How are you feeling with your CI so far?

Jules said:
Hello everyone!

It almost a year since I've been implanted and I want to know a little about your experience with cochlear implants.

My experience has been amazing and quite a journey, I really started hearing again 4 months ago. The journey back to the hearing world and re-learning sounds like my dog barking, the phone ringing, my own voice it was tough. But I'm happy with my CI.
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it been 6 months since i was implanted of early last year dec 2010 i believe it have been a good experiencing what im going thru in my everyday life as a mom with ci because there were some things i never heard before sounds like water running, kids in the background talking or playing, understanding words without looking at someone but i still do relay on lip reading, inside of a car tht makes sound and other im still hearing etc... than hearing aids i used to wore all my life since 2 or 3 yrs old so.
 
Katina22 said:
I am almost on the waiting list for my first CI and I am so nervous about getting one.
I feel I have no choice though as it's getting more and more difficult for me to get by at work and I don't want to stop working.

Reading others' experiences is very encouraging.
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Yes, quite encouraging. I agree. Though I have no need for it since my hearing aid does very well me but I'm glad other people's CIs are working out superbly for them.
 
One area I'd like to work or improve on is dealing with indoor areas with a lot of background noise. Just the other day I went to a relatives party, whereas when I came out to head home, I asked another hearing relative that was walking by "Was it noisy inside?". Whereas my relative claimed that it was. "Oh cause I could hear the difference", I then responded to my relative.

Anyway, that's where I hope the N5 would come in handy. Cause I currently have the Freedom and hope to upgrade sometime soon, possibly sometime later this year. And could see using the remote to help adjust the setting and so forth.

I'm also currently not wearing a BTE in my non-implanted ear when I go out (i.e. although sometime I do when I'm home by myself and taking a break from the CI), cause the one I have is a little old and worn. And would probably also like to get a new BTE in the near future. So, I'm also hoping and wondering if having a BTE in the non-implanted ear will also help with the noisy indoor situations, particularly with the amplification aspect.
 
Well I am only about 5 days post activiation but I am loving it so far...I dont take the CI off except to sleep and shower.

And like some other people have mentioned...I feel like I really had no clue how deaf I was until taking the CI off after wearing it for a bit...

I have noticed that I no longer have to lipread most of the time when my fiance is talking to me, I could even hear her ask me something from another room yesterday. This is after my initial programming...so I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

I dont regret the decision at all.
 
I had my left CI for about 10 years, and loving it! I recently got the right ear done, I had my N5 for about 8 months on my right, I can really tell the difference than what I was hearing before i got my right ear done. It's amazing how the CI works. I just absolutely love it. I still have to lipread (i always do) but I noticed that I am improving on being able to understand on the phone while talking. I perfer using my cellphone because the speakers on the phone seemed more louder and clearer for me than our landline phone. I take my implant off when I'm going to take a shower and when i'm going to sleep. But I'll wear my CI everyday unless it's raining.
 
I've gotten some "your speech is better" or "has improved" lately. I don't go around asking others "How's my speech?". Others just usually tell me that.

Want to know something interesting? I've also been told by some of the late deafened that even they've been told that their speech has improved after getting the CI.

Cause it's one thing for some of the profoundly deaf that was born with their loss and has an accent and all to have theirs improved, cause there is, as constructively put "more room for improvement".

But it's another for some of the late deafened to also have theirs improved. In another word, their speech did get somewhat affected when they may have either been getting no or little auditory input or were wearing just the hearing aids only for it to improve again after they got the CI.
 
Love my CI. It really helps me lipread. Nowadays, I'm picking up sentences here and there without lipreading at all. It's pretty awesome because even though it's slow progress, it's STILL going! It's glaringly obvious when I'm too lazy to put on my CI on weekend mornings that it really helps me "listen" because I'm like huh? What? with those who mumble. They just either try to sign or tell me to get my CI. :)
 
Daredevel7 said:
Love my CI. It really helps me lipread. Nowadays, I'm picking up sentences here and there without lipreading at all. It's pretty awesome because even though it's slow progress, it's STILL going! It's glaringly obvious when I'm too lazy to put on my CI on weekend mornings that it really helps me "listen" because I'm like huh? What? with those who mumble. They just either try to sign or tell me to get my CI. :)
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Ever gotten a moment when you understood a word or sentence without looking and without even trying?
 
Jules said:
No, I couldn't.... It was so confusing I couldn't identify any sound because all sounds sounded the same for me. For my surprise my dog started helping me with that. When the phone rings he comes to me and point me the phone and the same thing was with the doorbell ringing he puts his head in my lap and take me to the door. That way I learned how all I mentioned before sounds :D
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You have a natural-born hearing ear dog there! Love it.
 
Kind of gives you a glimpse of what a hearing person would hear....without trying. LOL.
 
I go in for an appointment on Monday finally....very excited about this.
 
So is this appointment the evaluation to see if the auditory nerve still works? Good luck; hope it works out well for you.
 
kokonut said:
Hooray!! I didn't know you were considering it.
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Yeah, I said no way for a long time....had enough ear surgery.....but I changed my mind several months ago. I posted it somewhere but haven't talked about it alot. My coach on my NSAD team was the person who convinced me to get one.
 
kokonut said:
Ever gotten a moment when you understood a word or sentence without looking and without even trying?
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Yep. There were times when I heard it, but it took a moment or two before it sunk in and you're thinking "Oh I heard that!". :)
 
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