Cochlear Implants

[sonocativo]

I had thought bout gitting the ci..had talked with the guy that does the operation ..
We talked n talked then I told him that I know I would have to have a meningitis shot ..so I asked him a question ...
I had spinal meningitis when I was a kid , hasn't come back on me ..yet..was told by a doctors years ago it could come back on me ..
Anyways I said will the meningitis shot interfere with the spinal meningitis ..
He said no one ever asked him that ..and since I'm worry bout that and it makes him worried..then said that it won't work for me ..
I thanked him for his time and left his office..
And have looked up on the internet about the cochlear .
I read more negative then the positive..
Also found that the long term risk of the cochlear implant is meningitis
-infection of the fluid around the brain-.. This is very rare and there have only been 92 cases out of 60,000 patients with cochlear implants..
However , 17 of these patients have died ..

I'm happy for those that had it done and have a deaf friend had it done , she got about 85 % hearing ..I'm glad for her ...
It's just not for me ..I read that it helped lots n also where it didn't help any ..
My late mum asked me months before she passed if I was gonna have it done ..although she never said to git it done ..but I think she wanted me look into it and I have ..I like to think she knows ...
I don't have any kids ..but if I did and kid was deaf ..I wouldn't make him/her have it done ..when they are older they can decide for themselves ..

There are hearing people that argue that denying those deaf kids cochlear implants is akin to child abuse ..wht the hell they know ...

I know that hearing people, and doctors wants make deaf having the implants ..but in my opinion they just want to money , doesn't matter if it works or not ..
Besides they have no idea wht deaf is ...

I know sign language but don't use it much , there's no one around my areas that use it ..but there one guy at Walmart I chat with ... he's deaf ..
And met two hearing people that knows a little ..
I only know the old American signs language ..1971-1976
I never learned more after that ...

If your surgeon cant answer that, you need a different surgeon...period.
I am a volunteer and there are several others who has menigitus, meneres and so much more before CI surgery and theyve had no issues. Yes the shots are required before surgery as a precaution from the surgery and thats for everyone. Ive had spinal surgery prior to CIs so I got the shot several times with no issues. The people who complain online are ill informed ( we had several here that are anti CI ) and I have pulled them over to the support groups and within weeks they had CI surgeries and very happy with it to this day . Although not for everyone, depending on their history and medical issues, a lot of people are mis informed or because they are Anti CI they will beat it down because thats what they are best at. Honestly, If I had the resources when I was younger, I would have had CIs sooner, and technology has come so far since that time as well ! Jump on the bandwagon, if you want to join these support groups and get first hand insight and answers to all your questions PM me.

 

[shel90]

I used to be anti-CI until I got a job in the public schools. I was told that I was going to have paraeducators who were fluent in ASL. Turned out that they were not even ASL level 1 fluent. My boss thought by knowing a handful of sign language is fluency. *eye roll*. So, for the first time since I left the hearing world in 1999, I found myself right back in the hearing world with no ASL. At the time I hadn't worn my hearing aids for 5 years because I lost them at the beach. Yes, I was devastated and my insurance wouldnt cover for new hearing aids so I gave up on wearing them as I was in the Deaf world 24/7. So, I couldn't lipread without sound support and I was struggling to understand my colleagues. Realized that I needed my hearing aids so I made an appt for new ones. Got a hearing test and the audiologist told me that my hearing dropped significantly and I wouldn't benefit from hearing aids. That I was a candidate for a CI. I thought it was the same old BS from the pro CI groups trying to gaslight me into getting one so I said no. The audiologist let me wear loaner hearing aids for a month because my insurance wouldn't approve of them unless I went through the trial. I was upset because I felt like I had no say about what I wanted. That I was at the mercy of the insurance and CI industry. LOL. So, I agree and sure enough, I could barely hear from hearing aids. It was like the batteries were always dying and I kept trying to turn the volume up. One problem was that the volume was at the max. It was a very stressful and frustrating month trying to communicate at work and struggling with lipreading due to no sound support. Finally, I relented and said, "Let's go for it. " I was not happy about it. In fact, I was crying about this decision because I have a fear of surgery due to my bad experience with it one time. The audi asked if I wanted to get two and I said, "NO!!! Just one."

