Top 10 Annoying things with your CI

[Kaitin]

Compared to HAs, CIs (at least Freedom) are much better about sweat and moisture in general. However, you can't expect an electronic device that uses microphones to be able to totally prevent moisture problems. That ability just doesn't exist yet...maybe some day in the future. Your expectations aren't realistic if you thought you could wear it while playing soccer or other activities that generate lots of sweat.

Not wearing your CI while playing sports is not really a big deal. The only thing you have to be concerned about is contact to the implant area. I don't mean like if you get a gentle bump or tap or whatever. It has to be a significant one. That is why I mentioned one has to gauge one's risk factors about a sport or activity that may have the potential for a serious hit to the implant area. I can see playing volleyball for instance and not really worrying about such contact but playing basketball is a little more problematical. Rugby would really be foolhardy and asking for trouble. This would be true whether one had an implant or not.

As for other problems, I don't see any if one assumes all went well with the implant. Just use common sense and go about your life. A CI changes some of your life but not that much. The bottomline is whether or not hearing is important to you. If it is, then that should be the driver whether you get one or not. If is not, then maybe you shouldn't consider it. It all comes down what you want or expect from a CI and be realistic with what it can do for you and what it can't do for you.

You are right - I was not realistic about using CI with sports. I don't know why I worry about not using CI after surgery - Probably it is not a change from now. Also I don't know why I didn't think about moisture problem with CI, but maybe it is wishful thinking compared to HA. I guess I am scared of unknown with CI and fear changes my thinking.

Edited because writing my first reply helped me realize somethings so no need to off topic. You are spared.

 

[sr171soars]

... I guess I am scared of unknown with CI and fear changes my thinking.

...

That is perfectly fine. Continue to explore and ask questions anytime. You are in the driver seat. Weigh all the factors and think things through long and hard plus take your time. Only you can decide whether a CI is right for you or not. If it is, then great. If it isn't, then that is great too. Start by asking yourself what you want not what everybody else thinks.

 

[Bear]

That is perfectly fine. Continue to explore and ask questions anytime. You are in the driver seat. Weigh all the factors and think things through long and hard plus take your time. Only you can decide whether a CI is right for you or not. If it is, then great. If it isn't, then that is great too. Start by asking yourself what you want not what everybody else thinks.

Very excellent advice SR! I totally agree with that advice. A CI surgery is something you cannot take back. But that is true for any surgery.

However, a CI is not life saving and because of that, I would say it is definitely worth the time in making sure that this is what YOU want and not something you think everyone wants you to do.

When deciding the only thing is to research, get info and more info, that is all good. BUT, regardless of how much info you have in the end it comes down to this:

1. You are the one who is gonna have the surgery. Not everyone else. And definitely not the doctors. Are the risks of surgery acceptable to you? Granted these risks are small, but still risks.

2. You are the one who is gonna have to learn to rehear. No matter what we say or do about our own successes. It is not as easy as it looks on a forum. While yes, we almost always hear something, we do have to work to identify that sound, and then continue to identify it, until our brains actually recognize that sound. It took me 4 tries to recognize that I was hearing my VP ringing. Now I hear it and I immediately know what it is.

3. If you are not prelingually implanted, then it is gonna be up to you on how much effort you wanna put into perfecting your speech. It may involve going to speech classes or it may involve alot of therapy.

4. You have to have the drive and commitment in obtaining a CI. I would not recommend getting one, then deciding right off the bat that you hate it and not wear it again. I have seen some people do this. You have to wear it almost every second you are awake to really obtain maximum benefit from it. Or at least that is my opinion.

If you can answer all of those above for yourself and decide. Then I would say you are ready. And to go the next step and see if you are a candidate. If you decide against then go to an ENT or Audi and see what else may be available for you.

I just wanna say good luck on making your decision.

If anyone else has anything to add to the list above. Feel free to do so.

 

[contradica]

I am finding with the cooler weather, it is a little more difficult to take off your sweaters without the hardware falling off.

