CI or wait for something better?

No Fear 23 · 07-07-2007, 07:43 PM

well to give you a basic background of my hearing. I was born normal hearing and lost my hearing at the age of 2 due to meningitis. I am 100% deaf in my right ear and i'm not sure how much deaf I am in my left ear. I wear an hearing aid in my left ear and I can hear sounds in the hearing world but not well enough...however, I cannot hear speech sound very well and I need to lip-read to be able to understand the person.

I am now 21 years old and I speak very well...very very close to a hearing person. Lately, I have been getting annoyed about the fact that I cannot engage in a group conversation or understand someone well enough with a lot of background noise. I am starting to look into CI now bc I think it would def. help me out a lot. However, I am worried that something else will come out in the future that will make the deaf world not exist literally. I'm talking about better technology then the CI and medical stuff that may be able to generate new hair growth in the ears and will be able to hear like a hearing person.

I don't know if I should wait to see if something better than CI will come out. I feel that if I get CI now...then 5 years later a medical breakthrough saying that it has a cure for hearing loss comes out, will the CI conflict with it by not making you eligible for it, as well as the new technology?

I don't know much about CI. I am looking into all this because I will be graduating college soon and I will be in an environment where constant voice communication is critical.

jag · 07-07-2007, 07:47 PM

It's up to you. You could actually start the process to see if you'll be able to have an implant or not. You can always decide not to at any time while going through the process.

Oh and as my audie at the CI center said when she was showing me the different devices and I said something like what if things are even more improved in 5 yrs. She just said that you are the one who needs to decide if you want this now or if you want to continue as you are hoping that something better might pop up 5 yrs down the road. (what if that 5 yrs turns to 10 yrs and more)

I'm happy I went with it.

good luck.

No Fear 23 · 07-07-2007, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jag

It's up to you. You could actually start the process to see if you'll be able to have an implant or not. You can always decide not to at any time while going through the process.

Oh and as my audie at the CI center said when she was showing me the different devices and I said something like what if things are even more improved in 5 yrs. She just said that you are the one who needs to decide if you want this now or if you want to continue as you are hoping that something better might pop up 5 yrs down the road. (what if that 5 yrs turns to 10 yrs and more)

I'm happy I went with it.

good luck.

yea I might look into that so see if I am a candidate. The thing is...would i regret having a CI 5-10 years down the road which made me ineligible for something that makes CI looks like a thing of the past and would make you hear smoother and sharper sounds like a hearing person would? would you be able to take out your implants without suffering the risk and be able to use the new technology?

grr...decisions decisions.

EDIT: one thing i noticed is that when i'm reading CC on Tv...i can hear the sounds that makes out the words in the CC. this tells me that if I had more hearing..I might be able to hear without facing the person and reading their lips. I would love to have that now. The more i look into CI the more I realize the potentional of hearing things better and clearer.

Hear Again · 07-07-2007, 08:27 PM

As jag mentioned, this is a decison only you can make.

I've had bilateral CIs for the past 2 1/2 years and the difference between what I heard with HAs vs. my CIs is remarkable. I'm able to understand the TV, radio, converse with others in a noisy restaurant, talk on the phone and enjoy music. If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.

Having said that, it's my opinion that the time to hear is now. If you continually wait for new technology (such as hair cell regeneration which may or may not be available within the next 5-10 years), you will be losing out on the many wonderful sounds and experiences you could be enjoying sooner rather than later.

You might want to set up an appointment for a CI evaluation to discuss this further with an audi and CI surgeon. Perhaps they could also put you in touch with other CI users from your area. If you learn about the experiences of others and how the CI has changed their lives, perhaps this will bring you one step closer to deciding if a CI is right for you.

Good luck!

No Fear 23 · 07-07-2007, 08:33 PM

Reading all the CI success stories has made me want it more. its so tempting. but i found this that is kinda holding me back...it is supposedly to be better than CI and is hoping to come out in less than 5-10 years.

Auditory Nerve Implant Next Big Hearing Loss Breakthrough

Hear Again · 07-07-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Fear 23

Reading all the CI success stories has made me want it more. its so tempting. but i found this that is kinda holding me back...it is supposedly to be better than CI and is hoping to come out in less than 5-10 years.

Auditory Nerve Implant Next Big Hearing Loss Breakthrough

From what I understand, the ANI won't be available for at least 10 years since it will take that long to receive FDA approval and for trials to take place.

