Adults profoundly deaf that have has cochlear implants

[lovezebras]

I think what you mean is that young children's brains have spacticity. This means that it is flexible and easily adaptable to changes and traumas. This is why children learn faster and better than adults do. Adult's brains do not have spacticity, limiting their growth and recovery from trauma. A child who has a stroke will recover much quicker and better than an adult who has a stroke, because the child's brain is equipped to repair damage and change to fit its new requirements.

No ECP knows what she meant ...Adults also have neuroplasticity. It's been proven that when an area of the brain suffers damage that the tissues and other areas surrounding it take on the load and adapt. So, yes adult brains do indeed have plasticity.

Furthermore, a child suffering a stroke is most likely to suffer from a hemorrhagic stroke and not an ischemic stroke which is common in adults, although children can suffer from ischemic as well but it's more rare. Children have an easier time recovering because the brain is still growin vs an adult brain isn't growing in the same ways.

 

[DeafAlex]

No ECP knows what she meant ...Adults also have neuroplasticity. It's been proven that when an area of the brain suffers damage that the tissues and other areas surrounding it take on the load and adapt. So, yes adult brains do indeed have plasticity.

Furthermore, a child suffering a stroke is most likely to suffer from a hemorrhagic stroke and not an ischemic stroke which is common in adults, although children can suffer from ischemic as well but it's more rare. Children have an easier time recovering because the brain is still growin vs an adult brain isn't growing in the same ways.

But not in the same way, that was my point.

 

[MSteve]

Hi

Thanks for all your great response

Going back to my original question, any profoundly deaf adults who have had ci, cold you please write your experience

Thanks

 

[cdmeggers]

I;ve had a 100% profound loss in my left ear for 25 years (born hearing, had HIB meningitis at age 2 which resulted in my deafness). Hearing aids didn't do anything for left ear so I stopped wearing a hearing aid in that ear in 4th grade, and just got a CI in left ear last year. Have had my CI for a year now, and have been happy with the results and progress so far. At activation, I felt the sounds in my head instead of hearing them, but after a few days I started actually hearing some sounds. Very electronic/robotic sounding for a while, but has slowly gotten better. Everything still has sort of a lower pitch quality nowadays, but I do hear some higher-pitched sounds (bells and such). My audie told me it could take up to 2 years or more to really get the most benefits from my CI with the dead ear, but I was willing to work at it. Still have a hearing aid in the right ear, which balances things out when I have both CI and HA on. I would get a CI in my right ear if the hearing loss gets worse that even my Naida hearing aid isn't of much help anymore.

 

[soutthpaw]

All I can add is the results with CI are not anywhere near as predictable as getting a hearing aid. u can have 2 people with near indentical histories get CI's and one may do awesome with them while the other gains virtually no benefit

 

[ecp]

All I can add is the results with CI are not anywhere near as predictable as getting a hearing aid. u can have 2 people with near indentical histories get CI's and one may do awesome with them while the other gains virtually no benefit

Hearing aids simply amplify sound. For people with severe to profound sensironeural hearing loss, simply making sound louder can NEVER compensate for a damaged cochlea.
Cochlear implants bypass that and interface with the auditory nerve (hold yer horses, I know they don't actually touch cranial nerve VIII but CIs do interface with the nerves tht synapse with the cochlear nerve.)

What you said about hearing aid results being more predictable is true. Profoundly deaf people are nearly guaranteed to have a poor response to hearing aids. They will, however, have a much more varied response to cochlear implants. Some do very well, some do very poorly and most all in between.

 

[ecp]

I think what you mean is that young children's brains have spacticity. This means that it is flexible and easily adaptable to changes and traumas. This is why children learn faster and better than adults do. Adult's brains do not have spacticity, limiting their growth and recovery from trauma. A child who has a stroke will recover much quicker and better than an adult who has a stroke, because the child's brain is equipped to repair damage and change to fit its new requirements.

I know what I meant.
I think your autocorrect changed "plasticity" to "spasticity" because computers are pretty dumb and don't know the difference.
Anyway.
Brains of any age have PLASTICITY.
Children have more PLASTICITY than adults but no brain is static.
Adult stroke victims can recover some function after rehabilitation.

