getting a CI as a adult.. is it worth it?

J

James_UK

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Hi guys! :wave:

Let me tell you a little background information on me; I'm a profoundly deaf 19 year old lad living in london, born to deaf parents, I grew up using BSL in a mainstream school with 40 other deaf kids where sign language was encouraged.

My speech is good enough to a point where I can hold simple conversations and answer questions. I lipread more than I hear but I do make an effort to listen to the announcements on the tube, trains and so on. I can now understand what my mother and grandmother are saying without looking at them/lipreading/signing most of the time at home.

I'm very much happy being in the deaf world but would like to take advantage of modern technology to give myself the best of both the deaf and hearing world if possible.

I use HAs but I am now curious about whether having the CI would be of benefit to me? I know that people implanted young benefit greatly from it but I was wondering if anyone here has had the same sort of background as me and decided to get a CI later on in life?

If so, what happened? did it work as well as you expected and for you personally, was it worth it? What ear did you have it done on, the one you heard better/or worse with your HA? I don't hear quite as good in my right whereas I hear well with my left so having a CI fitted on the left side is a big issue to me in case it doesn't work as well as expected.

If anyone knows of any previous threads asking the same questions (Been a lurker on here for a while & I've not been able to find any) please feel free to direct me to them. :ty:

Thanks for reading, I hope this will be of interest to you too! :hmm:

James
 
Hi!

I think it close to impossible to predict what an individual outcome for everyone is,
for everyone is so different.

But I dunno, I don't have a CI myself,
hopefully someone experienced will resurface soon with her or his story to tell.

Meantime, why not use our archives and see what will pop up?

Fuzzy
 
I've no personal experience but have you searched the net for blogs? If you search for "My cochlear implant blog" you tend to get more experiences from older teens and adults and they talk you through every experience they have as and when it happens.

I think they usually want to implant your better ear as it has a better chance of success - it's rare you get to choose a side, it's chosen for the best outcome on scans and tests, you only choose if they are both equally suitable. There's a whole assessment process to go through, as I'm sure you are aware, so why not get yourself into the assessment program to see if it's suitable for you, ask any questions you want to ask, see if they can put you in touch with previous patients locally who have done the exact process at the hospital that is local to you. If, after going through assessment, you decide it isn't for you then you are better informed than you were before, and if you decide to go ahead then at least you have done the waiting part, it could take a year or so from referral to switch-on for adult lists, you may as well get referred ASAP if you are even thinking about it. The doctors can better answer the questions of whether it's likely to work for you, though nobody can make you any promises.

How well do you cope with just one side aided? If the CI were to fail you'd be left with only your worse ear, try wearing no hearing aid on the good ear for a few days and see if you are prepared to take that risk.

Also have a look and see if "Deaf Teens, Hearing World" is still available on BBC iPlayer cos a girl on there has an implant done around your age. She loves hers!
 
:wave:Hi James: I am much older than you and became bilateral DEAF in December 2006. I was in the Profound loss category-90 to 110 db- for over 30 years. I don't know/use ASL in part because of consequence not knowing any DEAF persons-personally. You already have a "fallback position".

It is my understanding that going from a Hearing aid/s to Cochlear Implant depends on the "severity of one's loss". When a Hearing aid can't be of "assistance" than a consideration of an Implant-relevant.

The difficulty is not every one who wants an Implant is suitable. As I live in Toronto, Ontario and referred to Sunnybrook/Toronto-Cochlear Implant section. They have been around since 1984. Up to last year they have "processed" over 3000 referred patients and only 950 were "suitable and implanted". Of that group 18 didn't benefit after Implantation. Why-unknown? How James in your case-the above statistics hold?

The first step for you James- do I fit the criteria?

Your Health service is different than the one I was involved with-OHIP which "picked up the entire cost of CDN $55,000,00"- almost 5 years ago. I had sensorineural loss and was genetic. I knew from 1992 I would eventually become bilateral DEAF. Happened in December 2006. Thus the process was started in early February 2007. The operation was July 12. 2007.

As for your concern which ear will be used-for me Left. Right when "deaf" in 1992. I understand they most of the time they use the ear which went "deaf last".

To answer your query: I think there is much benefit to having a Cochlear Implant if suitable- as to the comparison of Deafness-to me- silence. I understand Deafness as being in excess of 110db which is silence. The fact that you can still "use-somewhat Hearing aids" will be "considered" by your ENT doctors examination. Hopefully discussed with you. That is why it is difficult to give answers on computer screens. One's experience is different than others.

Good luck in your Cochlear Implant journey James which you are starting.
 
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Hi James,

I'm from London and am wondering whether to get a CI too :wave:

There is a dedicated section here in AD (AllDeaf) about CIs and if you take the time to go through the different threads, you'll find out who the CI users are and what their experience of CIs is like. It takes time, and some of the threads get a bit heated! But if you stick around and contribute to the forum, eventually you'll be able to send PMs (Private Messages) asking AD members about their experiences of CIs. This is what I did. We get loads of people who come here, write a few posts asking for information, then disappear never to be seen again - so you have earn the right to ask.

This is one AD thread I found useful:
http://www.alldeaf.com/hearing-aids...4-profoundly-deaf-anyone-like-me-have-ci.html

The other thing I did is search for blogs about CIs and read them - there's a lot out there!!!

Wishing you all the best,
AJW
 
Hello James, I live in the UK and am also a CI user too, inbox me when you have enough posts and I'll send you my blog link.
 
Thanks for that tip RoseRodent. I've just googled 'My cochlear implant blog' and loads of results came up. brilliant! thank you :D

As for Deaf teens: Hearing world, I watched it and I know the girl in question personally so I think I'll send her a text and speak to her about how she found it. hopefully, that will help me decided whether I'm happy to remain as I am or to go on ahead and book a appointment to be assessed for whether I'm suitable for a cochlear implant.

As for everyone else, thanks for the input. All very helpful/useful! will be using this forum again, that's for sure. :ty:

James
 
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