 

[Bear]

I am finding with the cooler weather, it is a little more difficult to take off your sweaters without the hardware falling off.

LOL, that it does and the thing I hate most is that I have long thick hair and it keeps tangling in my hair when it does fall off.

 

[neecy]

LOL, that it does and the thing I hate most is that I have long thick hair and it keeps tangling in my hair when it does fall off.

I had that problem initially too - so I got my hair cut into a layered pixie cut and its much easier with the CI now.

 

[deafmama78]

Bear: For me, I have thick hair that is past my shoulder & I have noticed that ever since my hair started growing back in the area that they shaved for my surgery - the CI keeps falling off. Even when I'm not really doing much of anything. Like the other day, I stopped by my SIL's house & I brought my kids in to visit for a few & i picked up my 1 yr old niece and it simply fell. It's never done that by simply picking her up! And it kept falling off and she wasn't even reaching for it or anything. Grrr. I am now much more worried about my CI falling into a toilet or something one of these days! Ekkk! :/
I wear a #2 magent & my audiologist is against me trying a #3 'cause she said it'd be like getting bedsores. At this point, I don't know wth to do. I am even considering just getting someone to shave that little area where the magent is so I can just stick the magentic on the shaved area & it'd not fall off as much. :/

LOL, that it does and the thing I hate most is that I have long thick hair and it keeps tangling in my hair when it does fall off.

 

[john57]

Bear: For me, I have thick hair that is past my shoulder & I have noticed that ever since my hair started growing back in the area that they shaved for my surgery - the CI keeps falling off. Even when I'm not really doing much of anything. Like the other day, I stopped by my SIL's house & I brought my kids in to visit for a few & i picked up my 1 yr old niece and it simply fell. It's never done that by simply picking her up! And it kept falling off and she wasn't even reaching for it or anything. Grrr. I am now much more worried about my CI falling into a toilet or something one of these days! Ekkk! :/
I wear a #2 magent & my audiologist is against me trying a #3 'cause she said it'd be like getting bedsores. At this point, I don't know wth to do. I am even considering just getting someone to shave that little area where the magent is so I can just stick the magentic on the shaved area & it'd not fall off as much. :/

I wear a number #4 magnet myself since the #3 magnet was to loose and the entire implant keeps falling off. There is a bit of adjustment in my magnet coil by turning it and I do not get sores at all

 

[R2D2]

I now have a #6 magnet - the strongest in Cochlear's range! No sores so far!

Deafmama, I would ask your audie if you can trial a stronger magnet. If your hair is getting thicker than that will provide an extra barrier against getting sores compared to before.

 

[highlands]

I now have a #6 magnet - the strongest in Cochlear's range! No sores so far!

Deafmama, I would ask your audie if you can trial a stronger magnet. If your hair is getting thicker than that will provide an extra barrier against getting sores compared to before.

Are the magnets not adjustable to different numbers or are they sold seperately ?

 

[john57]

Are the magnets not adjustable to different numbers or are they sold seperately ?

The different magnets are sold separately and on the freedom there is a bit of adjustment range by screwing the magnet in or out to a point which helps with different hair thickness between haircuts. Once you have the correct magnet you usually do no have to change it.

 

[highlands]

The different magnets are sold separately and on the freedom there is a bit of adjustment range by screwing the magnet in or out to a point which helps with different hair thickness between haircuts. Once you have the correct magnet you usually do no have to change it.

Thank you

 

[Bear]

There are some very good suggestions about magnets and how to get around long thick hair. My question is, if i shave the area where the magnet is, how soon before the itching starts? LOL I know when you shave and the hair starts growing back, its gonna itch? How often do you have to shave that area?

 

[Ruminator]

I am finding with the cooler weather, it is a little more difficult to take off your sweaters without the hardware falling off.

