If you're deciding on a CI or decided not to get one

[Hohtopics]

Great Post Ron...I was implanted last Tuesday. I did alot of searching on the web before I made my decision for the implant that is how I came across this website. it will be a few weeks before i'm turned on, I don't think i will be disappointed with the outcome...

Best of luck with the activation! It may take some getting used to at first.

 

[jillio]

Great Post Ron...I was implanted last Tuesday. I did alot of searching on the web before I made my decision for the implant that is how I came across this website. it will be a few weeks before i'm turned on, I don't think i will be disappointed with the outcome...

I hope that your expectations will all be met.

 

[jillio]

Re: why this system "double posts" no idea.
Deaffy: notice the number of Jillio posts-above- say 41160 since Jun/06. Given the number seems she must access a great deal every day Does she have a real life outside a computer? As for her supposed diagnosis of you-more babbling from a person "chained" to a computer! Hardly valid at all.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

Off topic. Try to stick to the discussion. If you as well want to play out a personal grudge, I suggest you take it to PM.

This system doesn't double post. You do. Take responsibility for that. You are the only one that is double posting. Tells me it is your problem, not a system problem.

 

[AlleyCat]

Off topic. Try to stick to the discussion. If you as well want to play out a personal grudge, I suggest you take it to PM.

This system doesn't double post. You do. Take responsibility for that. You are the only one that is double posting. Tells me it is your problem, not a system problem.

That's very true. Every once in a while I get sticky fingers and click twice. What happens is that the first click posts the post I wrote, the second click tells me I must wait 10 seconds between posts. So he's clicking, and then clicking again at least 10 seconds later. It's not even an accidental double-clicking scenario.

 

[jillio]

That's very true. Every once in a while I get sticky fingers and click twice. What happens is that the first click posts the post I wrote, the second click tells me I must wait 10 seconds between posts. So he's clicking, and then clicking again at least 10 seconds later. It's not even an accidental double-clicking scenario.

Yeppers. I get click happy sometimes, too...but I always get the message telling me that I can only post every 10 seconds.

 

[posts from hell]

That's very true. Every once in a while I get sticky fingers and click twice. What happens is that the first click posts the post I wrote, the second click tells me I must wait 10 seconds between posts. So he's clicking, and then clicking again at least 10 seconds later. It's not even an accidental double-clicking scenario.

Yeppers. I get click happy sometimes, too...but I always get the message telling me that I can only post every 10 seconds.

It's because your interwebz are teh fast.
He's probably using a phone line that has since oxidated.

 

[rick48]

Thats great. Please let us know how it goes.

Just a little advice. Keep your expectations realistic. The first week or so you'll hear "Sounds" but they won't sound like what they are. you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the sound of a car horn and a dog bark. Or a tap and a ring. They might all sound the same to you at first. Don't let that discourage you. It'll get clearer and clearer over time.

Celebrate the small mile stones. Don't worry about them not sounding right at first. Just think about the fact that you can hear them at all.

I spent my fist week making just about every object I could see or touch make a "Noise". I'd grab to objects and tap them together. Then I'd switch one of the objects and see if I could hear the difference. Some I could tell, some I couldn't, still some I couldn't hear at all. But now, a year later, I can tell.

I cried at my first phone call. So did the person I called. It wasn't a conversation for at that time I still couldn't hear all that well. But it was a huge step. I remember the fist word I could actually distinguish. My audi did a test where she covered her mouth and said words and I was to see if I could tell how many syllables the word had. A month before this I only got 4 right out of 10. This time I got them all right and was even able to identify one of the words. She said a word and I said "Two syllables... Did you just say airplane"!!!? That was a huge moment for me.

So many little sounds got to me. I had already experienced, and celebrated the moment I heard my own foot steps. But one day I was walking down a street and heard a sound I couldn't identify. A few steps later I realized the sound was little pebbles skipping away from my feet as I walk.

I got an app on my iphone with bird sounds to help me identify the sound of the birds I hear outside.

So celebrate those little moments. Work toward improving your ability to identify sounds. There are programs that help with this and they'll probably give you some. Mine came with a software for my computer. But there are many other ways to "practice" hearing and some of them are fun. Very fun when you realize you've made an advance such as not being able to identify a sound last week but then all of the sudden you can this week. You can always come here for help on this because I know I and many others in here would have some advice and suggestions for the practicing.

So good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Ron Jaxon

Ron,

Thanks for your posts, they are a breath of fresh air and real support and advice for those considering the implant. I hope parents read your posts and realize what a tremendous resource adult ci users are!
Rick

 

[rick48]

Great Post Ron...I was implanted last Tuesday. I did alot of searching on the web before I made my decision for the implant that is how I came across this website. it will be a few weeks before i'm turned on, I don't think i will be disappointed with the outcome...