Went through it...8 years later, I have two of them and I love them. No, they do not make me hearing but definitely help with lipreading. However, music sounds so MUCH better with them than it did with hearing aids. I love that.

I take them off as soon as I get home from work because my brain gets tired from trying to process everything I hear. It gets overwhelming at times.

No, spoken English is still not natural to me like ASL is. ASL is still my preferred language.

 

[sonocativo]

I used to be anti-CI until I got a job in the public schools. I was told that I was going to have paraeducators who were fluent in ASL. Turned out that they were not even ASL level 1 fluent. My boss thought by knowing a handful of sign language is fluency. *eye roll*. So, for the first time since I left the hearing world in 1999, I found myself right back in the hearing world with no ASL. At the time I hadn't worn my hearing aids for 5 years because I lost them at the beach. Yes, I was devastated and my insurance wouldnt cover for new hearing aids so I gave up on wearing them as I was in the Deaf world 24/7. So, I couldn't lipread without sound support and I was struggling to understand my colleagues. Realized that I needed my hearing aids so I made an appt for new ones. Got a hearing test and the audiologist told me that my hearing dropped significantly and I wouldn't benefit from hearing aids. That I was a candidate for a CI. I thought it was the same old BS from the pro CI groups trying to gaslight me into getting one so I said no. The audiologist let me wear loaner hearing aids for a month because my insurance wouldn't approve of them unless I went through the trial. I was upset because I felt like I had no say about what I wanted. That I was at the mercy of the insurance and CI industry. LOL. So, I agree and sure enough, I could barely hear from hearing aids. It was like the batteries were always dying and I kept trying to turn the volume up. One problem was that the volume was at the max. It was a very stressful and frustrating month trying to communicate at work and struggling with lipreading due to no sound support. Finally, I relented and said, "Let's go for it. " I was not happy about it. In fact, I was crying about this decision because I have a fear of surgery due to my bad experience with it one time. The audi asked if I wanted to get two and I said, "NO!!! Just one."

Went through it...8 years later, I have two of them and I love them. No, they do not make me hearing but definitely help with lipreading. However, music sounds so MUCH better with them than it did with hearing aids. I love that.

I take them off as soon as I get home from work because my brain gets tired from trying to process everything I hear. It gets overwhelming at times.

No, spoken English is still not natural to me like ASL is. ASL is still my preferred language.

Well said, basically same experience except in the construction/hazardous wastes fields here. had both done 3 months apart. everything sounds normal once the brain processes everything, took me about a year to figure out what sounds were ( never heard frogs, crickets...ect....) its mot a magic pill for everyone but it is amazing.

 

[shel90]

Thanks for the compliment. You stated that everything sounds normal once the brain processes everything. For me, I have no idea was "normal" is as I was born with a severe profound bilateral deafness of dB levels at 120. With hearing aids, the sounds were natural and with the CIs, the sounds are not natural and I can sense that the sounds with my CI seem more robotic-like compared to whatever sounds I was able to hear from my hearing aids. Actually, I practically forgot what it is like to hear out of hearing aids now as I have had my CIs for 7 years. I just don't remember feeling the need to take my hearing aids off as soon as I get home from school or work when I wore them like I do with my CIs. According to my audiogram with my CIs, my hearing levels are at 30 dB so to hear everything that moves is very very overwhelming for me. With hearing aids, my hearing was at 90 dB. Huge difference. My husband said if I really worked hard at the speech therapy sessions I attended, maybe it wouldn't be so overwhelming. I question that because he is hearing and he has no idea what it is like to be deaf. All the experts who tell me the same thing are all hearing.

However, I am happy with them and how I wear them. I wear them when I go to non signing environments and take them off when I get home. I have no desire to listen to the TV, things moving around the house, dogs barking, sirens, and water running after a hard day at work. If I am in the mood, I will wear them to listen to music in the evenings. Even that can increase my anxiety if I am feeling on edge about something.

