Cochlear Yes or Cochlear No?

[green427]

I disagree. From the research I have done, people with some hearing have significantly better results from a CI than they do with HA's. CI results from those with little to no hearing are not quite as impressive.

That's why I specifically said "Wearing hearing aids in a partially-deaf ear probably will give you the same results as a CI"

In other words....if someone is HOH and can understand speech with a HA, they are not going to benefit that much more with a CI.

We can argue all day over details....before that..do you have CI's? I have two, have been wearing them for 10 years now, and wore HA's for 30 years...how about you?

 

[hazridi]

There are a number of singlesided deaf users on Hearing Journey and they all seem to really like having dual-sided hearing.

Also, CIs are capable of restoring far more hearing than just bumping up a profoundly-deaf person to "severe" levels. My audiogram went from No Response to 20dB or less at all frequencies. That's within the normal hearing range.

Is the sound the same? No. But if you have a source of non-CI hearing, most of what you perceive will be the sound that you're used to. I'm bimodal (I wear a CI and a hearing aid on the opposite ear) and that's how things work for me.

 

[NaidaUP]

There are a number of singlesided deaf users on Hearing Journey and they all seem to really like having dual-sided hearing.

Also, CIs are capable of restoring far more hearing than just bumping up a profoundly-deaf person to "severe" levels. My audiogram went from No Response to 20dB or less at all frequencies. That's within the normal hearing range.

Is the sound the same? No. But if you have a source of non-CI hearing, most of what you perceive will be the sound that you're used to. I'm bimodal (I wear a CI and a hearing aid on the opposite ear) and that's how things work for me.

Even if you hear at 'normal levels' a CI is not normal hearing like someone with perfectly working ears so it will never match working ears.

 

[BleedingPurist]

Is the sound the same? No. But if you have a source of non-CI hearing, most of what you perceive will be the sound that you're used to. I'm bimodal (I wear a CI and a hearing aid on the opposite ear) and that's how things work for me.

Actually, this will vary. You do not need a second source of non-CI hearing to perceive sound as normal and doing so can possibly prevent the CI ear from fully developing since quite often the user will continue to cling to the HA-ear.

With a fully developed/rehabbed CI ear, sound can indeed be perceived as normal. Plenty of recipients who have had to switch to full-on CI have had this result. I am one of them. It has something to do with the brain fully embracing the stimulation and maximizing it.

 

[BleedingPurist]

Even if you hear at 'normal levels' a CI is not normal hearing like someone with perfectly working ears so it will never match working ears.

I wouldn't say never. Great strides have been made in just the last 2 decades. Who knows where we will be in 2 more decades. The technology is constantly evolving and I do believe that eventually we will hit a point where they reach the goal of a full-on bionic ear that has all the capabilities of a normal ear.

That you can get within striking distance of normal hearing with the current tech is something to appreciate. Very few recipients claim that hearing with a HA was ever better than their CI hearing at any point and those that do were profoundly deaf their whole life. They never knew what normal hearing was.

I get what you are saying though and it's more of a factual statement than what many like to peddle around here by overly downplaying the capabilities and performance. It is currently the closest thing to a cure though. No hearing aid can come close.

 

[green427]

Actually, this will vary. You do not need a second source of non-CI hearing to perceive sound as normal and doing so can possibly prevent the CI ear from fully developing since quite often the user will continue to cling to the HA-ear.

With a fully developed/rehabbed CI ear, sound can indeed be perceived as normal. Plenty of recipients who have had to switch to full-on CI have had this result. I am one of them. It has something to do with the brain fully embracing the stimulation and maximizing it.

This pretty much sums it up.

Many people put CI's in their "bad" ear, and still depend on the better ear with the HA in it, thereby nullifying the benefits of having a CI.

Ask any person that is hearing in one ear and has more than mild loss in the other ear & wears a HA, they will tell you that they are still using their better ear for everything.

And, contrary to what the medical community tells you, HA's and CI's do NOT allow you to "narrow down" where sounds are coming from like your normal ears do.

I was told that I would have that capability with bilateral CI's....it is partially true. I am able to move my head around to know which direction the sound is coming from if it is loud enough to make a difference. It is impossible to do with normal or quiet sounds.

 

[Cloggy]

My ENT gave me brochures on the Cochlear Implant. I am trying to decide if it is something I want to do. I have always had a hard time hearing out of my right ear (my left is good). The doctor said I would be able to have "normal" hearing. I don't know what normal hearing is. I'm 39 and have lived this long without it. Is it worth it? If you have a CI could you tell me what you like about it and what you don't like? Thank you to all that reply.

