Cochlear Implants in noisy bars and nightclubs

[femme Fatale]

I totally agree with you....the only way I can hear with my CI at a not so noisy restaurant is to plug in my microphone clip and have the other person talk right into it.

Bebonang is correct....I was hearing, bars with lot's of people and loud music is difficult even for a hearing person. Shouting is very common.

LOL SO right! Restaurants usually arent that bad, so I've done well with my AB UltraZoom at a lowered sensitivity setup. At nightclubs and concerts? Forget It! Talk is brief, I just use body language to make my point, if we need to talk, we'd take it to an isolated area or a restaurant after leaving the place.

 

[HOH-ME]

This illustrates one very important point. Results for CI recipients cannot be generalized...
It's much easier to predict hearing aid success than CI.

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Again, NOT true. My HA's just made everything louder and did not help with speech understanding much. I had about 30% speech recognition with my HA's, and about 5% in noise, just at the audi yesterday, hit 99% and 100% speech scores on the AZ bio sentences and single word tests. In noise, without any of the noise programs, 85%. Most people with severe to profound loss will experience similar results if they got any benefit from HA's.

Really? Then how come you still need stuff like ALDs, closed captioned, FMs, seeing the speaker and all those other accomondations? Hearing people don't need all that stuff.... The research indicates that almost all people (including postlingal/late deafened people) still use pretty much ALL the same accomondations that dhh people have used historically. I don't understand why CIers take it as an insult that CIs work differently for different people.
THAT is a FACT.....Nobody's saying that they don't work..... we're just saying that they work differently for different people, and it's very rare for even a late deafened person to function exactly like a hearing person with a CI....

I don't need any of that stuff--other than my processors. I never learned sign language, I got pretty good a lip reading with my HA's because otherwise they were pretty useless for me. I use my Compilot for TV when I want to watch one program (on my computer) and my husband is watching another on the tv, but if we are watching the same program, I don't use any assisted devices. I use Ultrazoom only in the noisiest places because it is just helpful, but without it I get 85%. Others with the same implant/processor I have, AB, have had similar results--and actually most late deafaned people have had similar results. In many situations, I function BETTER than a "normal" hearing person. I've had both so I can compare.

 

[everlastingstorm]

Really? Then how come you still need stuff like ALDs, closed captioned, FMs, seeing the speaker and all those other accomondations? Hearing people don't need all that stuff.... The research indicates that almost all people (including postlingal/late deafened people) still use pretty much ALL the same accomondations that dhh people have used historically. I don't understand why CIers take it as an insult that CIs work differently for different people.
THAT is a FACT.....Nobody's saying that they don't work..... we're just saying that they work differently for different people, and it's very rare for even a late deafened person to function exactly like a hearing person with a CI....

I don't need and I don't use captioning, FM's or lipreading. The only device besides my processor that I use is my bluetooth streamer, and I use that exclusively for streaming music or Netflix late at night when my roommate is sleeping and for when I want to talk on my iPhone hands-free while I am driving. That is what I would do anyway even if I didn't have a CI, as everyone is wearing bluetooth devices. Mine just happens to look a little different, but it still serves the same purpose. Other than that, I use my work phone, iPhone, and iPod like anyone else. Don't assume that I need any accommodations, and I never stated that I needed any of them in the first place. Please cite your sources as to this "research" that you speak of. No one is saying that those accommodations aren't useful for others who are d/hh and may rely upon them, with or without a CI. However, you are painting the entire CI population with a very broad brush and making gross assumptions without experiencing what hearing with a CI is like.

On the whole, the general expectations for how different groups of people with CI's will do are very reliable. Any kind of variation in performance with a CI is not very likely to be due to random chance, which is how you are coming across. Occasionally yes, you will have outliers. However, statistically speaking in terms of CI's, the doctors, audiologists, and engineers have generally pinned it down to an exacting science.

 

[soutthpaw]

Again, NOT true. My HA's just made everything louder and did not help with speech understanding much. I had about 30% speech recognition with my HA's, and about 5% in noise, just at the audi yesterday, hit 99% and 100% speech scores on the AZ bio sentences and single word tests. In noise, without any of the noise programs, 85%. Most people with severe to profound loss will experience similar results if they got any benefit from HA's.



I don't need any of that stuff--other than my processors. I never learned sign language, I got pretty good a lip reading with my HA's because otherwise they were pretty useless for me. I use my Compilot for TV when I want to watch one program (on my computer) and my husband is watching another on the tv, but if we are watching the same program, I don't use any assisted devices. I use Ultrazoom only in the noisiest places because it is just helpful, but without it I get 85%. Others with the same implant/processor I have, AB, have had similar results--and actually most late deafaned people have had similar results. In many situations, I function BETTER than a "normal" hearing person. I've had both so I can compare.

You're one person, how can you generalize? My info comes from my own experience plus actual test results and discussions with the research audiologists @ Cochlear over a couple year period.



