Cochlear implants, do they help?

EllietheEncourager, thank you for trying and standing in the gap for us.
 
LoveBlue said:
I had progressive hearing loss for about 20 years. When it reached the point that a hearing aid was no longer useful in my worse ear, I got a CI in that ear and went from about 4% speech discrimination to 80+% speech discrimination. About a year later my other ear progressed to where it also needed a CI and that ear had the same great results. I believe my success was based on two things - late deafened and had worn hearing aids up to the time I got the CI, therefore continued stimulation of the hearing nerve even if the hearing wasn't that great.

CIs "replace" the hair cells, which are what alllow us to understand speech. If your hearing nerves are still healthy, which they probably are, then a CI will allow you to understand speech again, though it will sound funny at first because the sound is electronically generated.

Our brains are amazing things and will adjust to make things sound "normal" again. When I got my first one, the water running out of the faucet sounded like buzzing. I told my brain that it was water running and instantly that's what I heard.

It will take a lot of aural rehab to "relearn" to understand words, but it's well worth it. I started off, in addition to specific aural rehab apps/websites, with reading a book while listening to it via a audiobook.

BTW, I'm a young senior. I was 61 when I got my first one.
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They dont replace the hair cells, just a more direct stimulation to the nerves. I am BiLaterally implanted 6-1/2 years now and they are awesome. Hearing things Ive never heard in my life and had to ask what certain things were since the brain didnt know what that sound was...LOL Awesome technology.
 
sonocativo said:
They dont replace the hair cells, just a more direct stimulation to the nerves. I am BiLaterally implanted 6-1/2 years now and they are awesome. Hearing things Ive never heard in my life and had to ask what certain things were since the brain didnt know what that sound was...LOL Awesome technology.
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Hence the "" around replace. They replace the function of the hair cells, not the hair cells themselves. ;)
 
stephaniep said:
Thank you again. Well today, is another one of these days? The doctor called regarding my CT scan and it was a virtual appointment because of Covid, so they spoke with my husband on the phone which said " DR. said that the CT looked okay but a little bit of the brain is in the way but he's pretty sure he can do it?" Hmm.. what does that mean, so my husband called the office again, and one nurse said it's nothing to worry about, and that she was going to ask another nurse what was written down? If I am going to go for this surgery I want to be reassured that it's safe to do so? Can anyone advise? Is this common?
I have another question, these people are dealing with the deaf community :deaf:who have little to no means of communication, nor knowledge of signing or lip reading? A lot of us can't answer phones and hear what is being said, so WHY DONT THEY HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS so patients can ask their questions through text or email and and get some direct answers. That would be very helpful. I am blessed to have a husband to stand in the gap for me and be my ears, but what about all those who have nobody, what do they do? Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for this blessing of hearing to take place, it's just so frustrating being deaf and going for oodles of appointments, without fully knowing what is going on? My next test is next week for vestibular testing.
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I am not sure what medical system you use but Cox and Mercy now both have apps that can be downloaded to your phone. This gives access to your entire medical file. You can make appointments through the app instead of calling the office. You can even email your provider questions and they get back to you when they can between appointments. This is fairly new but it would be worth seeing if your provider has it. Hope this helps.
 
EllietheEncourager said:
I am not sure what medical system you use but Cox and Mercy now both have apps that can be downloaded to your phone. This gives access to your entire medical file. You can make appointments through the app instead of calling the office. You can even email your provider questions and they get back to you when they can between appointments. This is fairly new but it would be worth seeing if your provider has it. Hope this helps.
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I have MyMercy. Access all my results , make/change appointments, email/message any doctor in that system.
 
Yesterday, I had vestibular tests done, ENG and the VEMP which are really important in determining problems with hearing and balance. I don't think I did very well with the water in the ear test which makes most people dizzy? I've read that it's a good sign if you are dizzy, but when she did my Right ear I never felt any dizziness or nothing that stood out, but I did with the left which kind of has me somewhat worried? I'm wondering if there is a problem with my nerve in the Right ear? It will take 2-3 weeks to get results back. I am also being sent for pre-op testing at this time, then they will determine whether surgery will go ahead or not, once all those test results are in?
 
