Dislike my cochlear device after 3 years using it...??

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Does she have to have a CI because he has one?
 
It doesn't matter to me. She can be either deaf or CI, or both. I'm deaf until i put on my CI. :)

Local would be nice but not necessary.

Looking for a place to start i guess. I've looked at other deaf dating sites but they never worked out.
 
I couldn't stop reading every post on this page because I am in a very similar situation like you Danb. I have been deaf for 18 yrs, got my CIs 3 years ago, up with 85% hearing and I feel like I am struggling with my hearing and speech in noisy surroundings. Sure, its a joy to hear certain things again, but not a pleasure to not being able to communicate with other people. I find myself isolating from social situations where there are more than 2 people as I find it extremely hard to communicate. I am quite frustrated too, and must have been stupid to think of going bilateral!! I need to start learning up some ASL too. I did have high hopes that life would change dramatically after CI, but too bad it didnt.
 
up with 85% hearing and I feel like I am struggling with my hearing and speech in noisy surroundings. Sure, its a joy to hear certain things again, but not a pleasure to not being able to communicate with other people. I find myself isolating from social situations where there are more than 2 people as I find it extremely hard to communicate. I am quite frustrated too, and must have been stupid to think of going bilateral!! I need to start learning up some ASL too. I did have high hopes that life would change dramatically after CI, but too bad it didnt.
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Hugoboss, one thing I REALLY wish that audis and docs would understand and tell implantees is that while CIs are AWESOME, virtually everyone with it is still functionally hoh. Hearing aids work like this too.......they're awesome for best case listening situtions, and one on one and even small group situtions, but in crowds and noisy situtions most hoh folks are lost. Heck even UNILATERAL dhh people are lost in noisy situtions!
 
deafdyke said:
Hugoboss, one thing I REALLY wish that audis and docs would understand and tell implantees is that while CIs are AWESOME, virtually everyone with it is still functionally hoh. Hearing aids work like this too.......they're awesome for best case listening situtions, and one on one and even small group situtions, but in crowds and noisy situtions most hoh folks are lost. Heck even UNILATERAL dhh people are lost in noisy situtions!
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Yeah i agree.

Anyone get guilt trips from friends or family when you decline to go someplace noisy? How do you deal with that?
 
posts from hell said:
I simply dont. I make sure they know not to do that shit
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What do you tell them to make them understand?

Is there some kind of reverse intervention that works? :) Where i get everyone in a room and explain to them that they have a problem. Just kidding, kind of.
 
Dan, buy some ear plugs and give them to your friends then tell them to wear them the next time you go out. Maybe add noise-blocking earphones. Tell them they can't remove them all night...just like you can't remove your deafness.
 
hugoboss84 said:
I couldn't stop reading every post on this page because I am in a very similar situation like you Danb. I have been deaf for 18 yrs, got my CIs 3 years ago, up with 85% hearing and I feel like I am struggling with my hearing and speech in noisy surroundings. Sure, its a joy to hear certain things again, but not a pleasure to not being able to communicate with other people. I find myself isolating from social situations where there are more than 2 people as I find it extremely hard to communicate. I am quite frustrated too, and must have been stupid to think of going bilateral!! I need to start learning up some ASL too. I did have high hopes that life would change dramatically after CI, but too bad it didnt.
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CI's work much better in people that were hearing most of their lives.

I have several friends that were deaf since birth, never wore hearing aids, and got CI's with disastrous results. I also have friends that wore hearing aids most of their lives and got CI's with mixed results.

Most, not all, hearing people who lost their hearing suddenly in their adult lives do very, very well with CI's.

There are several teenagers in town that were implanted at very young ages, most are doing very well with their CI's, others are not.

CI's are a great technology to have, but they are NOT for everyone like doctors & audis want to believe.

My surgeon said it well. If a person was born blind and remained blind for 20 years, then suddenly got his vision, will he be able to recognize objects by looking at them? Of course not. He will have to physically feel them and memorize what is what.

Same thing goes with a deaf person suddenly bombarded by sounds. The older you are, the longer it takes to make sense of all these new sounds. Wearing a CI is a never-ending experience. That is why we need to update our mapping every 6-12 months.

If you don't like the sounds, there is always the "off" button. No one is going to force you to leave it on.
 
Danb: pfh was "born deaf" thus his advice as such in not what a person with a Cochlear Implant attempts to do in multiple "noisy circumstances".

An Implant as such is NOT a hearing aid which just increases sound levels and hope one can "hear" somewhat. It does take lots of time for one's brain to "get used to sound slightly different'-which it does- FOR MOST PEOPLE.

You WILL always be DEAF-FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. THAT FACT WILL NEVER CHANGE.

In the end YOU tell the audi if the current mapping is "best for you-now". Again your experience over time should guide. No easy answer to say the least.

More good luck in your hearing journey danb and be patient-you have more life ahead of you.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
Danb: pfh was "born deaf" thus his advice as such in not what a person with a Cochlear Implant attempts to do in multiple "noisy circumstances".