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[Angel1989]

You're one person, how can you generalize? My info comes from my own experience plus actual test results and discussions with the research audiologists @ Cochlear over a couple year period.



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Agree, all we can do is share our OWN experiences. Everyone is different, everyone will have different experiences. Keep expectations realistic and you won't be dissapointed.

 

[Reba]

Apparently, there is a wide range of results with the CI.

I've interpreted for several people who had CI's, and they still depended on additional devices, lip-reading, and signing. Some of them were implanted as children, some as young adults.

Rush Limbaugh, who was a late-deaf hearing man, and could afford the best two CI's on the market, has stated that the CI hearing experience was not the same as natural hearing. He still uses captions and other aids, and complains about the quality of music.

There is a variety of experiences.

 

[BleedingPurist]

Apparently, there is a wide range of results with the CI.

I've interpreted for several people who had CI's, and they still depended on additional devices, lip-reading, and signing. Some of them were implanted as children, some as young adults.

Rush Limbaugh, who was a late-deaf hearing man, and could afford the best two CI's on the market, has stated that the CI hearing experience was not the same as natural hearing. He still uses captions and other aids, and complains about the quality of music.

There is a variety of experiences.

What were the hearing histories of the young adults? How old were the children who were implanted?

Rush Limbaugh did not do rehab or follow directions. He stunted his own hearing progress by remaining stuck on older speech strategies. He also never wore his Tmics correctly... they always stuck out away from his ears. So while he has the best technology on the market, he's like one of those people that bought an HD TV and then proceeded to watch standard definition channels only while going on about not seeing what the HD hype was about.

Yes, there is a range of results. There are also "whys" behind those results. Plenty of Deaf folks are implanting these days. They still get benefit, but will never derive the sort of benefit early-implanted infants or late-deafened individuals achieve.

 

[HOH-ME]

You're one person, how can you generalize? My info comes from my own experience plus actual test results and discussions with the research audiologists @ Cochlear over a couple year period.



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I've talked with many audiologists, participated in many studies as well and for the most part, people are far more successful with CI's vs HA's.

Your issue is that you are working with the company with the worst technology and success rates on the market...that is going to alter the results quite a bit. Move over to Advanced Bionics and see the difference....

 

[soutthpaw]

What were the hearing histories of the young adults? How old were the children who were implanted?

Rush Limbaugh did not do rehab or follow directions. He stunted his own hearing progress by remaining stuck on older speech strategies. He also never wore his Tmics correctly... they always stuck out away from his ears. So while he has the best technology on the market, he's like one of those people that bought an HD TV and then proceeded to watch standard definition channels only while going on about not seeing what the HD hype was about.

Yes, there is a range of results. There are also "whys" behind those results. Plenty of Deaf folks are implanting these days. They still get benefit, but will never derive the sort of benefit early-implanted infants or late-deafened individuals achieve.

Well I didn't lose all my hearing till I was 30 so I should be one of the best success stories with being involved in bilateral research study too. But I'm not so your argument is not valid. I am living proof that what you claim is the best scenario for being successful with CI is not true. This is why I said and have agreement from cochlear's own audiologists that the results are very individualized. Outcomes cannot be reliably predicted based on any of the factors mentioned. Now the marketing people will swear up and down that this is not the case and only talk best case scenario.

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[HOH-ME]

Well I didn't lose all my hearing till I was 30 so I should be one of the best success stories with being involved in bilateral research study too. But I'm not so your argument is not valid. I am living proof that what you claim is the best scenario for being successful with CI is not true. This is why I said and have agreement from cochlear's own audiologists that the results are very individualized. Outcomes cannot be reliably predicted based on any of the factors mentioned. Now the marketing people will swear up and down that this is not the case and only talk best case scenario.

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Then you are the anomaly....and, like I said, equipment and technology makes a difference....of course results are individualized, however, the vast majority of CI recipients have a far greater hearing experience with CI's vs HA...that is well documented. And, once again, had you gone with better technology, your results could have been better as well.

 

[soutthpaw]

Then you are the anomaly....and, like I said, equipment and technology makes a difference....of course results are individualized, however, the vast majority of CI recipients have a far greater hearing experience with CI's vs HA...that is well documented. And, once again, had you gone with better technology, your results could have been better as well.

At the time 11 years ago, it was the best technology. The original question was about use in noisy environments and bars. I believe you will find the majority with CI not do well in this environment

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[HOH-ME]

At the time 11 years ago, it was the best technology. The original question was about use in noisy environments and bars. I believe you will find the majority with CI not do well in this environment

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..and like I said, with the newer technology, you will find that most people do JUST fine in noisy environments.

 

[everlastingstorm]

Well I didn't lose all my hearing till I was 30 so I should be one of the best success stories with being involved in bilateral research study too. But I'm not so your argument is not valid. I am living proof that what you claim is the best scenario for being successful with CI is not true. This is why I said and have agreement from cochlear's own audiologists that the results are very individualized. Outcomes cannot be reliably predicted based on any of the factors mentioned. Now the marketing people will swear up and down that this is not the case and only talk best case scenario.

