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What’s your backstory?
03-April-2024
Superheroes and villains aren’t the only ones with an origin story. We all have a backstory that has uniquely shaped our identity, values, interests, aversions, and our chosen profession. Not surprisingly, my backstory is directly linked to my profession, research and clinical interests, and that endogenous motivation that keeps bringing me back to the laboratory, clinic, and classroom every day. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I realized how prominently my backstory and related experiences had factored into every facet of my life, but most particularly in my professional life as an audiologist, hearing scientist, educator, and mentor.
This photo of James Costello was taken in 1942 while “Jim” was stationed on the European front from including time in Italy, Sicily, France, Germany, and even some time in Morocco. Jim was in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army and he specialized in parachute assault operations for three years (1942-1945). His company was involved in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the subsequent liberation of France, and even the liberation of the Wöbbelin concentration camp. During the war, Jim was shot down in the Battle of Sicily (1943) and suffered considerable shrapnel wounds for which he was awarded a purple heart. Jim was a war hero who after his service returned to work at the Lakehurst Naval Base as a civilian engineer for the remainder of his professional service. Though his physical wounds healed, he carried with him an invisible wound in the form of severe-to-profound high frequency hearing loss. He tried hearing aids but never found much benefit. He also visited several otolaryngologists who told him that there was nothing medically or surgically that could be done to treat his hearing loss…and at the time, they were right.
How is this related to my origin story? Well, I was raised by my grandparents, Jim and Agnes Costello. Because I grew up in the Philadelphia area, they were known to me as Pop Pop and Mom Mom. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have Pop Pop in my life for my first 20 years—and I fondly look back at what I recall of those two decades and see him as a consistent source of bright light in my life. That bright light was even brighter in light of the darkness that draped over every conversation and communication attempt. I had learned firsthand from a very early age how life altering hearing loss can be and how each communication attempt must be intentional and as direct as possible to be effective. Much of what I learned intrinsically as a child has stayed with me through today including ensuring eye contact, clearly articulated speech, animated facial expressions, repetition when needed, and never ever saying “never mind” when communication breakdown is experienced. These are skills important for any communication episode but are particularly useful for an audiologist.
My dedication to improving auditory, communication, and quality of life outcomes for individuals with hearing loss has been a lifelong pursuit. Though my dear grandfather was awarded a purple heart for his injuries, he struggled with communication for the rest of his life as older generation hearing aids were not terribly effective for his precipitously sloping hearing loss and cochlear implants were not FDA approved till 1985 (and wouldn’t be approved for his hearing configuration till 2014). Though my grandfather passed away 30 years ago, from that day I knew that I was going to work diligently to help overcome communication barriers associated with hearing loss for individuals across the lifespan.
What’s your origin story?