New here and I am getting CI.

DevBaby

DevBaby

New Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Hello! I am new here. My name is Devon and I am 22 y.o.

I got candidate for the CI few weeks ago. My surgery date is Jan 25th. I am so happy about it =)

To tell u about myself...
I was born hard of hearing...(did not wear hearing aid) I remmy I could talk on the phone all the time, have converstation with hearing people with no plm. I could hear about most of the things. By the time I become 18 or 19y.o, my hearing was getting worse. Seem like when I had this really bad flu it made it worse or whatever. Then when I reach 20 I decided to get hearing aids.. It did help a little... Few months later my ears become deaf, so I keep wearing my hearing aids....Man.. I hate hearing aids... everything seem so umm Loud and make everything sounds weird. I hate hearing like the radio, tv and people talkin as the same time.. It bother me. I never had that plm b4 when I was HOH... My hearing aid wasn't giving me enough benefit anymore... I couldn't understand my friends or family saying most of the time.. I have to read their lip..(I do not do any sign languages and I only know some of it tho.. I have always use oral all my life). I told my Audi doc that my hearing aid wasn't helping me much anymore.. So she told me to talk to a doc about CI. So I did that and decided I should go for it. I have a 2 friends who have CI.. And they love it. One of them speak really well and don't have to read lip anymore.
Of course I know CI work diff on each diff person. I'm hoping CI will help me hear my music good again.. And maybe to help me understand my friends and family as well.

One of my old friend told me not to get CI. He said it didn't work on him and that it was waste of money. He also said it damage ur brain cell. I completely ignored him anyway... I am not gonna let that stop me from getting CI. That's his plm that it didn't work out not mine. Beside I aint paying for the CI anyway.. My Medicaid is.

Sorry that my gramma suck and that I was talking about myself a lot in it. Just had to tell yall what was going on w me and that I was getting CI =)

Feel free to message back or whatever.
 
Hi Dev!
What kind of hearing aid were you using before? Did you really experiment with all sorts of aids? I know a girl with profound loss, who couldn't even hear enviromental sounds even with a body worn aid. She tried a digital aid, and now has SOME speech discrimatination! Just might be worth it to experiment first. ....and before everyone jumps all over me, I've heard of people qualifying for CI by using speech discrimination scores using an ITE, which is less powerful then a BTE. Response to hearing assistance is just so indivdulistic...........you REALLY have to experiment!
I'm a little cautious about what you said, that you didn't like the hearing a hearing aid gave you. It might be b/c you weren't aided when you were little. But then again, what if you don't like the sound quality that a CI gives you? And yes, I know a lot of people here love theirs.......hard thing to decide.
 
DevBaby said:
Hello! I am new here. My name is Devon and I am 22 y.o.

I got candidate for the CI few weeks ago. My surgery date is Jan 25th. I am so happy about it =)

To tell u about myself...
I was born hard of hearing...(did not wear hearing aid) I remmy I could talk on the phone all the time, have converstation with hearing people with no plm. I could hear about most of the things. By the time I become 18 or 19y.o, my hearing was getting worse. Seem like when I had this really bad flu it made it worse or whatever. Then when I reach 20 I decided to get hearing aids.. It did help a little... Few months later my ears become deaf, so I keep wearing my hearing aids....Man.. I hate hearing aids... everything seem so umm Loud and make everything sounds weird. I hate hearing like the radio, tv and people talkin as the same time.. It bother me. I never had that plm b4 when I was HOH... My hearing aid wasn't giving me enough benefit anymore... I couldn't understand my friends or family saying most of the time.. I have to read their lip..(I do not do any sign languages and I only know some of it tho.. I have always use oral all my life). I told my Audi doc that my hearing aid wasn't helping me much anymore.. So she told me to talk to a doc about CI. So I did that and decided I should go for it. I have a 2 friends who have CI.. And they love it. One of them speak really well and don't have to read lip anymore.
Of course I know CI work diff on each diff person. I'm hoping CI will help me hear my music good again.. And maybe to help me understand my friends and family as well.