Brains (all brains) need a challenge. Children are born knowing nothing and spend the first decade figuring things out.
Adults have less plastic brains BUT if an adult has a stroke that causes them to be unable to use one arm, a very common therapy is to spend several hours each day with the "normal" arm in a sling. That way the damaged arm/brain is forced to seek out new pathways.

An adult with congenital hearing loss who has an implant will have a challenge BUT with work and diligence progress will be made.

 

[Oc318]

I know what I meant.
I think your autocorrect changed "plasticity" to "spasticity" because computers are pretty dumb and don't know the difference.
Anyway.
Brains of any age have PLASTICITY.
Children have more PLASTICITY than adults but no brain is static.
Adult stroke victims can recover some function after rehabilitation.

Brains (all brains) need a challenge. Children are born knowing nothing and spend the first decade figuring things out.
Adults have less plastic brains BUT if an adult has a stroke that causes them to be unable to use one arm, a very common therapy is to spend several hours each day with the "normal" arm in a sling. That way the damaged arm/brain is forced to seek out new pathways.

An adult with congenital hearing loss who has an implant will have a challenge BUT with work and diligence progress will be made.

But then again, spasticity sounds like fun. People who have audism have a high Deaf/HoH spasticity level

 

[Daredevel7]

Hi

Thanks for all your great response

Going back to my original question, any profoundly deaf adults who have had ci, cold you please write your experience

Thanks

MSteve, I am an adult who was born profoundly deaf and got the implant at the age of 26.

My background: I wore hearing aids since I was 18 months old, raised orally. I rely on lipreading mainly. The main benefit of hearing aids for me was environmental noise. There wasn't that much difference in understanding others if I had hearing aids on or not.

I was implanted in late 2008. It felt really weird for me for a month or so. I felt sounds in my head rather than "hear" them. I went to weekly CI therapy and saw very slow progress. I still go to CI therapy and am much further than I was after a year of having a CI. I wouldn't say that I can have a random conversation over the phone and I still rely on lipreading, but the CI makes it so much easier. I don't really notice until I forget to recharge my batteries, then it's like, wow... I'm working really hard lipreading my coworkers. I feel like the CI is really beneficial for me.

The downside: Other than the obvious surgical risks, there can be a lot of pressure imposed on you. People expect to see so much progress, and they expect you to listen like a hearing person. I suspect that if those who were born profoundly deaf and implanted as an adult were left alone by their families/friends/etc., many of them wouldn't have given up quickly. Also, it is definitely not cheap, even if surgery is mostly covered by insurance, because you have therapy (which is definitely a must, at least to me) and CI mapping. So I would never simply recommend the CI to anyone because there are so many factors involved. I do recommend that any adult implantees must have the persistence and drive to try to fully utilize the CI to the best of their ability without affected by high expectations.

 

[Frisky Feline]

MSteve, I am an adult who was born profoundly deaf and got the implant at the age of 26.

My background: I wore hearing aids since I was 18 months old, raised orally. I rely on lipreading mainly. The main benefit of hearing aids for me was environmental noise. There wasn't that much difference in understanding others if I had hearing aids on or not.

I was implanted in late 2008. It felt really weird for me for a month or so. I felt sounds in my head rather than "hear" them. I went to weekly CI therapy and saw very slow progress. I still go to CI therapy and am much further than I was after a year of having a CI. I wouldn't say that I can have a random conversation over the phone and I still rely on lipreading, but the CI makes it so much easier. I don't really notice until I forget to recharge my batteries, then it's like, wow... I'm working really hard lipreading my coworkers. I feel like the CI is really beneficial for me.

The downside: Other than the obvious surgical risks, there can be a lot of pressure imposed on you. People expect to see so much progress, and they expect you to listen like a hearing person. I suspect that if those who were born profoundly deaf and implanted as an adult were left alone by their families/friends/etc., many of them wouldn't have given up quickly. Also, it is definitely not cheap, even if surgery is mostly covered by insurance, because you have therapy (which is definitely a must, at least to me) and CI mapping. So I would never simply recommend the CI to anyone because there are so many factors involved. I do recommend that any adult implantees must have the persistence and drive to try to fully utilize the CI to the best of their ability without affected by high expectations.