Hearing with two ears will make understanding in noisy environment much easier.
Possibly you would hear where sound is coming from, but I think the improvement in noisy environment is the main improvement.

 

[KikLove]

This pretty much sums it up.

Many people put CI's in their "bad" ear, and still depend on the better ear with the HA in it, thereby nullifying the benefits of having a CI.

Ask any person that is hearing in one ear and has more than mild loss in the other ear & wears a HA, they will tell you that they are still using their better ear for everything.

Maybe I should not post in a thread with CIs, but I have to agree. I use my left ear for almost everything - I still wear a hearing aid in both ears but which ear do you think I rely on more even if I do not realize it?

From what I've read here is that every person responds differently to a HA and a CI. I think history of the person, the level of their loss, and etc... just depends on how well they will respond to a CI.

But whatever...I'm off to lurking again.

 

[deafdyke]

I know you aren't replying to me but my aided discrimination is around 40% at 110dB. I have wicked recruitment but that usually means by the time I can hear something it is too loud and really distorted.
Most sounds I hear through my hearin aids are a mixture of vowels and static. Sounds that are slightly louder than speech sound like static both with and without my hearing aids (of course without my hearing aids (such as in a sound booth) the sound is amplified).
Usually by the time I can hear something it is too loud or sounds like static.

With my hearing aids I can understand some speech but honestly the noise prevents so much understanding. Without my hearing aids I have the freedom to explain that I'm deaf and I need the phrase repeated or written down.
If I'm not going to have to interact with people I NEVER wear my hearing aids.

I think a CI would help by partly/mostly eliminating the recruitment and distortion and allowing the signal to get relayed straight to my auditory nerve. It wouldn't have to pass through my nearly dead cochleas.

In that case you sound like the perfect canidate for CI. I'd look into it...I actually wonder if the CI may work via an "alternative pathway" approach, and that's why it works with severe recruitment and auditory nereopathy....

 

[cdmeggers]

they're doing research and trials on CI and SSD. Johns Hopkins has A trial going on regarding this.

CI hearing is NOT normal hearing. Electronic hearing. Over time it may start to sound more "normal" for you as your brain gets used to the CI signals.

 

[deafdyke]

they're doing research and trials on CI and SSD. Johns Hopkins has A trial going on regarding this.

CI hearing is NOT normal hearing. Electronic hearing. Over time it may start to sound more "normal" for you as your brain gets used to the CI signals.

Exactly!

 

[NaidaUP]

I wouldn't say never. Great strides have been made in just the last 2 decades. Who knows where we will be in 2 more decades. The technology is constantly evolving and I do believe that eventually we will hit a point where they reach the goal of a full-on bionic ear that has all the capabilities of a normal ear.

That you can get within striking distance of normal hearing with the current tech is something to appreciate. Very few recipients claim that hearing with a HA was ever better than their CI hearing at any point and those that do were profoundly deaf their whole life. They never knew what normal hearing was.

I get what you are saying though and it's more of a factual statement than what many like to peddle around here by overly downplaying the capabilities and performance. It is currently the closest thing to a cure though. No hearing aid can come close.

CIs are very good but it is electronic hearing. It's not normal hearing. It will never be normal hearing but it dam good for people who don't get benefit from HAs.

 

[NaidaUP]

Maybe I should just be happy with what I have. I can't hear where sound is coming from, I can't hear what someone is saying if they are walking away from me (they do it all the time), My TV and radio have to be up loud and I only hold the phone up to my left ear. And I say "huh?" and "What?" all the time. But the hearing I do have combined with my lip reading skills allows me to get along just fine. Might just be easier to avoid change.

Common problem for both HA users and CI users. Getting a CI in your bad ear will unlikely to help you locate where sound is coming from.

 

[hazridi]

I think many people are being overly pedantic here, especially the forum members without CIs who are making blanket statements about them. Just because the sound is delivered as a modulated pulsetrain doesn't mean it can't sound decent and provide the information that normal hearing provides. If you don't have a CI, making statements about them is the same as a blind guy talking about what colors he likes the least.

Green47's idea of what a crutch is also completely out of whack. There's nothing wrong with utilizing all of the sound available to you, whether it is via cochlear implant, natural hearing, aided hearing, or some other exotic combination of the two. The brain is really an amazing organ in terms of adaptation and it can handle any of these situations given adequate feedback.

