CI are equal to "normal" hearing...?

Audiofuzzy

Audiofuzzy

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I used to think that at least every sensori-neural person implanted with good CI is having his/her hearing almost fully "restored", and with adequate therapy is able to hear almost all sounds that hearing person do.

The problem I thought might lie in the innability to recognize sounds, not in not being able to hear them.

But now, as I read your posts and opinion I come to think that CI does not always restore hearing at all??

so what's the deal??

Fuzzy
 
Audiofuzzy said:
I used to think that at least every sensori-neural person implanted with good CI is having his/her hearing almost fully "restored", and with adequate therapy is able to hear almost all sounds that hearing person do.

The problem I thought might lie in the innability to recognize sounds, not in not being able to hear them.

But now, as I read your posts and opinion I come to think that CI does not always restore hearing at all??

so what's the deal??

Fuzzy
Click to expand...


I got a CI last year. Prior to that, my db was 110 on both ears. After getting CI activated, my db is now 30. Thus, it is not fully restored.

You are right that the problem lies in the inability to recognize sounds. I do hear practically everything now but do I know what the source of it is? No, I am training myself to recognize these sounds. It will take me a long time to fully benefit from the usage of my CI but I have no regrets as it really has enhanced my life. It is not a cure but its a wonderful tool that allows me to lipread and talk better. I make sure that other folks know that it is not a cure but rather a tool to add along with sign language, lipreading, etc etc.
 
Results vary a lot..... but in the best case scenerio, and everything works well, the person can hear at the level of a mild loss...and they don't hear like hearing people....the hearing is more...I'm not quite sure how to descibe it, but it usually isn't the way a hearing person hears.
 
CIs do not give a person "normal" hearing. However, compared to what a person's level of hearing was like pre-CI, it is a vast improvement. In my case, I had bilateral profound loss starting at 90 dB with no measurable hearing (aided or unaided) above 1000 Hz. My CI audiogram now indicates hearing in the 20-30 dB range across all frequencies. As Meg pointed out, just because a person has a mild-moderate hearing loss on paper, it doesn't mean that he/she functions similarly in the real world. A person must learn how to identify, interpret and understand what they hear through a CI before they can make any sense of what is heard. A CI may not give a person normal hearing, but the hearing it does give (mild-moderate loss) is substantially better than it would be without it (severe-profound loss).
 
Thank you.
But the fact is, CI does restore vast quantity of hearing, therefore it is working.

I understand that restoring hearing does not equal understanding sounds.

How about with very young children?

Fuzzy
 
Not necessarily. If a person can't identify what they are hearing with a CI (environmental sounds or speech), he/she is still functionally deaf. They may be able to *hear,* but can't make any sense of what is heard. This is one reason why some CI users continue to use sign. A CI isn't like a HA where you turn it on and can hear. You must learn how to identify environmental sounds and/or speech in order to receive maximum benefit (differs from person to person according to several factors) from a CI.
 
and it doesn't restore hearing.....it simply brings the sound perception up from profound or severe to hoh levels....and the hearing with a CI IS NOT like what hearing people hear. They even have something called MEMs in development so that what you hear with a CI will sound more nautral or more like what hearing people hear.
 
A CI is not normal hearing. However, some late-deafened adults report that sounds (and/or voices) are very much like what they remember with (or without) HAs. This varies from person to person and is dependent on auditory memory and the brain's ability to adapt to what it hears. For example, when I hear birds sing, they sound just like I remember with HAs many years ago...but to a friend of mine who has been deaf since birth, birds sound mechanical. Unfortunately there isn't a way to determine/predict how a person will hear with a CI. However, there are always advancements being made to make CI hearing as close to normal as possible. Just look how far we've come since 1985 and single channel CIs! :)
 
Not sure where you can read about MEMs, but I just remember reading about them on a Forum That Shall Not Be Named a few years ago. Sorry.....
and yes, some late deafened folks hear like hearing folks......but it varies tremendously!
 
Being HOH all my life but now with a CI (March '05), I can't truly say that I understand what a normal hearing person hears. However, since I'm very oriented to the hearing world (I'm a hearing person who happens to be deaf) :D, I have a good idea what normal hearing must be like. I quickly realized that while the CI brought me up to a level that I couldn't believe possible, there are things they could hear that I could not. That really doesn't bother me at all. I hear so well with it as far as I'm concern...it is normal hearing :thumb:
 
CI, etc.

Liebling, you did a very nice job in your post, and yes I understand what you mean, perfectly.

I went deaf at aged 10 from the measles. I have an excellent auditory memory, But I have no inclination for a CI.

I live too far away from where I would have to go for mapping.
And I am afraid I would be terribly disappointed at what I could "hear" after having normal hearing for my first 10 years.

I have no problem being deaf, or Deaf, whatever. I am happy being ME.
 
Lantana, wow u seem very well adjusted for being late or postlingally deafened.....I hate how CIs are pushed as an amazing cure...they may be amazing for some people, but .....sigh I'm just too much of a curmudeon
 
sr171soars: It's funny you should mention that. Before I received my CI I remember telling my audi that if I only received a 20 dB increase in hearing, I'd be delighted! On the day of my activation I told my audi that if all I could hear were environmental sounds I'd consider my CI a success. 6 months have now passed and it keeps getting better and better! I'm now hearing in the 20-25 dB range across all frequencies with my CI compared to 90+ dB at 250-750 Hz and no measurable hearing (aided or unaided) from 1000 Hz and above. I'm totally blind in addition to being deaf. Instead of considering myself as someone who is deafblind, I now consider myself "a blind person who can hear." :)
 
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