deaf/hearing

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wolfleopard

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I am trying to figures it out. Several talk to me about CI.. This is not something to be light decide. Some said that might be able to help my left ear. Especially with the way it is. For last 10 years. My left ear have been like turn on and off. One day I can hear everything clearly enough for said 10 minutes.. Then back to deaf again.. That have been going on for last 10 years. Not sure if there any way to help with that. Seems not because of being in stress.. Something else.. I feel like I am in ping pong game. I don't know what to do. But is CI really the answer to that? I am not sure.

wolfleopard
 
The only answer that I can give you is to set up an appointment to have a hearing test and then to see if CI would help with the problem you are having with your left ear, if having a CI does help , then it is something you need to decide on yourself there, no one should tell you what is best for you only you can decide this on your own...

Good Luck!
 
okay,

My right ear is have been 100% deaf since I was a child. As the test said so my parents took me to the doctor to do test.. They told my parents that I am suppose to be 100% deaf on both ears. Until I was around 16 years. I have notice my left ear changes.. I did wear the hearing aid for while. About 4 years later that's when it started change too many times forth then backward. I give up wear the hearing aid. Too much for me to take it off if the noise gets too loud. Then put it back on. Too hard for me to do that over and over again. So, I stop wear the hearing aid since then.
 
I know exactly what you meant by loud sounds in the back ground by wearing your hearing aides, it happen to me alot of times, sometimes I have no clue where the sounds are coming from, and when I hear a loud sound coming across behind me, suddenly I turned around and see what is happening around me, and asked someone near me if they had heard something and they looked at me and say huh?....

Since hearing aides aren't very helpful for me but it is helpful for others since they do not hear loud sounds coming from them but to me I do hear them...I think every person is different when it comes to wearing hearing aides...

I also think that it helps Hard of hearing people more than it help people that are Deaf...maybe I'm wrong I dunno....

Have you try to see if CI will help you than the hearing aides you are wearing now?...
 
Well, I think you have to see if you can find out what's the cause of these fluctuations in your hearing. Have deeper testings to see if there is a cause. There are some people who have opted for CI's to solve that problem. It is a very difficult one. Do your best to do testings and talk to people with your hearing-type of loss. It's a difficult one for any of us to say anything because we don't know if that's something regarding your hair cells, nerve cells, etc. All the CI does is "replace" hair cells in your cochlea. Those electrodes in the implant are supposed to be like hair cells. It's just artificially. I just wouldn't know what exactly or where exactly is causing the fluctuations. You are right that a CI is not to be taken lightly. I wish you the best of luck in your search for answers : D.
 
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Mom says doctors think i have hearing outta my left ear. I have not heard out of my left ear EVER! The doctors think CI might help my left ear as well. I said NO cause i never heard a sound outta my left ear and it might confuse me if they put a CI in my left ear. I hear people who never heard a sound for 30 years complealty deaf and the CI confused them of reconizing sounds they never heard before. I heard sounds outta my right ear and i hope CI recovers 100% of my hearing as i heard before with my hearing aid.So im totaly against having a CI in my left ear.
 
your choice

From my studies at school, as I am no dr. They say that you have cilia in your coehlea. Little cells that move with sound, these trigger your nerves to carry sound to your brain. If the cilia aren't working properly this can cause the on/ off feeling. sometimes move sometimes not. I don't hear from my right ear but the doctor says it is nerves. Nerves don't work one day then stop the next. Only way for that is if they got cut. Most likely the cilia stop working. CI are a big deal, find out as much info as u can. Talk with people who have them already. Not a decision to be taken lightly.
Hope it works out for you.
 
Raven, it's up to you to decide which ear. I had the choice because they are equally about the same. There was not greater or worse loss. It now really doesn't matter, but usually it is recommended in the poorest ear if both ear are almost the same. If you heard more in one ear, then that's usually the ear that is recommended for implantation because you have hearing memory. I have also heard someone who heard best in the poorest ear that she did not hear for years. It's a rare case. I don't think your doctor can force you to pick one ear, so relax there. You are still in the initial process of evaluation. Hang in there.