Hey, it seems like you were able to go ahead with the surgery after all. Congrats and wishing you all the best on your activation.
Rick

 

[deafdyke]

think for a lot of us...we just don't want one. No one accepts that answer, at least in the hearing world. I have been hounded by doctors and professionals about this answer and as a result we come up with things that will shut them up. "It is too dangerous and I don't want to risk my life" or any of the other reasons you gave.

I guess for some they are legitimate reasons, but I think for most of us it is just what we say when no one will accept that we don't want one and we just want to be Deaf. Many people have trouble understanding why on earth we would WANT to stay Deaf. Instead of having that debate with someone, making up a reason to not get a CI is just simpler!

Good post Jenny. I think it's hard for people to understand that we're happy with sticking with old technology (ie hearing aids) or even nothing at all. Although I am not eligable for a CI there's still a "new" hearing aid called the BAHA. I've worn BTEs since I was three, and am VERY happy with them. Yet there's still the BAHA, BAHA,BAHA hype.

 

[posts from hell]

when I did a google for baha i found this.

 

[Speedy Hawk]

He appears to be fond of attacking the female members, JennyB.

*whisper* I am female.

Hmm, maybe my username not very female sounding, my friend called me both of names at school and I put them together.

 

[RonJaxon]

For the record I have nothing against hearing aids. In fact I wore them myself from fourth grade up till my late teens when my hearing dropped beyond the aid of them. And today the HA's are better for some people then a CI. How I look at it is this. If an HA will give them the ability to hear as well as they can or want to. Then that's the way to go. If their hearing has dropped below the ability for hearing aids to help. Then they should, if they want to be able to hear, look into the CI.

On a side note. In my mind if someone can use technology to hear but makes a conscious decision not to use it. I respect that. But I also feel that once they do that they no longer have the right to complain about society not accepting their deafness. They give up the right to complain about all the things society will place before them when they made that decision. They shouldn't complain about movie theaters not having captioning, about people treating them unkindly about it. How there is technology out there that would make life much easier for the deaf but no one is putting them together for this use. I'm not talking about the CI or HA when I say "Technology is out there". I'm talking about technology that does exist that could help people like voice recognition and devices that make tasks easier.

I can't stand all these negative things in the world. But think about it. If you "Can" remove these issues but decide not to. Then that's fine, but you'd have known that these things existed when they made the decision not to use the technology offered to them.

I guess what I'm getting at is the decision to get or not get a CI or a HA should not only involve the physical, but also the other areas of life that decision will effect.

The only ones I think have the right to complain about all these negative things deaf people have to deal with are the ones who have no choice in the matter. IF you fit in this situation then you have every right to complain about those things.

I hope that makes sense.

Ron Jaxon

 

[posts from hell]

For the record I have nothing against hearing aids. In fact I wore them myself from fourth grade up till my late teens when my hearing dropped beyond the aid of them. And today the HA's are better for some people then a CI. How I look at it is this. If an HA will give them the ability to hear as well as they can or want to. Then that's the way to go. If their hearing has dropped below the ability for hearing aids to help. Then they should, if they want to be able to hear, look into the CI.

On a side note. In my mind if someone can use technology to hear but makes a conscious decision not to use it. I respect that. But I also feel that once they do that they no longer have the right to complain about society not accepting their deafness. They give up the right to complain about all the things society will place before them when they made that decision. They shouldn't complain about movie theaters not having captioning, about people treating them unkindly about it. How there is technology out there that would make life much easier for the deaf but no one is putting them together for this use. I'm not talking about the CI or HA when I say "Technology is out there". I'm talking about technology that does exist that could help people like voice recognition and devices that make tasks easier.

I can't stand all these negative things in the world. But think about it. If you "Can" remove these issues but decide not to. Then that's fine, but you'd have known that these things existed when they made the decision not to use the technology offered to them.

I guess what I'm getting at is the decision to get or not get a CI or a HA should not only involve the physical, but also the other areas of life that decision will effect.

The only ones I think have the right to complain about all these negative things deaf people have to deal with are the ones who have no choice in the matter. IF you fit in this situation then you have every right to complain about those things.

I hope that makes sense.

Ron Jaxon

Look at that folks.....

Now, Ron, you said you went through life being deaf mostly... All these years you used accessibility features? Are you saying that we should PAY for our set-backs to the society, either way? I had respect for you but now after seeing that kind of garbage I'm starting to doubt it.

 

[AlleyCat]

Look at that folks.....

Now, Ron, you said you went through life being deaf mostly... All these years you used accessibility features? Are you saying that we should PAY for our set-backs to the society, either way? I had respect for you but now after seeing that kind of garbage I'm starting to doubt it.

