QQ about CI and tennitus

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Anyone here who has/had severe tennitus and then got implanted?
Was it a 50/50 chance for you to make this decision that the CI
would work succesfully and drown out tennitus?

The question is this: Was it easy decision for you to decide
which ear?

OK I went to my ENT yesterday for the last evaluation. This doctor
approved CI for me. :) It now my decision which ear. My left ear is
my comfort zone but with severe tennitus. My one and only concern
is if the CI fails in my left ear, then I will have tennitus and no
solution. Sounds like suicidal! The doctor says it's 50/50 but at the
same time, I'm wondering if he is just CYA and not get my hopes up
to high?

Can anyone share their experience with me? Did you feel that you
were taking a huge chance? Did you pray every day that this would
work for you?

My right ear is more senstive, louder but not clear and I do wear a
digital aid. Again, my left is my comfort zone with same hearing loss.

Also, I did ask the ENT about left side = speech, right side=musical
and the answer is; it's crossed. The sounds coming into either ear
crosses the brain so it simply just doesn't matter which ear sends
the sounds to the brain.
 
I can only speak from the insurance appeals I've done (about 500 related to CIs to date), but I've done 3 where patients had tinnitus that was so severe that they required psychiatric treatment, and all 3 improved drastically when the side with the worst tinnitus was implanted. Eventually all 3 received bilateral implantation.

Good luck.

Sheri

SuziMaria said:
Anyone here who has/had severe tennitus and then got implanted?
Was it a 50/50 chance for you to make this decision that the CI
would work succesfully and drown out tennitus?

The question is this: Was it easy decision for you to decide
which ear?

OK I went to my ENT yesterday for the last evaluation. This doctor
approved CI for me. :) It now my decision which ear. My left ear is
my comfort zone but with severe tennitus. My one and only concern
is if the CI fails in my left ear, then I will have tennitus and no
solution. Sounds like suicidal! The doctor says it's 50/50 but at the
same time, I'm wondering if he is just CYA and not get my hopes up
to high?

Can anyone share their experience with me? Did you feel that you
were taking a huge chance? Did you pray every day that this would
work for you?

My right ear is more senstive, louder but not clear and I do wear a
digital aid. Again, my left is my comfort zone with same hearing loss.

Also, I did ask the ENT about left side = speech, right side=musical
and the answer is; it's crossed. The sounds coming into either ear
crosses the brain so it simply just doesn't matter which ear sends
the sounds to the brain.
Click to expand...
 
The reason it is 50/50 is because we don't know what causes the tinnitus. Some say the inner ear when it is damaged with hearing loss, some say it is the auditory nervous system in the brain (explains why normal hearing people can experience tinnitus). There really is no way to say with any degree of certainty.


Your left ear pick up signals and send it to your right hemisphere (brain), if it is speech it then crosses back to the left hemisphere where the speech centers are located. This is vice versa for the right ear (sends directly to the left hemisphere). This is why most children with auditory processing disorders have whats called a "Right ear advantage".
 
SuziMaria said:
The question is this: Was it easy decision for you to decide which ear?

In my case, yes. Since I still had some remaining hearing in my right ear and wanted to continue wearing a HA in that ear, I chose to have my left ear implanted.


Did you feel that you were taking a huge chance? Did you pray every day that this would work for you?

While I did have concerns about how well a CI would work for me, I knew I had nothing to lose since I couldn't understand speech with hearing aids and my Comtek FM system. I was already using alternative communication techniques for the deafblind. In my case I felt that even if my CI didn't allow me to understand speech, I would 1. be able to hear environmental sounds better than I could with HAs pre-CI (which is important to me as a totally blind person) and 2. continue using the alternative communication methods I had been using prior to receiving my CIs.

When my audi and I talked about how well I could expect to do with a CI, she told me I had a very good to excellent chance of doing well with a CI given the fact that I've had over 20 years of auditory memory.

I've been extremely pleased with the results and if I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat! :)
Click to expand...

end
 
I had severe tinnitus prior to implantation and it has improved very significantly to date. I definitely think there is a relationship with being able to hear sounds better, which has a drowning out effect.

I read a study on Pubmed recently where they evaluated patients with tinnitus before and after CIs and they found a very pleasing percentage of people who experienced improvement. I have to take my daughter for her swimming lesson now but I will post a link later on.
 
Off-topic...

R2D2, how do you read Pubmed? When I access Pubmed, I can't seem to find any other information than the abstracts.

Since this is off-topic, you can send me a PM.
 
Hear Again said:
Off-topic...

R2D2, how do you read Pubmed? When I access Pubmed, I can't seem to find any other information than the abstracts.

Since this is off-topic, you can send me a PM.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can only read abstracts of the studies. You have to subscribe to the relevant journals to read the whole paper. Occasionally on the internet it's possible to read the whole document but not very often!
 
