She's a mother of three, a registered nurse working at Tauranga Hospital, a keen runner, and now Papamoa's Josie Calcott can add model to her list of achievements.

The 41-year-old is one of three local women with cochlear implants who feature in the Sounds of Life photographic exhibition which can be viewed for free at The Balcony Room in The Historic Village this Friday and Saturday.

Papamoa's Josie Calcott is one of 13 Kiwis with a cochlear implant who feature in the Sounds of Life photographic exhibition which can be viewed for free at The Historic Village this Friday and Saturday. Photo: Lara Boddington.

Presented by The Pindrop Foundation, it features 40 photos captured by photographer Lara Boddington of 13 Kiwis with cochlear implants, including Tauranga women Aynsley Staessens and Charlotte de Jong.

'It was a little bit of a weird experience being photographed, but Lara was so easy going and we just had lots of laughs. I was dreaming of being those women you see pictured on the cover of running magazines and telling Lara ‘make me look like them',” Josie says with a laugh.

'I'm looking forward to the exhibition and seeing the other participants, especially those I haven't met. One of them has only just received her implant and got switched on this week so I can't wait to catch up with her.”

Sounds of Life was inspired by the diversity of people across New Zealand who are affected by severe hearing loss and showcases the power of cochlear implants to transform their lives.

Josie explains she lost her hearing around the age of two due to chickenpox, with tests revealing her hearing loss was severe to profound. She wore hearing aids from about the age of three, 'and I learned to cope with my brilliant lip-reading skills as I was 100 per cent dependant on it.”

But as the years passed her hearing declined further, and she admits to struggling to cope on a day-to-day basis.

'I finally found the courage to go ahead with receiving a cochlear implant three and a half years ago and this changed my life in many ways. I have found myself becoming more outgoing and sociable, more confident in myself and less frustrated.

'What I love hearing the most are probably birds. But having said that, I also love that I can hear voices from a distance, or from another room. That is wicked!”

A photo of Josie Calcott and Aynsley Staessens which appears in the 'Sounds of Life' exhibition. Photo: Lara Boddington

Josie explains how after receiving her cochlear implant she was initially focused on getting back into the real world and carrying on with her life, her family and her job.

But at the same time, Josie felt drawn towards helping other people in the same boat as herself, so she kept in the loop with Pindrop to offer her time and help.

'So when (Pindrop Foundation chief executive) Lee Schoushkoff came up with the idea of this exhibition she asked if I wanted to be in it, so I said ‘yeah, why not' and I'm really pleased I took part.

'I love the mixture of photos, they each tell a different story and I especially like the colourful chalk ones because you can see the fun Mariana and Lynn are having in the photo,” says Josie.

Pindrop Foundation communications manager Nic Russell explains they've brought the Sound of Life exhibition to Tauranga as a way of celebrating the efforts of Josie, Ainsley and Charlotte who she describes as 'wonderful champions for cochlear implants”

'All three of these women have gone out of their way to help others on their journeys with their cochlear implants, so we felt they should be celebrated.”

The Pindrop Foundation presents the Sounds of Life photographic exhibition at The Balcony Room in The Historic Village on 17th Avenue this Friday, from 5pm to 7pm, and Saturday, from 10am-3pm.

Entry into the exhibition is free. For more details visit: www.pindrop.org.nz

'I never realised what the quality of sound was. It's beautiful, it's crisp and clear and the weirdest, biggest thing for me is that I can often hear what is said without looking at people's mouths. I can now enjoy being part of the running club, and being able to have conversations with my running buddies!” says Josie. Photo: Lara Boddington.