener Stories kickoff
About this episode
This episode features Jesse Herrera sharing his grandfather's journey of regaining hearing after 35 years of silence, along with a kickoff for this year's Listener Stories competition.
Last year, we ran three full episodes of listener-produced stories. But one beautiful story was just a little too long for the final cut… and we couldn’t leave it behind. In this episode, sound designer Jesse Herrera tells the story of his grandfather, who lived in silence for 35 years before receiving a cochlear implant, and the overwhelming, joyful process of learning to hear again. Afterwards, Dallas and Casey reflect on last year’s Listener Stories and kick off this year’s competition. Learn about this year’s Listener Stories competition and submit your story at 20k.org/2026. To make a donation to the Harry Hakeem Scholarship Fund supporting the education of children with hearing loss, visit peiabq.org/giving. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at 20k.org/plus. Subscribe on YouTube to see our video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Explore incredible speakers, soundbars, and more at sonos.com. Visit quo.com/20k…
Topics covered
- hearing loss
- cochlear implant
- listener stories
- sound design
- family stories
Keywords
- cochlear implant
- hearing
- listener stories
- sound design
- family
Sponsors
Sonos, Quo, Gusto, Shopify
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- Harry Potter and the Sound Designer’s Stone
- When Everything Stopped, He Started Listening
- The State of the 20K Multiverse™
- Doctor Who & The BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- Butterfly in the Synth: Reading Rainbow’s Magical Theme Song
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