How bad must your own hearing be before you consider CI?

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deafdude1

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How bad must your own hearing be before you consider CI? What other conditions would there need to be? Let's assume you don't want to wait more than a year unless you never want CI ever and are content on living totally deaf.

For me, obviously if I became totally deaf, id get CI asap. I will start considering CI if my hearing worsened to this point or worse in decibal loss:

125Hz: 75db
250Hz: 80db
500Hz: 100db
750Hz: 115db
1000Hz: 120db
No hearing above 1000Hz.

Id also consider CI if my hearing got to this point:

125Hz: 65db
250Hz: 70db
500Hz: 90db
No hearing above 500Hz.

Must be at least 10db worse than what my hearing currently is for each frequency and I can't have any residual hearing left above 1000Hz. I must also be a great candidate and be able to get surgery without risking serious damage or death. I also must have a good chance of the CI working(must be way better than my aided score with HA) and be able to better hear environmental sounds, music and some speech perception. Basically I will have realistic expectations if my hearing got that much worse as stated above.
 
I guess you would have to be able to stick your head in an airplane engine and still not hear anything before you qualify for CIs? :dunno:
 
VamPyroX said:
I guess you would have to be able to stick your head in an airplane engine and still not hear anything before you qualify for CIs? :dunno:
Click to expand...


That used to be what I was told several years ago but nowdays I am surprised at the candidates which have enough residual hearing that they would(or should) hear plenty with the best HAs. They say it's about speech perception but if you have plenty of residual hearing and still have poor speech perception, it's a matter of training. Getting CI will still require training to improve speech perception and not everyone gets great speech perception with CI.

CI should be reserved for the most profoundly deaf candidates. There's way more profoundly deaf people without CI than those with CI. If the money comes from your pocket, ok fine. But insurance companies should first fund the most profoundly deaf candidates and only after all those have a CI should they fund the less profoundly deaf. Surgeons can have less strict requirements than insurance companies, but no surgeon should give CI to anyone with a 60db hearing loss.

This thread however is about how bad *your* hearing gets before *you* would consider getting CI, not what others think if you should or shouldn't. I am curious if every poster here would not touch CI unless profoundly deaf or if any poster with plenty of residual hearing would still consider getting CI and why? Do they think a CI would somehow be better and will they be able to persuade the surgeon to take them on as a candidate?

One poster here has an average of 85db hearing loss in the better ear, totally deaf in the worse ear. Her worse ear has an ossified cochlea so she's gonna risk her better ear. Alot of people tell her she has too much residual hearing and also she does *not* have the best HA or the gain on max, in fact her gain is only 30db for some frequencies. I have a gain of 60-80db and it works great! She's saving money out of pocket to get her CI and her surgeon is willing to operate. If she's lucky and doesn't lose her residual hearing after she gets CI, she will have a plan B: going back to hearing aid if the CI doesn't work or is not as good as her hearing aid. She still loses the money but hopefully not her residual hearing. It matters alot in her case since she is *not* totally deaf in her good ear.

If somehow an insurance company or someone offered to pay 100% of the cost of my CI, I would pass the offer to someone who really needs and wants a CI. That person should have a total(NR on audiogram) or near total(110db+) loss. I am serious that id rather see someone benefit big time from a CI and be forever thankful. I am not against CI for those who truly need one but for those who are looking for the "latest and greatest" or who want to "upgrade" from hearing aids, they should pass and let those who truly need one get one.

Anyway ive ranted a bit, look forward to your replies.
 
I would never get one. There is too much anecdotal evidence here from CI wearers on this board about pain and dizziness, and bad sounds.
Of course anytime anyone brings this up it makes the CI wearers mad.
 
Where I'm at now.
Currently seeking CIs have two HAs and I'm Severe to Profound lost.
During testing my Audi did the word recognition at normal speech frequency and no amplification. I had my aids in and still Got zero words right.
 
I have considered CI, but at this point my answer is never. I don't need it. I am happy the way I am.
 
First of all, auditory training doesn't help everyone even if they do have a decent amount of residual hearing. As I've stated time and time again, no two people hear the same despite the fact that they have similar audiograms.