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Did you even wear your CI? Because if you didn't wear your CI and if you didn't do any rehab, then there you go. Previous hearing or not, the more you do not use that ear, the less you will benefit from the CI.

The audiologists say that things are individualized simply because they cannot promise everyone who is implanted that they'll get 100% on speech scores in the booth. Scores in the booth give an overall picture of how good one's sound awareness is, but it doesn't say as much for real-world hearing as we would like.

Cochlear's technology sucks, plain and simple. I would NEVER recommend Cochlear and I think that any parent who chooses Cochlear for their deaf kid ought to have their head examined. And if you're using something that is 11 years obsolete, of course you're limiting yourself. Rush Limbaugh can go bite my ass. It's distorted information like his and yours that unfortunately gives the world an inaccurate perception of how CI's work.

 

[Aurilna]

Thanks All

I'm interested to know..I'm not entirely sure i should need to explain why i wish to know.

I've worn hearing aids all my life. I'm a social person, i like being where my friends are which happens to be in noisy places a fair bit. I manage with some difficulty. It would totally suck if the cochlears are useless in such environment. I've read (correctly or not) that Cochlears white out when volume is above a certain level? is this correct?

I'm not asking about how normal hearing people do..I'm sure they struggle to some extent, no doubt there is some shouting but as an observation, they do manage to have conversations and engage with the people around them far more successfully than a deaf person ever will. Its not a like for like comparison. It actually annoys me when hearing people say they struggle too, they may struggle but they sure don't have the same social exclusion or isolation when it comes to communication and engagement....I'm profoundly deaf, i wear two superpwoer hearing aids. do the best i can with the hearing I have always have and for the most part i do a reasonable job or it so. A hearing person cannot possibly expect to tell me it is difficult for them by comparison. Anyway I know your trying to be helpful but i thing your getting away from my question, so lets please stick to it...

Taking a cochlear off to enjoy the silence defeats the whole purpose of getting a cochlear. It dis-engages you from those around you. Thats exactly what i don't want. I know cochlear implant has limitations, but i want to know...I get by with my hearing aids, i dont doubt i will do better in quiet situation with a cochlear implant compared to my current hearing and use of hearing aids...but i really hope it wont be worse in noisy situations...hence me wanting to know

I have been approved for the Cochlear Implant, but not sure I want to go that route...I am completely deaf in my right ear, and have about 70% hearing loss in my left ear, with auditory neuropathy on top of that.....I get by with my hearing aid for now...and am now taking sign class....

 

[hoichi]

Sign will set you free. Learn sign. No drilled holes in your head needed, no batteries, no plugs, no creeps in white coats wanting to put holes in you.
LeArn sign. Its free, its real, its yours for the taking.
Sign
Will
Set
You
Free

 

[Jane B.]

Sign will set you free. Learn sign. No drilled holes in your head needed, no batteries, no plugs, no creeps in white coats wanting to put holes in you.
LeArn sign. Its free, its real, its yours for the taking.
Sign
Will
Set
You
Free

Maybe IF you are in an area where there are other people that know and use it!!!!!!!!!!!! It does not help to learn it if you have no one to converse with using it.

 

[hoichi]

If you seek us, we will come......
Sure beats a drill to your head, wires, plugs, so on,
Really

 

[Reba]

. . . It's distorted information like his and yours that unfortunately gives the world an inaccurate perception of how CI's work.

From what I've observed, the hearing world's perception of CI's is that they are miraculous deliverers of perfectly normal hearing.

 

[everlastingstorm]

From what I've observed, the hearing world's perception of CI's is that they are miraculous deliverers of perfectly normal hearing.

That's the media that you see in headlines. No one here is saying that they deliver perfectly normal hearing. In fact, no one hears "perfectly". There's a middle ground. That middle ground does not equate to what some of these Deaf fanatics or Deaf wannabes that have made it out to be on this forum.

However, they are miraculous devices just the same and can provide reasonably good results beyond what hearing aids can do for those candidates who are most appropriate for these devices.

 

[everlastingstorm]

o i c
Fact is sign is better in noisey enviroment, then your messiah technology. Face it.
im Deafie, not troll,
You may feel a drill to peoples heads and a hole in peoples.heads is better...
Im only pointing an alternative. Why so hostile to me a deafie, this is deafie forum you know,
Why cant you accept sign is better, long after your frankenstien tech is dust, our sign and culture in spite of you will remain.

You want empty promise of a drill and hole in your head fine by me...but ill allway offer sign as more healthy and better alternative.
Tough indeed..

I don't even know sign, so tell me how that can do any good if I don't know it. How can it be "better" for anyone who doesn't know sign?

Sign is an alternative, but it doesn't provide the opportunities that would otherwise be available with implants.

I thank the engineers and my surgeon every day that their "empty promise" of a drill and hole in my head resulted in being able to hear at 20db, have a conversation in a restaurant without struggling, and hear a full score of music.