A new take on CI's - Adult perspectives

[me_punctured]

Oh, you are talking about a category of quirky English, where one makes grammatical and syntactical errors. Not that kind where one demonstrates an idiosyncratic way of writing without violating the standards and rules of the English language. :Oops:

 

[ayala920]

A question just crossed my mind. If a deaf person received a CI as a child and then got another one as an adult, does the second implantation classify him as an adult CI recipient? I would give an affirmative answer.

Why do most people only have one implant?

Are you talking about bilateral implantation, or "upgrades," so to speak?

 

[me_punctured]

Are you talking about bilateral implantation, or "upgrades," so to speak?

Bilateral implantation, yes.

I actually own two implants, but they are only for my right ear.

 

[Endymion]

I actually own two implants, but they are only for my right ear.

Same here. Except I wear none of them when I go mammoth hunting.

 

[neecy]

Well for one, not everybody has two ears that are perfect for implantation - so in that case they'd implant the "best ear",

Some health insurance companies will only cover one implant

Mine was covered by Cochlear themselves because I was part of the clinical trial. I might get another implant in my other ear sometime down the road but I'll have to pay for that one myself.

 

[ayala920]

Same here. Except I wear none of them when I go mammoth hunting.

Lies! He speaks untruths! I've seen Endy slay many a mammoth while using his implant! Not only mammoths, but chinchillas and monkeys too! And puppies! And he eats veal!

(This is where Ayala should stop talking and go to bed.)

 

[neecy]

Lies! He speaks untruths! I've seen Endy slay many a mammoth while using his implant! Not only mammoths, but chinchillas and monkeys too! And puppies! And he eats veal!

(This is where Ayala should stop talking and go to bed.)

*ponders veal cutlets*.......GREAT.....now I'm hungry (stomps out, muttering to myself)

 

[R2D2]

I thought people with Waardenburg's Syndrome had non-progressive deafness. May I ask what type of WS do you carry?

I have type 1. It is a non progressive type of deafness but I reckon what happened was that years of wearing powerful hearing aids basically wore what nerve hairs I had out and they just gave way. But that's only a guess - it's completely unexplained.

 

[sr171soars]

I was going to ask about this but you answered my question. I'm going to have to set asside a fund for those CI batteries (my HA batteries lasted me a week) but it will be worth it. Hopefully a rechargeable battery will come on the market within 5 years.

Do you bulk order yours? I used to always get HA batteries on the hop being disorganised sometimes and havng the convenience of a pharmacy at the top of my street so I will have to change my mindset.

I was given enough batteries to last me 2 years because I'm part of the clinical trials for the Freedom, but when I run out I will bulk order them from Cochlear and its about $200 USD for 300 batteries (roughly a year's worth)

I wanted to add this - it really depends on what map you use. The more pulses per second that your implant does, the more energy you'll use. One of the maps I used had a very high pulse rate and I was going thru 3 batteries every 10 hours!

Like Neecy, I got the same deal as I was in a clinical trial with the Freedom. I have gotten the $200 worth of batteries plus what they gave me for the study and now I have some three years worth of batteries...talk about an embarassment of riches

To answer your question, I did see a deal on the internet where you could get 300 batteries for about $85 dollars...not bad! Only use the ones in drug stores and the like for a pinch. They are not true cochlear batteries. There is a difference.

 

[sr171soars]

My shot at that would be the prohibitive cost. Many insurance companies are reluctant to fund a second implant, especially since the additional gain from a second implant is not as significant as the original gain from zero to one implant.

Basic diminishing returns.

Correct. However, I'm hearing those who are visually impaired to a significant degree are being granted bilaterals. I think that is great for them! We who have a decent set of eyes can't really complain having just one CI. I'm not and I'm not partial to the idea of getting a second one for some of the advantages they confer. We will see what the future brings.

 

[Cousin Vinny]

I actually own two implants, but they are only for my right ear.

You know, this would actually sound funny if people didn't know the fact that the first one would actually have been taken out. I hope the second time around wasn't a painful experience for you.