As for myself, I chose to receive CIs for my own personal safety as a totally deafblind person. There were also some communication techniques that I used (for example, print on palm/POP and Braille/raised print alphabet card) which were extremely time consuming. I had profound loss in my left ear and speech discrimination of 8% with hearing aids and a Comtek FM system. My right ear had severe-profound loss and speech discrimination of 22% with hearing aids and a Comtek FM system. If I had to be implanted all over again, I would in a heartbeat. I love my CIs and despite the dizziness that I'm having, wouldn't trade them for the world. :)
 
deafdude1 said:
If somehow an insurance company or someone offered to pay 100% of the cost of my CI, I would pass the offer to someone who really needs and wants a CI. That person should have a total(NR on audiogram) or near total(110db+) loss. I am serious that id rather see someone benefit big time from a CI and be forever thankful. I am not against CI for those who truly need one but for those who are looking for the "latest and greatest" or who want to "upgrade" from hearing aids, they should pass and let those who truly need one get one.

Anyway ive ranted a bit, look forward to your replies.
Click to expand...


Here's my little rant...hopefully.
First - I have residual hearing, and I *was* able to hear pretty well with my hearing aids, but then it progressively got worse. I'm one of those that cannot live without sounds. Hearing aids can only amplify so much...regardless, I would have never been able to hear the higher range/higher frequencies as I would have with my HA. I got surgery, twice, and twice my residual hearing has been saved. So...in your eyes, would you say I should "pass" the opportunity of having a great technology to someone else who hears worse than I do?

Second - I am a FIRM believer that ANYONE who has EXPERIENCE with hearing sounds and HA's, and they started to lose what they have, can do very well with CI's. However, anyone who has NO experience at all...i'm talking about those who never wore hearing aids, or very little, or even hear very little, will think the CI's are crap. Why? Because they are not used to the sounds and what they will hear. I've heard CI users complain about the sound of water running, toilet flushing, etc. To me, it sounds pretty much the same as it did when I had the HA's, just a bit extra clarity.

Thirdly - I am against those who wanted the CI just to see what it was like...that's just BS. I rarely see that often though. It is sad that I hear many of the stories where children or even adults (there's a couple that I remember reading about on AD), that had CI for a while, then they don't like it anymore for whatever reason, and just take off the CI. It is sad, but it happens.

So, while I'm with you for several things, but not with the fact that someone has to have 110db loss...trust me when I say that they will be in a huge shock. Suppose someone was hearing their whole life, then suddenly became deaf due to whatever reason...yet they only have 90 db loss. Hearing aids doesn't help with the clarity...would you turn them down? I know I wouldn't.

EDIT: I apologize ahead of time if I am not clear...not a good idea typing up something that requires thought and watching Hell's Kitchen. :) Hope I made any sense.
 
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I disagree with the assertion that a surgeon shouldn't give a CI to someone with a 60 dB loss. If that person has a progressive hearing loss and is expected to lose all of their hearing within a matter of months or a year, I think a CI is the best option for them if they wish to be able to hear again.
 
Research has proven time and time again how effective CIs can be for people with greater amounts of residual hearing (i.e. severe-profound). If someone can benefit from a CI and isn't hearing well with hearing aids, why shouldn't they be implanted? Why does someone need to have 110-120 dB loss, NR at 1000 Hz and above or a certain dB range aided?
 
deafdude1 said:
That used to be what I was told several years ago but nowdays I am surprised at the candidates which have enough residual hearing that they would(or should) hear plenty with the best HAs. They say it's about speech perception but if you have plenty of residual hearing and still have poor speech perception, it's a matter of training. Getting CI will still require training to improve speech perception and not everyone gets great speech perception with CI.

CI should be reserved for the most profoundly deaf candidates. There's way more profoundly deaf people without CI than those with CI. If the money comes from your pocket, ok fine. But insurance companies should first fund the most profoundly deaf candidates and only after all those have a CI should they fund the less profoundly deaf. Surgeons can have less strict requirements than insurance companies, but no surgeon should give CI to anyone with a 60db hearing loss.

This thread however is about how bad *your* hearing gets before *you* would consider getting CI, not what others think if you should or shouldn't. I am curious if every poster here would not touch CI unless profoundly deaf or if any poster with plenty of residual hearing would still consider getting CI and why? Do they think a CI would somehow be better and will they be able to persuade the surgeon to take them on as a candidate?

One poster here has an average of 85db hearing loss in the better ear, totally deaf in the worse ear. Her worse ear has an ossified cochlea so she's gonna risk her better ear. Alot of people tell her she has too much residual hearing and also she does *not* have the best HA or the gain on max, in fact her gain is only 30db for some frequencies. I have a gain of 60-80db and it works great! She's saving money out of pocket to get her CI and her surgeon is willing to operate. If she's lucky and doesn't lose her residual hearing after she gets CI, she will have a plan B: going back to hearing aid if the CI doesn't work or is not as good as her hearing aid. She still loses the money but hopefully not her residual hearing. It matters alot in her case since she is *not* totally deaf in her good ear.