Raven, I hope you know that the CI is not a cure. They don't make you hearing at all. They bring your hearing around 20-30 decibels which is the conversational speech range. Talk to your doctor about what to expect from a CI. That's very important to know. The CI can sometimes be difficult in noisy situations which lipreading can come in very handy. I was reading an article of this man who lost his hearing kind of like you on the SHHH Newsletter. He would go step by step how he hears and some of the pros. He's happy with it after 5 years. This man was saying that about taking a lipreading class which can be very helpful along with hearing for noisy situations.
 
Very good points of each person in this relys.. I have reading all those.. Mostly I do agree.. I do not wants CI on my right ear.. Since I never hear a sound from my right ear. I don't wants to be confuse if I dare try that on my right one.. So, I am leave my right ear alone as it is for rest of my life.. I don't mind being deaf. It is my left ear that's bother me the most. So, I am doing everything I can do before make any further decide.. Some have told me that once gets CI.. Sometimes for some certain people who have CI.. Usually does not last anymore than 5 years??? Then have to had that replace or something.. I am not sure.. My best friend she know one of her other friend.. So she told me about that. So, I am still doing reading more and asking around.. I already have found one that is possible close by. All I do is to call and see if to set up appoitments for more testing.

wolfleopard
 
In Other words is a CI like a Hearing Aid? My hearing aid has background noise that i could not understand people in noisy evoinments. My Hearing was around 90%-95% with my hearing aid on and i heard great. Are you saying a CI could bring it around 95%-100% Back? I hope reba understands once i get my hearing going again im gonna run to a lawyer and see whatever i sue amtrak, My Doctor or what cause somebody is gonna pay for their actions that caused me to go deaf.
And Another thing, I read this guy story how a CI complelety restore his hearing when he went all the way totaly deaf!
Please Click on where is says "my story and audiograms".
This guy said after the inplant was stored and 3 months after hook ups he began to hear great again. His hearing level was on this chart.
RightEarAudiogram.gif

My Hearing was above his hearing you see one the green line which my hearing was around between. 60-70 on the chart. With my hearing aid the green line would be on 10-0 The Red line is where my hearing is about right now! Now this is his chart before and after the CI hook up.
my_sto2.gif

Im hoping my hearing will recover like this after the CI because he has the exact type hearing i had all my life but his ended sooner than mine did.
 
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wolfleopard said:
Very good points of each person in this relys.. I have reading all those.. Mostly I do agree.. I do not wants CI on my right ear.. Since I never hear a sound from my right ear. I don't wants to be confuse if I dare try that on my right one.. So, I am leave my right ear alone as it is for rest of my life.. I don't mind being deaf. It is my left ear that's bother me the most. So, I am doing everything I can do before make any further decide.. Some have told me that once gets CI.. Sometimes for some certain people who have CI.. Usually does not last anymore than 5 years??? Then have to had that replace or something.. I am not sure.. My best friend she know one of her other friend.. So she told me about that. So, I am still doing reading more and asking around.. I already have found one that is possible close by. All I do is to call and see if to set up appoitments for more testing.

wolfleopard
Click to expand...

CI's are meant to last a lifetime, but there are unfortunate circumstances where some people need to have reimplantation because of internal failures. It does happen sometimes. However, it's meant to last a Lifetime. There are people who's had CI's for 20 years and more. The CI's have 10 years warranty in case of internal failure.
 
ravensteve1961 said:
In Other words is a CI like a Hearing Aid? My hearing aid has background noise that i could not understand people in noisy evoinments. My Hearing was around 90%-95% with my hearing aid on and i heard great. Are you saying a CI could bring it around 95%-100% Back? I hope reba understands once i get my hearing going again im gonna run to a lawyer and see whatever i sue amtrak, My Doctor or what cause somebody is gonna pay for their actions that caused me to go deaf.
Click to expand...