Yeah, same for my husband, not me. Myhub got a CI when he was about 33 to 35 years old. everything what you ve been sayingthe same what he has been through. He rely on lipreading and having CI that makes it easier for him than HA. He is raised orally. If anyone who was Deaf or deaf grew up with wearing HA and been in speech therapy then switch from HA to CI that would be more likely benefits to them. That is my opinion.

 

[ecp]

Yeah, same for my husband, not me. Myhub got a CI when he was about 33 to 35 years old. everything what you ve been sayingthe same what he has been through. He rely on lipreading and having CI that makes it easier for him than HA. He is raised orally. If anyone who was Deaf or deaf grew up with wearing HA and been in speech therapy then switch from HA to CI that would be more likely benefits to them. That is my opinion.

That sounds completely typical of congenitally or prelingually d/Deaf adult cochlear implant recipients regardless of preferred communication method.
It seems that the most important factor is having some, despite how seemingly useless, input to the auditory nerve and auditory cortex.
Hearing aids might not help much but for profoundly deaf people who are considering CI, having a history of consistent hearing aid usage is often beneficial. Why?
The path from the outer ear to the brain is only "paved" with consistent stimulation. What is important is getting any signal to the auditory cortex. The earlier the better which can help explain why children who are implanted early do very well understanding spoken language.
That doesn't mean that a prelingually d/Deaf person who has never used hearing aids won't make progress with a cochlear implant but it is less likely.
The brain needs even the lightest footprints in the auditory pathway in order to know what to do with strange new inputs.

 

[crucking_fazy]

Yeah, same for my husband, not me. Myhub got a CI when he was about 33 to 35 years old. everything what you ve been sayingthe same what he has been through. He rely on lipreading and having CI that makes it easier for him than HA. He is raised orally. If anyone who was Deaf or deaf grew up with wearing HA and been in speech therapy then switch from HA to CI that would be more likely benefits to them. That is my opinion.

That is what I'm counting on. I grew up wearing a HA since 5 y.o. and was raised orally. Went thru the whole lip reading and speech therapy classes and did well. Lost what was my left of my hearing in left ear and getting a CI in a few months or so. Doctor told me he wants to implant my left ear since my brain is wired for sound recognization. I am hoping for good results but willing to work hard to make progress.

 

[deafdyke]

Just wanted to say excellent responses everyone!
I also wonder if there's a difference in sucess between say someone who lost their hearing, even as a small baby, vs. someone who never heard normally.
I'm wondering if even a month or so of normal hearing, even as a baby might confer an advantage over someone who never heard normally....make sense?
I also think that someone who got absolutly ZERO benifit from aids (not even enviromental sounds) probaly would be a very poor canidate....But someone who got enviromental sounds, or even some speech perception (you can have a profound loss and still have some speech perception albeilt low speech perception) would prolly do a lot better since for them, it would be "turning up the volumne" (and I mean that as a figure of speech) It would be kinda like the difference in speech perception with a dinky (CIC and ITE and the other old person style aids) vs. a powerful BTE for a HOH person. I know a CI doesn't work like a hearing aid (no amplification) but the end result is the same. Meaning both try to make a dhh person HOH in terms of speech perception.

 

[zajko]

I also wonder if there's a difference in sucess between say someone who lost their hearing, even as a small baby, vs. someone who never heard normally.
I'm wondering if even a month or so of normal hearing, even as a baby might confer an advantage over someone who never heard normally....make sense?

I don't think there is any difference. I had normal hearing for the first 2 years of my life, then 10 years with HAs and then I got a CI. Although I'm really happy with it, I know that my hearing with CI isn't as good as it is for someone who got CI soon after becoming deaf or for someone who was implanted in early childhood. But this also may be individual.

 

[deafdyke]

I don't think there is any difference. I had normal hearing for the first 2 years of my life, then 10 years with HAs and then I got a CI. Although I'm really happy with it, I know that my hearing with CI isn't as good as it is for someone who got CI soon after becoming deaf or for someone who was implanted in early childhood. But this also may be individual.