That's my CI journey from someone who was anti-CI. LOL!

 

[LoveBlue]

Thanks for the compliment. You stated that everything sounds normal once the brain processes everything. For me, I have no idea was "normal" is as I was born with a severe profound bilateral deafness of dB levels at 120. With hearing aids, the sounds were natural and with the CIs, the sounds are not natural and I can sense that the sounds with my CI seem more robotic-like compared to whatever sounds I was able to hear from my hearing aids. Actually, I practically forgot what it is like to hear out of hearing aids now as I have had my CIs for 7 years. I just don't remember feeling the need to take my hearing aids off as soon as I get home from school or work when I wore them like I do with my CIs. According to my audiogram with my CIs, my hearing levels are at 30 dB so to hear everything that moves is very very overwhelming for me. With hearing aids, my hearing was at 90 dB. Huge difference. My husband said if I really worked hard at the speech therapy sessions I attended, maybe it wouldn't be so overwhelming. I question that because he is hearing and he has no idea what it is like to be deaf. All the experts who tell me the same thing are all hearing.

However, I am happy with them and how I wear them. I wear them when I go to non signing environments and take them off when I get home. I have no desire to listen to the TV, things moving around the house, dogs barking, sirens, and water running after a hard day at work. If I am in the mood, I will wear them to listen to music in the evenings. Even that can increase my anxiety if I am feeling on edge about something.

That's my CI journey from someone who was anti-CI. LOL!

What I love about my CIs? Being able to turn off my ears. And I'm late-deafened (started losing my hearing in my mid-30', got my CIs in my early 60's). It can be tiring trying to listen and understand sounds. If you're happy, and you sound like you are, then that's all that matters.

 

[Banty banty]

I be gitting new hearing aid in few wks ...been going without my other hearing aid ..it was going bad anyways but do use it when I have to ..other than that I go without ..
No CI for me ...
I had told my family n friends that this is the last time I will buy hearing aid ..when it goes bad I will go without hearing aid ..won't have it fix if n when it breaks down ..

 

[Barbaro]

Thanks for the compliment. You stated that everything sounds normal once the brain processes everything. For me, I have no idea was "normal" is as I was born with a severe profound bilateral deafness of dB levels at 120. With hearing aids, the sounds were natural and with the CIs, the sounds are not natural and I can sense that the sounds with my CI seem more robotic-like compared to whatever sounds I was able to hear from my hearing aids. Actually, I practically forgot what it is like to hear out of hearing aids now as I have had my CIs for 7 years. I just don't remember feeling the need to take my hearing aids off as soon as I get home from school or work when I wore them like I do with my CIs. According to my audiogram with my CIs, my hearing levels are at 30 dB so to hear everything that moves is very very overwhelming for me. With hearing aids, my hearing was at 90 dB. Huge difference. My husband said if I really worked hard at the speech therapy sessions I attended, maybe it wouldn't be so overwhelming. I question that because he is hearing and he has no idea what it is like to be deaf. All the experts who tell me the same thing are all hearing.

However, I am happy with them and how I wear them. I wear them when I go to non signing environments and take them off when I get home. I have no desire to listen to the TV, things moving around the house, dogs barking, sirens, and water running after a hard day at work. If I am in the mood, I will wear them to listen to music in the evenings. Even that can increase my anxiety if I am feeling on edge about something.

That's my CI journey from someone who was anti-CI. LOL!

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I actually never considered you anti-CI due to the debates. You always believe in the full toolbox unless I missed something. What CI brand do you wear now? I just bought my brand-new hearing aids last year 'cause my right ear is declining. My left ear remains the same since my toddler years.

I grew up going to beach. I never ever bought my hearing aids with me to beach. I was so afraid someone will steal them or they are buried under the sand.

 

[shel90]

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I actually never considered you anti-CI due to the debates. You always believe in the full toolbox unless I missed something. What CI brand do you wear now? I just bought my brand-new hearing aids last year 'cause my right ear is declining. My left ear remains the same since my toddler years.

