Something I'd like to share with you

[deaf_mexecan]

Ever since I got my CI when I was 6 years old, a new world opened up for me, but at some point while exploring this new world I felt trapped between the hearing and the deaf world. In the deaf world i couldn't bring myself to learn as much ASL because I wanted to communicate vocal mostly. In the hearing world, I've tried my best to be a good listener at least but nowadays its been tough because i can't concentrate as well i did before, making it frustrating to communicate with hearing people.

Now I feel lost between both worlds because I can't communicate well with either of them. I've been trying to train myself to focus by reading their lips as I usually have done in the past, but i'm not sure it works anymore because of my attention span, my mind seems to wonder after only hearing the first couple of words that comes from the speakers mouth so i find it really hard to keep a conversation going.

Has anyone with a CI ever had problems like this? if so, what have you done to overcome it?
I dont have any deaf friends or hard of hearing. So thats why my main communication is with hearing people. I've been meaning to find a site where all deaf and HOH people unite and talk experiences and I think i found the one most popular.
I'm fighting to kill this depression that is keeping me trapped between both worlds. I'm not gonna let it take over me, so you can say i've been dealing with it for a while now, maybe since my teenage years. You can say that i've felt alone, like i was the only one in the world, i know thats not true, but when the fact that I havent met or talked to anyone thats been in my shoes for a long time, yeah it makes me think that I am.

I'm sorry to say so much, but this is how i feel and i hope that feeling goes away.

 

[Hear Again]

i know exactly how you feel. i have bilateral ci's and have difficulty hearing in background noise. at the same time, i hear very well in quiet one-on-one situations. what i've found helpful is to use alternative communication techniques when background noise is a problem. that way, i don't have to constantly deal with the frustration of not being able to hear. do you know any asl? if not, perhaps it might be a good time for you to start learning. if you can get some asl knowledge under your belt, you can use it in situations where you don't hear well. asl will open many doors of communication for you and may even help to ease your depression.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

i know exactly how you feel. i have bilateral ci's and have difficulty hearing in background noise. at the same time, i hear very well in quiet one-on-one situations. what i've found helpful is to use alternative communication techniques when background noise is a problem. that way, i don't have to constantly deal with the frustration of not being able to hear. do you know any asl? if not, perhaps it might be a good time for you to start learning. if you can get some asl knowledge under your belt, you can use it in situations where you don't hear well. asl will open many doors of communication for you and may even help to ease your depression.

another reason why i havent learned ASL is because I don't know anyone else that uses it, and i have no trouble speaking and listening to my family, its more of the people out there in the world, like anyone you would meet on the street. Hearing new voices is like learning a different language every day, and its hard to learn that language when you dont see that person often.

yes background noise is often a issue, but using the switch on my 3G for closer hearing (when everyone is closer to you and background noise is lowered down to a minimum) helps at times.

 

[Jiro]

I'm in the same boat, buddy. It doesn't hurt to learn ASL. At least you'll be able to function well in both worlds instead of being in middle. That's what I'm trying to do.

 

[AlleyCat]

Ask your audi (if you still see one? You've had your CI a long time if I understood your original post correctly) about two things: 1) is it possible you are due for a replacement? If yours is that old, the newest ones have more electrodes and may possibly help you more. The other thing you could ask your audi about: have she/he hook you up with other CI users. It's always nice to have connections to someone else with a CI, even if it's for general conversation or for questions or whatever you want to get out of that .. That was something my audi recommended to me.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

I'm in the same boat, buddy. It doesn't hurt to learn ASL. At least you'll be able to function well in both worlds instead of being in middle. That's what I'm trying to do.

even if you learn ASL who are you gonna communicate with if everyone else around doesnt know it as well? I don't have any deaf/HOH friends or family members, and never have ran into anyone that knows ASL.

 

[Hear Again]

even if you learn ASL who are you gonna communicate with if everyone else around doesnt know it as well? I don't have any deaf/HOH friends or family members, and never have ran into anyone that knows ASL.

if there are deaf events in your area, that's one way to practice asl. using an interpreter is another way. when i started learning sign in 1995, i used a tactile interpreter (for the deafblind) at an american association of the deafblind convention and it was amazing how much that helped my signing.