One of my old friend told me not to get CI. He said it didn't work on him and that it was waste of money. He also said it damage ur brain cell. I completely ignored him anyway... I am not gonna let that stop me from getting CI. That's his plm that it didn't work out not mine. Beside I aint paying for the CI anyway.. My Medicaid is.

Sorry that my gramma suck and that I was talking about myself a lot in it. Just had to tell yall what was going on w me and that I was getting CI =)

Feel free to message back or whatever.
Click to expand...

Hi Devon, welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place! :)

Congratulations on the candidacy for a CI! I bet you are excited! My advice to you: just keep your expectations low so you won't be so disappointed when you get activated!

As to your friend telling you not to get a CI - it is not true that CI damages your brain cells. CI does NOT damage brain cells. Only thing I will say is true, CI doesn't work for SOME people, but most people do pretty well with a CI. It depends on the individual. Progress with a CI depends a lot on your hearing background and history.
 
deafdyke said:
Hi Dev!
What kind of hearing aid were you using before? Did you really experiment with all sorts of aids? I know a girl with profound loss, who couldn't even hear enviromental sounds even with a body worn aid. She tried a digital aid, and now has SOME speech discrimatination! Just might be worth it to experiment first. ....and before everyone jumps all over me, I've heard of people qualifying for CI by using speech discrimination scores using an ITE, which is less powerful then a BTE. Response to hearing assistance is just so indivdulistic...........you REALLY have to experiment!
I'm a little cautious about what you said, that you didn't like the hearing a hearing aid gave you. It might be b/c you weren't aided when you were little. But then again, what if you don't like the sound quality that a CI gives you? And yes, I know a lot of people here love theirs.......hard thing to decide.
Click to expand...

DeafDyke, since you do not have a CI, please bugger off. :roll:
 
Hello,

I do know quite a bit about CI and hearing aids. They are two totally different things that help certain people with varying degrees of hearing loss.

CI doesn't damage brain cells.

However, there are risks in all surgeries. There were several cases that the surgeons nicked a major nerve right behind the ear that paralyzed one side of the face permanently.

CI doesn't help all people who have had the surgery. It requires a good amount of speech and audio training to succeed. The argument is what is successful? Hearing someone farting? Hearing a soda pop fizz? Being able to hear someone talk and understand them some?

Some people who got CI will not be able to understand what the speakers are saying and still will be happy with the results.

I ahve met some who are very happy with their CI. I also met many people who aren't happy that they got CI in the first place especially when they were younger when their parents implanted them.

As for the hearing aids, there are many different kinds of hearing aids that have varying degrees of strength and weaknesses. It has been highly recommended that people try out many different kinds of hearing aids to try to get the right capability that is benficial for that certain person.
 
Woofy said:
Hello,

I do know quite a bit about CI and hearing aids. They are two totally different things that help certain people with varying degrees of hearing loss.

CI doesn't damage brain cells.

However, there are risks in all surgeries. There were several cases that the surgeons nicked a major nerve right behind the ear that paralyzed one side of the face permanently.

CI doesn't help all people who have had the surgery. It requires a good amount of speech and audio training to succeed. The argument is what is successful? Hearing someone farting? Hearing a soda pop fizz? Being able to hear someone talk and understand them some?

Some people who got CI will not be able to understand what the speakers are saying and still will be happy with the results.

I ahve met some who are very happy with their CI. I also met many people who aren't happy that they got CI in the first place especially when they were younger when their parents implanted them.

As for the hearing aids, there are many different kinds of hearing aids that have varying degrees of strength and weaknesses. It has been highly recommended that people try out many different kinds of hearing aids to try to get the right capability that is benficial for that certain person.
Click to expand...

Sigh... you are relying on old and outdated information about facial nerves. That was before a new technology was used to prevent that from happening. It's called Facial electroneurography (it's a facial nerve monitoring technology)

The chance of getting facial paralysis is extremely rare. Every advance they makes in CI field, Risks get lesser and lesser. So in those cases you speak of are not new.