I grew up going to beach. I never ever bought my hearing aids with me to beach. I was so afraid someone will steal them or they are buried under the sand.

Hello,

Tank you for the reminder. For some reason, by being all for the toolbox, I was labeled as anti-CI. I was more of against using them as the only option. Now, I am learning more and more about capitalism and the push to make profits of of our healthcare and well-being. It makes me nervous not knowing if I can trust the corporations to keep us safe. However, I think the CI companies would be too nervous to have cases of kids suffering from harm and lawsuits so I think they are careful about surgery and etc. I have Cochlear America. I forgot why I chose them. LOL! Yea, I refuse to wear them at the beach because I am so clumsy and famous for losing things. hahaha!

 

[Barbaro]

Hello,

Tank you for the reminder. For some reason, by being all for the toolbox, I was labeled as anti-CI. I was more of against using them as the only option. Now, I am learning more and more about capitalism and the push to make profits of of our healthcare and well-being. It makes me nervous not knowing if I can trust the corporations to keep us safe. However, I think the CI companies would be too nervous to have cases of kids suffering from harm and lawsuits so I think they are careful about surgery and etc. I have Cochlear America. I forgot why I chose them. LOL! Yea, I refuse to wear them at the beach because I am so clumsy and famous for losing things. hahaha!

Yeah, CI companies have been working on improving CI design to make it more practical. Not sure if you heard the recent news. A Deaf woman has a CI since she was a pre-teen, but her CI broke down. She recently has been seeing her surgeon about new options like a CI MRI friendly to replace her old CI. I think it is called the Nucleus Profile Plus Series Cochlear Implant series. It is safe for MRI scans now, which is nice.

I once lost my hearing aids (they are the one with ugly boxes) when I was a toddler. My mother found them hanging over the fence. I don't recall how it happened. I was so young.

 

[LoveBlue]

Yeah, CI companies have been working on improving CI design to make it more practical. Not sure if you heard the recent news. A Deaf woman has a CI since she was a pre-teen, but her CI broke down. She recently has been seeing her surgeon about new options like a CI MRI friendly to replace her old CI. I think it is called the Nucleus Profile Plus Series Cochlear Implant series. It is safe for MRI scans now, which is nice.

I once lost my hearing aids (they are the one with ugly boxes) when I was a toddler. My mother found them hanging over the fence. I don't recall how it happened. I was so young.

Advanced Bionics has had an MRI compatible implant for several years now. When I had revision surgery (due to a quality of sound issue) done in Dec 2020, that was what I got. I kind of wish my other side would show signs of needing to be replaced so that both would be MRI compatible, but hopefully I won't need MRIs anyway.

 

[HOH Guy]

I got a Cochlear CI 2 years ago & it has been a very positive experience!

 

[malus handle]

stick with ASL because CI is a catastrophic failure

A bit off topic but is the deaf community aware of Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones? $47 - $175 models.

Before very expensive and complicated digitized volume control hearing aids or digitized CI's are used,
these WBCH's and devices should be experimented with.

Deaf with some speech capabilities can perceive their OWN voices or tones, not digitized and auto tuned, and if a "Woojer Strap Edge is used in conjunction, your whole body can "feel' YOUR music and see the eyes,
Learning Body Language is most important the more your hearing is diminished even down to nothing.
I like "Body language Ghost" on youtube.

How does Bone Conduction energize the little hairs and bones in the inner ear,? bypassing the Tympanic membrane.
Deaf from birth people get bone conduction signals don't they? but just can't cypher them...yet..

Being, Paired Up to my Samsung phone and my Kindle Fire 7' is truly an amazing way to get valued information and music direct and not from a crummy speaker in the hand held phone or a giant set of headphones.
I can be 1 inch or 50 feet from my phone but the sound is the same quality.
People can't even see mine tucked up under my hair and NOT in my ear canal, and they don't see a phone in my hand. That means something.

