One side CI...

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Vivie

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The brain is a really strange , curious thing.:roll:

Now that my hearing has leveled to the point that I hear well...I feel one - sided , even if *I* was unilateral HA user since 11 , and I implanted my *good* ear.other ear is stone deaf .

So I've concluded that my brain 'remembers' probably that once upon a time I was hearing with two ears and now that I have best quality since I had both HA's , is expecting input from the other ear.

Craziest thing is that both ears have tinnitus sometimes both , sometimes alternating , and it's driving me nuts! I didn't tell earlier as I was thinking it will pass.:eek3:

I don't know what's up , haven't told my audie , will have to get an appt next couple months ..

Sadly , Greece insurances *do not* cover bilateral CI's ,so I'm stuck to that.and I don't have any big bucks for second surgery.

I also have to mention that I'm extremely tired after I remove CI , frazzled even , like my brain works overtime, which I was warned of before operation , but I had couple months like that , then things leveled off , and for the last 2 weeks started again.what the heck ?
 
Vivie,

I'm sorry about your tinnitus. I also have problems with tinnitus. Mine is mild to moderate and only occurs whenever I'm stressed, tired or ill.

I've had my first CI for 4 years and my second for 2 and I still have days where I'm exhausted after a day of wearing them. I think that's to be expected especially if you are in an environment that has alot of background noise.

I don't know if you could afford to do this or if it would even be possible, but could you come here to the U.S. temporarily to have a second CI surgery performed?
 
As a tinnitus sufferer for many years, I can tell you that CI is a blessing in disguise. I *still* get tinnitus, but only if I have my CI for every waking hour for a couple days straight. I do find that once I take the CI's off, I get tinnitus. I do allow my ears to rest for a couple hours (while awake), I just put up with the tinnitus for a while because I know once that I get the CI's on, the tinnitus goes away.

The brain is a funny thing...
My tinnitus has definitely gotten much better since. I also find that the tinnitus gets less "painful" when I get a new map.
 
Speaking of tinnitus, do any of you have problems when being given a hearing test (i.e. beep tones)? I find that when my tinnitus is acting up, I can't tell the difference between the beeps I hear and the tinnitus in my head.
 
Hear Again said:
Speaking of tinnitus, do any of you have problems when being given a hearing test (i.e. beep tones)? I find that when my tinnitus is acting up, I can't tell the difference between the beeps I hear and the tinnitus in my head.
Click to expand...

Yeah i had that same problem!! so annoying but since i had the ci i haven't had a hearing test unaided, so i haven't experinced it yet.

My Tinnitus do play up now and then when i am tired, wore ci consantly, stressed out. I only need few mins to take it off, surf the net, read a book or sit back and close my eyes (that depends on where i am)

The tinnitus i had pre ci was on and on and on since i was 16, i had it for 14 years and no one was able to sort it, i was told soft music when i am in bed i was like eh!! i am deaf and i cannot hear a tune!! Once i was refered to CI centre they had Audiological medicine team who helps DEAF people cope with their Tinnitius... man, it finally helped me! I needed to cut out caffiene (which also helped my mirgaines) and few other diets. Then i got the CI it is much better than before CI but i do get them occassionally, I didn't minded them as long i know what i would do if it comes.
 
You know, I did hear that CI can pretty much cure Menieure's related tintintus. It was back when I still frequented DumbNotes.
Sadly , Greece insurances *do not* cover bilateral CI's ,so I'm stuck to that.and I don't have any big bucks for second surgery.
Click to expand...
On the other hand, are you experiancing any benifit at ALL from your HA?
Do you have a high power aid or a new digital aid for that ear?
I know a bilateral CI sounds good, and I know I'm not a CI user.....BUT, on the other hand the research has found that the benifit of having bilateral CI isn't a HUGE difference. It's basicly improved sound localization and better hearing in noisy situions. Like it's a nice thing to have......but if you're already getting sound localiztion and hearing in noisy situions with the CI/HA combo, then it's not a HUGE difference.
Make sense? I know how it is.....the newest technology always seems to be THE BEST......but you do have to take the claims with a grain of salt. I mean the stuff about CIs being really amazing is almost pretty much exactly what they said about digital aids back in the 90's.
 
I cannot hear out of my powerfulest on the market HA and still is annoyed that i had to spin in circles to find where the sounds is coming from, I always walk on sidelines with CI towards to traffic for safety because i can't hear out of my other ear! when i am driving my CI is facing towards the window so therefore i can't hear the person talking on my left side in passenger seat.... The list do go on....we have 2 ears for reason....