Of course, I could be wrong, but this is based on the information I've read so far about the ANI.

contradica · 07-07-2007, 09:07 PM

I born with normal hearing and then I got sick with ecoli and lost hearing in both ears. I wore hearing aids since I was 5 and then when I turned 13, my hearing in my left ear decline rapidly where a hearing aid was no use. My speech is fine otherwise.

I thought the same thing when I was 21. I began to discover that I was having problems interacting and relying heavily on lipreading. My ENT told me about cochlear implants then and I brushed it off because I simply wanted something better or technology to be perfected.

Now I am 27, nothing has changed except the fact that my hearing has gotten worse and I am no better off then what I was 6 years ago. I decided to jump into it and see if I was a candidate which I am. I am planning on getting my left ear done which I have 0% speech discrimination but still hear tones in the low frequencies. I figure with that ear, I am not losing anything. I'm schedule for surgery in August. If this works for me, then I could see myself saying I should have gotten this when I was first told about it. That is six years of missing a lot. However, the next six years won't be. If it doesn't work, then I gave the next best thing a try. On top of that, I will have my right ear that I wear a hearing aid in to fall back on.

At this point, I just want to be able to hear.

set2 · 07-07-2007, 09:24 PM

The first step would be to get an evaluation. If you are a candidate and if your right ear is suitable to be implanted you might want to get an implant for the right ear and save the left ear for future technology. If you have not done so already, you might also want to look into assistive listening devices ( i.e. FM systems) and see if you would be happy with them.

I am not sure what kind of career you are going into but you should be thinking about how your hearing will impact that. For example, if your job will involve a lot of meetings would you need an interpreter and would potential employers provide one? Would coworkers be willing to take notes for you? If you are going to work for a small company (<15 employees)ADA( Americans with Disability Act) does not apply.

LTHFAdvocate · 07-07-2007, 10:19 PM

And another several years after that before insurers will reliably cover them. The other "better than a CI" treatment frequently discussed that is in development is hair cell regeneration, and one of the top researchers in that area said in his update at the cochlear implant conference in Charlotte a few months ago that if it were he were a CI candidate today, he would not be waiting around for hair cell regeneration to be available.

Sheri

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hear Again

From what I understand, the ANI won't be available for at least 10 years since it will take that long to receive FDA approval and for trials to take place.

Of course, I could be wrong, but this is based on the information I've read so far about the ANI.

deafdyke · 07-07-2007, 11:07 PM

I'd totally go for CI! I mean you're an almost perfect canidate..(lost hearing relatively late)

Quote:

(such as hair cell regeneration which may or may not be available within the next 5-10 years)

Yeah I know..........and its still very pipe dreamish. There's a ton of possibilties, but no promises. Even stem cell research might not work out and give the results that we want.

DeafSCUBA98 · 07-08-2007, 01:18 AM

i had the same sitution like you had.. i was born hearing.. lost my hearing at 2 due to menegits.. got my CI implanted when i was 25 years old.. i too was wondering if i should wait couple more years for new tech.

however.. i decide to go ahead and have CI sugery because people, even audiologist told me it can take many years to have new tech come up. so i go ahead do one ear.. if something better comes up.. then i have another ear ready for it.

i think the ANI is more risker than a CI surgery. but i might be wrong.

why wait? if i were in ur shoes. i'll go ahead and see if i'm a CI candiate. since your brain isn't used to sounds and might need years of learning maybe or maybe not. it all depends on ur hearing history. and ur mind, ur egar, motivied to learn, etc...

i'm glad i got myself CI rather than waiting for new tech to come up. it helped me alot with hearing people.. understanding them better than without it.

dreama · 07-08-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deafdyke

Yeah I know..........and its still very pipe dreamish. There's a ton of possibilties, but no promises. Even stem cell research might not work out and give the results that we want.

I agree. There are so many promises being made. I'm against a lot of this anyway on principle. I would rather the money went on rehabilitation and providing already available treatment. It also discourages people from accepting their disability and getting the best out of life with what they've got if there is something better just round the corner I mean. Plus many of this research currently involves animal testing. Although there may be a time in the future when animal testing is no longer used because of all the new methods of testing like computer modeling and stem cells will be finally accepted as not only valid but better. More up to date. One can only hope.

shel90 · 07-09-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreama

I agree. There are so many promises being made. I'm against a lot of this anyway on principle. I would rather the money went on rehabilitation and providing already available treatment. It also discourages people from accepting their disability and getting the best out of life with what they've got if there is something better just round the corner I mean. Plus many of this research currently involves animal testing. Although there may be a time in the future when animal testing is no longer used because of all the new methods of testing like computer modeling and stem cells will be finally accepted as not only valid but better. More up to date. One can only hope.

