Okay...umm...I wasn't sure whether or not I should respond to this because well...it applies to me too! But I do have a couple of things to add...
I have a cochlear implant...and I'll be honest here and say that I'm not too happy with things right now.
I got it two years ago...and I DO NOT IN ANY WAY think that it's the best thing in the world. I was happy with hearing aids. I was hearing what I thought was enough to hear, you know? Everything was low-pitched, but it was still satisfying. I got implanted only because I wanted to hear every single thing that came out of my son's mouth. He was a nearly a year old and I was missing his first words, his "Ma-ma's" and "Da-da's." I wasn't hearing him cry from two rooms down...and he would laugh just as my back was turned and then when I look at everyone else, I see them all smiling and once again, I've completely missed the "joke." I'm used to this, though, I've been missing a WHOLE LOT since I was born deaf. But this was my SON, my baby. I wanted to HEAR HIM. Not to mention my doctor, my husband and my mother were also bothering the hell out of me to go ahead and do it...it would open up so many new doors for me, they claimed...it would change your life...all of those things said in previous posts...(can you say...flashbacks!?)
So, anyway, we made the necessary appointments, went into the city, made the arrangements and my surgery was 4/1/01. The turn-on was the following month, and I've been going for the mappings, and for the programming...which is more of a pain in the ass than it is a pleasure. See, I don't mean to complain, but my GOD, it is a LOT of work. You have to REALLY put your whole being into the speech therapy, the auditory training, the mappings, the maintenance, the batteries, the changing batteries 2-3 times a day, the keeping track of the earpiece, the explaining what the hell it is to people...you know? It's a lot...and I honestly ask myself WTF I got myself into...
I do go for the mappings, but since I was in the process of changing insurances at the end of last summer so I stopped going for the speech and auditory therapy...and this winter in January, I almost died from bacterial meningitis. The doctor who implanted me believes that it happened because a plastic piece called a "positioner" was used to hold in the electrodes. According to him, it's not completely necessary anymore and they no longer use them when they perform surgeries today. The use of a positioner or a "spacer" creates a gap and should I get an ear infection or strep throat, the bacteria would build up and fester in that space. It is believed that that is how I contracted bacterial meningitis. Not only that, but the model of implant I currently wear has been RECALLED and I never heard a WORD from the company (Advanced Bionics) to notify me. No certified mail, NOTHING. So you know what? I'm planning to SUE their asses. Maybe a lesson would be learned here and no one else would go un-notified about something as serious.
So you know, this is why right now I have nothing but a
to say about the cochlear implant. I could be biased but you know, 2 days in the hospital, 2 days in isolation and two weeks at home with an IV would do that to anyone. I am just NOW, in the middle of March, feeling back to my normal self. Recovery was a bitch!
By the way...a side note here...everyone gets different things out of their implants. You may be able to use the telephone and listen to music, but you gotta keep in mind that there are some people (use me for an example if you wish) who cannot. At least, not yet. It takes a long, long time to get to that point, and I don't see myself getting there...not yet.
So, you know, it makes NO difference to me whether the rest of you on AD have an implant or are simply satisfied with your hearing aids, or with wearing nothing at all. I love each and every one of you (that I've had the pleasure of meeting, LOL) and I would never, EVER judge anyone for what their choices are. I do NOT believe in pushing anything down anyone's throat. All I am able to do is offer you my own experiences and hope that it will help you to make your decision. Like you said...deaf is deaf. The implant won't change that. You're still deaf when you take it off at night and you take a shower. You're still deaf, but you've been taken to a higher level with what you're capable of hearing. The sound quality is very different, and mark my words, you HATE it in the beginning. It all seems so foreign, so dissonant. But...your choices are your own, only! Do not allow for anyone to sway you or your beliefs.
It's a lotta work, my friends. AND you know what the biggest risks are. So...whatever you want for yourselves, I respect...and others should, too!
Malfoyish
right on Vampy!!!!
Beautiful 
I would share!!!