Many of you really don't want to comprehend that CIs are capable of restoring enough auditory information for people to not only not be considered practically deaf, but to not even be considered practically hard of hearing. I no longer need special accomodations like captioning, being able to see someone's lips, sitting close, CART, or whatever. I have gone from saying what about 100 times a day to being able to count on my fingers how many times I say it per week. I'm an outlier, probably, but the fact remains that this sort of outcome IS possible, and is becoming a whole lot more common as both audiologists and implant surgeons acquire more skill and experience.

 

[hazridi]

Common problem for both HA users and CI users. Getting a CI in your bad ear will unlikely to help you locate where sound is coming from.

[citation needed]

I don't have any localization problems, provided the sound is in a frequency range I can hear with either ear (150 Hz to 1500 Hz).

 

[hazridi]

In that case you sound like the perfect canidate for CI. I'd look into it...I actually wonder if the CI may work via an "alternative pathway" approach, and that's why it works with severe recruitment and auditory nereopathy....

Of course it works via an alternative pathway. CIs send a series of pulses, the signal is nothing like the mechanism for normal hearing. With a CI the basilar membrane does not resonate, which is the method of stimulation for the individual hair cells which fire neural responses in normal hearing.

Recruitment is also a symptom of increased gain without compression, it is not a diagnosis of anything but a badly programmed hearing aid or someone who has profound hearing loss.

 

[Trisha]

Every day hearing aids are improving more and more than they have in the past. If your left ear is good, stick with hearing aids. If you have hearing loss, no matter how little or much, there's no such thing as a device that can give normal hearing. Most audis probably know more about hearing loss than ENTs
Laura

My "outer ear" and middle ear are damaged so regular hearing aids do not help. If I had a choice I would try that first! I have been HOH since I was 2 and am only now, at the age of 39, finding out from my new ENT what type of damage was done. I had a large cholesteatoma removed when I was 16, caused from repeated ear infections that did not get treated. Just home treatments. I am the clueless one! I thought CI and the Cochlear Baha 3 were the one and the same. :Oops:

 

[Trisha]

If my insurance covered cochlear implants, I would get one tomorrow. Sure, I'm getting married next Saturday but I'd show up to my own wedding with half a shaved head if it meant I could have a better way to keep up with my peers.

This may be because I'm in biomedical grad school and hoping to go to medical school where I have to compete with very smart hearing students.

BUT if your left ear is "good" then you likely don't qualify for a CI. CIs are for adults with bilateral severe to profound SNHL. single sided deafness (where only one ear is deaf and the other is hearing) are helped better by bone anchored hearing aids.
As someone pointed out above, some ENTs are complete idiots. CI are for bilateral deafness.

So sorry. I'm the idiot not my new ENT. He gave me info on the Cochlear
Baha3. I thought CI and Cochlear Baha3 were the one and same. I have damage to the outer and middle ear, my inner ear is fine. Thanks for the new information! :Oops:

 

[Trisha]

I have 2 CI's, as I am profoundly deaf in both ears. HA's were not good enough. I am a fan of CI's, but, I believe they should only be considered a LAST resort if all else fails.

Since you already have a good ear, you most likely will NOT benefit from a CI on the other ear, as your brain is already adapting to using the good ear for everything, and your CI ear will never be 'normal' again.

CI's do NOT give you normal hearing. They give you some hearing back, but nowhere near as good as a normal ear.

Wearing hearing aids in a partially-deaf ear probably will give you the same results as a CI....without the surgery, risks, etc.

And, lastly, if you have $80K to spend, any doctor will implant you with a CI, as insurance companies will not, since your other ear is fine.

Get another ENT.

I cannot wear hearing aids because of the damage to my outer and middle ear. My insurance WILL pay for the implant. I just got this new ENT, I like him. I am thinking that I agree with you about the last resort thing. Most people do not know I am HOH unless I tell them because I have learned to adapt (try to be facing the person talking, reading lips, having them stand/sit on my good side etc.) Thanks for your input!

 

[Trisha]

I have been HOH for almost 38 years and only just now found out that the type of hearing loss I have is called Conductive hearing loss. Thanks all for your replies, I have my answer. Due to my lack of research into my problem until now, I feel that the problem is not bad enough to do any thing about at this time. If it was affecting my quality of life, I would know more about it like all of you guys, right? Plus I'm a chicken. Thanks.