Differences between HA and CI...

[sr171soars]

...
I don't know for sure, not being all that familiar with CIs, but I suspect that the level of programmability and automated-ness is pretty much the same as with a digital BTE. Probably more so with a bodyworn CI, given that you have more room to play with, but otherwise I'd guess it's largely the same. The confusion, if that's the case, could be due to the fact that you're switching to a more modern technology that you haven't used before (and would be doing so even with HAs) or could be due to the fact that sometimes the more modern technologies aren't available in the most powerful aids (so, pre-CI, the aids available to you were less bleeding-edge). Again, I'm just SWAGing here - it's just a guess.

To give a little background, I was in the market for a digital as my analog was some ten years old (Fall of 2004) and still ticking strong. My hearing just wasn't getting enough from it and therefore the looksee at digitals. When I was told that I was legally deaf and dropping rapidly, they pointed me to the direction of a CI. The rest as they say is history and I got my CI in Spring of 2005. You are right, I basically jumped a generation (or two) into a CI. That explains my lack of familiarity with digitals although I heard about programmability and digitals were the "thing" and so on. When it is sort of working for you and you don't want to think about spending a wad of bills for a new one...you tend to not look too closely.

 

[ismi]

When it is sort of working for you and you don't want to think about spending a wad of bills for a new one...you tend to not look too closely.

I hear you - that's sort of where I am now, in the sense that I think a new aid might be beneficial, but I don't want to even touch the idea of paying for a new one. To exacerbate that conflict, my audiologist likes it when I try new models since I'm old enough to know what I like (as I said above, most of her patients are pretty young). And the engineer in me just can't resist ... "ooh, this one works with the bluetooth boot? And you say it has an auto-whatsit?"

 

[Cloggy]

Difference in Graph

Browsing through all the stuff I collected while getting info regarding CI I found this one... (looking for something else - but what the heck...)

Speaks for itself

It's coming from THIS article... (2004)

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Wow Cloggy I am suprised how close your daughter's CI hearing is to normal hearing range! and in one instance even above!
I guess that is pretty impressive. one thing we probably will never know - how true to normal hearing sound-wise is hearing thru CI in this range..

Fuzzy

 

[Cloggy]

Wow Cloggy I am suprised how close your daughter's CI hearing is to normal hearing range! and in one instance even above!
I guess that is pretty impressive. one thing we probably will never know - how true to normal hearing sound-wise is hearing thru CI in this range..

Fuzzy

No, not my daughters.
I gave the link to the article with it.

Just wante to show graphically the difference between HA and CI.
(Of course, hearing is still not understanding.)

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Oh sorry I missed the link. Still, even if it is not your daughter what I wrote apply to whoever is there implanted...

(can't open the link -it's PDF Adobe, takes too long - maybe I'll ry again later)

Fuzzy

 

[Mookie]

Cloggy,

Is that bold line for the level of average hearing range of 35 HLiD?

Thanks..

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Well, my friend is deaf and speak like HOH and wear HA since she was 6 months old.

Her parents wore HA on her when she was 6 months old. Her parents spent their times to communciate with her... Now she CAN phone to her family with HA and speak like HOH. I suggested her to consider CI but she said that she is happy with HA.

 

[Cloggy]

Cloggy,

Is that bold line for the level of average hearing range of 35 HLiD?

Thanks..

Not sure about "HLiD" but the greyed area is where speech is "coming from".

Stupid me "Hearing Levels in Decibels"

 

[Boult]

Wow Cloggy I am suprised how close your daughter's CI hearing is to normal hearing range! and in one instance even above!
I guess that is pretty impressive. one thing we probably will never know - how true to normal hearing sound-wise is hearing thru CI in this range..

Fuzzy

my audiogram shows mine in 20-30 in all range. so I am in the area that I could hear the ling sounds:
http://www.hardofhearingchildren.com/Great Information/ling_sound_test.htm

http://www.bionicear.com/printables/TFS-Ling-Spond.pdf
or
http://www.bionicear-europe.com/cgi/fichiers_downloadnow.cfm?id=73 (PDF)


the normal hearing level is from 0 to 20 dB
http://www.earinfo.com/howread1.html

 

[Audiofuzzy]

oh I thought the difference in the color indicates normal hearing level.

see here:

Fuzzy

 

[neecy]

mine goes between 30 and 15 with my CI, but 100-120 before I was implanted.

 

[Fragmenter]

100-120 before I was implanted.

Ouch! I'm in the 90-95 range.

 

[highlands]

My hearing is between 70 to 105 DB so I have good enough residual hearing to benefit from a digital aid.. I really need programmable digitals since my hearing isn't good for linear amplification.. Loud sounds are too loud and I cannot hear soft sounds good.

I'm not a candidate for a CI yet.

a few weeks ago, I tested a digital aid ( phonak powermax 411 ) and I liked it so much I was able to repeat most of the words that the audiologist said to me

but now I'm trying to get a different digital from puretone brand..

wish me good luck for the next week

 

[R2D2]

Well, my friend is deaf and speak like HOH and wear HA since she was 6 months old.

