Newly implanted, just turned on 2 days ago

K

KY Guy

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Well, I dreaded this event for years but finally accepted that I needed to do something about it. I had a cochlear implant put in on Nov 29 and turned on Jan 10. I am using the Kanso processor. I had a difficult time deciding to go through with CI but was thrilled when I saw the Kanso.

I am having one helluva hard time but I know I an new to it. All noises sound the same..."ding, ding, whistle, ding".....like a doorbell going off with every sound. Is this normal? How long with it last? So far I just did the walk through my house to listen to all the sounds and today I started reading kiddie books aloud to myself in the basement. I can't even even my own voice over the "ding". I plan to read to myself until that gets better and then have my kids read them to me as my speech recognition improves.

One HUGE surprise for me was that I kept almost all of my residual hearing after implantation. Everything I read said it would be 100% destroyed. My surgeon told me it would be destroyed. Before activation they tested me and there was only very little lost from previous testing. I told my surgeon I was still hearing sounds in my ear and he told me it was impossible and it was my imagination. My audi said it is becoming more common as surgeons become more proficient.

I have been reading this site for 4 yrs now and felt like now was the time to sign up. So.....here I am. You have already provided about 100 hrs worth of reading over the yrs. I thank you in advance for that.

So my question is.....when do these dings and whistles go away where I can hear language?
 
Welcome to AD, Ky Guy......I cannot answer your question but it seems to me if you had developed any kind of relationship with your surgeon and his support staff, you would know the answer to this.....best wishes on your journey to activation day.....
 
I just got implanted yesterday...and I have those noises now...due to fluid in the ear.

I'd suggested joining some CI groups on FB and forums. The AB forum, HearingJourney, is very active compared to Cochlear's forum. You'd be welcome there to ask CI general questions (not Kanso specific questions). I know there's at least one member who has Cochlear brand implants and he's an active member helping the newbies figure out things.

It is my understanding that for some, they will only hear noises in the beginning. As your audiologist adjusts things and as your brain learns what it's hearing you should begin recognizing sounds. I tell people our ears "hear", but it's our brains that understand what the ear is hearing.

Read to yourself, get audiobooks that you can listen to as you read the book, find online hearing rehab. People on Hearing Journey talk about AngelSound they use for rehab. Not sure if it's only available for AB CI wearers or not.

I'm surprised your surgeon told you you'd lose all your hearing. That used to be the case, but things have improved and many CI wearers retain residual hearing.

Be patient and good luck.
 
Tousi said:
Welcome to AD, Ky Guy......I cannot answer your question but it seems to me if you had developed any kind of relationship with your surgeon and his support staff, you would know the answer to this.....best wishes on your journey to activation day.....
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I think he means that he was already activated on January 10. Anyway that is what I take "turned on Jan 10" to mean. And that was just two days ago. Sooo the thing he needs the most of is patience.
 
Jane B. said:
I think he means that he was already activated on January 10. Anyway that is what I take "turned on Jan 10" to mean. And that was just two days ago. Sooo the thing he needs the most of is patience.
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That is correct...activated 2 days ago. my surgeon wasn't much help about anything....seemed like he walked in to satisfy the appointment and left. My auditory has been been great so far. Both tell me the same thing though.....everyone is different so there is no "normal".Thx for info above on rehab site!
 
It is normal until you brain gets acclimated... I am Bi-Lateral and it takes a few mappings and a couple months to get to near normal. It also depends on how well you adapt to the implant/CI.
In the last Cochlear support meeting, the doctor said the residual hearing is good, its like having the sub-woofer in surround sound systems, so its a good thing. BUT some lose that residual hearing after awhile also, The reason behind the residual hearing being saved in thinner electrodes and advance surgical procedures. You also probly have the newer implant which is thinner so you wont have much of a bump if any on your noggin like some. Welcome to CIborg land !
 
I talked with a friend today, an interpreter, and we discussed CI's. I could have had them implanted ages ago, but decided not to, for reasons I won't go into. That was AGES ago, and I am no longer the same person, though the interpreter is. Hah. One thing we agreed upon is that you should not have any qualms whatsoever about asking the deaf for help. This is the right place.
Welcome to AD.
 
CIborg....lol...awesome. I was calling it a bionic ear...yours is very clever and better. As for my noggin, apparently I have a fat head ha ha. Even using a number 6 magnet, it's not real steady. I am at my son's basketball game now. Kid hit a three at the buzzer, I got excited and jerked my head, processor flew off my head. Luckily safety strap caught it. Audi said I have thick scalp, maybe too much for magnet. Gonna shave that spot tomorrow. I can't feel where the implant is. I gave props to surgeon but he said I will be able to feel it after swelling goes down.
 
Beowulf said:
I talked with a friend today, an interpreter, and we discussed CI's. I could have had them implanted ages ago, but decided not to, for reasons I won't go into. That was AGES ago, and I am no longer the same person, though the interpreter is. Hah. One thing we agreed upon is that you should not have any qualms whatsoever about asking the deaf for help. This is the right place.
Welcome to AD.
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Sorry if I sounded like he shouldn't ask here. I was just offering other sources of help in case he wasn't aware of them.
 