If somehow an insurance company or someone offered to pay 100% of the cost of my CI, I would pass the offer to someone who really needs and wants a CI. That person should have a total(NR on audiogram) or near total(110db+) loss. I am serious that id rather see someone benefit big time from a CI and be forever thankful. I am not against CI for those who truly need one but for those who are looking for the "latest and greatest" or who want to "upgrade" from hearing aids, they should pass and let those who truly need one get one.

Anyway ive ranted a bit, look forward to your replies.
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I've always thought that it was a vague area for whether you qualify or not.

I do agree with you... that it should be for those who are profoundly deaf.

I hear well with my BTE hearing aid. I can talk on the phone and hear music.

However, an audiologist once told me that I was a candidate for CIs.

I later found out from another friend who used to work in that department that those audiologists get "commission" for referring their students to getting CIs. :roll:
 
"Ordinary" audis don't understand the qualifications of CI candidacy. If one is able to understand speech well and hear on the phone, they will not be considered a candidate. As far as being able to hear music is concerned, I could hear percussion and some male vocals depending on how loud they were using DAI and my Comtek FM system prior to receiving CIs. As far as hearing aid audis being paid a commission to refer students for CIs, I don't understand why that would be since they could make more money charging $2,000 for a pair of the latest hearing aids -- not to mention several appointments for programming/adjustments.
 
deafdude1 said:
Must be at least 10db worse than what my hearing currently is for each frequency and I can't have any residual hearing left above 1000Hz. I must also be a great candidate and be able to get surgery without risking serious damage or death. I also must have a good chance of the CI working(must be way better than my aided score with HA) and be able to better hear environmental sounds, music and some speech perception. Basically I will have realistic expectations if my hearing got that much worse as stated above.
Click to expand...

You are expecting bit too much, every surgery carry risks, Not everyone can hear music or speech with CI. Majority of CI patitents accept just improvement in environmental sounds. You cannot expect it to be way better than your HA otherwise you'll be in for disappointment if it turns out not to work for you.

I am Profoundly deaf since birth and has CI at 30, I was okayish with Ha's, it was very muffled no clairty at all. When i reached adult hood i felt more isolated, lonely, having real difficulty communcating with people, I don't sign (never did) and i don't expect everyone to sign just for me, I had pen and paper on me all the time, my confidence was rock bottom. When i was assessed for CI i asked for 5 % improvement and bit more help in environment sounds thats all. I got CI last July had great improvements because i had low expectations. Music is still sound muffled, speech isn't clear yet but thats because i had no auditory memory of either, it would take me very long time to appericate them. I am very happy with what i have at the moment. My communcation with work is much better now. My confidence had sky rocketed! and i no longer need pen and paper but do carry it in my bag still.

It takes time, patience, good mappings and low expectations to make CI work.


Edited to add bit more... When i had HA's it took alot of conteration to understand someone, I get very tired, sick with Headaches and at worst mirgaines almost on daily bais, I wasn't enjoying my adulthood/jobs/social life much. Now I don't need to conterate much, i don't get tired as much and once for all i haven't had a mirgaine since i had the CI, i am less anxious and much calmer person.
 
Charlotte,

I also had alot of problems with migraines prior to receiving my CIs. Now that communication is so much easier for me, I don't have as many as I used to.
 
I think you have to be Severely Profoundly Deaf in order to get CI..... they insert in the ear that has the most hearing loss.

I'm Severely profoundly deaf since Birth from CMV and I had CI in my left ear since age of four (I'm now 22). I can't hear anything through hearing aids so therefore the reason I have CI. Everyone have different experiences: for some, is good and for others, it's bad. For me, It's a great experience and I'm loving it. I can hear music but I can't hear the words coming from the music. If I hear the radio on, I can't understand what the person is speaking of. Everyone have their own experience with CI. I can't even hear whispers...but I can hear the speech perfectly clear, unless someone is mumbling. Another thing, when I'm in noisy place like in a restaurant, I can hardly hear the person that's speaking to me. Instead my CI focuses on the noise in the background, the chatters of everyone and noises of plates clattering, chairs scraping on the floor etc. etc so whenever I'm in noisy place, I just focus on the person I'm with and I read their lips as it's too hard to hear what they are saying due to the background.

