Advice for a new friend

[neecy]

I recently had a lady make a post on my CI Blog asking some questions regarding some difficulties she's having with her CI - and received her permission to post her questions here, hopefully she'll join as well, and be able to get some feedback but even if she doesn't I'll forward any responses back to her.

the post follows:

I have worn a hearing aid in my right ear since birth and have been profoundly deaf in my left ear.

I have always done really well with one hearing aid and got along with things very well talking on the phone and going to movies.

Well just recently last year I had a softball injury where a ball hit me on the right side of the head above my ear. Caused me to have surgery repairing my inner eardrum and due to the blow to the head I have lost hearing my right ear.

My doctor recommended me to get a cochlear implant in my left ear and I have been activated for 5 weeks now.

I have to admit that I am not liking the implant so far since I can still get along okay with my hearing aid. I feel very fusturated and feel like it is not going to work for me.

I know I have to use it constantly but I feel like I am missing out on things if I take my hearing aid out and put my cochlear implant in.

Has anyone had similar experiences that I am having.

Do I need to wear it all the time and can I wear it with my hearing aid or is that not recommened. My doctor doesn't recommend me using both.

Please help I am feeling fusturated.

and the second

Yeah go ahead and post my comment. I am new to this and just started looking for blogs to have a conversation with since I don't know anyone who has gone through something as similar as me.

I am curious what others say about it.

Everyone talks about how great it is but did anyone feel fusturated and confused when they first got activated, those who still wear or use to wear a hearing aid.

I told her my experience - I had to remove the aid I wore in my implanted ear as it was interfering with my ability to use the sound I got from my CI - it made it almost impossible to understand if I had both. I do know that SOME people do just fine with both HA and CI, but from what I've seen, most people tend to just use their CI.

Does anybody here have any similar experiences or advice you'd like to give Becky?

Thanks in advance - I really hope she joins!!

 

[Hear Again]

When I was first activated with my CI, I chose to continue wearing a hearing aid in my nonimplanted ear. I found that my CI and HA complimented each other because the CI emphasized high frequencies while the hearing aid emphasized low frequencies.

Opinions as to whether one should or should not wear a hearing aid in the nonimplanted ear differ from CI user to CI user and from audiologist to audiologist. My audi did not have any preference and encouraged me to do whatever I was comfortable with.

I've been told from CI users that the benefit one receives from wearing a HA in the nonimplanted ear depends on how much residual hearing there is. A person with more residual hearing is likely to receive more benefit than someone with less. Additionally, some people cannot wear a hearing aid in their nonimplanted ear because of vertigo and other conditions.

If you feel that your hearing aid is hindering your progress with your CI, I would stop wearing it for a week or two and write a journal about your experiences so you can get a clearer picture of how the hearing aid is helping or hurting.

You are at the 5 week mark, so there is still much progress to be made and I promise you that it will get better with time. It's important to continue wearing the CI on a regular basis so your brain can learn how to interpret the new sounds it is hearing.

Listening practice is also important. I found it helpful to always have a TV or radio playing in the background so my brain had a constant source of sound that it could focus on.

The CIHear website at Welcome to CI Hear - A website for those wanting to learn about Cochlear Implants lists a variety of links where you can practice listening.

I hope these suggestions help! Good luck!