LoveBlue said:
Sorry if I sounded like he shouldn't ask here. I was just offering other sources of help in case he wasn't aware of them.
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You getting cabin fever or something? Of course I respected your input. I think the OP is strong enough to take a few hiccups. ;)
 
KY Guy said:
Well, I dreaded this event for years but finally accepted that I needed to do something about it. I had a cochlear implant put in on Nov 29 and turned on Jan 10. I am using the Kanso processor. I had a difficult time deciding to go through with CI but was thrilled when I saw the Kanso.

I am having one helluva hard time but I know I an new to it. All noises sound the same..."ding, ding, whistle, ding".....like a doorbell going off with every sound. Is this normal? How long with it last? So far I just did the walk through my house to listen to all the sounds and today I started reading kiddie books aloud to myself in the basement. I can't even even my own voice over the "ding". I plan to read to myself until that gets better and then have my kids read them to me as my speech recognition improves.

One HUGE surprise for me was that I kept almost all of my residual hearing after implantation. Everything I read said it would be 100% destroyed. My surgeon told me it would be destroyed. Before activation they tested me and there was only very little lost from previous testing. I told my surgeon I was still hearing sounds in my ear and he told me it was impossible and it was my imagination. My audi said it is becoming more common as surgeons become more proficient.

I have been reading this site for 4 yrs now and felt like now was the time to sign up. So.....here I am. You have already provided about 100 hrs worth of reading over the yrs. I thank you in advance for that.

So my question is.....when do these dings and whistles go away where I can hear language?
Click to expand...

If you were implanted 20 years ago so you would lose all residual hearing.

My right ear is totally deafness.
 
yeah it'll sound annoying/odd at first, but it will get better over time. Just gotta let your brain make sense of the new auditory signals coming in. :)

As for the when the dings turn into speech, who knows. It's different for everyone. For myself with my left ear, implanting a dead ear, I heard NOTHING for the first week or so after activation. Then I started hearing odd mechanical sounds. A long while later, it started turning into odd sounding speech (like electronic/robotic). Right ear, I heard speech right away but it was tinny/high pitched like Minnie Mouse, but that got better with time.

Good luck with your new CI!
 
Yes, it's pretty normal. I had construction workers in my house the day after activation, they had their radio on and were bang bang banging with hammers. Everything sounded like beeps and bells - it was absolutely horrendous. My brain adapted pretty quickly though - and within a couple of days, things started to sound "normal" (whatever that means).

Here I am more than a year after that first activation and 8 months after my second activation and am very pleased with the results. My right (long-time deaf) ear is still progressing slowly, but it is progressing. I had my better ear done first, and I'm glad I did.
 
I am bilateral and have no residual hearing, but I really had very little hearing before the surgeries. Best advice I receive from both surgeon and audiologist is give it time. At first the sound quality was horrible but after time, it has greatly improved. Each mapping seems to help this progress as well, although my sessions are now six months apart. Work with reading aloud and I found the on line exercise programs such as the ones AB has extremely helpful. I still work at it every day and feel I'm still improving after the 1 year mark.
 
TF1 said:
I am bilateral and have no residual hearing, but I really had very little hearing before the surgeries. Best advice I receive from both surgeon and audiologist is give it time. At first the sound quality was horrible but after time, it has greatly improved. Each mapping seems to help this progress as well, although my sessions are now six months apart. Work with reading aloud and I found the on line exercise programs such as the ones AB has extremely helpful. I still work at it every day and feel I'm still improving after the 1 year mark.
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That's awesome! The only thing I don't like about your comment is the timing. I want it NOW NOW NOW. As another person said, it takes time. I am on a tight schedule as I have a great paying job waiting for me. He said it's mine whenever I want it so I want it NOW lol. Patience was never a virtue of mine but I have no choice. Doing 2 hrs of rehab a day to speed it up. I actually heard a couple words come through in the background beyond the beeps yesterday when I was reading out loud to myself. So far, this has been a very humbling experience and I am just getting started. Best part is I am not self conscious about it all, which was an issue for me. Went out to dinner last night and caught the waitress looking at it. Without looking up from my menu I calmly said "what you are looking at is a cochlear implant" lol. Then we talked about it. I forget I am wearing it too. Was pouring some concrete on my farm and it started raining. Kept going for 10 mins before I realized I needed to take it off. Really looking forward to watching UK basketball games again with captions off and listening to the announcers.
 
Well reading out loud is not going well at all. I can't even hear my own voice over the dings. Tried reading with my finger in my good ear and somehow that makes it better. Can anyone advise if using an earplug on the better ear is a good idea or not?
 
KY Guy said:
Well reading out loud is not going well at all. I can't even hear my own voice over the dings. Tried reading with my finger in my good ear and somehow that makes it better. Can anyone advise if using an earplug on the better ear is a good idea or not?
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I didn't use Angel Sounds to help develop my listening skills, I went straight to Music... plugged my MP3 into the mini mic and jammed away at full blast ! It really does help as it uses every electrode and stimulation available. Ive never heard drum cymbals before and wondered what the hell that high pitched Crash was throughout the songs, then I realized it was drum cymbals ( I still don't like drum cymbals because the music never had them before...lol or so I thought ) But it really boosted the learning curve with music and the stimulations.
 
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