Studies: Bilateral Cochlear Implants Rock!.. Read on

This got me curious. I couldn't find very much on google but did find this paper on Entrez pubmed. It suggests that it's not the communication mode that determines mental health but rather the relationship with the mother, which in turn is affected by communication. Having had an interest in parental attachment theory this sounds right to me:

1: J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2004 Winter;9(1):2-14. Links
Hearing mothers and their deaf children: the relationship between early, ongoing mode match and subsequent mental health functioning in adolescence.Wallis D, Musselman C, MacKay S.
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, The Canadian Hearing Society. dwallis@oise.utoronto.ca

In the few studies that have been conducted, researchers have typically found that deaf adolescents have more mental health difficulties than their hearing peers and that, within the deaf groups, those who use spoken language have better mental health functioning than those who use sign language. This study investigated the hypotheses that mental health functioning in adolescence is related to an early and consistent mode match between mother and child rather than to the child's use of speech or sign itself. Using a large existing 15-year longitudinal database on children and adolescents with severe and profound deafness, 57 adolescents of hearing parents were identified for whom data on language experience (the child's and the mother's) and mental health functioning (from a culturally and linguistically adapted form of the Achenbach Youth Self Report) was available. Three groups were identified: auditory/oral (A/O), sign match (SM), and sign mismatch (SMM). As hypothesized, no significant difference in mental health functioning was found between the A/O and SM groups, but a significant difference was found favoring a combined A/O and SM group over the SMM group. These results support the notion of the importance of an early and consistent mode match between deaf children and hearing mothers, regardless of communication modality.

PMID: 15304398 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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So basically parents who can't be bothered to communicate with their deaf children whether they sign or if they are oral tend to produce the most cases of mental illness.
 
I'd like to add my two cents here. When it comes to "benefitting from a HA" as deafdyke was asserting, you have to realize that the ability to hear sound with a HA and the ability to BENEFIT from it after having a CI implant are two vastly different concepts. In my non-implanted ear, I CAN hear sounds with my HA. - I wore a HA in that ear (and my implanted ear up until I received my CI) for more than 20 years. I benefitted marginally (mostly relying on lipreading) from the HA.

Fast forward to after having my implant, although I can *HEAR SOUND* with the HA in the non implanted ear - it is no longer beneficial for me. I find that wearing a HA along with my CI actually decreases my ability to understand speech. Perhaps its because they are two VASTLY different "types" of sound. To me its too confusing, and annoying, and within a week after having my CI activated, I put the HA I wore in my non-implanted ear away for good.

I guess my brain simply has a hard time "differentiating" between the two different hearing "styles" (amplification in the HA vs clarity in the CI) and doesn't know what to make of it. I've listened to audio tapes both WITH the CI/HA and with the CI only and its like night and day. When I wear the HA my speech comprehension takes a nosedive. My audie said it was a matter of personal choice to continue wearing my HA (some people do, some don't).

So I just wanted to point out - that even if somebody can *hear sound* with a HA in the non-implanted ear, that's no indication as to whether using a HA in that ear will aid in language comprehension, or whether it will (as in my case) actually diminish it.
 
Just read Michael Chorost blog.

He's in the game for a second CI as well..

Going bilateral: Twelve days from surgery date - and no word from Aetna. But the surgery center called me yesterday to go over a couple of forms, and they were talking as if they did have approval. I said to them, “What? Has Aetna approved this? Nobody told me.” They claimed to have approval for the surgery component of it (but not for any other part of it, like the anesthesiologist or the device itself, which is confusing.) I called Aetna, and they said somebody would call me back. I won’t believe it until I hear it from them.
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He's going throught the red tape as well...
dealing with contradictory letters from the Department of Managed Health Care on my hassles with Aetna,
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deafdyke said:
Cloggy, no.....Reread my posts...... I am 100% OK with a second CI if ... if ....
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so not 100%