Just that, a advice here, is to ask the Dr to see if he will be using that technology for CI surgery.
 
Devon,

Congratulations on your CI candidacy! :)

As for DD and Woofy suggesting that you try different HAs, when you are evaluated for a CI, your audi will take a look at the HAs you are currently using and determine if there is a stronger model available on the market.

I decided to consider a CI after I lost what speech discrimination I had in my right ear. (My left ear has had no speech discrimination for the past 11 years.) While individual results with the CI vary from person to person, I've been very pleased with the wonderful hearing my CI has given me.

As for DD's comment about the clarity of a CI, many CI users report sounds and voices being exactly like they remember before losing their hearing. While it is true that speech may sound strange at first (some people describe it sounding robotic or metallic), this will improve over time. When my CIs were activated, speech sounded metallic but is now 100% clear.

Here's wishing you all the best in your CI journey! :)
 
:welcome:
Hi Devon! You've come to the right place and you will be hearing from more CIborgs... I'm not one of them but my grandson will be getting his second implant next month and he is already benefitting from his first CI although he is profoundly deaf like his father (my son) and us (me and hubby).
 
Thanks everyone =)

I didnt mentioned this.. but I did wore hearing aids when i was young but i did not like them.. Then i went back on hearing aids again when i reach to 3rd to 6th grades.. I still didnt like that at all.. everything was just annoying when i wore them. So I stop wearing them. Then Since i went deaf I went back on hearing aids.. My audi doc told me that hearing aids she gave me is the most powerful one i can get. So i had tried all 3 kinds of hearing aids.

I know that Ci work on some people.. and dont work on some other people.
Whatever CI gave me to hear.. ill still be happy with it =)

My Ci doc asked me which ear i want the CI at.. I told him my left ear. And He agreed with that as well. The left ear i could hear almost everything b4... and right ear always been like dead anyway. But since left ear is dead now ill get it there. The doc told me left ear would be just fine since my nerve might put up sounds i remmy b4.. So who knows.

I will get the CI turn on on Feb 26.. thats long wait but it should be worth it =)
 
DevBaby said:
Thanks everyone =)

I didnt mentioned this.. but I did wore hearing aids when i was young but i did not like them.. Then i went back on hearing aids again when i reach to 3rd to 6th grades.. I still didnt like that at all.. everything was just annoying when i wore them. So I stop wearing them. Then Since i went deaf I went back on hearing aids.. My audi doc told me that hearing aids she gave me is the most powerful one i can get. So i had tried all 3 kinds of hearing aids.

I know that Ci work on some people.. and dont work on some other people.
Whatever CI gave me to hear.. ill still be happy with it =)

My Ci doc asked me which ear i want the CI at.. I told him my left ear. And He agreed with that as well. The left ear i could hear almost everything b4... and right ear always been like dead anyway. But since left ear is dead now ill get it there. The doc told me left ear would be just fine since my nerve might put up sounds i remmy b4.. So who knows.

I will get the CI turn on on Feb 26.. thats long wait but it should be worth it =)
Click to expand...


Dont blame u. Before, I was against CIs but after reading so many ADers experiences with CIs and their reasons for getting them, I had to ask myself this. If HAs stop working for me, would I enjoy being completely deaf? The answer is no so if this happens to me, then I will get a CI or CIs. :)

This forum has helped me to open my mind about CIs better.
 
DevBaby said:
Thanks everyone =)

I didnt mentioned this.. but I did wore hearing aids when i was young but i did not like them.. Then i went back on hearing aids again when i reach to 3rd to 6th grades.. I still didnt like that at all.. everything was just annoying when i wore them. So I stop wearing them. Then Since i went deaf I went back on hearing aids.. My audi doc told me that hearing aids she gave me is the most powerful one i can get. So i had tried all 3 kinds of hearing aids.

I know that Ci work on some people.. and dont work on some other people.
Whatever CI gave me to hear.. ill still be happy with it =)

My Ci doc asked me which ear i want the CI at.. I told him my left ear. And He agreed with that as well. The left ear i could hear almost everything b4... and right ear always been like dead anyway. But since left ear is dead now ill get it there. The doc told me left ear would be just fine since my nerve might put up sounds i remmy b4.. So who knows.