Indeed. Just as wth hearing aids, the response to CI seems very indivdual.

 

[DeafAlex]

I'm not sure. I know that a Deaf friend of mine who went deaf at 10 months old did not qualify for a CI due to it being so long since he heard. He could have gotten implanted at a different clinic with less strict standards, but I think he gave up.

 

[hazridi]

My opinion is that people who have good auditory memory (late-deafened or progressive hearing loss that was aided early) and don't do well with implants aren't very involved in achieving better hearing. CI mapping is an intense, time consuming process that requires constant user feedback. Some people just let their audi tune everything without any feedback -- these people are never going to have great maps, since they aren't involved in improving them. Other people are unlucky and get a terrible audiologist and never try switching audis. Those people are also never going to have a good map. Some people are extremely lucky and have skilled audis who have a feel for what makes CI patients achieve good results right off the bat. There's a range of outcomes and the people who have the worst outcomes seem to be apathetic to their hearing and/or have a crap audi.

Now, CIs for adults who have very little auditory memory (born profoundly deaf, not aided) is something else. It takes a lot of work and dedication to start from year zero in terms of sound memory. It will takes years of usage to get to the point of understanding speech, though the CI will be useful for environmental sounds and noises and being aware of what's going on around you, and it will be helpful for differentiating between similar sounds while lip reading.

 

[SujataJournalist]

Hi

I would like to seek some personal advice from other people in the same situation as me.

I was born profoundly deaf and this was diagnosed when I was three years old, recently my daughter was born and at birth during a routine hearing test it showed she was profoundly deaf, we had her undergo treatment to have coclhear implants which she did. We as a family have seen her benefits tremendously.

I and my family have done considerable research in regards to adults in the same situation as me who were born profoundly deaf and have had cochlear implants.
We have read so many positive things and I am very keen on having this treatment.

I would appreciate if you could take some time out and provide details of your experience of the treatment and also confirm if you were profoundly deaf and also how many cochlear implants you have had.


Kind regards


Steve

Hi Steve,

I'm a freelance science writer and I'm trying to find individuals like yourself, who were born profoundly deaf, and are interested in (or have already received) a cochlear implant. Would you be willing to talk to me about your thoughts? If yes, please drop me an email at sujigupta@gmail.com. Thanks!

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Hi Steve, please read my post about Hear and Now - it's a movie about a 65y.o.
couple, deaf, who suddenly decided to get themselves implanted - both at the same time.
What an incredible story.
Neither of them could hear, but both were trained at speech so they could speak imho pretty well.

Judging by the movie, what they could hear JUST by being implanted is amazing!
Going from zero sound to plethora of sounds, even if unrecognizable at first, is amazing, period.

The problem is, is impossible to predict how any given individual will respond to a CI.
Statistically speaking, everybody hears something after being implanted.
My personal belief is, judging mostly by Alldeaf personal postings and experiences, is how much work one is willing to put into LEARNING to hear after the procedure.

Because it is helluva amount of work if you want to truly benefit from your implant, and the work is NEVER DONE.

However, the more you work, the more you reap

Please, please, watch Hear and Now.
Keep in mind, though, that it looks like these wonderful, brave people haven't received any post-operative "hearing training" -
which I believe would enormously speed up the process how they would hear and help to recognize sounds, and how would they recognize speech.
On the contrary, in the movie it looks like they simply were left to their own devices after being implanted, even told to "take it easy".

I do not agree with such approach. But, who knows, perhaps there were some plans for the therapy later which wasn't discussed in the movie?

Think about what do you expect from CI, and what is realistic.
Think what person you are, how diligently would you really work when the shove come to push - would you spend endless hours working with the speech therapist to be able to understand what your family says to you,
or whatever other post-operative training is required?
Are you mentally prepared for less benefits than hoped for?
etc., etc.,

Fuzzy

 

[Mindy2020]

Steve:

I am profoundly deaf - have lived with a lifetime of deafness. I grew up oral. I was the only deaf person in a hearing family.

Check out my blog - soundflavoringsanew

Mindy