An Implant as such is NOT a hearing aid which just increases sound levels and hope one can "hear" somewhat. It does take lots of time for one's brain to "get used to sound slightly different'-which it does- FOR MOST PEOPLE.

You WILL always be DEAF-FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. THAT FACT WILL NEVER CHANGE.

In the end YOU tell the audi if the current mapping is "best for you-now". Again your experience over time should guide. No easy answer to say the least.

More good luck in your hearing journey danb and be patient-you have more life ahead of you.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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Please wrap your head on this concept - we're talking about what OTHERS are doing towards us, being deaf. Not about CI itself.
 
Danb said:
What do you tell them to make them understand?

Is there some kind of reverse intervention that works? :) Where i get everyone in a room and explain to them that they have a problem. Just kidding, kind of.
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lol

everyone has different ways to be told.

But first - you need a heart of steel. For noisy places - tell them, youre willing to go, but you're gonna keep the CI off, and it's on them to communicate with you. Attitude will change instantly. Reframe your stance. You are equal to them, not inferior. In no form you should feel that way.
 
green427 said:
CI's work much better in people that were hearing most of their lives.

I have several friends that were deaf since birth, never wore hearing aids, and got CI's with disastrous results. I also have friends that wore hearing aids most of their lives and got CI's with mixed results.

Most, not all, hearing people who lost their hearing suddenly in their adult lives do very, very well with CI's.

There are several teenagers in town that were implanted at very young ages, most are doing very well with their CI's, others are not.

CI's are a great technology to have, but they are NOT for everyone like doctors & audis want to believe.

My surgeon said it well. If a person was born blind and remained blind for 20 years, then suddenly got his vision, will he be able to recognize objects by looking at them? Of course not. He will have to physically feel them and memorize what is what.

Same thing goes with a deaf person suddenly bombarded by sounds. The older you are, the longer it takes to make sense of all these new sounds. Wearing a CI is a never-ending experience. That is why we need to update our mapping every 6-12 months.

If you don't like the sounds, there is always the "off" button. No one is going to force you to leave it on.
Click to expand...

Are you trying to say that it actually takes much longer to adjust with CI for someone who has little auditory memory using hearing aids? My deafness has actually been consistent since age 5 and I did wear HAs on/off (I never really benefitted from them until I got the most powerful ones in college). What is bothering me is that I have had a CI for 3 years now, and I did hope there would be some improvement in my communication with people around, not just sounds in the environment. Heck, I can't even hear what I am speaking, result of which, my speech is deteriorating. Because of this isolation & the fact I don't have a family closer to where I am, I am not being able to make the most of my hearing & speech strategies.

Do you guys think its time for me to go back for mapping? I don't want to fool myself into believing that going bilateral would solve most of my problems. While I am feeling good about being able to hear but disappointed by not being able to communicate in groups, it is making me less confident towards going bilateral.
 
deafdyke said:
Hugoboss, one thing I REALLY wish that audis and docs would understand and tell implantees is that while CIs are AWESOME, virtually everyone with it is still functionally hoh. Hearing aids work like this too.......they're awesome for best case listening situtions, and one on one and even small group situtions, but in crowds and noisy situtions most hoh folks are lost. Heck even UNILATERAL dhh people are lost in noisy situtions!
Click to expand...

Looks like I am not the only one then... Do people use ASL to supplement for that? I know a friend who uses both CIs and ASL at times.
 
Could go for a mapping and see if that works...

At what point do you say "Thats it, CI is not for me"?
 
hugoboss84 said:
Looks like I am not the only one then... Do people use ASL to supplement for that? I know a friend who uses both CIs and ASL at times.
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My 5YO uses ASL fluently, as well as spoken English, and she has 2 CIs. It's a GREAT combination for her, and one I hope she continues throughout her life.
 
GrendelQ said:
My 5YO uses ASL fluently, as well as spoken English, and she has 2 CIs. It's a GREAT combination for her, and one I hope she continues throughout her life.
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Would you be disappointed that she stopped using her CI?
 
posts from hell said:
Would you be disappointed that she stopped using her CI?
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No, I would be very surprised, though -- she's the one who puts them on every morning and makes a fuss when I try to take them off at night. But I am always aware that they are a very tenuous link to sound. If she were to get some type of persistent infection, they might have to be removed -- I know a situation where that has happened to a young boy after years of successful listening via CIs. Or if for some reason the sound became uncomfortable to her and a new mapping made no difference, she may some day decide not to use them.

That's one of many reasons why I think it's important that she not only have fluent use of ASL, but is living in a community where having a working CI or not doesn't diminish her ability to communicate, to learn, and to interact with peers. I don't ever want doors closed to her, I never want her to feel isolated or disoriented because a battery dies or a static surge fries a program while traveling. I want her to be able to move seamlessly from accessing sound to not accessing sound or vice versa.
 
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