I wear both CI and HA, to be honest i can't see the point because i don't know if the HA is on or off!
 
My hearing in background noise improved from 90% with one CI to 100% with two. I'm also able to hear speech so much better. Speech and music are fuller, richer and sound more natural. I can see alot of benefits to CI -- not just sound localization and improved hearing in background noise.

How about:

* If one CI fails, you still have the other.
* When changing batteries in one CI, you can still hear with the other.
* If you don't hear well with your initial CI, there's a very good likelihood that you will hear better with the second, if not both.
 
deafdyke said:
You know, I did hear that CI can pretty much cure Menieure's related tintintus. It was back when I still frequented DumbNotes.
On the other hand, are you experiancing any benifit at ALL from your HA?
Do you have a high power aid or a new digital aid for that ear?
I know a bilateral CI sounds good, and I know I'm not a CI user.....BUT, on the other hand the research has found that the benifit of having bilateral CI isn't a HUGE difference. It's basicly improved sound localization and better hearing in noisy situions. Like it's a nice thing to have......but if you're already getting sound localiztion and hearing in noisy situions with the CI/HA combo, then it's not a HUGE difference.
Make sense? I know how it is.....the newest technology always seems to be THE BEST......but you do have to take the claims with a grain of salt. I mean the stuff about CIs being really amazing is almost pretty much exactly what they said about digital aids back in the 90's.
Click to expand...

dd , I think I have *mentioned* that my other ear is STONE deaf , I get absolutely NO benefit from ha.

oh and I need to mention that before CI I never ever had tinnitus! I did not knew what it was!!!

Like Charlotte I always have the same problem..sometimes it's a bit annoying , some of my friends always snap when I'm always moving them around when we walk so my deaf ear faces traffic and my good ear faces them..:laugh2: sometimes it's too funny to watch their reactions.especially when they're new friends they think I'm ocd for some reason.sorry , no.I just need to HEAR you.:lol:

I don't drive a car , but I do drive a motorbike ( motorbike licence here is from 16 for small scooters ) and I don't feel safe on it unless I have both mirrors , adjusted properly , etc.My dad gets annoyed with my insistence that I need both mirrors.he never bothers to replace the right one.not to mention that I feel more unsafe with helmet on.I wear it only rarely.
 
Hear Again said:
Speaking of tinnitus, do any of you have problems when being given a hearing test (i.e. beep tones)? I find that when my tinnitus is acting up, I can't tell the difference between the beeps I hear and the tinnitus in my head.
Click to expand...

I don't have CI, but speaking of hearing test with beep tones, I do find that if on very high pitched beep tones from 90 to 120+ db (1000 to 8000 hz). I couldn't tell which is a beep tones or a high pitch tinnitus. So it is kinda confusing which is which. :lol:
 
~SG~ said:
I don't have CI, but speaking of hearing test with beep tones, I do find that if on very high pitched beep tones from 90 to 120+ db (1000 to 8000 hz). I couldn't tell which is a beep tones or a high pitch tinnitus. So it is kinda confusing which is which. :lol:
Click to expand...

LOL. I'm glad I'm not alone in having this experience. By the way, if there are any hearing aid users who experience this as well, I'd be interested in your comments.
 
deafdyke said:
I know a bilateral CI sounds good, and I know I'm not a CI user.....BUT, on the other hand the research has found that the benifit of having bilateral CI isn't a HUGE difference. It's basicly improved sound localization and better hearing in noisy situions. Like it's a nice thing to have......but if you're already getting sound localiztion and hearing in noisy situions with the CI/HA combo, then it's not a HUGE difference.
Make sense? I know how it is.....the newest technology always seems to be THE BEST......but you do have to take the claims with a grain of salt. I mean the stuff about CIs being really amazing is almost pretty much exactly what they said about digital aids back in the 90's.
Click to expand...


DD - being Bilateral DOES make a HUGE differences for many of us. Prove it to us where research says the benefit of having bilateral CI is not a "huge" difference. The one reason WHY people decided to go ahead and do bilateral is because of the fact that it DOES make a huge difference, that's why you see more and more bilaterals now than 10-15 years ago. CI's has been around far longer than digital hearing aids. :)

Two CI's does NOT "just give us sound localization". There's more to it. No body that has a hearing loss exactly the same in both ears. One ear is usually dominate over the other. The missing hairs in our cochlear is not the same amount in both ears.

