Is one CI enough ?

highlands

highlands

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This may seem a lame thread but I need some ideas ,advices.

I want to get a CI soon if I'm qualify but I can't get two CIs . I guess insurance wouldn't pay for a second CI..so what do you think of this ? Can I get satisfied with one CI (assuming that the implant will work ) ?

To users with two CI who used one CI in the past, what is the most significant difference with two CIs ?

I'll be go on using a hearing aid on my other ear. Does a CI/HA combination offers better benefits from only one CI ?

thanks :)
 
Excellent question!

It depends on the person. I'm personally fine with just one. I have been a one ear bandit all my life whether HA or CI. Will I get a second one? Most likely not as I don't feel the need to get a second one. Maybe one day in the future when technology basically makes it hard for me to ignore. :D

Basically the main benefits of having two CIs is having better speech discrimination in a noisier environment and being better able to tell the direction of sounds. The later aspect is more problematic as it depends on the person.
 
sr171soars said:
Excellent question!

It depends on the person. I'm personally fine with just one. I have been a one ear bandit all my life whether HA or CI. Will I get a second one? Most likely not as I don't feel the need to get a second one. Maybe one day in the future when technology basically makes it hard for me to ignore. :D

Basically the main benefits of having two CIs is having better speech discrimination in a noisier environment and being better able to tell the direction of sounds. The later aspect is more problematic as it depends on the person.
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one CI is enough for me to deal with then having two CI in my ears. I don't like the idea of having two CI so one would been enough. I hear enough that good enough for me. :) :cool:
 
First, if you need two, then fight the insurance company to pay for 2.

I could not do the save my best ear bit. I only had 17% comprehension, so I went the whole bilateral, all at once, get it over with.

I love it, Since my "good" ear was use to hearing, I picked up so quickly. Now my "bad" ear is picking up.

Everything is a personal choice. I think if I did one CI then within a year I would have another one.

Good luck
 
Although I'm very happy with my one CI, if I had the opportunity to go bilateral I would in a heartbeat.
 
vallee said:
First, if you need two, then fight the insurance company to pay for 2.

I could not do the save my best ear bit. I only had 17% comprehension, so I went the whole bilateral, all at once, get it over with.

I love it, Since my "good" ear was use to hearing, I picked up so quickly. Now my "bad" ear is picking up.

Everything is a personal choice. I think if I did one CI then within a year I would have another one.

Good luck
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having CI in both ears can help some. but it also a risk, so one is enough for me since I hear in one good ear and my left ear don t need it since it profoundly deaf. It won t work that way. Beside I did try hearing aid in my left ear and it give me headache then my right ear. It like having my head hit against a brick wall on my left ear. So my right ear is better.
 
I think it depends a lot on how much you rely on bilateral hearing currently. If you had two equal ears with a hearing aid then you are probably going to appreciate two CIs more than someone who has always had one or a dominant ear.

Most people experience the more dramatic improvement in hearing with the first CI, even if they are used to bilateral hearing. I just find bilateral hearing particularly helpful in noisy situations, but that's just me. When you think about how long it has taken researchers to establish that bilateral CIs confer benefits then it's obviously not something that knocks a lot of people dead!
 
Doesn't it depends on how bad one ear is? I've heard that two cochlear implants are not in needed unless both ears are bad enough for the needed of cochlear implants correct me if I'm wrong, this is what I've just heard from others.
 
I thought the same thing too Cheri....
 
It depends on the individual.

For instance, I can already hear well with a hearing aid on my left ear, but not on my right ear. So, I could get cochlear implants for my right and stick with a hearing aid on my left.
 
Good responses everyone. The benifit from bilateral CI really isn't amazingly drastic.
Personally, I think that most people should implant their worse ear, unless they have VERY low sound perception scores even with a HA in the better ear. I'd have to say that if you have very poor speech scores, even with HA (like 20% and below) GET IMPLANTED. But I mean I think that going the CI-HA route, might help in that the CI and HA would combine input to get a lot of combined info. Make any sense?
I'm no audi, but I mean it's definitly worth it, to experiment with a CI-HA combo. Everyone is different, and there's no reason at all that you couldn't opt for bilateral CI later.
 
I disagree because I am experiencing being bilateral. It was amazing! Come on - comprehension of 17% in left ear and 1% in right. My test results are amazing for 3 months. But I work daily to improve my word and sound idenification.

My worst ear is now 84% sentence comprehension and 55% words in isolation. Thats up from 1%. If you put both ears together then the rate of comprehension increases to 96% sentence comprehension and 70% words in isolation.

Also I think my migraines and tinnutis would still be around if I went the CI-HA route.
 
Good question... I really never thought about this.

I noticed many CI users have only one, not both... The professor, I met at 5 weeks spa last year have both CI. (He lost his hearing to deaf when he was 25 years old).

Like what Vampy says It depends on the individual.
 
Actually, most insurance companies won't cover bilateral implantation AT THE SAME TIME, because they want to ensure that you are happy with the first implant before they authorize the second implant. In fact, here in Idaho, they wouldn't do a bilateral even if insurance would cover both at the same time. And, I'm glad, because my husband was implanted last year and has suffered major vertigo ever since and regrets his decision to be implanted. Who knows, it could have been worse if he had been bilaterally implanted. Not everyone has a positive experience from implantation.
 
VamPyroX said:
It depends on the individual.

For instance, I can already hear well with a hearing aid on my left ear, but not on my right ear. So, I could get cochlear implants for my right and stick with a hearing aid on my left.
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I have to say I agree with Vamp. I stick with one CI not two.
 
I have only one ear that is implantable and wear a hearing aid on the other ear that can never be implanted. In my situation I am happy that my hearing aid is working very well with the implanted ear. :fingersx:
 
vallee said:
I disagree because I am experiencing being bilateral. It was amazing! Come on - comprehension of 17% in left ear and 1% in right. My test results are amazing for 3 months. But I work daily to improve my word and sound idenification.

My worst ear is now 84% sentence comprehension and 55% words in isolation. Thats up from 1%. If you put both ears together then the rate of comprehension increases to 96% sentence comprehension and 70% words in isolation.

Also I think my migraines and tinnutis would still be around if I went the CI-HA route.
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Unfortunately, combining the comprehension percentages in both ears does not determine an overall comprehension rate. That is fallicous. Also, those percentages are undoubtedly derived from testing in a audiological office, not real life reflections.

Desspite those errors in logic, congratulations on your satisfaction with your CI.
 
john57 said:
I have only one ear that is implantable and wear a hearing aid on the other ear that can never be implanted. In my situation I am happy that my hearing aid is working very well with the implanted ear. :fingersx:
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I'm confused; please tell me how it is that you can wear a hearing aid successfully in an ear that cannot be implanted.
 
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