Getting CI- Confused not sure what to do
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jillio
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I wish you luck and success.
Good luck! I was implanted in the ear whereas I had very little residual hearing left anyway and was getting very little benefit from even wearing the hearing aid in that ear.
Deaffy
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This is what I did. I wasn't doing well with hearing aides. My residual hearing was so bad. I felt I was not losing very much in the risk of losing what little was there. My drs test me everytime I am in to see where I began from and where I am today. I am lucky to have a good audi that takes her time with me everytime I am in to see her. I can believe that there are audi's and surgeons who are in it soley fo rthe money and not for helping helping the person. I did not get to meet with the surgeon but 2 times before my surgery. That did bother me a little too. But from what my audi told me that he does a good job and the scar would be hardly noticeable and after researching him online it helped me feel more confident about him being the one operating on me.
nichola, are you getting CI, when and which one?
HHissues, that's wonderful that you are liking your CI, how long have you had it on? is it Freedom? how do you like it
nichola
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f1885
im going for pre op to meet surgeon on 15 dec, surgery is planned for 23 march.
i still have many doubts on implant but im ready to give up this ear in hope of something better.
as for brands im leaning towards cochlear (nuc 5)
my hang ups about this are that im afraid i wont do well in groups and backround noise. im afraid the implant will make this harder. i know its hard for everyone in backround noise and groups but i wud like to hope it will be better than the aids,
i wear two aids by the way . im severe to profound deaf, its gradually getting worst since i was eight.
im now 29. ....still a tot ..... ha ha.
i know this will take hard work and rehab and im ready for that but it scares the life out of me that it may not work for me.i converse quite well. groups are very hard for me,and without lip reading im pretty lost. i excel in lipreading.....so im lucky.
im quite socialable and nothing holds me back only my profession. i like you ,went to university n got my degree in management and could not work in this field. it was to stressful.i was constantly worrying . it knocked my confidenence.
i hope the ci gives me the confidenece to set up my own business.
im afraid that when i go with cochlear that when they bring out there new devices that they wont be compatiable with my internal piece.
i have been told i am an ideal candidate by my audio so at least its a good start.
heres to hoping...
nichola
im going for pre op to meet surgeon on 15 dec, surgery is planned for 23 march.
i still have many doubts on implant but im ready to give up this ear in hope of something better.
as for brands im leaning towards cochlear (nuc 5)
my hang ups about this are that im afraid i wont do well in groups and backround noise. im afraid the implant will make this harder. i know its hard for everyone in backround noise and groups but i wud like to hope it will be better than the aids,
i wear two aids by the way . im severe to profound deaf, its gradually getting worst since i was eight.
im now 29. ....still a tot ..... ha ha.
i know this will take hard work and rehab and im ready for that but it scares the life out of me that it may not work for me.i converse quite well. groups are very hard for me,and without lip reading im pretty lost. i excel in lipreading.....so im lucky.
im quite socialable and nothing holds me back only my profession. i like you ,went to university n got my degree in management and could not work in this field. it was to stressful.i was constantly worrying . it knocked my confidenence.
i hope the ci gives me the confidenece to set up my own business.
im afraid that when i go with cochlear that when they bring out there new devices that they wont be compatiable with my internal piece.
i have been told i am an ideal candidate by my audio so at least its a good start.
heres to hoping...
nichola
Yes, it was a case of whereas I pretty much had very little to lose and possibly more to gain anyway. I had difficulty even wearing HA in the ear that was eventually implanted on. I'd get a congested, light headed sensation putting an HA in that ear. While I was still a making a good use of the HA in the other ear. Thus along with the recommendation from the surgeon, the worst ear was implanted on and feel that it's been the right decision.
Yes, I've been liking it thus far. That there are times whereas I could see that I definitely hear better with it than I did with the HA. For instance, there were times I understood the speaker without looking at them. Not necessarily in a long conversation sense, but in short words or phrases, at least more than I did with the HA.
And have also been told by some that my communication skills has improved since I had gotten the CI. Although I tend to constructively say "There's still room for improvement!". I currently have the Freedom and got it 2 1/2 years ago. And am hoping to upgrade to the Nucleus 5 sometime next year. I've also gone for audio verbal therapy lessons within the last 2 years. But am currently taking a break from it and hope to resume therapy sometime next year.