Tousi · 07-09-2007, 03:59 PM

All that will happen as you wait for something better to come down the pike is that you grow old.

R2D2 · 07-09-2007, 06:03 PM

I agree with the others. You'd be waiting until the cows come home if you are always waiting for something better. Besides, the longer you wait while your ears are unstimulated, the harder the rehabilitation process will be. In all the studies that I've read about success factors for CIs etc, duration of deafness was one factor that was often mentioned, although not the most important.

The other thing is that CI manufacturers so far have been quite on the ball up until now with backward compatibility when it comes to producing new devices and they have designed the internal implant specifically so that they can easily be upgraded.

shel90 · 07-09-2007, 06:09 PM

Forgot to add from my earlier post...I was going to say that I agree with everyone else. Life is too short to be worrying about what the future will bring.

sr171soars · 07-09-2007, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2

I agree with the others. You'd be waiting until the cows come home if you are always waiting for something better. Besides, the longer you wait while your ears are unstimulated, the harder the rehabilitation process will be. In all the studies that I've read about success factors for CIs etc, duration of deafness was one factor that was often mentioned, although not the most important.

The other thing is that CI manufacturers so far have been quite on the ball up until now with backward compatibility when it comes to producing new devices and they have designed the internal implant specifically so that they can easily be upgraded.

Exactly!

Those who wait often are left behind....Carpe Diem!!! (Seize the day!). No time like today for who knows what tomorrow brings.

TAMI SAM · 07-10-2007, 02:55 AM

well it fascinating and good to know that researchers are trying to develop other impements besides the CI.ive lost my low tones which is very hard to get back through a HA. Im going to my Otranologinist on the 18th.Ill see what he thinks as he deals with inner ear problems and is up on the latest.

purplecatty · 07-11-2007, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Fear 23

well to give you a basic background of my hearing. I was born normal hearing and lost my hearing at the age of 2 due to meningitis. I am 100% deaf in my right ear and i'm not sure how much deaf I am in my left ear. I wear an hearing aid in my left ear and I can hear sounds in the hearing world but not well enough...however, I cannot hear speech sound very well and I need to lip-read to be able to understand the person.

I am now 21 years old and I speak very well...very very close to a hearing person. Lately, I have been getting annoyed about the fact that I cannot engage in a group conversation or understand someone well enough with a lot of background noise. I am starting to look into CI now bc I think it would def. help me out a lot. However, I am worried that something else will come out in the future that will make the deaf world not exist literally. I'm talking about better technology then the CI and medical stuff that may be able to generate new hair growth in the ears and will be able to hear like a hearing person.

I don't know if I should wait to see if something better than CI will come out. I feel that if I get CI now...then 5 years later a medical breakthrough saying that it has a cure for hearing loss comes out, will the CI conflict with it by not making you eligible for it, as well as the new technology?

I don't know much about CI. I am looking into all this because I will be graduating college soon and I will be in an environment where constant voice communication is critical.

Use your wost ear.....

I did that to preserve my left ear which is the best ear. I didn't wait for technology around the corner. I just simply have my worst right ear implanted with Nucelus 24C. My implant is compatible with Nucelus Freedom processor if I can afford it as an upgrade. It is about 10% louder than my current 3G BTE processor. Also have option to use rechargeable battery..

So when a newest medicial technology arrived that do not use BATTERY or EXTERNAL POWER!! I would run for it if I am still alive and kick'n LOL. I hoped that they will find a new way to restore nerves in cochlea. Who knows it'll be there in next 10 to 20 years.

Sometime it's not worth waiting for technology to come. Regrets will come to you on ur deathbed. Grab it now just for one ear and wait for better technology for other ear....

Good Luck
Catty

highlands · 10-25-2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTHFAdvocate

And another several years after that before insurers will reliably cover them. The other "better than a CI" treatment frequently discussed that is in development is hair cell regeneration, and one of the top researchers in that area said in his update at the cochlear implant conference in Charlotte a few months ago that if it were he were a CI candidate today, he would not be waiting around for hair cell regeneration to be available.

Sheri

Thanks for the quote.. I never thought of the fact that it would take insurance companies many more years to cover stem cells or smilar . This fact has made my decision on getting a CI stronger .