stephaniep said:
Thank you again. Well today, is another one of these days? The doctor called regarding my CT scan and it was a virtual appointment because of Covid, so they spoke with my husband on the phone which said " DR. said that the CT looked okay but a little bit of the brain is in the way but he's pretty sure he can do it?" Hmm.. what does that mean, so my husband called the office again, and one nurse said it's nothing to worry about, and that she was going to ask another nurse what was written down? If I am going to go for this surgery I want to be reassured that it's safe to do so? Can anyone advise? Is this common?
I have another question, these people are dealing with the deaf community :deaf:who have little to no means of communication, nor knowledge of signing or lip reading? A lot of us can't answer phones and hear what is being said, so WHY DONT THEY HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS so patients can ask their questions through text or email and and get some direct answers. That would be very helpful. I am blessed to have a husband to stand in the gap for me and be my ears, but what about all those who have nobody, what do they do? Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for this blessing of hearing to take place, it's just so frustrating being deaf and going for oodles of appointments, without fully knowing what is going on? My next test is next week for vestibular testing.
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I totally get that with all the communication barriers. I always have to have my mom in handy to help me with some things. Otherwise, I would get an interpreter for my appointments if my mom is not available.

Have you tried out using this on your computer for phone calls? My local hospital is trained to recognize this as an important call so it can be handy to use. However, if the caller is not familiar you could run into problems as they think you're a telemarketer.

https://www.sprintip.com/auth/login

Most fluent sign language Deaf folks rely heavily on VRS (video relay services) by using sign language and interpreters for their calls. As typing English is probably not as a clear communication tool.

Also try out Google Live transcribe (andriod) it might be able to caption your phone calls if you have it on a speaker. I have done with with my video calls though it doesn't pick up very clearly. It depends on a clear and loud voice and if the speaker talks continually.

You would think email would be a great way but I guess if you think about the amount of customers they see in a day their emails must be a giant pile of mess so your messages would be buried just my thought/I could be wrong but yes we all should have a special/separate communication that is separate from regular email just for deaf/hoh folks to communicate! Hmmm...

Maybe you should request an interpreter that they could just repeat what they say by lip reading for your next appointment. Even though you don't sign you might benefit having another person relay information for you that is not your husband. Just an idea.



Good luck
 
Thank you. I don't think the hospital is prepared to deal with deaf people. I tried to go to an appt on my own, at first they ignored me at the desk because I could not hear what the receptionist was asking? So she turned and went about her work which I thought was pretty rude? Another came by and took me to a room and was asking some questions, there was the odd thing I heard but she wrote down on the board asking where my husband was and if I could text him to come in? Guess they just don't have time to write things down for a patient.. I think if I make it long enough to end up at the Hearing Clinic, they are more apt to help and advise, but I don't want to call them just yet, because they are very far away and they are not easy to get to. However, after surgery if it should take place, I do have my rides arranged to get there. They did tell me that I could connect with Bluetooth to my hearing aids or something like that, but I can't hear out of my hearing aids at this moment, so maybe I can connect it once I get the implants. Sorry if I am confusing, but I hate to say that I am not very knowledgeable with devices outside a cell phone? My husband owns the cell, so he texts me and hands it to me, so I can read what they just said, and I answer them.
 
The link you gave says "the Federal Communications Commission has ruled that International calling through internet relay services is not allowed. Your IP address has been identified as a call originating outside of the United States and its territories. Therefore, your call cannot be completed using Sprint IP Relay"

Hopefully it won't be too long now, and I will be taught, how to use some needed devices.
 
stephaniep said:
The link you gave says "the Federal Communications Commission has ruled that International calling through internet relay services is not allowed. Your IP address has been identified as a call originating outside of the United States and its territories. Therefore, your call cannot be completed using Sprint IP Relay"

Hopefully it won't be too long now, and I will be taught, how to use some needed devices.
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Which country are you in? Maybe I can narrow down the right resources for you to try.

Seems like you're doing the best you can with the communication situation. Ugh hearing people. annoying how rude they are. .
 
stephaniep said:
Yes, she said after all other options have been exhausted, and then even after being put in the program and going through the motions, it still doesn't guarantee I will end up a candidate. Yes, I am in Canada and apparently there is a long waiting list for the implants in our Province, don't know about other Provinces? Now our Government covers at least some of the cost, before they didn't for adults, only children from my understanding. Well, it all makes sense that it's reserved first for those who no longer have any usable hearing of any kind even with the use of HA's. I'll wait, it's only fair. I can hear some with my hearing Aids IN. Hopefully the bigger speaker (amplifier) will help to improve my hearing for as long as it possibly can? I'm counting on it. Thank you .
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Well I finally found a post where Stephaniep refers to being in Canada! See the above quote where I have put that part in bold.

In checking on where Live Transcribe is available I ran across mention of it already being in 150 countries. So I am inclined to think that it is available in Canada.