Tinnitus modifications after cochlear implantation. [Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2007] - PubMed Result


Tinnitus modifications after cochlear implantation
Tinnitus can be defined as a phantom sensation in the absence of an external sound. In our study, we evaluated the effect of cochlear implant on tinnitus evolution. Among adult, postlingually deaf patients who underwent cochlear implantation at our clinic, we selected 20 subjects with pre-implantation tinnitus (group A) and 10 subjects without pre-implantation tinnitus (group B). Pre- and post-surgery tinnitus was assessed through two questionnaires: the first one dealing with tinnitus characteristics and psychosocial impact, and the second one represented by THI, an internationally validated score of evaluation of the effects of tinnitus on patient's emotions and activities of daily living. None of the patients belonging to group B developed tinnitus after surgery. As for group A, 40% of patients declared suppression of tinnitus, 30% attenuation of tinnitus after surgery, 25% reported tinnitus was unchanged and 5% reported worsening of tinnitus. In the nine patients with bilateral tinnitus (45%), after implantation tinnitus disappeared from both sides in four patients and attenuated bilaterally in four patients. A comparison between pre- and post-implantation THI scores showed decreased score in 65% of cases, unchanged score in 30% and increased score in 5%. The beneficial effect of cochlear implant on tinnitus, reported by a majority of patients, could be due to acoustic masking, to direct electrical stimulation of the acoustic nerve, and above all to a possible cochlear implantation dependent reorganization of the central auditory pathways and associative cerebral areas. In the light of these results, the authors propose (1) to include tinnitus in the selection criteria of which ear to implant; (2) to consider implantation eligibility for patients with bilateral severe hearing loss associated with severe tinnitus; and (3) to inform patients about the small risk of post-operative tinnitus worsening.
Click to expand...
 
R2D2 said:
Yes, you can only read abstracts of the studies. You have to subscribe to the relevant journals to read the whole paper. Occasionally on the internet it's possible to read the whole document but not very often!
Click to expand...

Okay...Thanks! :)
 
Do you notice an improvement when you're not being stimulated? I.e., when you sleep (assuming you take your CI off at night), is the tinnitus less bothersome than it was pre-implant? *crosses his fingers*
 
ismi said:
Do you notice an improvement when you're not being stimulated? I.e., when you sleep (assuming you take your CI off at night), is the tinnitus less bothersome than it was pre-implant? *crosses his fingers*
Click to expand...

Yes - it did improve over the long term for me but it's more noticeable than when I have the CI turned on. But not distressingly noticeable, if you know what I mean. It's a soft roaring sound for me.

I hope you have the same experience. You'll have to give it some time though. Your tinnitus might get worse immediately after switch on (your brain is saying "What the heck is that??") but it settles down after a while.
 
I know that they've been finding that CI implantation REALLY helps with tintintas especially with that syndrome that causes tintitas. I'd totally go for it! I gotta say I think in cases of tintintas and recruitment,(except for mild cases) they should relax the canindacy criteria.


Was it easy decision for you to decide which ear?
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If you have an ear that still benifits from HA, its usually good to go with the worse ear. That way you can still wear an aid in the other ear.
 
In my case, I now have bilateral tinnitus because of my CI surgeries. *However* I consider it to be a small price to pay in exchange for the hearing I now have. To my surprise, my tinnitus has improved significantly over the past several months.

Most of the time my tinnitus is limited to an ocean/whooshing sound. Because I've become so accustomed to it, this sound relaxes me and helps me fall asleep.

Following my first CI surgery, my tinnitus alternated between several different sounds (just when I became used to one sound it would change to another) including a car engine turning over, freight train, ocean/whooshing sound, high/medium/low pitched beeps, high pitched beep tones, low tones, people talking, door knocking, clicking and 70s/80s music.

Fortunately my tinnitus has now calmed down considerably to the point where I now only hear high/medium/low pitched beep tones, low tones and an ocean/whooshing sound.

Despite how difficult this was for me to deal with in the beginning, I've become used to it and consider it a small price to pay for the hearing I have now.
 
Thank you all!

I'm so grateful to hear all of your input. It means so much to me.