When you get CI tuned up, it'll sound weird to you for few days or even a week. Every single time I get my CI tuned up, people always sounds like Dale from chipmunks or Donald Duck, always hated hearing those high pitch sounds but then I would gradually get used to it and the sounds will return to normal that I'm used to. It may be different for everyone. Like for a friend of mine, Ashely, every time she gets her tuned up, she would tell me that whenever people speaks, it sounds like goofy. It takes time and patience to sort it out and have it in normal way.

Sometimes I get these "Banging noise" in my head that it throbs, yes it's kinda painful but the pain is more like a headache with a "sound" that kinda echos in your head when I have my CI off. All I have to do is take some Aspirin and it'll go away quite quickly. It doesn't happen often, only when I'm stressed or not relaxed at all. More like four or five times a year or even less. I think it's different on everyone.

I hope this was helpful to you :)
 
I still had quite a bit of hearing with my hearing aids just before I got my CI but i got my CI as my ears was progressing. they are now severe-profound but I think my right ear is probably profound now, I cannot hear anything in that ear without aid, i can hardly hear with my hearing aid. I got my CI because my speech was detoriating as I could not hear properly, I was 9 years old when my parents thought i should get an implant and they wanted me to hear more. I was tested at 5 years old but had too much hearing although I had a severe- profound loss. I think the audi should have given it to me at 5 because i probably would have been doing a lot better than i am now. I cannot use the phone, listen to music, and some things i cannot hear even with ci. i cannot localise sound but i think you can only do with bilaterals.
 
~*Kaelei*~ said:
I think you have to be Severely Profoundly Deaf in order to get CI..... they insert in the ear that has the most hearing loss.
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They only do that because surgeons/audiologists want to "save" the other ear in case if something has happened. Either CI doesn't work (not mechanical failure), or to save the other ear for better technology (in fact, Cochlear has pretty much the same technology for 20 years, improving on small things such as curly array, etc).

If I had to go back and make the decision, I would have implanted my right ear first, because I was able to hear better in my right. No matter, i am bilateral, so I'm using both ears. It just took a little longer for my left to adjust because I was MORE deaf in that ear.

Almost everyone, even hearing people, have a hard time in noisy environment. Did you ever try the Focus program? With Beam? I found that it works great...especially with two.

As for music - it is a bit tough, but it's just easier for people who grew up with music than someone who didn't. If you have lyrics in front of you, would you be able to follow it? If not, it's probably because you haven't really exposed yourself with music. I've listened to music for over 15 years.
 
Deafteen90 said:
I still had quite a bit of hearing with my hearing aids just before I got my CI but i got my CI as my ears was progressing. they are now severe-profound but I think my right ear is probably profound now, I cannot hear anything in that ear without aid, i can hardly hear with my hearing aid. I got my CI because my speech was detoriating as I could not hear properly, I was 9 years old when my parents thought i should get an implant and they wanted me to hear more. I was tested at 5 years old but had too much hearing although I had a severe- profound loss. I think the audi should have given it to me at 5 because i probably would have been doing a lot better than i am now. I cannot use the phone, listen to music, and some things i cannot hear even with ci. i cannot localise sound but i think you can only do with bilaterals.
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To be honest - I don't think the fact that you didn't have it at 5 years old, made any difference. I had both of mine done when I was 29...that's YEARS later after 5. :) It *all* comes down to training.

For you - it's not too late. It may take a little longer, but if you listen to a song that's easy to follow with lyrics, you'll listen to over and over. Same thing with listening on the phone. If you speak fluently, you can try VCO every time you make a VP phone call. It will help you to "read" what the other person is saying...you can think automatically what the person said, then read it to double check to see if you're right.

AB had a great training tool on the web that you can try to test your sentence discrimination. It takes time, but I believe it all comes down to training, not just slapping on CI and getting it tuned up all the time.

What are the things that you cannot hear with CI? It sounds like you have a bit of a poor MAP. Which is ALSO another thing that takes a lot of time. I don't understand how can audiologists just do this in half hour. It takes an hour or so. I have to do it for 2 hours or more since I have two.

SO...
GREAT MAP + GREAT TRAINING = Better success with CI.
 
I agree with Lady. I had my first CI at the age of 34 and my second at 35. I'm doing well despite the fact that I wasn't implanted as a child. Having said that, I grew up with hearing for most of my life, so I'm sure that also plays into the equation as well.
 
Hearing Gibberish

I'm doing pretty well with HA's but my ent has informed me that at some point a CI will most likely be needed. That being said I understand from the reading I have done that there are some people who get implanted that have lost some much hi-frequency hearing that hearing consonants is impossible. Making language sound like gibberish.
 
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