A CI is not to be compared to hearing aid...EVER. What some adults who become suddenly deaf have said is that the CI can sometimes sound a little metallic because it CI is artificial hearing. A hearing aid amplify sounds. CI do not amplify sounds to excisting hair cells. It just replace them. You know that using percentage for hearing is a little strange because it just depends on the individual, but you know that Rush Limbaugh regained about 80 percent back? All I think I know is that you are likely to hear close to what you heard because you already have a speech memory and you lost your hearing recently. I don't know the percentages or if you'll hear more than you did or exactly as you did. This makes you a great candidate to receive a CI. I think you should take counseling for your other issues to prepare you. This might be annoying,but....it might help.

You need to relax. You are not even done talking to an audiologist to answer your questions. Grill them about every questions you have. Request to talk to people with similar hearing loss as yours. Have you gone to each websites and filled out their application to hook you up with someone via e-mail? I urge you to do this. This is what helped me the most to make my decisions more than reading literatures and brochures.
 
So in other words is it possibile to put my old hearing aid with a CI and boost it back up? Like it might bring 60% back and my hearing aid can boost it back up? Like i said im gonna be very angry after this is over and a lot of people are going to pay! For example how many were you angry after the attacks on 9-11? Youre lucky you have president bush to handle the 9-11 crises. Cause if it was me in the white house you would seen this happen to afgainstan,Pakistan,Iraq,Iran and saudi arabia.
mushroom.gif
 
ravensteve1961 said:
So in other words is it possibile to put my old hearing aid with a CI and boost it back up? Like it might bring 60% back and my hearing aid can boost it back up? Like i said im gonna be very angry after this is over and a lot of people are going to pay! For example how many were you angry after the attacks on 9-11? Youre lucky you have president bush to handle the 9-11 crises. Cause if it was me in the white house you would seen this happen to afgainstan,Pakistan,Iraq,Iran and saudi arabia.
mushroom.gif
Click to expand...
no, once you get ur surgery done on ur implant ear.. all the residual hearing is destroyed.. but you still can wear a CI in one ear and a HA in other ear.. but most audiologist recommand you to relay on ur CI for couple months so you can learn from ur CI not from ur HA...
 
Yep, DeafScuba is right. HA won't do anything once you have the CI. LOL, I see what you're thinking, but nope...none of that happens.

There are very few people whose hearing still stay, but they don't find their HA powerful as their CI. I don't have my hearing as it used to be. That was scary, but the CI is more powerful than my HA, so I don't wear it because it isn't useful in combination anyway. I can't detect sounds 99% of the time with HA when I have my CI anyway, so it's worthless together.

No, I wasn't angry on 9/11. It was just not a good experience, but I think it happened to wake us up.

Anyway buddy, you will take awhile to get used to it, so don't expect to hear so well the first day you get hooked-up because you need to go back for fine-tuning, okay? I barely heard my first day. It took me a month to get used to the CI without the HA on the other side. Three months when I first spoke with someone I didn't know on the phone while in therapy. It takes time :).
 
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Well, I was interested in that. Like it is, it's going to take a couple of years if that can happen. It's funny because they said about 10 years back when I got my CI. It could take 20 or 30 years. I didn't want to wait that long to experience more hearing, so I opted for the CI. I still have my other ear to try out for other technologies. The only thing we have right now is the CI, but I think you will do well with it because you could hearing without lipreading. You just need to ask a qualified audiologist for more specific questions. Try asking one of the CI companies or all 3 and see if they give you a more specific response. They have audiologist experts working for them.

Have you tried going to Yahoo Groups? Then you type cochlear implant and join the sites available. It helps to talk to more people.
 
Have you gotten the videos from the companies? They are free if you request them. It might give you an idea. It's not realistic for people who were born deaf, but it might help you understand the CI better. They explain how the implant is inserted and how it works. It's neat, you should order it. It's free!
 
TiaraPrincess said:
Have you gotten the videos from the companies? They are free if you request them. It might give you an idea. It's not realistic for people who were born deaf, but it might help you understand the CI better. They explain how the implant is inserted and how it works. It's neat, you should order it. It's free!
Click to expand...
Got a site for that?
 
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