Does CI person need interpreter?

[LadySekhmet]

They're like snow flakes.

Beautiful analogy!

 

[vallee]

I meant if I can hear zip with my HAs on..like dead silence. Know what I mean?

I know what you mean, been there. zip for me was to the point of not being in my comfort zone. I lost all enjoyment for conversation. I lost the ability to talk to my mom on the phone. Also hearing aids lost it for me too.

the posting above this - I can't live my life thinking of failure. I still have my residual hearing and yes, I can still hear with my hearing aids, just not as well.

Oh Shel you might want to wait until the new procedure that is being developed in which it is done in the doctor's office and activation the same day. It is only around 3-5 years away. I think I heard case studies start next year. I do hope you have many more years of hearing with your hearing aid. I miss the ear molds. The cold air hitting my ears is killing me this winter. I walk around with hot pink ear muffs on all day, even in class.

 

[shel90]

I know what you mean, been there. zip for me was to the point of not being in my comfort zone. I lost all enjoyment for conversation. I lost the ability to talk to my mom on the phone. Also hearing aids lost it for me too.

the posting above this - I can't live my life thinking of failure. I still have my residual hearing and yes, I can still hear with my hearing aids, just not as well.

Oh Shel you might want to wait until the new procedure that is being developed in which it is done in the doctor's office and activation the same day. It is only around 3-5 years away. I think I heard case studies start next year. I do hope you have many more years of hearing with your hearing aid. I miss the ear molds. The cold air hitting my ears is killing me this winter. I walk around with hot pink ear muffs on all day, even in class.

Thanks..I think I will have my hearing with my hearing aids (my dB level is 120) because it never got progressively worse. Still the same today as I was a baby. My deaf brother's level still remained the same.

 

[vallee]

Thanks..I think I will have my hearing with my hearing aids (my dB level is 120) because it never got progressively worse. Still the same today as I was a baby. My deaf brother's level still remained the same.

That is amazing to have the same loss. My ears decrease so much it was like turning the volume down each year. Hearing aids could not even give me a moderate loss. Shel is your loss the same in both ears?

 

[shel90]

That is amazing to have the same loss. My ears decrease so much it was like turning the volume down each year. Hearing aids could not even give me a moderate loss. Shel is your loss the same in both ears?

Yep in both ears but only have one HA due to insurance not covering for HAs. It sucks.

Matter of fact, I heard a crunching and scraping sound and I turned around to see what it was. It was my dog chewing on my son's car rug. I kicked the dog's butt for that (not literally).

 

[vallee]

Yep in both ears but only have one HA due to insurance not covering for HAs. It sucks.

Matter of fact, I heard a crunching and scraping sound and I turned around to see what it was. It was my dog chewing on my son's car rug. I kicked the dog's butt for that (not literally).

ha ha

I wore the life out of my aids - 14 years. It is frustrating with the cost of hearing aids. I just got in the mail from my old audie that there was a sale on digital aids and it has been sometime since I had my last aids. I can't wait to stop in. Is there any help out there, I looked and did not find any for me with aids. My insurance spells out no hearing aids. I wish it was like my vision insurance, I pay extra but it covers my contacts and check ups.

 

[vallee]

That also varies from student to student. Some prefer to do their own speaking, some prefer me to voice for them.

Honestly, I know many people (kids and adults) with CI's and there are no two alike in their language skills (receptive and expressive) and preferences. They're like snow flakes.

I also love the analogy. Unique!

 

[jackiesolorzano]

So basically it comes down to how much can person w/ CI understand the spoken language? I believe, correct me if i m wrong, that CI will improve one's dB to 30 db which is good enough to hear pretty much like hearing person. So why is it necessary to have interpreter if one can hear very well and shldn't it be a good practice for CI to rely on hearing rather than visually?

No I think you are wrong. It depends on many factors. Both of my children are in high school and have CI. They have a great command of understanding spoken language. They have learn to interpret what they hear through their CIs. You also have to take a look at the class. Most public classrooms are awful for people trying to listen. Then also how many kids are in the class, the more kids there are the worst it is for background noises, such as paper crushing, pencils dropping, moving chairs and so on. Also a person with a CI is functioning in the best of worlds around a mild hearing loss. Sometimes a person with a CI doesn't even realize what they are not hearing. What I would suggest is for the person to try different things and then they could tell if they maybe an interpeter or in the case of my kids CART.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

From your experience, are these CI students able to speak very well and/or do these are fluent in sign language?



Pretty dumb to have both interpreter. And it shows that sign language is truly natural language so I m dumbfounded why hearing parents still insist implant child and try to hearization their child.



Isn't it the major reason to get CI is to be able to hear WHOLE and hear like normal hearing person? So it seems to me that it is stupid for deaf to get CI in the first place yet still relying on interpreter if he/she can't hear what teachers or students are saying.

You are just so wrong and misinformed. A cochlear implant cannot give you normal hearing. A cochlear implant gives you access to sound that you have to learn how to interpret. And no 2 people are alike who have CIs. I have 2 children with CI and both are very successful in different ways. The CI does not take away the deafness, they are still born deaf and will die deaf. CIs are a tool that can be very helpful.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

It's NOT stupid. Having a CI requires a lot of training to "rewire" how ears perceive sound. Without the training, you will not have a good sentence discrimination. A hearing person that became deaf later in life that gets a CI will say, "Oh it sounds normal!". A deaf person who never heard of certain sounds before would be surprised on what they can hear with the CI, and it takes them time to connect the sound what they heard to something they know. I heard my cat poop for the first time...I never heard of it, and If I wasn't watching her I wouldn't have known what I heard. Now, when I hear the same sound, I'll remember that's the sound of my cat pooping. Hearing people who became deaf later on, will have already recognize the sounds. Deaf people with a CI IS NOT "WHOLE LIKE A HEARING PERSON". They're still deaf.

