To those who had been implanted

Miss-Delectable

Miss-Delectable

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Have you noticed any improvement in speech?
Or has it remained the same prior to implantation?

Another or! If it didn't improve your speech; then did you or others notice better clarity in speech?

Today's the day I'm being inquisitive.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.
 
Miss-Delectable said:
Have you noticed any improvement in speech?
Or has it remained the same prior to implantation?

Another or! If it didn't improve your speech; then did you or others notice better clarity in speech?

Today's the day I'm being inquisitive.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.
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hey there girl!! long time no chat! i hardly see you online anymore (my buddylist?) but anyway, to answer your qq, even though it has only been one day since i have been activated, my audiologist, boyfriend and a friend have said that my voice has improved!? i am like ok? :lol: as my speech is very good... but i want to hear what my mom n sister have to say when i fly home in march/april! :D hope that answers your question?? :D
 
I've personally been told by a couple of people that my speech has got clearer but they do reckon that as an adult that speech improvement will only be limited.

For adults I think CIs offer much more scope for improvement in terms of listening and communication as opposed to speech.
 
The difference for me was very noticable in the first week or so. Everybody noticed how much better I spoke since I got my CI. It is really was reflection how bad my hearing had gotten (just prior to my CI) and thus it effected my speech big time. Mind you, I always had very good speech to begin with...all those years of speech therapy paid dividends.
 
My family told me that within a week of having my CI activated, my "deaf accent" went away entirely. Occasionally I mis-pronounce some words, but that's because I've not HEARD them before - I'll ask how its pronounced and from then on I have no problem.
 
Miss-Delectable said:
Have you noticed any improvement in speech?

Definitely. My speech discrimination pre-CIs was 22% with a hearing aid in my right ear only. (Left ear had no speech discrimination since 1995.) Post-CIs, speech discrimination rose to 95%.

Or has it remained the same prior to implantation?

Another or! If it didn't improve your speech; then did you or others notice better clarity in speech?

Today's the day I'm being inquisitive.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.
Click to expand...

quote
 
I also experienced a noticeable improvement in my speech quality after receiving my CI. While I didn't have a "deaf" accent per se, one could easily tell I had difficulty hearing due to the way I slurred my words. I also had a lisp, a nasaly quality to my voice and spoke in a monotone.

After talking to my sister on the phone 3 weeks post activation (1st CI), she commented on how much better my speech and pronunciation were. My family and friends have made similar observations.
 
jasin said:
I'm not hearing i'm hard of hearing, partially deaf, and you are overly sensitive.

Myths about the hard of hearing
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I think you've misunderstood - I didn't say you were hearing. I'm just making the point that the targets of the jokes never find it funny whether they are black, gay, deaf or whatever. And they are always accused of being oversensitive. That was what my point was. Yep it probably is oversensitive but better to acknowledge the sensitivity rather than tell them to "just relax".
 
Actually you did, you said, "hearies", but i'm not going to get into a he said she said debate with you.

:bye:
 
jasin said:
Actually you did, you said, "hearies", but i'm not going to get into a he said she said debate with you.

:bye:
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Err...again you didn't understand what I said. It's gone over your head. But it's not my problem. Life's too short. Ciao!
 
Jasin: Hearing people need to see analogies like those so they can understand a deaf person's perspective on things. Lilly's Dad has a deaf daughter, so he could benefit from the analogy, and that was R2D2's purpose in using your quote--R2D2 wasn't addressing you directly.

Miss Delectable: When my 2nd CI was implanted at age 16, I began taking speech therapy again in 11th grade. My parents mentioned that my voice improved and sometimes I'd say certain words with absolute perfection. I'm not sure if it had to do with subconsciously hearing myself although I couldn't understand the sounds, or possibly if it was because I was using my speech more now that I was receiving speech training again. No one in my family had really said anything about my voice before my 2nd CI surgery. I think it's because of persistent use of my voice, regardless of having CI, that my voice improved. My answer does not quite fit the bill, because it depends on things like degree of CI success and constant family support that one can evaluate his/her voice progress before/after surgery.
 
R2D2 said:
That's what hearies say to deafies when they tell "deaf and dumb" jokes.
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Yea...Oh well..we will always make jokes about each other. Sometimes it is good to poke fun at ourselves. I watch the show "Mind of Menica"...boy, he pokes fun of his own culture and it has helped me to learn to poke fun of my deafness sometimes.
 
Spock said:
...

Miss Delectable: When my 2nd CI was implanted at age 16, I began taking speech therapy again in 11th grade. My parents mentioned that my voice improved and sometimes I'd say certain words with absolute perfection. I'm not sure if it had to do with subconsciously hearing myself although I couldn't understand the sounds, or possibly if it was because I was using my speech more now that I was receiving speech training again. No one in my family had really said anything about my voice before my 2nd CI surgery. I think it's because of persistent use of my voice, regardless of having CI, that my voice improved. My answer does not quite fit the bill, because it depends on things like degree of CI success and constant family support that one can evaluate his/her voice progress before/after surgery.
Click to expand...

Your using the word "voice" as opposed to speech brings up an interesting point. There are two components of voice regarding speech. The first part is actual vocalization and the second is the "speech" component. Making a vocal sound is easy enough (such as "hollering" with no particular word being indicated like "HOOOOEY") but it is much harder to articulate speech. Don't worry...I assumed you meant speech...;)

Even before my CI and my hearing going "south", I never had any problems with voice "per se". What I was having problems with was not hearing well enough to catch how I spoke. I would slur, incorrectly enunciate, and etc. It was obvious that I was not hearing myself and others well enough (in a loop feedback process) to keep my speech up.

Post CI, it was unbelievable what I could hear and correct deficiencies in my speech. It was night and day after a week or so and it kept improving from that point on. Heck, I sometimes have talked too softly (but perfectly) that the hearing would strain to hear me in those circumstances. I would either have to repeat myself or up the volume of my voice. That was probably the most difficult adjustment I had to make with a CI. Learning to properly determine the best volume for speech in a myriad of environments.
 
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