Imagine totally implantable cochlear implants. I don't know if this subject has been discussed in any of the AllDeaf forums (and if not, maybe a new thread should be started), but if this technology ever becomes feasible for human use (and it does appear to be headed in that direction, maybe even within a couple years), it sure would be a load off the implantee's mind not having to constantly be mindful of the external components!

Sure would be weird having it on and operational 24 hours a day, even while you sleep, shower, and swim. I'd love that. And as a guy with short hair, I'd be able to keep it as discreet as the gals most of whom can kind of conceal the hardware behind a cloak of hair.

 

[Bear]

Imagine totally implantable cochlear implants. I don't know if this subject has been discussed in any of the AllDeaf forums (and if not, maybe a new thread should be started), but if this technology ever becomes feasible for human use (and it does appear to be headed in that direction, maybe even within a couple years), it sure would be a load off the implantee's mind not having to constantly be mindful of the external components!

Sure would be weird having it on and operational 24 hours a day, even while you sleep, shower, and swim. I'd love that. And as a guy with short hair, I'd be able to keep it as discreet as the gals most of whom can kind of conceal the hardware behind a cloak of hair.

I dont think I would like that. While I do like to be able to hear, I dont think I would want to be hearing 24/7 unless it was my natural hearing back.

that is the one thing I dont miss about being naturally hearing.

As for being discreet. There are many ways to be that without having a fully implantable devise. And another thing, how would they be able to change the batteries? More surgery? I just dont see it as feasable.

If it ever did come out, I would say a big fat NO THANKS!

 

[Ruminator]

I dont think I would like that. While I do like to be able to hear, I dont think I would want to be hearing 24/7 unless it was my natural hearing back.

that is the one thing I dont miss about being naturally hearing.

As for being discreet. There are many ways to be that without having a fully implantable devise. And another thing, how would they be able to change the batteries? More surgery? I just dont see it as feasable.

If it ever did come out, I would say a big fat NO THANKS!

Availability of the TICI is not likely to become reality without genuinely practical solutions to certain hurdles such as the battery issue. It's probably only a matter of time before they eventually succeed in a design that works well enough that many would be willing to be implanted with it.

I would not mind wearing a special headband (or whatever) at nights, say, twice a week, to recharge an internal battery. I would also not mind going in for battery replacement surgery every 4 to 5 years -- I'm sure they'll have it designed in such a way that replacement will be simple, quick, and far less invasive than implanting the receiver behind the ear. Every 4 to 5 years would be fine by me.

Don't know if I'll ever get a TICI, but if it were available today, I probably would. No worries about CI components falling into sauté pan of hot oil, the toilet, over the side of a boat into the lake, into a running garbage disposal, or any number of other nasty places. No worries about moisture damage from rain or perspiration. No worries about it flying off when engaged in physical activities requiring quick movements such as table tennis/ping pong.

I agree that being able to silence the world around us at times is a huge benefit, and with my current hearing-aid, I do so myself often; however, I would imagine that a TICI would come with some sort of wireless remote control -- just turn a dial or press a button to adjust the volume or power the unit off.

Anyway, if I had one, I'd probably leave it operational when going to sleep. Hearing one's own slow rhythmic breathing has a very effective relaxing and sedative effect that helps induce sleep. It's a very soft quiet sound, but because it's night time and the household is silent, there's zero background noise to interfere, so one's own breathing is plenty audible. (At least that's been my experience the few occasions I've left my hearing-aid on.) It may seem strange, but the slow soft rhythmic sound of breathing actually gets me to sleep faster than hearing utter silence. And no I don't make a practice of intentionally wearing my hearing-aid to bed -- 99.99% of the time, it comes off.

Btw, you say there are ways to attain CI discreteness. Got me curious. Besides hats/caps and growing your hair out, what other strategies are there?

 

[Bear]

Availability of the TICI is not likely to become reality without genuinely practical solutions to certain hurdles such as the battery issue. It's probably only a matter of time before they eventually succeed in a design that works well enough that many would be willing to be implanted with it.