Anyway, I'll take a stab at your question; If you had the original implant taken out because it was broken, and had a newer one put in, you would still be considered an 'adult CI recipient'. This is because you didn't have to put in a newer one.

If you had the original implant taken out because it was ineffective, and put a newer one in, you would still be considered an 'adult CI recipient'. This would be akin to an adult DHH user being dissatisfied with their HA's, and wanting a opportunity for better hearing.

I know it's all a matter of semantics, but hey, you can have your cake and eat it. Or a Mammuthus primigenius, if that's your inclination. BTW, nice avatar, at my expense, no less! I feel flattered.

 

[Boult]

A question just crossed my mind. If a deaf person received a CI as a child and then got another one as an adult, does the second implantation classify him as an adult CI recipient? I would give an affirmative answer.

Why do most people only have one implant?

because in the beginning, they didn't research lot into bilateral cochlear implantation. So their safe bet is recommend one so that way they can get FDA approval. right now research into bilateral implantation has already started few years ago and there are numbers of bilateral operations going up since couple of years to now...

I am now considering going bilateral this year since I really love it. It does give me freedom from paper and pen method a lot!

 

[Boult]

My shot at that would be the prohibitive cost. Many insurance companies are reluctant to fund a second implant, especially since the additional gain from a second implant is not as significant as the original gain from zero to one implant.

Basic diminishing returns.

Nah, just that there were no researches on bilateral implantation that time. Now, it is happening around... see my post above

 

[Gemtun]

Neecy - good thread! I am tired of having other threads turning into ugly debates. I dont see anyone bashing them for their usage of ASL or Deaf Community/Culture values & norms so why do they think they have right to bash us? Makes no sense...

Anyway - I did not get a CI until I was 36. Since my brother and niece got theirs a few years earlier, I was able to get information on how it actually works, etc. It dramatically helped my niece who was 5 then. My brother was slower in adjusting to CI naturally due to his age.

I knew that I wasnt going to have miracles - I was just hoping for any improvements over wearing HAs.

I have 3G - at first, I suffered greatly from migraines and ringing but two years later, I can actually understand conversations without any visual cues. It has helped me tremendously with my confidence with hearing people.I have no regrets.

My best friend who is a principal of a state school for the deaf was upset with me at first but now she is considering getting CIs for herself because she is a mother of 2 very small hearing children. She realizes that she needs all help she can get in order to communicate with her hearing kids. It has helped me undrestand my daughters even more.

I went to see a movie with my kids last Friday night - I was able to understand the entire movie. I thought I was going to fall asleep after 20 minutes into the movie as I did in the past if it had no open captions but during this movie, I actually understood and enjoyed it for first time.

 

[deafdyke]

not everybody has two ears that are perfect for implantation - so in that case they'd implant the "best ear",

Agreed.....folks may have a "dead" ear or an ear that responds better to traditional aiding.
Boult, actually the bilateral implantation is still somewhat rare, and will probaly continue to be so.....the "benifits" are really ambigious.

 

[Boult]

Agreed.....folks may have a "dead" ear or an ear that responds better to traditional aiding.
Boult, actually the bilateral implantation is still somewhat rare, and will probaly continue to be so.....the "benifits" are really ambigious.

not rare anymore... it is increasing now.. :p
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant

Since hearing in two ears allows people to localize sounds and to hear better in noisy environments, bilateral (both ear) implants are currently being investigated. Users generally report better hearing with two implants, and test show that bilateral implant users are better at localizing sounds and hearing in noise. Nearly 3000 people worldwide are bilateral cochlear implant users, including 1600 children. As of 2006, the world's youngest recipient of a bilateral implant was just over 5 months old (163 days) in Germany (2004).

more than 3000 and increasing (plus me in process of going bilateral route this year)
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q="bilateral+implant"+cochlear&btnG=Search
this search result shows that it is not rare anymore!

Let's move on..

 

[Cloggy]

Agreed.....folks may have a "dead" ear or an ear that responds better to traditional aiding.
Boult, actually the bilateral implantation is still somewhat rare, and will probaly continue to be so.....the "benifits" are really ambigious.

