Long-time CI user, looking for advice going forward - N22 Freedom?

Pacman said:
Just one question, I was interested to check few FAQ from Cochlear America.

It's based on battery life for N22 and N24, N24 has approximately 4 days of battery life since N22 has approximately 2 days, why does N22 has shorter bettery life than N24?
Upgrade your Cochlear Implant
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While the N24 is newer you are still using 22 electrodes and the two extra numbers from the N24 name are the two of three grounds that are available. The third ground is is on a separate wire with a little ball at the end. :eek2::eek2:
 
Hi theWGP,

I'm very similar to you, I'm glad you spoke up. I've not really been in touch with the CI/Deaf community as I was growing up, since I was mostly Mainstreamed.

I'm now 26, implanted right ear with a single N22 in 1998 at age 6, profound bilateral sensioneural hearing loss at age 3 due to Meningitis. No high powered HA ever had any effect at all. No Jet engine noise, nothing at all.

I was mainstreamed too, gifted programs, honors courses, bla bla, finished University degree in Engineering, now working. I find that one ear does have its limitations in conference call situations and touch and go situations where people don't really want to/ or like to repeat.

And yes, Lip reading I rely on a lot to supplement, it seems like sometimes its over half of the comprehension is due to lip reading.

My implant is almost 20 years now and I have the same concerns about failure as you do. I depend on this, I'm totally verbal, and my work depends on it also. (lots of conference calls and clients on telephone)

I have decided that the hair cell regeneration technologies are not going to materialize anytime soon, and probably too far ahead in our lifetime to be useful. This is the beginning of our careers where it counts the most to have the best hearing possible, (assuming a predominately hearing-only environment, and playing in the hearing world where your job depends on your hearing) So Bilateral it is for me.

TheWGP, consider yourself lucky. I'm in Canada. There is no insurance coverage for upgrades, so I will likely have to eat the full cost myself ($6,000 or 6,800) - it used to be on cochlearupgrade.com but they took it down??....
So personally when you say 1,400ish , I'm thinking.. wow thats cheap, what a lucky SOB.. :)

Also consider yourself lucky that in the USA bilateral implants are recognized. Here it is not, the insurance companies (well, health care) say that one ear is good enough. If I want bilateral, I have to travel down to the States and it will cost between 35,000 and 75,000 for the operation and hospitals, depending on who you ask.

One of the important questions I am wondering about is ACE encoding. When the Esprit 3G came out, It supported ACE for N24. However, when the 3G for N22 came out, it only supported SPEAK. I haven't been able to find out what strategies the Freedom supports.


TheWGP said:
Hi! I'm new to this board, but it looks like there's a lot of great people here and a lot of information - hence my posting. Let me start off with a little background...

I'm now 24, implanted left ear with a single N22 in Dec. 1990 at age 7, hearing loss partial at 2 1/2, profound in both ears at age 3. Fistulas, who knows why. Anyway, I did cued speech and high-powered HA's (even though my left-ear sensitivity was, I'm told, worse than my right - and I can literally only hear jet-engine type noise in my right unaided.

After cued speech, I did Auditory-Verbal at the Beebe Center with Helen Beebe until they referred us to Riley in Indianapolis for possible CI. At the time, FDA approval was still forthcoming, and Indianapolis (Dr. Miyamoto) had done more trial surgeries than the other options that were available to me. It was 4 hours away, but once FDA approval came down, we more or less scheduled ASAP. As I did right after activation, I continue to use lip-reading as a supplement, though I rely on it definitely more than I should, or than I need to.

I do want to note that at no point has ASL been involved beyond fingerspelling - and that's more a recent development with my wife and I to ease communication if my batteries die and I don't have a spare set for some reason. I realize this is controversial, but honestly, I don't have a lot of interest in ASL for the simple reason that I don't feel I need it. I grew up in a very small town, where there WAS no "deafie" culture, and I've only met approximately 3 other people with implants my whole life.

Anyway, I was mainstreamed all the way through school, was in the gifted program, took the highest-level courses available, AP, whatever. I then went to Notre Dame for undergrad, and am now at Case Western for law school. At no point have I ever used assistance beyond early scheduling (to avoid professors with HUGE beards!).

