As a baby, yes. But then I caught Chicken Pox and lost most of my hearing. I retained some hearing until age 10 and then the hearing aids were useless. I was supposed to be implanted at age 11 but the deaf community where I grew up pushed my dad away from implanting me. I was angry about that and told my dad that I wanted the CI and he lied to me and said "can't afford it". Many years later I find out that it was the deaf community that pushed him away from implanting me and not because he couldn't afford it. He could afford it at the time. I told him that I wish he had me implanted at age 11 and I wish that he had ASKED ME!!! Because of that I lost many useful years that I could have had learning to listen and understand speech and learning to speak with the CI.
But as far as hearing with a CI, the sounds does NOT sound horrendous to me. I think the hearing aids I had when I was younger was much more worse-sounding than my CI ever was. My CI sounds way better than a hearing aid. But since I lost my hearing as a baby I cannot remember what it was like to have full hearing therefore I cannot compare it to a CI. I do remember having some useable hearing up to the age of maybe 8 and then it went downhill and then I was pretty much stone deaf, and that was when the audiologist brought up the CI. I really really really wish I had been implanted back then. I think I would have benefited a whole of a lot with those years I could have had from back then if I had the CI back then. I've only had my CI for four years and therefore I can hear and enjoy music,
TV, movies, detect different environmental sounds, and such things, but I still cannot understand speech without lipreading and I can hear voices but I still cannot listen to voices and understand them without lipreading. But I still feel I benefited greatly from the 4 years I've had the CI and I will continue to work on learning more sounds and working on finding a CI speech therapist to help me with my speech and listening.
All in all, I LOVE my CI!