They are standard (if wanted) for children where the cochlea is ossilifying (isd that the word), for deaf/blind people and for some other groups.
But here in Norway parents of deaf babies / toddlers are offered bilateral (in 1 operation), and for the children that had one previously, they offer to implant the other ear.

The results are allready showing.
My daughter has bi-lateral CI and 1 of the processors has failed. This das to be sent to Oslo, so that takes a while.
Changes with her having now 1 CI active:
She speaks louder
She will be dis-oriented when we call her as her sense of direction (due to 2 CI's) is gone
She has more difficulties hearing in noisy environment.

It works... Bilateral is not 2 x as good. The first CI makes so much difference that the second one improves the result, but does not double it.

 

[sr171soars]

...

It works... Bilateral is not 2 x as good. The first CI makes so much difference that the second one improves the result, but does not double it.

That is not always a good reason to get two but it does make life easier. I, myself, have just one but I always had just one HA now CI. I think it is more of a personal thing as I'm not interested in getting a second one right now. I realize that I don't know what I'm "missing" but it is really a moot point with me. Localizing sound is not all its cracked up to be when you have always logically deduced sound directions (yea, things get a little hairy sometimes but no big deal for the most part). As for hearing in noisy environments, it is not as much of a problem as some make it out to be either. I have spoken with others in Cameron Arena (Duke BB game - loud as can be) on my opposite side and understood pretty well. You tend to moderate your conversations to the ambeit noise level anyway.

I'm rather let others who need it more get 'em than worry about another for me.

 

[me_punctured]

because in the beginning, they didn't research lot into bilateral cochlear implantation. So their safe bet is recommend one so that way they can get FDA approval. right now research into bilateral implantation has already started few years ago and there are numbers of bilateral operations going up since couple of years to now...

I am now considering going bilateral this year since I really love it. It does give me freedom from paper and pen method a lot!

I just read an article on bilteral implantation in the California Ear Institute's March 2006 newsletter. You are correct about the budding research on bilateral implantation and CI recipients. There are many children who have done exceptionally well with bilateral implants, but there are also some not benefitting from them as much as they did with their first implants. I do not know if there is a considerable difference between simultaneous bilateral implantation and subsequent bilateral implantation, but I can speculate there may be.

The multi-varied results apply to the adult population as well. Many late-deafened implantees are able to localize sounds more accurately and find them more "natural-sounding" (a concept lost entirely on me). They do function better with two implants, instead of one, in an auditory-oral environment. But, others who struggle with second implants and do not benefit from them much as they did with their first implants, have different histories of hearing loss that configure their ability to receive sounds through their CIs. My speculation is, congenitally profoundly non-implanted deaf adults would be the most least ideal recipients to benefit from bilateral implantation. (Obviously!)

In the light of the nascent research on bilateral implantation, it is quite understandable why many insurance companies may not be receptive to covering the prohibitive costs of a second implant.

I too contemplate going bilateral, Boult, but given my background, I worry about the potential let-down of expectations from the benefits of a second implant.

 

[me_punctured]

You know, this would actually sound funny if people didn't know the fact that the first one would actually have been taken out. I hope the second time around wasn't a painful experience for you.
.
.
I know it's all a matter of semantics, but hey, you can have your cake and eat it. Or a Mammuthus primigenius, if that's your inclination. BTW, nice avatar, at my expense, no less! I feel flattered.

Rest assured, Eyeth, there was no painful experience to speak of, because there was never a second time. Now and then, we "upgrade" our CIs and sometimes keep our old devices when we receive a new one. I belong to the first generation of pediatric CI recipients (we are all in our mid-twenties) and many of our CIs are not MRI-friendly, so if there comes a time when we are in dire need of a MRI...

Endymion already beat me to this, but I will echo his sentiments. Your posts make me smile. They demonstrate a sheer magnitude of open-mindness, compassion, and humor in one package. We are your (biggest) fans. He doesn't know it yet, as he's busy hunting for woolly mammoths, but I already signed him up to be the vice-president of the Eyeth fans club.

The ostrich joke will be a little secret between us!