I got the CI because my hearing has gotten progressively worse to the point where my HA does not help me at all. I am one of those deaf people that cannot live without sound. I cannot live without hearing my cats purr. I cannot live without hearing Reba sing, "Fancy".
And guess what - I still rely on interpreters for classes, just like I have always had. I probably would not rely on them AS much, but nevertheless, I will still rely on them.

So, it's NOT stupid.

You said it perfectly, loved the way said it all, agreed with you 100%

 

[jackiesolorzano]

Not necessarily. I still have my residual hearing, though this does not happen to everyone...but it does happen.

I was satisfied with my HA for 27 years until my ears crapped out on me.

Implants are good for a very long time. People that got implanted 20 years ago, still have them and use them today.

My son has had his for 12 years now. No problems works as well as it did in the beginning.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

So what sounds will be like for deaf person who get CI late and never had hear sounds in his/her life? Just like radio static?

Disclaimer: I m not bashing CI. I just want to find out if CI person still need interpreter despite their improving hearing.

No it does not sound like a radio, a hearing aide is like a radio. Adults who get implant some I have heard say that it sounds like donald duck under water and then with time it becomes more clearer, but each person is different.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

I think you need to educate yourself some more regarding cochlear implants before issuing opinions like the ones above.

BTW Kalista, I often look at ASL interpreters but will listen auditorily to what is being said so to base the premise on the validity or need of an oral interpreter on such an unreliable basis as your subjective observation of who is looking at which interpreter is faulty and of dubious credibility.
Rick

Rick, I do the same thing I always look at the interpreter to see if I know what they are saying.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

Not necessarily. I still have my residual hearing, though this does not happen to everyone...but it does happen.

I was satisfied with my HA for 27 years until my ears crapped out on me.

Implants are good for a very long time. People that got implanted 20 years ago, still have them and use them today.

YEAH nowadays you do not always lose your hearing, my daughter was implanted in 2001 and she did not lose her residual hearing.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

That also varies from student to student. Some prefer to do their own speaking, some prefer me to voice for them.

Honestly, I know many people (kids and adults) with CI's and there are no two alike in their language skills (receptive and expressive) and preferences. They're like snow flakes.

You worded your statement so nicely. It is so true.

 

[neecy]

I believe CI is not good idea if you re satisfy with HA because CI surgery will obliterate cochlear. Once you get CI and your CI malfunctioned, then you will not be able to hear anything even with hearing aid. High Risk/High Reward.

In my situation - I was receiving NO helpful in put from HA's. I had a 120+db loss in both ears...so if my CI failed, I'd be no worse off than I was prior to getting implanted.

As to understanding language - besides what has already been stated here by others (great posts too, folks!) you have to take into consideration the environment that you are in, and the speaker themselves.

In a small classroom where people are quiet and respectful towards the teacher, I have NO problem understanding speech. That's one reason why I decided (at age 35) to go back to college. Same goes for a small gathering of people, or one-on-one conversation with others.

However go into a room where lots of people are talking, and the background conversation can impede your ability to discern speech.

Then you have to take into consideration the speaker - do they speak clearly? Do they enunciate well? Perhaps they have a lisp, or a stutter, or an accent. Perhaps they speak too fast - all these can make understanding their speech difficult.

A CI isn't a magic wand that allows you to hear everything - its a tool that allows you to interact with the hearing world a bit easier. I've been at SEARS and understood perfectly what was being announced on the public address system....and then been at Wal-Mart and not understood a thing being said on theirs...its all relative.

I LOVED the "hearing person in China" analogy- that is *so* perfect!!! I just might steal that the next time I explain to people what I hear with my CI!

 

[LadySekhmet]

My son has had his for 12 years now. No problems works as well as it did in the beginning.

Whoops...I may have worded it wrong, what I meant was I have had HA for 27 years...MANY different models and brands. I would be very surprised if one lasted that long!!

 

[jackiesolorzano]

Whoops...I may have worded it wrong, what I meant was I have had HA for 27 years...MANY different models and brands. I would be very surprised if one lasted that long!!

My son has had his implant for 12 years. Internal parts are the same, we have changed processors maybe 3 times.

 

[Hear Again]

Even though I have bilateral CIs, I still use CART and an FM system in the clasroom due to poor acoustics and my inability to see to lipread. Last semester I was grateful for these accommodations due to the large lecture halls (200+ students) my classes were in.

Before I returned to school following my second CI surgery, I considered only using an FM syem in the classroom, but am glad I requested CART in addition to the FM. I was also worried that my university's D/HH office would refuse my request, but even they understood the difficulty I would have trying to hear in a large lecture hall.

In my opinion, the more tools one has in their communication toolbox, the better.

 

[sr171soars]

...
Isn't it the major reason to get CI is to be able to hear WHOLE and hear like normal hearing person? So it seems to me that it is stupid for deaf to get CI in the first place yet still relying on interpreter if he/she can't hear what teachers or students are saying.

Er...that would have been a nice perk if that happened. No, I just wanted to hear and possibly much better than with my HA. I got the best of both worlds. It just allowed me to continue my life without the need of an interpreter.

Now on the other hand, I have a dear friend who has a CI and still needs an interpreter and he would be really offended by that remark. He loves how he hears so much better and it is very useful for him. Whether he will ever be able to not use an interpreter, that remains to be seen.