Hi & Some Questions for CI Users

good luck, cdmeggers :)
 
cdmeggers said:
That's exactly what I've been thinking of doing with the implant, Jackie... get the implant in the left ear, so that I can continue with the hearing aid in right ear... But first, let's find out if I'm a candidate. 11 on Monday is the appointment, and we leave for Denver very early in the morning tomorrow. :)
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Good Luck, we have been thinking about implanting my son other ear. He has not used HA in that ear for over 13 years, so I am not sure if we are ready to implant that ear yet but we are talking. I would be very interested to see how it goes for you.
 
cdmeggers said:
That's exactly what I've been thinking of doing with the implant, Jackie... get the implant in the left ear, so that I can continue with the hearing aid in right ear... But first, let's find out if I'm a candidate. 11 on Monday is the appointment, and we leave for Denver very early in the morning tomorrow. :)
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Denver won the game yesterday anyway. Good lucky Hope it goes well today. :)
 
Boult said:
Soars, umm all of CI makers (the big 3) now has their latest implants compatible with MRI (ie: small incision to remove magnet before doing MRI)

see my thread on CI comparison...
http://www.alldeaf.com/hearing-aids...64-cochlear-implant-comparison-jim-ellis.html
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Perhaps, I should have clarified my remarks. Boult you are correct but only up to a point...something like .5 tesla or so and that is with the magnet removed. One can't do a full strength MRI on anybody with a CI period. If you do, the consequences are severe.

That is why I have a necklace med alert that states I have a CI (and don't do a MRI willy nilly on me) in case I'm unconscious due to an accident or medical problem. The last thing I want to wake up to is a royal screwup by the medical folks. In other words, the med alert will force them to figure out more about the CI before doing anything rash.
 
Grendel said:
Hi again everyone--

I consulted with a dr. today. He said I am a candidate based on my audiogram. We discussed my history and expectations, and he wants to implant my bad ear as I had predicted. I am still thinking about it and researching for at least one more year before taking the plunge.

I did forget to ask him a few questions though:

-Is Nucleus Freedom incompatible with MRIs? What do you suggest for patients who need MRIs?
-What about static electricity? Is there intereference with computer screens and tv screens necessitating a removal of the processor? (I read this somewhere, not sure if it's a true concern)
-What do you suggest people do when passing through a security checkpoint? What's the worst thing that can happen if there is interference?

Hoping you wonderful people can address some of these for me!
Thanks. :bowdown:
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The freedom is compatible in MRI's up to 1.5 tesla ( I think) Not sure if that would be high enough for you or not. There is also CT scans which might work for whatever you need to have the scan for.

Static isn't all that big of an issue. My job included getting zapped quite well before we talked them into grounding chains on the carts and when I discussed this with the audiologist she said it's only an issue with direct contact. In other words you'd have to be touching your CI at the same time you get zapped. Somewhere else I've read that only the program you are using at the time of the zap would get wiped out, freedom have 4 so a person should be ok til you can run in and get the programs uploaded into it again.


We've flown and not had any problems going through security. You do get a card that you can show if you set off the alarms, just as those who have other internal devices have cards just in case.

I had quite a bit of residule hearing, just had alot of problems hearing with HA's, my drs actually requested approval using the fact that I only heard the first sentence when noise was introduced into the testing. Otherwise I did hear 69% of the sentences with HA's. I'm one of those people who 'should' do quite well with the HA but don't. I don't regret my choice, its so nice to talk on the phone again, to not have to struggle to follow conversations, to not have to try to see the person talking to me, to hear music and find I can now understand the words, to hear the radio in the car and not think of it as alot of noise, to hear sirens when I'm up 10 stories in a building and so on and so on and so on.