I will get the CI turn on on Feb 26.. thats long wait but it should be worth it =)
Click to expand...


Dont blame u. Before, I was against CIs but after reading so many ADers experiences with CIs and their reasons for getting them, I had to ask myself this. If HAs stop working for me, would I enjoy being completely deaf? The answer is no so if this happens to me, then I will get a CI or CIs. :)

This forum has helped me to open my mind about CIs better.
 
HI,
Welcome to AllDeaf. YOu'l really like it here.

And we get a new person to feed information to. So start asking all the questions you can come up with.

Cloggy
 
Lucia, I know I don't have a CI, but I do know that response to hearing insturments is VERY VERY indivdualistic.That's all my point was.
No need to be rude about it. I mean sheesh.......there are still people out there who get good response with old school analogs. Witness, for example Vampy! He's got a severe-profound loss, and still wears an old school analog!
I'm not anti-CI. Just think that it's worth it to experiment b/c of how indivdualistic response is . But Dev does sound like he's tried everything.
That's fablous.....and I mean I am OK with CI. You're mixing me up with the anti CI extremists. I just think that while the CI is an amazing piece of technology, higher tech doesn't nessarly mean better performance.
Dev, just wondering......has your deafer ear always been "dead?"
But then, you did say that you hated the sound quality of hearing aids. I know that sometimes if there's hearing response in one ear, the people like to "save" it so you could use an aid or something.
One good thing about the CI is that it tends to work really well for people who've had progressive losses. You probaly won't be able to hear as well as a late deaf person, but b/c you were hoh, you'll get better response then someone who never heard at least some things normally.
 
I know several CI users who have been profoundly deaf since birth and one of them could understand speech the day her CI was activated. As we all know, results vary, but prelingually deaf people can derive as much benefit from a CI as someone who is late-deafened.
 
My right ear had been bad.. then it just got more dead or whatever. I never really care for that ear anyway.. I'm all used to it. I just want my left ear to hear again. But ofc i know CI may not give me good benefit.. or maybe it will.. My doc think it will prob will give me the good benefit since i hear on that ear b4 with a lot of sounds. But who knows. I will have to wait and see.. Like i said.. whatever Ci does for me.. i will still be happy with it no matter what... My doc did told me that CI is better than HAs. I am getting the Freedom kind =)
I had done a lot of research with CI. So i know what it may does and what it may not does..
B4 i was against CI.. I though it was just nasty and whatever.. But Now that i been done my research about it for a while.. i though it was actually pretty awesome.

When i got my hearing test done few weeks ago.. i couldnt believe how bad it went. When the Doc test for the hearing aid.. it still wasnt that good. I remmy my HOH was way better than what i hear with my Hearing aids right now.

When I got a emailed about i got candidate with CI, Me and mom was like crying.. lol.. I was like umm why am i crying for.. i should be crying when i get the hook up.

By the way.. Just to let u all know.. I am not a Male.. i am a female. I so hate my name lol.
 
DevBaby said:
When I got a emailed about i got candidate with CI, Me and mom was like crying.. lol.. I was like umm why am i crying for.. i should be crying when i get the hook up.
Click to expand...

Devon,

I know *exactly* what you mean! When I found out that I was a CI candidate, I cried too! I also cried after learning that my CI was approved by insurance (especially when my bilateral CI was approved). On the day of my activation, I *almost* cried, but didn't. Instead, I laughed because I was so happy with all of the wonderful (albeit metallic) sounds I was hearing.

By the way, I love your name. :) When I was growing up I used to have a girlfriend named Devon and I always wished I had her name instead of mine!
 
DevBaby said:
By the way.. Just to let u all know.. I am not a Male.. i am a female. I so hate my name lol.
Click to expand...

I could tell right off that you are a female from your writing style. Also, I knew someone in high school whose name is Devon and she is a female also. I always thought it was an awesome name! :)
 
Back
Top