Given all of that, I've really got two questions. One: what kind of alternatives are possibly "in the pipeline" for older users as implants wear out? Thankfully, I'm not having any signs of failure after 17 years, but it's starting to be a concern of mine. I do have the right ear still untouched for exactly this reason, as is, I'm told, common.

Second, is there anyone out there with experience with the N22 Freedom? I'm considering getting one (two), but even after tradein and insurance, I'll still pay about 1370 out of pocket. That's a LOT! I realize not much of anyone knows much about this right now, but I'm wondering if it's really half as great as the marketing materials make it out to be. Help, anyone? :)
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One more thing,

Do not drag me into a debate of Deaf Culture vs the Cochlear Implant or whatever. This is the very reason why I have stayed aloof from the "community" and the "war" all these years.

I am who I am. I have a Cochlear Implant. I have found my own niche and success with it and I am happy.

Let's keep this on topic please :)
 
:bowdown:
TDA said:
One more thing,

Do not drag me into a debate of Deaf Culture vs the Cochlear Implant or whatever. This is the very reason why I have stayed aloof from the "community" and the "war" all these years.

I am who I am. I have a Cochlear Implant. I have found my own niche and success with it and I am happy.

Let's keep this on topic please :)
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:bowdown: Hear ! Hear! About time someone saw reason on this board
 
Just an update: After some confusion with my insurance company, I should be getting the Freedom 22 in-hand in a couple of weeks, with programming hopefully shortly thereafter.

I haven't been in this thread, so I don't know what-all got removed, but I don't want to get involved in any sort of "war" about "oral" and "ASL" or whatever - I was mainstreamed and don't know ASL, and I think that has its benefits, but there are benefits to ASL and non-implantation too and it's pointless to fight about it, since the only people on here who would talk about it have pretty much already made their choice - that's not meant to be insulting, just stating a fact!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Freedom 22 arriving. I know I'm lucky to have insurance covering anything at all, but I guess here in the States we kind of almost take that for granted now. God knows we pay enough for the insurance plan!

Rick: I've had discussions with my audiologist about this - my implant center was involved in the Freedom trials for the 24 AND the 22, so she's quite familiar with them already. She seems to think they have a pretty good handle on the Freedom 22 because of that, as well as the Freedom 24 having been out for some time.

For those who commented on a second implant: It's something I may consider someday, but I just don't have a lot of need right now. Most of the research on double implantations seems to involve people who have them both in at once, or only a short delay between them - I'd be at 18 years plus between them, which at least gives me some pause, though I'm sure it would be fine. I don't want to sound naive either, but maybe cilia regeneration/transplant will happen someday - after all, 20 years from now, I do intend to still be interested in it if I haven't gotten a second implant by then! ;)
 
R2D2 said:
Welcome! Your story as an early implantee is interesting, thanks for sharing.

Your concerns about technological dependence on the one CI was one of the reasons that motivated me to go bilateral. When waiting for my first CI (I had suddenly lost most of the residual hearing in my more depended on left ear),I survived for 9 months using the right ear and lipreading only and it was exhausting. The right ear had never done well with hearing aids. I haven't regretted the decision to go bilateral and my right ear is for the first time almost just as useful as my previously much loved left ear. Before with hearing aids, I would not always notice if the right ear was not turned on but with the CIs I definitely do.

It sounds like the Freedom for N22 implants could be a good option for you as well. I am correct in thinking that it's only just been announced as being in the pipeline? Its encouraging for all us users that people are not being left behind with successive generations of implants.

Again as you mention, learning sign is another possible way of reducing technological dependency. However it takes time to build up to fluency, you also would need a decent concentration of other fluent users nearby with whom to practice and also increase the composition of friends who are able to sign. So those practice factors would come into play. Maybe you and your wife could do it for fun one day!
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The technicallities of implants fascinates me. I am not very good with technical stuff and electronic and megahurtz etc. If I am understanding right, most CIs are upgradeable? So it is just the processor on the outside that make a difference?? So, if one is not working for you very well, there are choices??? Is the internal component for all brands the same?
 
TheWGP said:
Just an update: After some confusion with my insurance company, I should be getting the Freedom 22 in-hand in a couple of weeks, with programming hopefully shortly thereafter.