I am SSD with very poor hearing in the 'good' ear, and I use them as sort of another "ear", I can concentrate on 'listening' better.
I can not tell where a sound is coming from and louder noises make me jump, which is scary, but with my headphones I know exactly where the sound is,
It's in my brain and it's MY choice what the volume is.
I put "432" tones on super low, and put my "bonephones" under "MY Pillow" at night and it helps me sleep. The Tinnitus becomes white noise.
I put, "Dark Side of the Moon" on low during a dentist visit, and as he was putting the Novocaine in my jaw, he said, "I love it, it's as good as the gas I use to calm people.

I think that Deaf people can "feel" every bit as good as a hearing person, maybe better.

I know that this rambling does not relate to a Deaf person but what do you think?

 

[authentic]

A bit off topic but is the deaf community aware of Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones? $47 - $175 models.

Before very expensive and complicated digitized volume control hearing aids or digitized CI's are used,
these WBCH's and devices should be experimented with.

Deaf with some speech capabilities can perceive their OWN voices or tones, not digitized and auto tuned, and if a "Woojer Strap Edge is used in conjunction, your whole body can "feel' YOUR music and see the eyes,
Learning Body Language is most important the more your hearing is diminished even down to nothing.
I like "Body language Ghost" on youtube.

How does Bone Conduction energize the little hairs and bones in the inner ear,? bypassing the Tympanic membrane.
Deaf from birth people get bone conduction signals don't they? but just can't cypher them...yet..

Being, Paired Up to my Samsung phone and my Kindle Fire 7' is truly an amazing way to get valued information and music direct and not from a crummy speaker in the hand held phone or a giant set of headphones.
I can be 1 inch or 50 feet from my phone but the sound is the same quality.
People can't even see mine tucked up under my hair and NOT in my ear canal, and they don't see a phone in my hand. That means something.

I am SSD with very poor hearing in the 'good' ear, and I use them as sort of another "ear", I can concentrate on 'listening' better.
I can not tell where a sound is coming from and louder noises make me jump, which is scary, but with my headphones I know exactly where the sound is,
It's in my brain and it's MY choice what the volume is.
I put "432" tones on super low, and put my "bonephones" under "MY Pillow" at night and it helps me sleep. The Tinnitus becomes white noise.
I put, "Dark Side of the Moon" on low during a dentist visit, and as he was putting the Novocaine in my jaw, he said, "I love it, it's as good as the gas I use to calm people.

I think that Deaf people can "feel" every bit as good as a hearing person, maybe better.

I know that this rambling does not relate to a Deaf person but what do you think?

let me ask...do you sign ASL?

 

[Deaf Believer of Christ]

As a member of the deaf community, do you want to get cochlear implants?

Hi miperezo, can I ask you question? Are you happy with cochlear implant?

 

[Deaf Believer of Christ]

That's because people are more inclined to complain online than to talk about when things are going ok/normal/etc. You'll see more negatives online about anything.

I rather positive more than negativity/complaint! Negativity/complaints is unhealthy communication! Positive communication is stay healthy! You agree? Andrew

 

[Barbaro]

Advanced Bionics has had an MRI compatible implant for several years now. When I had revision surgery (due to a quality of sound issue) done in Dec 2020, that was what I got. I kind of wish my other side would show signs of needing to be replaced so that both would be MRI compatible, but hopefully I won't need MRIs anyway.

Let's hope you won't need MRIs unless you plan to get a new one for your other side. Will it be Advanced Bionics, too?

 

[LoveBlue]

Let's hope you won't need MRIs unless you plan to get a new one for your other side. Will it be Advanced Bionics, too?

Yeah, I hope I won't need an MRI. Yes, I would get AB again. I'm very happy with their implants and processors....and customer service and online community.

 

[Tiredman72]

The younger person is, the faster they can learn and understand sounds. So if a baby got implanted, we deafies probably will never see them anywhere in the deaf community.
Just saying, doesn't mean I support it…
I rather not implant anything in my baby, not that I have a baby lol.