I would not mind wearing a special headband (or whatever) at nights, say, twice a week, to recharge an internal battery. I would also not mind going in for battery replacement surgery every 4 to 5 years -- I'm sure they'll have it designed in such a way that replacement will be simple, quick, and far less invasive than implanting the receiver behind the ear. Every 4 to 5 years would be fine by me.

Don't know if I'll ever get a TICI, but if it were available today, I probably would. No worries about CI components falling into sauté pan of hot oil, the toilet, over the side of a boat into the lake, into a running garbage disposal, or any number of other nasty places. No worries about moisture damage from rain or perspiration. No worries about it flying off when engaged in physical activities requiring quick movements such as table tennis/ping pong.

I agree that being able to silence the world around us at times is a huge benefit, and with my current hearing-aid, I do so myself often; however, I would imagine that a TICI would come with some sort of wireless remote control -- just turn a dial or press a button to adjust the volume or power the unit off.

Anyway, if I had one, I'd probably leave it operational when going to sleep. Hearing one's own slow rhythmic breathing has a very effective relaxing and sedative effect that helps induce sleep. It's a very soft quiet sound, but because it's night time and the household is silent, there's zero background noise to interfere, so one's own breathing is plenty audible. (At least that's been my experience the few occasions I've left my hearing-aid on.) It may seem strange, but the slow soft rhythmic sound of breathing actually gets me to sleep faster than hearing utter silence. And no I don't make a practice of intentionally wearing my hearing-aid to bed -- 99.99% of the time, it comes off.

Btw, you say there are ways to attain CI discreteness. Got me curious. Besides hats/caps and growing your hair out, what other strategies are there?

You pretty much named them all, but if in the future we could get a wireless one that would be even more discreet.

Being as I am a girl, with very long thick hair, you cant even tell I wear a CI. So discreetness is not a very major issue for me.

You could go with fashion and wear a hooded sweatshirt.

 

[jag]

Imagine totally implantable cochlear implants. I don't know if this subject has been discussed in any of the AllDeaf forums (and if not, maybe a new thread should be started), but if this technology ever becomes feasible for human use (and it does appear to be headed in that direction, maybe even within a couple years), it sure would be a load off the implantee's mind not having to constantly be mindful of the external components!

Sure would be weird having it on and operational 24 hours a day, even while you sleep, shower, and swim. I'd love that. And as a guy with short hair, I'd be able to keep it as discreet as the gals most of whom can kind of conceal the hardware behind a cloak of hair.

My guess would be that you wouldn't use it 24/7 because of energy needs and the battery would be under the skin and like a pacemaker battery would need to be changed surgically every few years, so shutting if off while sleeping would extend the life of the battery. Besides who wants to hear all the noise while trying to sleep.

 

[john57]

Availability of the TICI is not likely to become reality without genuinely practical solutions to certain hurdles such as the battery issue. It's probably only a matter of time before they eventually succeed in a design that works well enough that many would be willing to be implanted with it.

I would not mind wearing a special headband (or whatever) at nights, say, twice a week, to recharge an internal battery. I would also not mind going in for battery replacement surgery every 4 to 5 years -- I'm sure they'll have it designed in such a way that replacement will be simple, quick, and far less invasive than implanting the receiver behind the ear. Every 4 to 5 years would be fine by me.

There is implantable hearing aid avaiable in Europe but in trial here in USA that does uses a headband to recharge the batteries. The entire hearing aid is implanted. One of the reasons that science looking at a implant to the actual hearing nerve instead of the cochlea is to reduce the power
requirements for the batteries. There is aso work being done with batteries to make it safe in the body even when the batteries materials leaked out.

 

[Bear]

My guess would be that you wouldn't use it 24/7 because of energy needs and the battery would be under the skin and like a pacemaker battery would need to be changed surgically every few years, so shutting if off while sleeping would extend the life of the battery. Besides who wants to hear all the noise while trying to sleep.

agreed!