I haven't been in this thread, so I don't know what-all got removed, but I don't want to get involved in any sort of "war" about "oral" and "ASL" or whatever - I was mainstreamed and don't know ASL, and I think that has its benefits, but there are benefits to ASL and non-implantation too and it's pointless to fight about it, since the only people on here who would talk about it have pretty much already made their choice - that's not meant to be insulting, just stating a fact!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Freedom 22 arriving. I know I'm lucky to have insurance covering anything at all, but I guess here in the States we kind of almost take that for granted now. God knows we pay enough for the insurance plan!

Rick: I've had discussions with my audiologist about this - my implant center was involved in the Freedom trials for the 24 AND the 22, so she's quite familiar with them already. She seems to think they have a pretty good handle on the Freedom 22 because of that, as well as the Freedom 24 having been out for some time.

For those who commented on a second implant: It's something I may consider someday, but I just don't have a lot of need right now. Most of the research on double implantations seems to involve people who have them both in at once, or only a short delay between them - I'd be at 18 years plus between them, which at least gives me some pause, though I'm sure it would be fine. I don't want to sound naive either, but maybe cilia regeneration/transplant will happen someday - after all, 20 years from now, I do intend to still be interested in it if I haven't gotten a second implant by then! ;)
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Have you read anything on the research for nerve regeneration via stem cell,?? Do you think is a very viable possiblity or just a pipe dream? A lady posted yesterday that her nerve is still in tact, so residual hearing is still in tact,, if that is so, why would implantees not be able to benefit from future technology like nerve cell regeneration and cilia implants? I am sorry to bug ya, but very curious
 
So, the internal parts vary from company to company, but their external parts are backwards compatible. Thus, I have the Advanced Bionics HiRes 90k inside my head, and I wear the Harmony processor. My friend who has an older AB implant could also wear the Harmony, or could also wear an older processor. But there aren't really choices - I have no reason to try wearing the previous model, the Auria. The choices come in how you program it.

As for hair cell regeneration, I think the idea is that the implant surgery damages the cochlea somewhat. It used to be that you'd lose any and all hearing you have left in that ear; now, they're sometimes able to preserve it, but it's not a given at all (I don't have any hearing in my right ear anymore, and I got my implant last July). Since the whole point of getting a CI is that you don't have much hearing left anyway, that didn't used to be a big deal; in fact, I *like* not having residual hearing in that ear, and sort of wish my left ear did likewise.

It's not clear how exactly hair cell regeneration or other future tech might work; so having a CI in that ear might not make a difference anyway. But it might. I'm of the opinion that it's far enough down the road that I'm not interested in waiting - that, and I'm happy with my implant, and wouldn't mind sticking with it even if regeneration came around. Actually, I would choose an implant over regeneration - I can turn it off, change the volume, plug an audio source directly in; none of that is possible with 'normal' hearing.
 
Dreamchaser: The cilia regeneration process has been "10 years away" for 20 years now, and probably will be for another 20, from what I've heard from audiologists and doctors anecdotally. The basic idea is easy to understand, but the technical details are obviously quite complicated.

Anyway, I'd agree with ismi on that you shouldn't really be "waiting on it" as if it were "just down the road" - if anything, it's a "maybe someday, over the rainbow" possibility, not something to really think about except as a very very minor side concern, really.

I will say that I disagree with ismi about implants over regeneration - while it is NICE to turn off the implant, change volume, plug in audio stuff, I'd drop it all in a heartbeat if I could. If the right technique came along and it was possible to have at least somewhat normal hearing without wearing a device, it'd be, for me at least, a no-brainer.
 
there is no guaranteee that even if hair cell regeneration was possible tomorrow the new hair cells may not even be able to interface with the hearing nerves to work properly. I have small cochlea's and at best I would have a very limited benefit. I do see that in the future the entire implant will be buried under the skin including the mic and battery. There are still issues to be solved to make this happen like filtering the body sounds, heartbeat blood flowing in the veins from the microphone.
 
Just to post back, I'm still waiting on the Freedom 22 BTE to arrive. I have a date set with my audiologist, though - June 24! Looking forward to that, though because my 3G BTE (that will be traded in) is having moisture issues, I've been relegated to my Spectra for a couple of weeks now.

John57, I agree there's no guarantee of ANYTHING - but hoping doesn't hurt! I'm not holding my breath, anyway. :)
 
WGP,

Good luck! It would be interesting to hear how different the Freedom sounds for you compared to the 3G and Spectra.
 
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