Hello, and I'm pleased to be here! My name is Paul and this is my first post.
Hi Paul
I have a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in which I use digital hearing aides. The hearing aides are the GN Resound Canta 7 series and they were state-of-the-art when I first got them back in 2001 ... I think they still are! With the aides on, I have about a 50% loss in my right ear (I hear higher frequencies the best) while my left ear has a whopping 90% loss (I faintly hear low-frequency bassy sounds only). Over the years, however, my hearing has gotten steadily worse in both ears, to the point where my audiologist now recommends I seriously consider a CI for my left ear.
I have recently earned my Ph.D in environmental sciences and meteorology and am very proud to have achieved this goal! Despite having the digital aides, I felt that seminars hosted by the professors and students in my department placed me at a disadvantage, since the lights were dimmed (during the Powerpoint presentation) and I had a hard time reading lips in a darkened room to supplement the residual hearing I had left, so I didn't attend many of these seminars. Now that my education is complete, and I am searching for employment in the field, my parents are seriously pushing me to consider a CI.
Praises to you getting a Ph.D!! I like meteorology... as I am a sailor! I can see your funstration with dimmed lights I had this problem when i was at college, I had notetaker to help through out my college years.
The initial concern, and it's a big one for me, is the relatively invasive (in my eyes) surgery involved to install a CI behind my ear. The turning point for me was this past summer, when I was hearing my friends talk on the beach yet found it nearly impossible for me to understand the words in our crowded area. Even with the "Restaurant Mode" on my hearing aides activated (front microphones are turned on while the aides minimize lower-frequency sounds around me), I never felt so lost. That day, I decided to go ahead with the surgery and get a CI. As a bonus, my insurance fully covers one CI!
I had been profoundly deaf all my life, I had HA's helping until to the point i was having difficulty with understanding people and i went under the knife in july after 7 months of assessments/applying for funding (this is in uk) and waiting for the surgery date. The operation itself took 4 hours, when i came round i was completely comfortable, no pain, no nauesa, no dizziness. I had suprised the nurses by walking to the toilet half an hour after coming back from the recovery.
I am now 7 weeks post activation and i must say it's amazing! I understand people alot better. As only 7 weeks post activation I had better results than we all thought!. I had been through love and hate relationship with the CI but I kept wearing it then it granually got clearer/better.
For my fellow forum members who have CI implants, what did you do to overcome your initial trepidation regarding surgery?
Just don't think about it too much!! I was away on job until the night before I went into hospital and I was extremely busy as I knew i won't beable to have anything done for couple of weeks, I was back at work 3 weeks later (it's very physical job not an office work)!
My audiologist told me that most of these implants are successful, while a few of them might not be (which is why he does not recommend a CI for my right ear ... the good ear). I heard that there are different kinds of CIs, but does each one work with a common "base" installation? That is, do I need to choose what kind of CI I want to have before surgery, or is the feature option an "external" one behind the ear?
you'll need to research those CI for yourself, however all three are good as each other, when choosing the processer (the external part) think of why you want to choose... like the shape of it, is it comfortable behind the ear, rechargeables/disposiables, types of programs/number of programs (Advanced Bionics got 3, cochlear got 4, not sure about Med el), would it suit your lifestyle, it also depends on whats your cochlea is like, that sort of things you would need to think about yourself, as you can only do it once (hopefully) for the rest of your/ci life.
I live in New Jersey reasonably close to NYC and would appreciate some suggestions on how to find an ideal CI surgeon who specializes in this kind of surgery. Are there some certifications I should consider when choosing a surgeon or office? It seems that, ideally, I would want a surgeon who is old enough to be experienced and successful with CI surgery yet young enough to be familiar with the recent CI implants. I know this is ideal but I certainly want to keep my options open and not limit myself based on the age of the surgeon but his EXPERIENCE. Any advice or suggestions?
Sorry can't help as I am from UK
I am 37 years old and have known my audiologist since I first got hearing aides when I was 6 years old! He has become like a family member to me, and even traveled to hear me defend my Ph.D research!! That is, I have known my audiologist longer than he has known his first ex-wife!
Ha, I wish i had you Audi but as CI user i had same audi since I was assessed, she's very good
I hope that my questions start some engaging discussion.
Thanks again for your time, patience, and advice. You bet I look forward to hearing from you.
No worries, any question just fire away
Paul