Her parents wore HA on her when she was 6 months old. Her parents spent their times to communciate with her... Now she CAN phone to her family with HA and speak like HOH. I suggested her to consider CI but she said that she is happy with HA.

If she can talk on the phone with her hearing aids I doubt she would qualify for a CI at any place anyway. It sounds like she is getting a tremendous lot of benefit from her HAs and that is great.

Only if maybe she suddenly loses the rest of her hearing (like me) she might want to think a bit more about this option but for now things seem fine for her.

 

[jag]

13) To get a CI, one must get no benefit from a HA and being deaf is no barrier to using one
..

This isn't 'exactly' true. I was using HA's. From what my CI audi told me you have to score less the 60% on the HINT. My score was 68 the first time I tested and 70 the second time about 2 months later (Beginning of April). But the second time he tested me on repeating sentences in a noise enviroment. (I only got one, out of probably 10) He did the noise test the second time cause I had had my aides adjusted, but was still complaining about not being able to hear very well outside the nice quiet sound booth and we all know that the real world isn't like that nice quiet sound booth.

My ENT requested dictated the letter for an exemption and approval, to get the ball rolling while waiting for that an MRI was done the following Monday. I could ahve seen him that day but chose to see him the following Monday. So 2 weeks after my 2nd CI evaluation I had insurance approval and a May 3 surgery date. after deciding on the Freedom, which was their recommendation I set an activation date one week after surgery.

So no, you can have some benefit from HA's and still get a CI. (just depends on your insurance company and your Dr.s ability to convince them that it's needed)

PS, even with the first three maps being pretty bad I still was enjoying the 'clarity' of speech!! Just had the mapping redone this past week and WOW even better. Since everyone says it just gets better as your brain becomes adjusted to the way it's recieving the stimulation I'm happy.

Graduation parties are giving this thing a work out and I'm actually enjoying them and talking more and NOT getting all exausted from trying to follow conversations.

 

[sr171soars]

This isn't 'exactly' true. I was using HA's. From what my CI audi told me you have to score less the 60% on the HINT. My score was 68 the first time I tested and 70 the second time about 2 months later (Beginning of April). But the second time he tested me on repeating sentences in a noise enviroment. (I only got one, out of probably 10) He did the noise test the second time cause I had had my aides adjusted, but was still complaining about not being able to hear very well outside the nice quiet sound booth and we all know that the real world isn't like that nice quiet sound booth.

My ENT requested dictated the letter for an exemption and approval, to get the ball rolling while waiting for that an MRI was done the following Monday. I could ahve seen him that day but chose to see him the following Monday. So 2 weeks after my 2nd CI evaluation I had insurance approval and a May 3 surgery date. after deciding on the Freedom, which was their recommendation I set an activation date one week after surgery.

So no, you can have some benefit from HA's and still get a CI. (just depends on your insurance company and your Dr.s ability to convince them that it's needed)

PS, even with the first three maps being pretty bad I still was enjoying the 'clarity' of speech!! Just had the mapping redone this past week and WOW even better. Since everyone says it just gets better as your brain becomes adjusted to the way it's recieving the stimulation I'm happy.

Graduation parties are giving this thing a work out and I'm actually enjoying them and talking more and NOT getting all exausted from trying to follow conversations.

I should have "softened" that point (#13) a bit...

I'm glad to hear you are getting great clarify with speech. I had the same thing pretty by the second day. I know what you mean by not being exhausted anymore when listening in crowds...

 

[jag]

To give a little background, I was in the market for a digital as my analog was some ten years old (Fall of 2004) and still ticking strong. My hearing just wasn't getting enough from it and therefore the looksee at digitals. When I was told that I was legally deaf and dropping rapidly, they pointed me to the direction of a CI. The rest as they say is history and I got my CI in Spring of 2005. You are right, I basically jumped a generation (or two) into a CI. That explains my lack of familiarity with digitals although I heard about programmability and digitals were the "thing" and so on. When it is sort of working for you and you don't want to think about spending a wad of bills for a new one...you tend to not look too closely.

JUst as any other option the digitals aren't all they're cracked up to be. I purchased new bte's a couple years ago. Never did achieve a place where the speech was really clear without having to struggle to understand. Oh well. (I had a moderate/severe loss and SHOULD have gotten more benefit from the aides)

I got the Freedom Implant in the left side on May 3, after consulting with CI audi and ENT over a 2 month period, had surgery one month after seeing the ENT the first time. I did not qualify going by the guidelines but was able to get approval based on only hearing 11% in a noise test. I was activated on May 10, and even with the poor map for 3 weeks, evidently my perception of loud but comfortable was way off and when I was remapped I actually backed off the actual sound, it wasn't that loud but decided to go with the last beep that didn't buzz me. but with the bad map I still had better clarity of speech then when I wore a HA in that ear. I do use an aide in the right ear. To me when it comes to clarity of speech the inplant is alot better then the digital HA.


of course others are quite happy with what they get out of the HA's.

 

[sr171soars]

...
To me when it comes to clarity of speech the inplant is alot better then the digital HA.
...

Amen to that...no question there is no comparison between the two (at least compared to analogs for me anyway). That is the thing that is so amazing to me...what one can hear with a CI and what one was missing with a HA especially when it came to hearing speech.