GarnetTigerMom · 10-25-2007, 02:21 PM

This is the desicion only you can make for yourself. It up to you if you want to get C.I. (cochlear implant). I have C.I. (cochlear implant) 3 years ago. I had to go through series of test first before getting approval to get C.I. and then sugery. I am using med-el C.I. and so far I can hear pretty well with it and my speech still good. I was born deaf and wear hearing aid my whole life. So far I have no regret getting C.I. and I know there are few types of C.I. brands. Suggest talk with your doctor to see which one is best for you. Hope it all works out for you. :-)

vallee · 10-25-2007, 05:08 PM

I agree with all the wonderful advise. I chose not to wait, I also chose not to just implant my "bad ear." I had bilateral C.I. implants. It has changed my life completely. I started losing my hearing at age 3 from rheumetic fever. I was implanted at 38 in July of this year. The first step is talk to your doctor and get a refer for a C.I. evaluation.

I'm not big on wait and see, I love the fact that 5 years down the road, I will be enjoying the sounds of life.

Audiofuzzy · 10-25-2007, 05:36 PM

This is very difficult, yes - what's better - wait for a newer technology or go for the well known existing one...
well from my POV the CI technology is being perfected by now, and the newer ones are still in more experimental like stages. So I guess the quality and 'surety' would be better with CI.. and is it worth waiting up to 10 years to have something more advanced? it's up to you to decide..
As for the fact of your deafness and wish to understand spoken langauge better - I suppose you are a very good CI candidate.

Fuzzy

SkullChick · 10-25-2007, 07:03 PM

Well I'm going to use my worst ear to get implanted with today tecnology and I'm going to get nucleus freedom implanted on january 15th 2008, the implant is compatable of accepting newer technology to "upgrade" without needing another surgery so you'll be fine and I plan on preserve my better ear for future better technology so that way I don't miss anything out and still have other ear to have any other option in 10+ years so maybe you can do same?

Bear · 10-25-2007, 08:39 PM

The problem with waiting is..that no one knows if they will even be alive for the next *great* advancement to come out in regards to hearing loss. I can't guarantee I will be alive 10 years from now. H

Heck I cant even guarantee I will live to see tomorrow. So my philosphy in getting the CI was live for today and hear for today.

I would rather hear today than hear again 10 years from now.

The CI decision is a very personal one. And I believe to make a decision from a forum is not a good idea. Your best bet is to even see if you are a candidate and go from there. The only one that can answer if a CI and the surgery is right for you is *after candidacy is determined* is you!

Ofc, those of us who have success with the CI is gonna tell you that you should get one or determine to get one. Those *against* a CI are gonna tell you against one.

You are the one that is gonna have to go through the surgery if you are accepted as a candidate. You are the one that is gonna have learn to hear with the CI. You are the one that is gonna have to realize that a CI is nothing like a hearing aid. You are the one that is gonna have to accept that you could be one of those that get one and may fail. You are the one that is gonna have to determine if all these risks are worth the chance to hear again.

07-07-2007, 07:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
No Fear 23 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 22	CI or wait for something better? well to give you a basic background of my hearing. I was born normal hearing and lost my hearing at the age of 2 due to meningitis. I am 100% deaf in my right ear and i'm not sure how much deaf I am in my left ear. I wear an hearing aid in my left ear and I can hear sounds in the hearing world but not well enough...however, I cannot hear speech sound very well and I need to lip-read to be able to understand the person. I am now 21 years old and I speak very well...very very close to a hearing person. Lately, I have been getting annoyed about the fact that I cannot engage in a group conversation or understand someone well enough with a lot of background noise. I am starting to look into CI now bc I think it would def. help me out a lot. However, I am worried that something else will come out in the future that will make the deaf world not exist literally. I'm talking about better technology then the CI and medical stuff that may be able to generate new hair growth in the ears and will be able to hear like a hearing person. I don't know if I should wait to see if something better than CI will come out. I feel that if I get CI now...then 5 years later a medical breakthrough saying that it has a cure for hearing loss comes out, will the CI conflict with it by not making you eligible for it, as well as the new technology? I don't know much about CI. I am looking into all this because I will be graduating college soon and I will be in an environment where constant voice communication is critical.

