Wonderful first-hand experience from deaf student at Oxford University

I love how she's interwoven her two worlds so beautifully, with both spoken language (accessing sound via a CI) and sign language.

http://youtu.be/icPsm9RnO2E

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icPsm9RnO2E&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

GrendelQ said:

I love how she's interwoven her two worlds so beautifully, with both spoken language (accessing sound via a CI) and sign language.

Hearing... but not as you know it - YouTube

Hearing... but not as you know it - YouTube

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So with a CI music is still distorted? Lectures or school rooms it sounds the same distorted. I thought with a CI and some hearing aids too you can listening to music through the aid or CI. Maybe that is through some music device ipod or mp3 you can listen to music?
Or an FM system for school/lectures would help? Is it because she has one CI? Sorry for all the questions you may or may not have an answer too. great post though!

suzanne said:

So with a CI music is still distorted? Lectures or school rooms it sounds the same distorted. I thought with a CI and some hearing aids too you can listening to music through the aid or CI. Maybe that is through some music device ipod or mp3 you can listen to music?
Or an FM system for school/lectures would help? Is it because she has one CI? Sorry for all the questions you may or may not have an answer too. great post though!

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Suzanne, CIs are designed primarily to access speech sounds, and individuals respond very differently to how they perceive music. She received her CI nearly twenty years ago, and as you know, technology has advanced significantly since she received one of the first CIs. Compare the sound from a boombox from 20 years ago to today's iPods or the processing power packed into a computer 20 years ago vs. today's laptops. Her access may be limited by her own physiology, by the timing of her implant, by the position of her implant, by the technology itself. And as you mentioned, she's only got 1 CI.

Some people with CIs dislike music as they hear it. Some love it, and work to program their processors for optimal music reception. My daughter has 2 CIs, and loves music, sings nonstop and (mostly) on key, plays piano, and can differentiate notes with ease -- not something possible if you believe the simulations we hear represent exactly what a person with a CI hears.

This article in Wired is 7+ years old, but it might give you an idea of how CI technology is changing and how individuals are changing it for the better.

Thank you for answering my questions I was a little confused. I am still uneducated on CI's.........thanks for the article aswell.

suzanne said:

Thank you for answering my questions I was a little confused. I am still uneducated on CI's.........thanks for the article aswell.

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Suzanne,

If you don't mind me asking but have you had any opportunities to observe children with cis?

Rick

not really on a daily basis. when we go to deaf/hoh events or camps and our kids play together and if we go into groups at camp I get to communicate with them and they love their CI's. My friends daughter has one CI she got it at 7yrs. and is not thrilled about it as of now she still has one aid. its hard for her to get used to 2 different sounds and it has had static on and off lately. One boy my daughter goes to school with has 2 CI's but he got them at 5yrs. with a profound loss and doesnt really communicate with voice just ASL. Our deaf mentor has one CI that she got 2 years ago, but thats about it. Other than talking with the parents I have been connected with one girl is on her 3-4th implant. Then you have another child who I just got connected with. her mom says she benefits greatly from them.

Excellent video, showing how this girls is at ease in both worlds.
In was surprised by the quality of what she hears. But like others say, her CI is 20 years old.
Think of a computer 20 years ago. (Hard disk) (processor) You could not even run today's software on it. The program might not even fit on the hard drive. Processor speeds went up from 133 MHz to like 256 GHz ( 256000 MHz). Technology improved exponentially.
Her implants are working with 1992 technology... With a 1992 processor under the skin..

As I am writing this, Lotte, my daughter born deaf, with bilateral CI since 2004, is singing (out of tune) along with YouTube video clips of a group "One Direction". On the couch, headphones on, on the iPad... Singing is part of her life... And although its not perfect, it gets better and better..

Another difference is that she has only 1 CI.. There is a big difference between 1 or 2 CI.. Especially in noisy environments.... (We have noticed the difference on the very few occasions that Lotte had only 1 instead of 2CIs.)
In time she will need a new implant, and it will be interesting to find out if new technology can make a difference for her.

But I love how she describes that she can enter both the world with and without sound without problems.

Great video... Thanks for sharing.
(Lotte also liked the video..)

Some new commentary about how it's being received in the Deaf community.