I think the increase in "sucesses" with CI may not be due to improved hardware, but b/c people who have quite a bit of residual hearing are simply getting the volumne turned up.
No, no, no, no, no. The volume is not turned up. You will kill yourself if the volume was turned up! You'll blast your ears and have traumas! What a CI does is replace many of the hair cells that picks up different pitch ranges. With a hearing aid, you will only have some cells alive in your cochlea, so the hearing aids turns up the volume, so that it is transmitted to the cells you have left. A cochlea replaces many of the others a hearing cannot do. Cochlear implant does not turn up volume. Every CI person is hard of hearing. Sometimes turning up or you can say amplifying is not the best choice to hear.
RavenSteve,
I understand how you are feeling. Believe me I do, but I know that you just have not seen the beauty of life that's ahead of you. You just don't see it now. It's a choice you have to make--change and adapt to the way you are now, or see the world as a negative hellish life everyday. You just don't see it now because you don't seem to have done all the research that are out there to help you. We have a long way, and maybe the CI is the answer for you--there's nothing wrong with that. I believe that you also have to take care of your feelings. Some hospital clinics recommend psychology evaluation to see that you are stable emotionally and expecting the right thing from a CI. I really recommend it for you.
Life can be hell, ravensteve, but you can choose to pick your a$$ where it dumped you and start over or pick up where you left. You can't blame the world for your problem, though it is easy for us to do so. Try to research if you really needed the blood pressure medicine. Research all about it online and get a second opinion. The girl who's parent sued doesn't see that their little girl could have been gone. You have to be assertive about your needs, you can't care about the world or how they see you. I face it from time to time, but I know that I can be assertive and tell them to treat me right. The world is ignorant in not only disability but everything else. They just don't see it, we have to teach it. The world is full of problems whether you have a disability or not.
If you would rather be dead than deaf, think of all the people you would cause pain. I wouldn't make my family life's better by being dead. I know my mother would be heartbroken. She says I am her treasure just like my brother. You have to think for yourself and have say you are worthy--find that worth! Your grandma could have given away her cat. There's always options! Even though it's hard to give away your pets.
I really recommend that you find out more about SHHH chapter and Say What Club. They will relate to you a lot, trust me and you may find the answers you want there. It sounds more like for you than this site which doesn't have many to relate to you. I really recommend that you read about it before you join, you will find invaluable information there. I have no doubt--if you just open your heart to change. There's more to life out there--trust me.
Go here, just take a look:
http://www.shhh.org (they even have a message board and other related information)
http://www.saywhatclub.com (there's going to be a chat about coping with hearing loss and psychological issues--see? It's normal to go through downtimes!) Click on Our Mailing Lists and e-mail them (there are different mailing list to suit your interest)--they are really nice when it comes to joining.