Actual CI users in here please ...

Recovery- less than a week. Some people go back to work immediately, I stayed out for a week. Day of surgery, not much was done other than rest. Day 2, took it really easy, watched TV, sat around the house. Day 3+, Muscle stiffness in neck for couple days, not bad at all. Biggest problem was I was not suppose to wash my hair for a week.

Lifting restrictions - 30 days. No more than 10lbs. Boy did I fail on that one.
Something about having a 1 yr old that doesn't understand Daddy can't pick her up. O well. I'm fine, CI performance is great, speech understanding is 97% after 3 months tested. It was faster but I was not tested. Speech didn't sound quite right but I could understand it so no big deal. The CI worked.

Activation 30 days after surgery. Frequent follow up mapping sessions for the first several months to make sure I can maximize the nerve response to the stimulation across all frequencies.

Questions for you, your hearing history is not briefly mentioned. Pre-lingual vs post-lingual may give a different road map for progress and is measured differently for each reciepient. There is no guarantee that this will work but the percentage is probably pretty good that it may improve your ability to understand speech.
 
Keiro said:
It wasn't meant to be offensive.

But that was how I felt, at the time. I apologize for the way it sounds, but again, it wasn't intended to be offensive.

However, that's my view of the operation. It involves removing a small portion of the skull. To me, that means cracking your head open. Surgically or otherwise. -shrug- And you know it's true, technically, at least. :/
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I have a CI and my head hasn't been cracked open at all. That's a dumb thing to say.
 
There were very little removed! just shards of bits of tiny bones from drill and burring (to make bed for the implant) hardly anything were lost and easily repaired by themselves post surgery just like healing a broken leg. I felt NOTHING post surgery the only thing that bothered me were wearing the Turban for 2 days and it was in the middle of hot summer! the only signs of my surgery were the scar which is hardly noticabe now.

As for Kerio's description of "Cracking the Skull open" sounded like that the surgeons cracked our skull open to access through the brain to our cochlea, in fact the operation were no where near the brain! Kerio needs to change his/her wording of feelings of the surgery to prevent confusion/scaring to up and coming Cochlear implant candiates.
 
The naida's were too big(fat) to fit comfortably behind my ears, eventually causing pain. Tried them several times always with the same results. I can't imagine putting the device behind my ear that is required with an implant without it causing discomfort. And wearing it elsewhere may limit my ability to hear.
 
Hask12 said:
The naida's were too big(fat) to fit comfortably behind my ears, eventually causing pain. Tried them several times always with the same results. I can't imagine putting the device behind my ear that is required with an implant without it causing discomfort. And wearing it elsewhere may limit my ability to hear.
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There are body worn processors that (AB) have nothing behind the ear at all. The quality of hearing is not compromised by a BWP.

But my question is this...how small are your ears? I know infants, 6-7 WEEKS old, who wear Naidas without issue.
 
any surgery is easier for children. adults naturally take longer to recover. That being said, ive heard that CI surgery is quite a fast recovery, not like a hip replacement or anything!
*EQL*

post op CI implant 49 yr old male......... day 3............ OUCH !! The room aint spinning as much as was day 1 and I'm begining to get more confidence about actually using my neck to turn and look around :P

I wish it was as easy as a nap and a pack of animal crackers :giggle:
 
I had my " head cracked open " for a CI almost 2 years ago. And yes I felt like my poor head was literally cracked open !!! My recovery from surgery took about 10 days. Was " turned on " 2 months later. I don't regret getting the CI, however it was not a cure all. I did my own speech therapy since I am old enough to to learn on my own. I am so glad to kept one ear " natural" so I can still enjoy the full spectrum of sound. The CI sound very mechanical. So , depending on if one have any residual hearing or completely stone deaf, they can decide if they want the CI or not. I am not getting the other CI till I am stone deaf in my residual ear . I still don't recommend CI's for children under the age of 18. Learn and teach sign language to your child with a hearing loss and let the child decide when they are 18 years and over.
 
SouthFella said:
I had my " head cracked open " for a CI almost 2 years ago. And yes I felt like my poor head was literally cracked open !!! My recovery from surgery took about 10 days. Was " turned on " 2 months later. I don't regret getting the CI, however it was not a cure all. I did my own speech therapy since I am old enough to to learn on my own. I am so glad to kept one ear " natural" so I can still enjoy the full spectrum of sound. The CI sound very mechanical. So , depending on if one have any residual hearing or completely stone deaf, they can decide if they want the CI or not. I am not getting the other CI till I am stone deaf in my residual ear . I still don't recommend CI's for children under the age of 18. Learn and teach sign language to your child with a hearing loss and let the child decide when they are 18 years and over.
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:hug: Thank you very much for your candid post.

This is what I really needed to know for myself.

I will admit there are days when I just want to get a CI and this is when I am at an all high emotional day. I will say I want a CI and it's because I've had a bad fall, a near car accident or an embarrassing accident all relating to my vision loss.

I truly thank you for your candid post about the CI itself ; not as a cure all. Your ASL is strong; this I know because I already met you and your speech is very good.
 
ive heard that CI surgery is quite a fast recovery, not like a hip replacement or anything!
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Yes, it's not brain surgery or anything like that. It's really quite simple medically speaking.
Southfella and Mrs. Bucket, yes I agree. CI is awesome (and is prolly a GODSEND for those with progressive loss) but people need to be VERY careful and very skeptical if they are ambigious canidates. I see a lot of Big Pharma style "selling" going on, as well as thinking that someone needs the "best cutting edge hearing device out there"
 
SouthFella said:
I had my " head cracked open " for a CI almost 2 years ago. And yes I felt like my poor head was literally cracked open !!! My recovery from surgery took about 10 days. Was " turned on " 2 months later. I don't regret getting the CI, however it was not a cure all. I did my own speech therapy since I am old enough to to learn on my own. I am so glad to kept one ear " natural" so I can still enjoy the full spectrum of sound. The CI sound very mechanical. So , depending on if one have any residual hearing or completely stone deaf, they can decide if they want the CI or not. I am not getting the other CI till I am stone deaf in my residual ear . I still don't recommend CI's for children under the age of 18. Learn and teach sign language to your child with a hearing loss and let the child decide when they are 18 years and over.
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:gpost:
 
I approached CI surgery with one of my fav mottos " Hope for the best... Prepare for the worse... )

I waited till I was over 18 years old ( I am over 40 if you are curious lol )

And I was willing to accept the CI failing and I would be deaf in that ear .. ( I didn't want to be D E A D though !! )

I made many phone calls to different CI companies etc ... I read everything I could get my hands on about CI Pros and Cons... And I waited till my ear was nearly deaf as a doorknob before allowing a surgeon to crack my head open... And I was also holding out for a nifty remote control which MedEl was the only company to have the remote control at the time... Thanks MedEl for being progressive ...
 
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