I am in my 70's and have used it since it came out several years ago but in the US. I have used it in in-person conversations including with my doctor and just fun visits with friends etc. Also, it will pick up from a sound system if the speaker is using a mic to that sound system (my most frequent use this way was my pastor before we quit having in-person services because of the virus). Now we are having remote services on Facebook and I will have that on my computer with the sound turned up while running Live Transcribe on my cell phone that uses the Android OS. To make that in the best position to pickup the sound from the computer and read the screen of the phone I use a corded mic that can be placed right by the speaker on the phone and hold the cell phone away from the computer where the cell phone screen is easy to read. The corded mic also helps where the individual I am trying to understand is some distance across the room and I clip the mic to something to use to hold the mic more than an arms length away. The corded mic also keeps me from covering the mic built into my phone when deciding how to hold the phone to get it at the best positing to read it.

I have found that it makes more errors than it used to because of trying to understand people talking through masks.

I don't use Live Transcribe on phone calls because I prefer Inno Caption+ that is an app in the US that is just for phone calls and can be set to caption all incoming calls without having to turn it on when a call comes in. So I can't really help those not in the US.

Best of luck in finding what works for YOU
 
stephaniep said:
Thank you, I don't know what to think, I don't know if I can do this anymore, I find the appointments frustrating. My husband comes along to help me communicate but I can't make out sound, and they don't seem to make an effort to communicate with me, and here I'm sitting in the middle of the room , while all backs are turned speaking with my husband about what they want to do, and I feel like a non person, a number, an object they are speaking about. You would think the Clinic of otolaryngology would be able to communicate with a deaf person better, but I felt they treated me like they've never had anyone as deaf as me. No one at the desk lifted a pen to write what they wanted from me, not a one . Finally I was led to a room and a nurse wrote on the Erase board asking if I could contact my husband to come in. Seems like they don't have the time to see just how much I can communicate?
I had my head CT scan today, but I didn't know if I was to hold my breath or not, but it's over and done with now. When I arrived alone as they requested, and were asking me questions, well, sorry I can't hear enough to understand you, so they lean in to my ear and yell louder and louder, I still can't make out what they are saying, then they took my Hearing Aids away before they did the test, and then I could
hear nothing but silence. I have a vestibular test booked for beginning of Feb and have another follow up with the O Clinic. Almost got my vaccinations up to date. and have yet to go for pre-op but at this point, they still don't know what is causing the hearing loss, so if surgery will take place, it remains to be seen? Thank you for listening to my vent.
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stephaniep said:
Thank you, I don't know what to think, I don't know if I can do this anymore, I find the appointments frustrating. My husband comes along to help me communicate but I can't make out sound, and they don't seem to make an effort to communicate with me, and here I'm sitting in the middle of the room , while all backs are turned speaking with my husband about what they want to do, and I feel like a non person, a number, an object they are speaking about. You would think the Clinic of otolaryngology would be able to communicate with a deaf person better, but I felt they treated me like they've never had anyone as deaf as me. No one at the desk lifted a pen to write what they wanted from me, not a one . Finally I was led to a room and a nurse wrote on the Erase board asking if I could contact my husband to come in. Seems like they don't have the time to see just how much I can communicate?
I had my head CT scan today, but I didn't know if I was to hold my breath or not, but it's over and done with now. When I arrived alone as they requested, and were asking me questions, well, sorry I can't hear enough to understand you, so they lean in to my ear and yell louder and louder, I still can't make out what they are saying, then they took my Hearing Aids away before they did the test, and then I could
hear nothing but silence. I have a vestibular test booked for beginning of Feb and have another follow up with the O Clinic. Almost got my vaccinations up to date. and have yet to go for pre-op but at this point, they still don't know what is causing the hearing loss, so if surgery will take place, it remains to be seen? Thank you for listening to my vent.
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I have an appointment on Friday with the Surgeon to get my test results? They already pre booked a surgery date for me in a couple of weeks, so if everything is okay, it should be a go? I am totally surprised that they would even be doing surgery now , when the Hearing Assessment Clinic told me the wait List is a years time? It's all dependant on those tests, so if it doesn't work out, they will cancel it.

Today, my surgery date was sent to me by email. I appreciated that a lot. Whichever way it goes, it goes, . I will be glad to get that over with, so I can move on to the next phase, if everything turns out? It would be nice to hear again. I want to thank all of you who supported me through what seemed a long period of tests and worrying. You were my peace, thanks again.
 
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