People will have a hard time trying to learn and understand vocals and a variety of sounds if they are already done with school.

I do think of CI implant sometime and do want it but always didn’t do anything about it.
I’m wondering if I am wasting my time with the process of making multiple appointments with different places for tests and bullshits and surgery shits, the recovery process.
I am 31 years old man, vocal speaking skill level is somewhere between over there in the back down in the shits and the displaced town of gibberish founded by founders who still have no idea where their builders' employees set up the town.

Nobody except god knows how long it will take me to get used to CI and understand vocals words and sounds.
I need to improve my speech skill out of the shit and bring them back to the founders of Gibberish so they can retry with a new town in the right place.


But now I am wondering what if im wrong... I could learn how to understand vocals word with ease, I could take advantage of that to grow my speech skill.


Oh I was a hearie when mommy pushed me out.
My hearing level went downhill slowly and become deaf when I was 3 maybe 4. Stopped using Hearing Aids when I was in 4 or 5 grade due to losting them all time costing too much money. Attempted at HA after graduation and didnt use them much because I keep hearing lot of nosies all the time nobody home all tv speaker phone etc r off. Uncle a hearie said he dont hear anything.
OH and the HA always makes that eeeeee hissing sound all hearies hates. Then one day I open the HA case to find out it's empty... yep lost it.



What do yall think? Should I get a CI? Or reattempt on the HA path?

3rd path is just speech classes or therapy or whatever its called. Plus lips reading. I cant read lips for shit. Its currently stuck with that skill back there in the shit.

Haha I start writing this comment with simple details and ends up quite different... I am cursed. Bye

 

[ohiit]

stick with ASL because CI is a catastrophic failure

LOL!!! Some will think it is a chore when they had CI and after having it for more than 20 years then they gave up wearing it. What a waste?

 

[deafdyke]

The younger person is, the faster they can learn and understand sounds. So if a baby got implanted, we deafies probably will never see them anywhere in the deaf community.
Just saying, doesn't mean I support it…
I rather not implant anything in my baby, not that I have a baby lol.

People will have a hard time trying to learn and understand vocals and a variety of sounds if they are already done with school.

I do think of CI implant sometime and do want it but always didn’t do anything about it.
I’m wondering if I am wasting my time with the process of making multiple appointments with different places for tests and bullshits and surgery shits, the recovery process.
I am 31 years old man, vocal speaking skill level is somewhere between over there in the back down in the shits and the displaced town of gibberish founded by founders who still have no idea where their builders' employees set up the town.

Nobody except god knows how long it will take me to get used to CI and understand vocals words and sounds.
I need to improve my speech skill out of the shit and bring them back to the founders of Gibberish so they can retry with a new town in the right place.


But now I am wondering what if im wrong... I could learn how to understand vocals word with ease, I could take advantage of that to grow my speech skill.


Oh I was a hearie when mommy pushed me out.
My hearing level went downhill slowly and become deaf when I was 3 maybe 4. Stopped using Hearing Aids when I was in 4 or 5 grade due to losting them all time costing too much money. Attempted at HA after graduation and didnt use them much because I keep hearing lot of nosies all the time nobody home all tv speaker phone etc r off. Uncle a hearie said he dont hear anything.
OH and the HA always makes that eeeeee hissing sound all hearies hates. Then one day I open the HA case to find out it's empty... yep lost it.



What do yall think? Should I get a CI? Or reattempt on the HA path?

3rd path is just speech classes or therapy or whatever its called. Plus lips reading. I cant read lips for shit. Its currently stuck with that skill back there in the shit.

Haha I start writing this comment with simple details and ends up quite different... I am cursed. Bye

Actually no..... The effectiveness of CI is ALL over the place. Even if a baby is implanted early, they still won't automaticly be a superstar. You do know that when they claim that CI is "better" then HA, they can use "Oh it's 30% "better" as "evidence" that this or that is "better" 30% is interpreted as "clinically significent" ...It doesn't mean that every user is functionally HOH. It's not like the difference between an ear horn and a digital aid......