CI is not some "latest fad technology". It has been around for 20 years! You just see it more and more because they have improved a little bit (Cochlear *still* has 22 electrodes, even after so long). The processor has changed along with the technology that's available (microcomputing). However, Cochlear probably will not change their processors for a couple years because it has pretty much been perfected.

Digital hearing aids are good, but not for everyone. It won't really work for those who have high frequency loss, like most of us. I would NEVER get the clarity that I got with my CI's. Even if I do bimodal approach.

CI's is great, but not for everyone. If someone that has been deaf for a very long time without any kind of amplification such as hearing aids, they *will* be very overwhelmed and feel lost because they never heard the sounds before...so in a way it will be a little too much. CI is not going to "fail" for them, but it's just too much.
 
speaking of 22 electrodes, heres two articles of interest.

Technology Review: Making Deaf Ears Hear with Light

Making Deaf Ears Hear with Light

A laser-based approach could make cochlear implants, which currently use electrical signals, more effective.

University of Michigan

New cochlear implant could improve hearing
"The range of frequencies that can be stimulated depends on how far into the cochlea the implant can go, with the lower frequencies located further up toward the apex of the spiral canal," Wise said. In current technology, each implant has anywhere from 16 to 22 stimulating sites along its length. By contrast, the U-M implant will host up to 128 stimulating sites.
 
LadySekhmet said:
Digital hearing aids are good, but not for everyone. It won't really work for those who have high frequency loss, like most of us. I would NEVER get the clarity that I got with my CI's. Even if I do bimodal approach.

CI's is great, but not for everyone. If someone that has been deaf for a very long time without any kind of amplification such as hearing aids, they *will* be very overwhelmed and feel lost because they never heard the sounds before...so in a way it will be a little too much. CI is not going to "fail" for them, but it's just too much.
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I agree with what you said above. I only have one CI right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if having 2 CI's make a huge difference. I am doing bimodal approach right now, and it makes me realize how much I DON'T hear. If I hear something new, I quickly take off the magnet to see if I can hear it with the HA, and wow most of the time I BARELY hear it or not at all.

Also, you're right about being deaf for a long time. I was born deaf and got the CI a few months ago (I am 26), and wow it's a LOT to get used to. I've gotten frustrated quite a few times, especially at work since people are so freaking loud, but I pushed myself and stuck with it. Now, ~ 3 months later, the loud sounds aren't so loud anymore and I am enjoying the new sounds.
 
Daredevel7 said:
Also, you're right about being deaf for a long time. I was born deaf and got the CI a few months ago (I am 26), and wow it's a LOT to get used to. I've gotten frustrated quite a few times, especially at work since people are so freaking loud, but I pushed myself and stuck with it. Now, ~ 3 months later, the loud sounds aren't so loud anymore and I am enjoying the new sounds.
Click to expand...

Ditto....
 
Bilateral - HUGE change.

I was in church last night and my right CI was bothering me(15 hours wearing and it hurt at the top of the ear). I took it off and right away I could tell a big differences. I felt a huge change in sound and quality. It just was not the same. I had to struggle to understand the minister. Even that my left ear is my "good" ear before CI surgery, the two ears work to give a complete sound. I don't have to struggle with understanding the sound in the room or turn my ear to "get the sound". I must say I am so happy I made the choice to fight my insurance company for bilateral. It is worth it.
 
I do too get confused when they are mapping and doing the beeps at my implant centre cos i dont know if im imagining it or not but i do not have tinnitus. ok maybe i do but i dont know if it is tinnitus or im just imagining the sound because at night i "hear" this noise going from loud to quiet a few times when im stone deaf
 
So....those are what it's called! I've been wondering why sometimes I feel a ringing or banging in my ears when I don't even have CI on....and it normally brings a headache afterwards or it just hurts for a bit. I find those tinnitus annoying! Thanks guys, now I know what those are called
 
Deafteen90 said:
I do too get confused when they are mapping and doing the beeps at my implant centre cos i dont know if im imagining it or not but i do not have tinnitus. ok maybe i do but i dont know if it is tinnitus or im just imagining the sound because at night i "hear" this noise going from loud to quiet a few times when im stone deaf
Click to expand...
That happened to me each and every time I had to listen to the beeps. Was it real or my tinnitus talking? That has been a great benefit of my CI surgery. After three years of tinnitus, 24/7, those sounds are now silent. Thank goodness, as there were times I thought I was losing it.
 
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