Research and make the decision that is right for you. :)
 
jackiesolorzano said:
,As a family we do a lot of traveling with our kids, they do not go through the security box. We inform the guards that our children have cochlear implants and cannot go through that box. They just pull them aside and pat them down. At first this bother my children but now they just take it as part of our traveling together. Also these guards do learn a little bit about people with implants, they are told that they cannot go through it. The worst thing that can happen is that your program is wiped out and you have to go have it programmed again.
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Jackie are you saying your kids don't walk through the metal detectors at the airports and places like that? last time we flew to see my oldest i didn't even concider not walking through, I did have my card handy just in case it went off but it didn't. Just don't see why walking through the metal detectors would be concidered a no no.
 
cdmeggers said:
That's exactly what I've been thinking of doing with the implant, Jackie... get the implant in the left ear, so that I can continue with the hearing aid in right ear... But first, let's find out if I'm a candidate. 11 on Monday is the appointment, and we leave for Denver very early in the morning tomorrow. :)
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I used the HA in the right ear for a couple months post activation. My experience is it seemed to clarify the speech that was coming through the CI. (kinda like trained my brain to use the new, and different imput faster imo) after that time I actually began to leave it out. Now if I decided to try to use it I would have to go through a time period of training the right ear to hear the amplyfied sound, and hope that the staticy sound cleared up eventually. Luckily I don't need the HA to understand speech or hear other sounds so it's not a biggie to not use it. Localization would be nice at times though. :)
 
jag said:
Jackie are you saying your kids don't walk through the metal detectors at the airports and places like that? last time we flew to see my oldest i didn't even concider not walking through, I did have my card handy just in case it went off but it didn't. Just don't see why walking through the metal detectors would be concidered a no no.
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Yeah when I first got my CI, I walked around on egg shells, expecting that if I walked through the metal detector not only would I wipe my program but the whole of the airport would come rushing toward me to wrestle me to the ground. But nothing happened and now I don't even say anything. I just walk through and no problems.

I would be careful though if I was at some obscure regional airport in some remote part of China though.
 
jag said:
Jackie are you saying your kids don't walk through the metal detectors at the airports and places like that? last time we flew to see my oldest i didn't even concider not walking through, I did have my card handy just in case it went off but it didn't. Just don't see why walking through the metal detectors would be concidered a no no.
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My kids have never gone through the metal detectos. Our audiologist told us it would be better if they didn't. Honestly I do not remember why.
 
left ear most likely NOT an option for the implant for me, due ot ossification (still need a CT scan done). My mom told me when I was a little kid, my left cochlea was half ossified, so good chance it's fully ossified. And because I haven't heard anything in left year since the meningitis and quit wearing HA in left ear in 4th grade, it's definitely a DEAD ear for sure. Oh well, at least I am a candidate.
 
jackiesolorzano said:
My kids have never gone through the metal detectos. Our audiologist told us it would be better if they didn't. Honestly I do not remember why.
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perhaps it's time to ask the audie if that still holds true about the metal detectors. I had no problems. another list I'm on the topic occasionally comes up and those people go through. So maybe things have changed since your first childs implant.
 
jag said:
perhaps it's time to ask the audie if that still holds true about the metal detectors. I had no problems. another list I'm on the topic occasionally comes up and those people go through. So maybe things have changed since your first childs implant.
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No problems for me either. I was told that I might hear a buzz as I walk through but it shouldn't wipe the program or anything. I don't even hear the buzz.
 
R2D2 said:
No problems for me either. I was told that I might hear a buzz as I walk through but it shouldn't wipe the program or anything. I don't even hear the buzz.
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the only time I hear alot of buzzing through my implant is when I switch to tcoil in my house. It seems to pick up the compressers from the refrig. and even the freezer in the basement. I'm happy that I can hear on the phone without the t coil.
 
jag said:
the only time I hear alot of buzzing through my implant is when I switch to tcoil in my house. It seems to pick up the compressers from the refrig. and even the freezer in the basement. I'm happy that I can hear on the phone without the t coil.
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Yeah, same thing here. Computers also bring a bit of buzz when I'm in telecoil mode but thankfully it doesn't inferere too much when I'm on the phone.
 
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