 

[Hear Again]

if you have a webcam, perhaps you can use it to communicate with some people here.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

Ask your audi (if you still see one? You've had your CI a long time if I understood your original post correctly) about two things: 1) is it possible you are due for a replacement? If yours is that old, the newest ones have more electrodes and may possibly help you more. The other thing you could ask your audi about: have she/he hook you up with other CI users. It's always nice to have connections to someone else with a CI, even if it's for general conversation or for questions or whatever you want to get out of that .. That was something my audi recommended to me.

you know thats interesting, i have a 3G CI and arent able to afford a Freedom and i didnt know anything about asking my audi about that part to connect with someone else with CI as well

 

[AlleyCat]

you know thats interesting, i have a 3G CI and arent able to afford a Freedom and i didnt know anything about asking my audi about that part to connect with someone else with CI as well

Well, do you still stay in touch with your audi? If so, ask she/he to find other CI users in your area that they have worked with. Let her handle that and get you some contact info. I live in a large metro area where there's a good number of CI users here so she hooked me up with another CI user of the same background as I just so I could "feel it out" so to speak.

Would your insurance not cover a new CI? I bet they just might. Look into it, if yours is old enough to be replaced.

 

[Hear Again]

you know thats interesting, i have a 3G CI and arent able to afford a Freedom and i didnt know anything about asking my audi about that part to connect with someone else with CI as well

there is a yahoo! group called cihear which has over 1,000 members. i've been a member of that group since i was a ci candidate (4 years) and have made many wonderful friendships.

for more information about ci hear, visit:

Welcome to CI Hear! Learn all about our website here.

"About CI Hear Listserv

The CI (Cochlear Implant) is a miracle of modern technology for people who were once told that there was no hope of hearing. After personally living with hearing loss or with someone you know, restoration of sound with a CI can be a wonderful journey. We are here for hearing loss support, to learn about CIs and/or share experiences, good or bad. Questions? Information? Support? New Friends? You just found them all in one place.

CIHear provides support for those who are interested in cochlear implants. It is not brand specific and brand wars,spam and/or marketing will not be permitted here. All offensive messages will be deleted and the sender's priviliges will be changed to moderated. Our goal is to be a good mix of friends as we share a common interest and want to learn from each other. We reserve the right to edit any post from the archives that contains false information or is offensive to another list member. The content of the posts aren't necessarily the opinions of the list owner or list moderators. You agree, by using this listserv not to post material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, abusive, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

Several list moderators can be contacted privately if needed. For assistance, please contact info@cihear.com. This is a very active list so you may find that being on individual e-mails is more mail than you can handle. If this happens, you can change to digest which is one e mail received at the end of the day with all the messages posted. Digest can be received in several formats. If you are interested in trying the different formats of the digest option, contact info@cihear.com for more information. Another option is "no mail" where you can read posts from the main page. The moderators will be happy to assist you with this."

 

[Jiro]

even if you learn ASL who are you gonna communicate with if everyone else around doesnt know it as well? I don't have any deaf/HOH friends or family members, and never have ran into anyone that knows ASL.

You don't have the deaf friends in the beginning because you don't know ASL and you've been focusing so much on trying to fit into hearing world. There are handful of deaf clubs/areas/meet-ups around here and I'm sure same for your location. You need to learn the language (ASL) first before you make friends. We're both in 2 worlds - hearing and deaf world so it's good idea to learn languages for both worlds. I'm attempting to do that so. the progress is very slow for me....

I have met deaf friends from AD but there's a language barrier because I don't know ASL so we used paper/pen.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

if you have a webcam, perhaps you can use it to communicate with some people here.

i need to find it first i havent used it for a while now

 

[Hear Again]

Would your insurance not cover a new CI? I bet they just might. Look into it, if yours is old enough to be replaced.

insurance will only cover an upgrade to a new ci if a person's speech discrimination is poor (40% or less) or if there is a medical reason for doing so (i.e. implant migration, infection, migraines, etc.).

if insurance won't cover the cost to replace his current ci, perhaps the OP could look into getting a second implant.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

Well, do you still stay in touch with your audi? If so, ask she/he to find other CI users in your area that they have worked with. Let her handle that and get you some contact info. I live in a large metro area where there's a good number of CI users here so she hooked me up with another CI user of the same background as I just so I could "feel it out" so to speak.