I've got errands to run, will be back later.
Again, thank you for your time spend here to help me in
decision making.
Hugs to all Suzi
 
I had Tinnitus before my CI & now it's improved so much. I've had a few nights where it had gotten bad but listening to music & things masks it quite well. While before I couldn't excatly do that because I lost the ability to wear my hearing aid in the now implanted ear [not becuase I couldn't hear, but becuase it'd cause even more severe Tinnitus issues & cause me to walk all messed up]

I have noticed though that once in awhile it seems that when I walk in my bathroom I'd get Tinnitus for a minute then it quickly passes. What's up with that? Does anyone get that too? And no there's no TV or radios or anything like that in my bathroom, which is inside the master bedroom. There's even no TV in the bedroom anymore as we took that TV up north to leave it at the cottage so that I'd have CC when we go up there. :)

My left ear is my comfort zone ear too, as that ear is the one I can still use my hearing aid with but I'm now noticing that Im already hearing better with the CI that I don't rely on my hearing aid as much anymore. Which is so weird cause the first two weeks when I got activated, I had to had both on!!! Now I don't even notice if my hearing aid isn't in. When I get up in the AM, I always have to put my CI on but not so much the HA even though I still do but I leave it off once in awhile. :x
 
Thats great mama I was wondering if you still used your HA.You had wicked bad tinnitus right after your surgery,now its gone or calmed down?You can get music too now? This is off topic but since you brought up weird times of tinnnitus I was wondering if anyone gets a weird buzz or hum while on the computer? it doesnt happen all the time but sometimes it come through so loud and annoying I have to take off my HA? Happen to anyone else?
 
deafmama78 said:
My left ear is my comfort zone ear too, as that ear is the one I can still use my hearing aid with but I'm now noticing that Im already hearing better with the CI that I don't rely on my hearing aid as much anymore. Which is so weird cause the first two weeks when I got activated, I had to had both on!!! Now I don't even notice if my hearing aid isn't in. When I get up in the AM, I always have to put my CI on but not so much the HA even though I still do but I leave it off once in awhile. :x
Click to expand...

deafmama,

When my first CI was activated, I wore a hearing aid from the day of activation until 6 months later. For the first month or two the hearing aid helped me hear binaurally and complimented my CI by bringing in low frequencies while my CI brought in high frequencies. Eventually I found that my CI ear became more dominant and that I could no longer tell when my hearing aid battery died. I also had difficulty hearing speech and environmental sounds on my hearing aid side. When I was evaluated for bilateral CIs, it was discovered that I lost more hearing in my right ear (the ear I wore the HA in). My CI audi also explained that because of the clarity I received from my CI, my brain could no longer make sense of the weak, distorted signal it received from the hearing aid. Don't be surprised if the same thing happens to you. I know several CI users who started wearing CI/HA together who eventually stopped wearing their HA because the CI was so much better. To be fair, I also know CI/HA users who still love using both, so it's all a matter of what works best for you. :)
 
TAMI SAM said:
Thats great mama I was wondering if you still used your HA.You had wicked bad tinnitus right after your surgery,now its gone or calmed down?You can get music too now? This is off topic but since you brought up weird times of tinnnitus I was wondering if anyone gets a weird buzz or hum while on the computer? it doesnt happen all the time but sometimes it come through so loud and annoying I have to take off my HA? Happen to anyone else?
Click to expand...

Tami,

When I used to wear hearing aids, I used to hear a loud buzzing sound if I had my HAs in t-coil mode and was near a computer monitor or the TV.

Speaking of t-coils...I found a really neat use for them. If you have an electronic device and don't know whether it's turned on or off, place your HAs in t-coil mode. If you hold the device up to your hearing aid and it starts to buzz, you know the device is turned on. I thought that trick might be helpful for visually impaired or blind ADers. The same can be done for lamps -- although I can usually tell whether a lamp is turned on or off by feeling the heat of the lamp against my skin.
 
1 more QQ

Would you say both of your ears/hearing is identical in sound?

My right hearing is louder (same loss as left) more senstive
and not clear. Do any of you have this?

If my right hearing is not clear, would the CI make sounds more
clear for me?

I am so nervous and worried about choosing which ear to CI.
The doctor said it's my decision which throws the ball back into
my lap and not a medical decision.

Again, I appreciate your feedback on this.
 
SuziMaria said:
Would you say both of your ears/hearing is identical in sound?

In my case, my left ear was worse than my right. The loss in my left ear started at 95 dB while the loss in my right ear started at 90 dB.

My right hearing is louder (same loss as left) more senstive and not clear. Do any of you have this?

Since my left ear was my "poorer" ear, it was weaker and more distorted. My right ear was my "better" ear and was louder and clearer (meaning that I could hear vowels -- something I couldn't do with the left ear).

If my right hearing is not clear, would the CI make sounds more clear for me?

Yes. Regardless of which ear is chosen for implantation, a CI will make sounds clear and distinguishable for you. The CI is designed to bypass the middle ear and stimulate the auditory nerve. Unlike a hearing aid which amplifies sound, a CI provides clarity.

I am so nervous and worried about choosing which ear to CI. The doctor said it's my decision which throws the ball back into my lap and not a medical decision.

Do you have enough hearing to use a hearing aid in your right ear? (Sorry, I can't remember if you do.) If so, you might want to implant your left ear so you can continue wearing a hearing aid in your right ear. Choosing which ear to implant really is an individual decision. I chose to implant my "poorer" ear and the results have been fantastic. :)
Click to expand...

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