deafdyke said:
Most people can benifit from hearing aids. And as I recall off the top of my head, even people with minmal aidable hearing, can localize sound with a hearing aid!
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YOu mean people with HA's on BOTH sides....
deafdyke said:
I'm not just " one CI is enough!". I always think I can hear really well with just one hearing aid, but then I put my second aid in, and I can hear a LOT. Still can't localize sound thou...LOL!
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Hearing better with 2 devices instead of just one is another excellent reason.
deafdyke said:
I just think that a second CI should be a last option, after all other options have been explored and exhausted.
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Actually, with reards to reducing costs, a second implant might be very beneficial in aiding the learning proces. Faster learning equals lower costs.
deafdyke said:
I really think the matter of a second CI is going to be like the digital vs. analog aid debate.
That's all! If the person is tired out from using just one ear, and there's no other option.....YEAH! Implant! Just be absolutly positively sure that other options have been exhausted.
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You lost me here. Your example is far-fetched...
deafdyke said:
I have to say that sound localization and abilty to hear in noise is just really not a vital must have. Even hearing people have trouble hearing in noise!
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Of course. Imagine the problems they would have with only one ear :)
deafdyke said:
Besides, unless you're trying to catch a prowler or a murderer, in the house sound localization isn't really a vital skill.
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YOu never go out, on the street, traffic, ballgame, sports, ....
deafdyke said:
One vs. two for people who just want sound localization and abilty to hear in noise, just seems to be the difference between an MP 3 and whatever the newest form of music delivery will be!
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DD... you know better than that. That comparison is way off.... Mono v.s. Stereo would be a better, but inadequate comparison. ..........[/quote]
 
Cloggy said:
...YOu never go out, on the street, traffic, ballgame, sports, ...
...
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Er...I just to expand on DD's statement (and your reply) about "house sound localization" not being a vital skill or localization in general.

DD is correct in far as it goes. It really isn't a vital skill. Mind you this is not to say that it isn't a very useful skill to have and has contributed to saving one's and other's lives. I can most certainly appreciate what it does for you in more pressing endeavors such as war, emergencies and the like. I ought to know as I have been a "one ear bandit" forever and never had the opportunity to hear out of two ears. So, I can say something about this issue.

I have learned to compensate for the lack of bilateral hearing by brute logic and being very aware of my surroundings (almost hyper-aware). I grew up in my neighborhood doing all the things that the other kids had done alone and with friends, riding bicycles in the streets, playing/going everywhere, doing some stupid stuff (kids! ;) ) and etc. I had my share of close ones (not many though) and lived to tell about it. In fact, I remember my mom telling me that the neighbors complained to her that she shouldn't allow me to ride in the streets because I could be injuried or killed. She simply told them that I had to learn to live in the world and realize the dangers in order to survive. My mom didn't do that lightly and she admitted to me that she worried about me alot until I was a teenager when she realized that I understood those lessons. She did me a big favor by allowing that for me. Boy! Did I learn and quickly at that. If you will, I became quite street savvy and I thank her for that extremely perceptive thought to assist me in making my own way.

Perhaps this is something that only some people pick up easily (regardless of hearing or not) while the rest just don't do as well. I have seen hearing folks that have absolutely no clue in what is going on around them. I would just shake my head and want to yell at 'em to get a clue. All I know is that it isn't such a big deal to me and it can be taught to others (maybe not everybody). Life is a risk in of itself and we can't get by being coddled all our lives. "Sink or swim" has been my motto all my life.

My two cents...

Just an added thought...maybe if I had two CIs, ummm the world would have to watch out for me!!!! :D
 
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I know - and realise it's not vital. Like you said, one will compensate for it.
Just that the "burglers in the ouse" example is soo far fetched..

With Lotte we see her biggest help with understanding speech in noisy environment. And this is not a little improvement. It's a lot.
Like DD said... with two HA's she heared A LOT MORE !!
 
Cloggy said:
I know - and realise it's not vital. Like you said, one will compensate for it.
Just that the "burglers in the ouse" example is soo far fetched..

With Lotte we see her biggest help with understanding speech in noisy environment. And this is not a little improvement. It's a lot.
Like DD said... with two HA's she heared A LOT MORE !!
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No argument from me on that score and that alone made it worth the cost!
 
This will be posted to our web site tonight

To apply, go to advocacy.letthemhear.org and click on "application for advocacy" New applications are reviewed on Tuesdays and Fridays at 3 pm PST

Sheri
---------------------------------

For a short period of time, due to funding constraints, we have been unable to provide services to patients who desire Cochlear Corporation or MedEl Devices.

I am delighted to announce as of November 13th, LTHF Advocacy Program has reached an arrangement with both Cochlear Corporation and MedEl which allows us GET BACK TO WORK FOR ALL PATIENTS WHO WANT BILATERAL COCHLEAR IMPLANTS WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE DEVICE DESIRED.

We are honored to continue to work on your behalf or on the behalf of your children. We will continue to do so as long as we are able. I would like to thank those that continue to assist us in funding this remarkable program as we seek to permanently change the world of access to cochlear implants for the hearing impaired. Our funding needs are not solved permanently but we are very excited to be back at full speed again.
 
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