This is Pediacast.

Welcome to Pediacast, a pediatric podcast for parents.

And now, direct from the campus of nationwide children's, here is your host, Dr. Mike.

Hello, everyone, and welcome.

Once again to Pediacast.

It is a pediatric podcast for moms and dads.

This is Dr. Mike, coming to you from nationwide at Children's Hospital.

We are in Columbus, Ohio.

It's episode 480 for January 7th, 2021.

We're calling this one hearing loss and cochlear implants.

I want to welcome everyone to the program.

Also want to welcome you to 2021. It's a new year. Of course, it looks a lot like the end of 2020,

and it's going to continue to look like that for a while. Still, it's good to move on, right? With a fresh start and a new year.

And I'll be honest, I feel like the finish line of the pandemic is on the horizon.

Now, it may not be until, you know, closer to the end of 2021.

But we are certainly closer to the end than we were a few months ago.

And I hope all of you had a safe and happy holiday season.

And yes, I'm going to marry the holiday season with the pandemic.

And in that, my favorite Christmas gift this year, I actually received on

Christmas Eve, and that was my first COVID vaccine. And I have to tell you, it was sort of an

emotional moment because that really, you know, the vaccine being available, I've looked at the data. I've looked at the

research behind both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine. I've talked to lots of experts whom I trust,

...