Problems with cochlear implant

AS Flip would say in a different thread-entirely up to you how one deals with the fact of deafness.Your choice!

Implanted Advanced Bionics- Harmony activated Aug/07
 
posts from hell said:
But you hear almost none of them discussing explants.
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Exactly. And in all the literature I have been given to read (and two CD's to watch), nowhere are Cons mentioned. That to me is lying. Why do they lie? I was seriously thinking of getting an implant (for professional reasons), but now I just dunno. There is something wrong with the whole picture and I find it disgusting. The only people in here who are purely and unabashedly pro-CI are HEARING. Oh come on.
 
Beowulf said:
The only people in here who are purely and unabashedly pro-CI are HEARING. Oh come on.
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Not all pro-CI's are hearing; many deaf are.

The CI is most successful in people that lost their hearing later in life.

Hearing people WANT to believe that the CI is the best thing out there.

I believe the reason we don't hear much about the bad side of CI's is that people focus on the successes much more than the failures.

When a new prescription medicine comes out, and it is touted as a miracle, all you are going to hear are good things. The people who have had bad experiences will not be heard, and will be swept under the rug as "minor problems". This mentality applies to CI's.

Same thing happens to hearing aid users....how often do we hear people complaining about HA's making their life miserable? Not very often, but it happens.

The CI should have been marketed as an advanced hearing aid, not as a 'cure' that many people want to believe.

I know one woman who had a CI and suffered seizures & other maladies for two years before having it explanted, her symptoms went away. She was written off as a fluke.
 
green427 said:
Not all pro-CI's are hearing; many deaf are.

The CI is most successful in people that lost their hearing later in life.

Hearing people WANT to believe that the CI is the best thing out there.

I believe the reason we don't hear much about the bad side of CI's is that people focus on the successes much more than the failures.

When a new prescription medicine comes out, and it is touted as a miracle, all you are going to hear are good things. The people who have had bad experiences will not be heard, and will be swept under the rug as "minor problems". This mentality applies to CI's.

Same thing happens to hearing aid users....how often do we hear people complaining about HA's making their life miserable? Not very often, but it happens.

The CI should have been marketed as an advanced hearing aid, not as a 'cure' that many people want to believe.

I know one woman who had a CI and suffered seizures & other maladies for two years before having it explanted, her symptoms went away. She was written off as a fluke.
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I cannot quite put my finger on the why, but I agree with the bolded, even though many people here insist it works best with toddlers. I feel I am at the point where I will no longer research negative effects of CI's; rather, I will personally talk with the CI users who fit my age and personality type and find out how they succeeded. I talked with a couple CI users who bemoaned their feelings of vertigo after receiving their implants, but I suspect it was pre-existing conditions: they were finicky types of guys so I will practically disregard their experiences. I look at the people who have the CI's. Tomorrow I will meet a successful deaf stockbroker from Chicago: I talked with him on VP and he was implanted four years ago. He is sharp as a tack and made it clear it was his determination to succeed that let him overcome the obstacles. I will find out exactly what obstacles they were. I am not poo-pooing CI's. I just think one needs the right stuff to make it work.
 
with hearing people, they are more likely are just happy they can hear really good with their Ci, better than nothing for them as they have always taken their hearing for granted. But I think if I asked them if they would pick a stem cells cure or Ci - both works, and both have their own issue, they are far more likely to choose stem cells over CI anyday, in my opinion. I would doubt they would say "it doesn't make a difference" if stem cells is more natural to hearing.

I will tell you this, anyone who tell you they don't have any obacles with their Ci would be lying. But they can still see the glass half full about it if they want to. Even many pro-ci will talk about the things they have to deal with that they don't like.
 
green427 said:
Not all pro-CI's are hearing; many deaf are.

The CI is most successful in people that lost their hearing later in life.

Hearing people WANT to believe that the CI is the best thing out there.

I believe the reason we don't hear much about the bad side of CI's is that people focus on the successes much more than the failures.

When a new prescription medicine comes out, and it is touted as a miracle, all you are going to hear are good things. The people who have had bad experiences will not be heard, and will be swept under the rug as "minor problems". This mentality applies to CI's.

Same thing happens to hearing aid users....how often do we hear people complaining about HA's making their life miserable? Not very often, but it happens.

The CI should have been marketed as an advanced hearing aid, not as a 'cure' that many people want to believe.

I know one woman who had a CI and suffered seizures & other maladies for two years before having it explanted, her symptoms went away. She was written off as a fluke.
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advanced hearing aid...that makes more sense.
 
Clearly a Cochlear Implant will NOT be beneficial to everyone. This was explained to me almost 4 years ago when I started to process at Sunnybrook/cochlear section. I knew that from the various articles I had already. This fact is true of all operations-fortunately in small numbers. Yeah if one is "unsuitable" for an Implant- the consequence will to remain deaf. A footnote to my experience- I met a person who had to wait almost a year for the operation due to ongoing heart troubles. When actually performed almost died on the operating table but survived because there was a heart doctor at the same time and saved him. Yeah no exactly a "minor operation"!
A Cochlear Implant is NOT an advanced hearing aid but an entirely different electronic device which operates in a very different manner.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
A Cochlear Implant is NOT an advanced hearing aid but an entirely different electronic device which operates in a very different manner.
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A CI is NOT an advanced hearing aid? Oh, no, what have I gotten myself into??? Get that thing outta my head!!!!!