Thanks!
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Nichola, I've been profoundly deaf since birth. Wore hearing aids all of my life. I decided to get the CI in 2008. I think of the CI as something like a high tech gadget. I didn't really need it in the first place but when I got it, it's like "how can I live without it?!" I love it, especially when I compare it with my HA on the other ear. My HA sounds so WEAK now. I actually had to change the batteries to see if it was because the batteries were dying.
However, there is ONE major con for me. High expectations, especially from others. I swear to god I'm going to burst if someone asks me again "Oh you got the implant? Can you hear me now? You speak really well.". I know they just don't know better, but you get awfully tired of explaining that yes, I hear much better but it's not 100% enough to understand speech all the time via listening only and I've always spoke this way. Although some people noticed that I pronounce the /s/ and /sh/ much more distinctively.
Based on your post above, it sounds like you expect a LOT from the CI. To me, this isn't good. You should have a backup plan IF the CI does not work as well as you hoped. I am not saying that the CI won't work for you, but it is less frustrating to depend on the CI so much.
"OMG, it's so hard to understand EVERYTHING!!! Everyone interrupts each other in groups, etc."
vs
"Wow, I can definitely pick sentences here and there, and if I miss anything, it's alright because I have my interpreter/CART/whatever to back me up."
You see what I mean? It's easier to progress when you have something to fall back on. Like you said, it scares the life out of you when the CI doesn't work for you. It doesn't scare the life out of me if my CI didn't work.
Sets, wow, we very similar but I started in around 12 years back I was around 23 when it started and it took 2 years to go to medium to severe, how long did you use your HA before CI?
HHIssues, do we really have to take verbal therapy lessons, what did they recommend them to you since you were hard of hearing before and you may be had good speech, right?, I hate lessons, lol
So why did they upgrade the processor, what is the difference between harmony and N5?
Nicohla, yes I too want to do well in groups as I was more like social butterfly before my hearing goes down, lol. I don't have CI so I can't tell you how this will help with groups and things, may be some other CI users here can tell you their experience, so far it seems that people are doing better with CI than HA, how better I don't know. I hope that more people here can give you some answers 
deafgal001
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If you have speech, you do NOT need speech therapy. You just need to train your brain to get used to the cochlear implant sounds. Your brain will not recognize it at first. Once it associate the sounds, it will sound more natural.
Be prepare that even if you do well with CI, you may not be social butterfly like you used to be. If you are interested in being social, there's ASL. They are just like any hearing but with a different language.
Btw, I did not take therapy after CI. I was told to wear it and practice my listening skills with it so I did.
Fl885 said:
If you have speech, you do NOT need speech therapy. You just need to train your brain to get used to the cochlear implant sounds. Your brain will not recognize it at first. Once it associate the sounds, it will sound more natural.
Be prepare that even if you do well with CI, you may not be social butterfly like you used to be. If you are interested in being social, there's ASL. They are just like any hearing but with a different language.
Btw, I did not take therapy after CI. I was told to wear it and practice my listening skills with it so I did.
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jillio
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You know, I am glad to hear that. The actual purpose of the CI is to improve auditory performance, not oral performance. Shame that so many think it is one and the same.
overthepond
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Nichola, Cochlear is backwards compacitiable which means today's techology can work with the old internal implant.
This is example, My friend who had her CI at 19 she's 33 now she uses N24 internal implant and 3g processor, she can be upgraded to freedom processor (she chose not to at the moment being mother with 2 very young girls) and early next year her internal implant will be compacitiable with N5.
Extract from Cochlear website :-
Cochlear has the longest demonstrated history of upgrading speech processors
Cochlear has always been firmly committed to making the latest advances available to all recipients, including the very first recipients of our technology. For example, recipients from 1983 have since had access to 5 upgrades in speech processor technology, and enjoyed the hearing improvements without further surgery.
overthepond
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I didn't have speech therapy after i had the CI either, I just learnt how to control the volume then it became clearer etc, people who have known me all my life comments that with CI I am so much clearer and not too nasal also they have trouble hearing me since they were so used to me talking louder!! LOL...
I did have auditory rehab which had helped me to understand the sounds.
I did have auditory rehab which had helped me to understand the sounds.
Your Oticon HA mostly likely has much better sound processing than any CI on the market.
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