Would your insurance not cover a new CI? I bet they just might. Look into it, if yours is old enough to be replaced.

I asked my Audi when it first came out and my insurance rejected it for some reason, yes i stay in touch with my audi, i send her emails about things like if i have some problems with the CI and all. But i'll take up your advice on finding other CI users thru an audi

 

[deaf_mexecan]

there is a yahoo! group called cihear which has over 1,000 members. i've been a member of that group since i was a ci candidate (4 years) and have made many wonderful friendships.

for more information about ci hear, visit:

Welcome to CI Hear! Learn all about our website here.

"About CI Hear Listserv

The CI (Cochlear Implant) is a miracle of modern technology for people who were once told that there was no hope of hearing. After personally living with hearing loss or with someone you know, restoration of sound with a CI can be a wonderful journey. We are here for hearing loss support, to learn about CIs and/or share experiences, good or bad. Questions? Information? Support? New Friends? You just found them all in one place.

CIHear provides support for those who are interested in cochlear implants. It is not brand specific and brand wars,spam and/or marketing will not be permitted here. All offensive messages will be deleted and the sender's priviliges will be changed to moderated. Our goal is to be a good mix of friends as we share a common interest and want to learn from each other. We reserve the right to edit any post from the archives that contains false information or is offensive to another list member. The content of the posts aren't necessarily the opinions of the list owner or list moderators. You agree, by using this listserv not to post material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory, abusive, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.

Several list moderators can be contacted privately if needed. For assistance, please contact info@cihear.com. This is a very active list so you may find that being on individual e-mails is more mail than you can handle. If this happens, you can change to digest which is one e mail received at the end of the day with all the messages posted. Digest can be received in several formats. If you are interested in trying the different formats of the digest option, contact info@cihear.com for more information. Another option is "no mail" where you can read posts from the main page. The moderators will be happy to assist you with this."

I think i'll check this site out and let you know how that goes THANKS!

 

[deaf_mexecan]

insurance will only cover an upgrade to a new ci if a person's speech discrimination is poor (40% or less) or if there is a medical reason for doing so (i.e. implant migration, infection, migraines, etc.).

if insurance won't cover the cost to replace his current ci, perhaps the OP could look into getting a second implant.

about getting a second CI, well its the surgery that i'm worried about, when i read about the risks it made me not want to get one, (when i got my first one i barely knew i was even getting an implant)

 

[AlleyCat]

insurance will only cover an upgrade to a new ci if a person's speech discrimination is poor (40% or less) or if there is a medical reason for doing so (i.e. implant migration, infection, migraines, etc.).

if insurance won't cover the cost to replace his current ci, perhaps the OP could look into getting a second implant.

That makes sense and I get your point. I gathered from his original post that he's having a lot of difficulty understanding anyone outside his family without lipreading (correct me if I'm wrong) so that makes me think his speech discrimination could be low enough. I did not catch his age but if he's had his since he was 6, it would appear to be that old and not as high on speech discrimination scores.

 

[deaf_mexecan]

That makes sense and I get your point. I gathered from his original post that he's having a lot of difficulty understanding anyone outside his family without lipreading (correct me if I'm wrong) so that makes me think his speech discrimination could be low enough. I did not catch his age but if he's had his since he was 6, it would appear to be that old and not as high on speech discrimination scores.

im 22, yeah i would say i have difficulties getting communication done outside the household. so that would make sense for me to get a new CI?

 

[Hear Again]

im 22, yeah i would say i have difficulties getting communication done outside the household. so that would make sense for me to get a new CI?

i would definitely talk to your audi about it. he/she can give you speech discrimination tests to determine how much your ability to communicate has suffered.