If it is not classified as a hearing aid, then what the fuck is it?
 
drphil said:
Clearly a Cochlear Implant will NOT be beneficial to everyone. This was explained to me almost 4 years ago when I started to process at Sunnybrook/cochlear section. I knew that from the various articles I had already. This fact is true of all operations-fortunately in small numbers. Yeah if one is "unsuitable" for an Implant- the consequence will to remain deaf. A footnote to my experience- I met a person who had to wait almost a year for the operation due to ongoing heart troubles. When actually performed almost died on the operating table but survived because there was a heart doctor at the same time and saved him. Yeah no exactly a "minor operation"!
A Cochlear Implant is NOT an advanced hearing aid but an entirely different electronic device which operates in a very different manner.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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It aids hearing, doesnt it?
 
No, it doesn't aid hearing. It electrically stimulates the auditory nerve. It completely bypasses the ear.
 
I guess you are just electrically stimulated! :lol:

Anyways it was semantics. The purpose of either a CI or a HA is to help the deaf hear better.
 
faire_jour said:
I don't object to the word "hearing", I don't think they "aid". I think aid implies that it is helping or boosting residual hearing, whereas the CI is totally different.
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That's what amplification does. It tries to reach the nerves hair cells so it can simulate the nerves.

CIs still aid hearing the same way as HAs... both goals is to simulate the nerves so we can hear.
 
deafgal001 said:
That's what amplification does. It tries to reach the nerves hair cells so it can simulate the nerves.

CIs still aid hearing the same way as HAs... both goals is to simulate the nerves so we can hear.
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Yes, that is the way amplification works, but it is not the way a CI works. Ci's do not stimulate the hair cells at all.
 
faire_jour said:
Yes, that is the way amplification works, but it is not the way a CI works. Ci's do not stimulate the hair cells at all.
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I did not say CI stimulate hair cells. Hearing aids use hair cells to stimulate the nerves. While CI don't. But both have the same goals: stimulate those nerves, therefore both aid hearing.
 
Beowulf said:
Exactly. And in all the literature I have been given to read (and two CD's to watch), nowhere are Cons mentioned. That to me is lying. Why do they lie? I was seriously thinking of getting an implant (for professional reasons), but now I just dunno. There is something wrong with the whole picture and I find it disgusting. The only people in here who are purely and unabashedly pro-CI are HEARING. Oh come on.
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1. No one has ever mentioned to you and none of the literature you've read notes that surgery is involved? (this is pretty major in itself -- probably the most significant con)
2. Cochlear risks outlined on website
3. Advanced Bionics risks outlined on website
4. FDA: benefits and risks of cochlear implants
5. FAQs on all 3 of the major CI companies outlined surgery and follow-on auditory rehabilitation processes, as well as providing statistics for outcomes
6. If you talk with your surgeon about it, he or she will emphasize risks far beyond any benefits, you'll receive a great deal of info. this once you get past the casual interest level.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, the first things you would encounter on day one of your research. If you really are considering, though, I recommend contacting several people who are in roughly your situation (whether pre or post lingually deaf, implanted as adults, etc., and see what they've found after implantation).
 
GrendelQ said:
1. No one has ever mentioned to you and none of the literature you've read notes that surgery is involved? (this is pretty major in itself -- probably the most significant con)
2. Cochlear risks outlined on website
3. Advanced Bionics risks outlined on website
4. FDA: benefits and risks of cochlear implants
5. FAQs on all 3 of the major CI companies outlined surgery and follow-on auditory rehabilitation processes, as well as providing statistics for outcomes
6. If you talk with your surgeon about it, he or she will emphasize risks far beyond any benefits, you'll receive a great deal of info. this once you get past the casual interest level.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, the first things you would encounter on day one of your research. If you really are considering, though, I recommend contacting several people who are in roughly your situation (whether pre or post lingually deaf, implanted as adults, etc., and see what they've found after implantation).
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It is nice finding this post immdiately upon my return from my out-of-town trip. :lol:
To answer your questions require a rather lengthy response, so I will spare you the agony, hah. You had to be there with me when I was being interviewed by the doctor, two interns, and an audiologist to see that no mention of negative aspects of acquiring a CI was made. Their eyes shone like those of evangelists as they told me the benefits, and I felt like raising my arms and crying Hallelujah etcetera. But then, this was in the early stage, and I have more follow-ups to go through, and now I am loaded for bear, lol.
This morning I had a long conversation with a stockbroker from Chicago, and he was implanted four years ago. He was my age, very articulate, and knew Sign Language. I asked him if the CI's made any difference n his life, and he looked me squarely in my eyes and said "Yes and no." I will not get into the details for his statement, but I came away with a much better understanding of the CI's potential, limited though it may be. I will meet more people with the CI experience, but I am realizing that it is solely dependent on the individual's capability to meet problems head on and improvise ways of overcoming them. 'Nuff said.
I still am not decided on getting CI's and I don't care what the rest of the world thinks.
 
Beowulf said:
It is nice finding this post immdiately upon my return from my out-of-town trip. :lol:
To answer your questions require a rather lengthy response, so I will spare you the agony, hah. You had to be there with me when I was being interviewed by the doctor, two interns, and an audiologist to see that no mention of negative aspects of acquiring a CI was mentioned. Their eyes shone like those of evangelists as they told me the benefits, and I felt like raising my arms and crying Hallelujah etcetera. But then, this was in the early stage, and I have more follow-ups to go through, and now I am loaded for bear, lol.
This morning I had a long conversation with a stockbroker from Chicago, and he was implanted four years ago. He was my age, very articulate, and knew Sign Language. I asked him if the CI's made any difference n his life, and he looked me squarely in my eyes and said "Yes and no." I will not get into the details for his statement, but I came away with a much better understanding of the CI's potential, limited though it may be. I will meet more people with the CI experience, but I am realizing that it is solely dependent on the individuals capability to meet problems head on and improvise ways of overcoming them. 'Nuff said.
I still am not decided on getting CI's and I don't care what the rest of the world thinks.
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That's good. The potential for benefit is there, so is the potential for risk, and NO ONE should go into it unaware of both.
 
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