Psychological evaluation for CI

ladysolitary85

ladysolitary85

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So I don't know the exact details but my MRI and CT Scan but all I know on that is the report looks good. Friday I go through the psychological evaluation part of the step to get a CI. I know it will be a hour long and some reading will be involved. Has anyone had one?

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Every CI candidate must go through psychological evaluation, I am curious to know what it entails, I was only 9 when went through the assessment.
 
I never had an actual psychological evaluation. My audiologist, and my surgeon, both spoke with me to get an idea of what my expectations were and such, and were satisfied with my answers. They both felt I understood the process and of what it takes to make the CI work, and were more than happy to let me proceed with getting the CIs. I didn't need to see a psychologist. Each clinic/center will have their own evaluations/exams they want done.

Mostly they just want to make sure your expectations are appropriate, and not too high. Some people go into the process expecting it to be a magic fix, and are disappointed by the results at activation when they don't hear perfectly right away. They just want to be sure you are indeed prepared to put in the effort to get the CI working for you and that sort of thing.
 
Lissa said:
Every CI candidate must go through psychological evaluation, I am curious to know what it entails, I was only 9 when went through the assessment.
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I wonder what kind of questions a 9 yo is asked during a psychological evaluation. I can remember getting a hearing evaluation for my first hearing aid when I was 8 yo. I saw a woman and talked to we for awhile and she wrote down words I said but she was making all kind of funny things over the letters . Then she had me play with Mr. Potato head and do some finger painting . Unfortunately the woman did not pick up that I was being abused by my father.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I wonder what kind of questions a 9 yo is asked during a psychological evaluation. I can remember getting a hearing evaluation for my first hearing aid when I was 8 yo. I saw a woman and talked to we for awhile and she wrote down words I said but she was making all kind of funny things over the letters . Then she had me play with Mr. Potato head and do some finger painting . Unfortunately the woman did not pick up that I was being abused by my father.
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Actually, maybe it was for my parents not me?
 
I had to do the psych exam as well. It is part of "medically" qualifying and while my Dr. did not require it, my insurance company did. It was mainly to see if I was prepared to deal with having CI's, if I was committed to using them and the rehab involved to learn to hear again. I think a lot of people think that a CI is like a hearing aid, turn it on and your hearing is restored. It's not and if insurance is going to spend $100,000, they want to minimize the chances of your processors sitting in a drawer because you were not willing to put the time and effort into learning to use them.

I am sure for young children that their parents are evaluated for their commitment to the process.
 
I made it through the evaluation it seems now I'm waiting on the appointment with the surgeon.

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ladysolitary85,
What did you think of the questions? When I went through them, I questioned the audiologist about the validity of them. She had a pat non-answer. I understood the purpose was to ensure I could psychologically handle a CI but the questions I answered in about ten minutes were in no way considered an evaluation.
 
It was actually less intimidating than I expected it to be, but the psychiatrist was letting me read questions from her computer and I would answer them out loud as she typed up my answers. It was just to make sure I was stable and had realistic expectations on the CI.

By the way, surgery day is Feb 6th! yay!!!
 
I went thru second CI pre-evaluation today. My surgery date is April 30.
Got one vaccine today, and should get another shot in early april.
 
ladysolitary85: I believe someone said the tests vary from place to place. Having a psychiatrist or psychologist makes sense if their questions were really meant for screening. I'm glad the place you went to had the sense to do what may have been a much more significant eval than I had. Mine was a joke. Good luck with your surgery.

Ri Sol: Sounds like you're also going through a more stringent process, too. That's great. (I only had one vaccine.)
 
Depending on the person's age they get one or two vaccines. This whole process was very quick, Nov To Feb!

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NYNY, thanks!

By the way, I didn't have any psychological evaluation.
All I had only 2 evaluations with 2 different audiologists and they both said I'm a good candidate for CI. They explained me everything all risks etc, I know that I shouldn't expect 100% success. My speech discrimination is only 4% on one ear, and 0% on second. So if I would get at least 50% after surgery would be good for me.
I'm all ready for it, it is my the last hope to hear and to understand people. The first date they offered for surgery was March 16, but my son will have his circumcision on this date, so the next available time was only April 30.
My hand is sore right now, and I don't feel well after vaccine, having headache and earache((
 
Ri Sol said:
NYNY, thanks!

By the way, I didn't have any psychological evaluation.
All I had only 2 evaluations with 2 different audiologists and they both said I'm a good candidate for CI. They explained me everything all risks etc, I know that I shouldn't expect 100% success. My speech discrimination is only 4% on one ear, and 0% on second. So if I would get at least 50% after surgery would be good for me.
I'm all ready for it, it is my the last hope to hear and to understand people. The first date they offered for surgery was March 16, but my son will have his circumcision on this date, so the next available time was only April 30.
My hand is sore right now, and I don't feel well after vaccine, having headache and earache((
Click to expand...
Were you hearing (how much) when younger? I ended up with under 40% discrimination in each ear and in society that gives me the ability to pick up an occasional word (maybe).

Looking down the path ... have fun at your son's Barmitzvah. You'll be able to hopefully understand him. (Oh no, I'm making an assumption of fun in years gone way by.)
 
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