Very interesting point in your response to the bolded part of Ron's post above yours. When I was entertaining the idea of getting a CI, and meeting with a CI audi and discussing the full process (my whole family went with me - I made sure they did to ascertain there was nothing I was misunderstanding, even though I had an interpreter with me at all times), the feeling of the CI audi was that I would not gain much benefit from a CI over what I get from a HA. If that all was true, I wasn't going to get a CI, and still haven't. And, again, if there was only so much benefit to be gained, I STILL can't go to the movies without captioning, and et al. I'm TOO deaf -- I need a LOT of benefit to make a change.

 

[posts from hell]

Very interesting point in your response to the bolded part of Ron's post above yours. When I was entertaining the idea of getting a CI, and meeting with a CI audi and discussing the full process (my whole family went with me - I made sure they did to ascertain there was nothing I was misunderstanding, even though I had an interpreter with me at all times), the feeling of the CI audi was that I would not gain much benefit from a CI over what I get from a HA. If that all was true, I wasn't going to get a CI, and still haven't. And, again, if there was only so much benefit to be gained, I STILL can't go to the movies without captioning, and et al. I'm TOO deaf -- I need a LOT of benefit to make a change.

Very true, several of my friends who use CI... goes to captioned movies. They dont go to the movies without captions.

This includes people who were implanted when they were a toddler.

So even if you get an implant, you should encounter "tough shit, you go and learn to hear"???

BS if you ask me.

 

[JennyB]

I agree with PFH and the rest. Ron - I was surprised by your comment.

If a person can use prosthetic limbs, but opts to use a wheelchair instead, should they not be allowed to use a ramp? Or upset that there is no ramp? I use this particular example because I have a friend who makes this choice.

I want to be clear, with hearing aids I can have a minimal phone conversation with someone i know very very well. I cannot watch tv without captions. I cannot attend school without an interpreter.

I am a candidate for a CI. Audiologically I am a great candidate really. However, no surgeon is about to put me under anesthetic, and because of other health concerns my recovery time would be almost quadrupled (if I was lucky) and my infection risk is much much greater than the average persons. It was left up to me still to decide, knowing these things and I said no.

I don't wear my aids in class. I choose not to. Mostly because I cannot hear enough with them anyway and it just annoys me. Does this mean I shouldn't have access to interpreters?

 

[jillio]

*whisper* I am female.

Hmm, maybe my username not very female sounding, my friend called me both of names at school and I put them together.

I was referring to drphil. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[RonJaxon]

I reread and I do see that I probably wasn't as clear as I should have been.

I still use CC to. I can watch and hear some things better then others but I still have the CC turned on on my TV and it's helpful. Without it I only pick up so much so it helps fill in the blank.

What I was trying to get at is some people who consiously choose not to hear when there is a way for them to (CI or HA) should base that decision on all of these aspects. They should think about the fact that if this technology will help them hear. Then they won't have some obstacles if they take advantage of that technology. The moment someone is told "With this technology you will be able to hear" and they reply "I don't want to hear". Then they are also saying that they are comfortable with the their life without hearing and have nothing to complain about regarding it. They know it'll be much harder to have conversations with people who don't know ASL (Which most of society doesn't). They know they'll have a hard time seeing a movie in a theater. They know it'll be sometimes challenging to order food in a restaurant or get help at a store. They know phone calls will be a bigger task then just holding it up to their ear and talk to someone. They know they are going to meet people who treat them strangly (Not the deaf's fault, it's the uneducated hearing person's fault).

When the person is told that this technology will give them the ability to do these things, and they consciously decide not to look into that to it's fullest, educate themselves on the matter to confirm that it will indeed give them the ability to hear. Then they turn down that option. Then they are accepting all the kinds of things I mentioned above as something they know about and are willing to deal with.

They shouldn't just think "I don't like the CI" or "I don't like the HA". Their decision should go much deeper then that.

Like I said. It's up to the individual and I'm only referring to those who "Do Have a choice". Not those who don't.

Perhaps I feel this way because I spent all those years deaf and thinking I had no options. So I dealt with so many of the things I mentioned above because I didn't know I had a choice. The first time I looked into getting a CI they told me it wouldn't help me much. It was years later that I found out how advanced they've become and found out it would now benefit me. So I got it and I'm so glad I did. So I wish I would have done it sooner and can't imagine anyone experiencing what I'm experiencing right now not wanting it.

Ron Jaxon

 

[jillio]

Look at that folks.....

Now, Ron, you said you went through life being deaf mostly... All these years you used accessibility features? Are you saying that we should PAY for our set-backs to the society, either way? I had respect for you but now after seeing that kind of garbage I'm starting to doubt it.

That is what the ADA is all about. Equal access. I can't believe that anyone would actually believe that the only ones deserving of equal access are those that decide to be medically altered.

 

[posts from hell]

Not going to get into an argument. I just see the deaf and the hearing as equals.