Activation day

[Hear Again]

I'm in a similar boat, almost identical in-fact, my hearing in my right ear is just shot, barely any use these days and I have to rely on my left ear for mostly everything, so the doctors are urging me to get an implant now. I'm just plain scared at what I stand to lose/gain from a musicial perspective.

Myles,

I don't play a musical instrument, but I can tell you that my experiences with music have been nothing short of amazing.

During the first few months my (1st) CI was activated, I could only hear drumbeats, but over time, it improved to the point where if I listened to a full orchestra, I could easily identify instruments being played in unison. By 6 months post activation, musical instruments sounded exactly as I remembered with hearing aids.

From that point on (6 months post activation), the listening experience just kept getting better and better -- and continues to improve to this day.

I enjoy listening to all kinds of music -- pop, rock, country, classical, jazz, etc. and it all sounds wonderful with my CIs.

Over the past two years I've also taken private voice lessons and am able to follow a piano accompament (sp?) and sing in tune.

The only time I had any problems with what I was hearing musically was when a new audiologist switched me from 900 Hz (a processing speed used on my CI processor) to 1200 Hz which made high frequencies sound off-key. Once I was switched back to 900 Hz, high frequencies sounded exactly as they should.

I've had my first CI for 2 years and my second for 1 year and I can honestly tell you that music sounds absolutely wonderful.

While people have varying experiences with music, the CIs that are available now are much improved in the way they deal with music than the CIs of the past. Additionally, all 3 CI companies (Med-El, Advanced Bionics and Cochlear) are working to improve the musical experience for CI users which means that things can only get better.

I love the way music sounds with my CIs so I can only imagine how much better the musical experience will be for people implanted with newer devices in the future.