07-07-2007, 08:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Hear Again Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,149	As jag mentioned, this is a decison only you can make. I've had bilateral CIs for the past 2 1/2 years and the difference between what I heard with HAs vs. my CIs is remarkable. I'm able to understand the TV, radio, converse with others in a noisy restaurant, talk on the phone and enjoy music. If I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. Having said that, it's my opinion that the time to hear is now. If you continually wait for new technology (such as hair cell regeneration which may or may not be available within the next 5-10 years), you will be losing out on the many wonderful sounds and experiences you could be enjoying sooner rather than later. You might want to set up an appointment for a CI evaluation to discuss this further with an audi and CI surgeon. Perhaps they could also put you in touch with other CI users from your area. If you learn about the experiences of others and how the CI has changed their lives, perhaps this will bring you one step closer to deciding if a CI is right for you. Good luck! __________________ Hear Again Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with Freedom BTE Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05 Right ear - Nucleus Freedom Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06 Deafblind/Postlingual

07-07-2007, 09:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
contradica Contradica Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 359	I born with normal hearing and then I got sick with ecoli and lost hearing in both ears. I wore hearing aids since I was 5 and then when I turned 13, my hearing in my left ear decline rapidly where a hearing aid was no use. My speech is fine otherwise. I thought the same thing when I was 21. I began to discover that I was having problems interacting and relying heavily on lipreading. My ENT told me about cochlear implants then and I brushed it off because I simply wanted something better or technology to be perfected. Now I am 27, nothing has changed except the fact that my hearing has gotten worse and I am no better off then what I was 6 years ago. I decided to jump into it and see if I was a candidate which I am. I am planning on getting my left ear done which I have 0% speech discrimination but still hear tones in the low frequencies. I figure with that ear, I am not losing anything. I'm schedule for surgery in August. If this works for me, then I could see myself saying I should have gotten this when I was first told about it. That is six years of missing a lot. However, the next six years won't be. If it doesn't work, then I gave the next best thing a try. On top of that, I will have my right ear that I wear a hearing aid in to fall back on. At this point, I just want to be able to hear. __________________ When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest. 8.27.07 -Left ear implanted with HiRes90k 9.17.07 -Activated with Harmony 120! http://contradica.blogspot.com

07-08-2007, 01:18 AM	#11 (permalink)
DeafSCUBA98 my cute fish of the year! Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: land of 10,000 lakes and living by one of them Posts: 4,627	i had the same sitution like you had.. i was born hearing.. lost my hearing at 2 due to menegits.. got my CI implanted when i was 25 years old.. i too was wondering if i should wait couple more years for new tech. however.. i decide to go ahead and have CI sugery because people, even audiologist told me it can take many years to have new tech come up. so i go ahead do one ear.. if something better comes up.. then i have another ear ready for it. i think the ANI is more risker than a CI surgery. but i might be wrong. why wait? if i were in ur shoes. i'll go ahead and see if i'm a CI candiate. since your brain isn't used to sounds and might need years of learning maybe or maybe not. it all depends on ur hearing history. and ur mind, ur egar, motivied to learn, etc... i'm glad i got myself CI rather than waiting for new tech to come up. it helped me alot with hearing people.. understanding them better than without it. __________________ Nucleus Freedom 04/18/05 activiated 05/16/05

07-09-2007, 06:03 PM	#15 (permalink)
R2D2 Retired from All Deaf! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 2,606	I agree with the others. You'd be waiting until the cows come home if you are always waiting for something better. Besides, the longer you wait while your ears are unstimulated, the harder the rehabilitation process will be. In all the studies that I've read about success factors for CIs etc, duration of deafness was one factor that was often mentioned, although not the most important. The other thing is that CI manufacturers so far have been quite on the ball up until now with backward compatibility when it comes to producing new devices and they have designed the internal implant specifically so that they can easily be upgraded. __________________ Left ear implanted 9th June 2006 Activated 29th June 2006 Right ear implanted 31st August 2007 Activated 18th September Both Nucleus Freedom Cochlear implant myths

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07-07-2007, 07:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
jag Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 791	It's up to you. You could actually start the process to see if you'll be able to have an implant or not. You can always decide not to at any time while going through the process. Oh and as my audie at the CI center said when she was showing me the different devices and I said something like what if things are even more improved in 5 yrs. She just said that you are the one who needs to decide if you want this now or if you want to continue as you are hoping that something better might pop up 5 yrs down the road. (what if that 5 yrs turns to 10 yrs and more) I'm happy I went with it. good luck.

07-07-2007, 08:33 PM	#5 (permalink)
No Fear 23 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 22	Reading all the CI success stories has made me want it more. its so tempting. but i found this that is kinda holding me back...it is supposedly to be better than CI and is hoping to come out in less than 5-10 years. Auditory Nerve Implant Next Big Hearing Loss Breakthrough

07-07-2007, 09:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
set2 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 137	The first step would be to get an evaluation. If you are a candidate and if your right ear is suitable to be implanted you might want to get an implant for the right ear and save the left ear for future technology. If you have not done so already, you might also want to look into assistive listening devices ( i.e. FM systems) and see if you would be happy with them. I am not sure what kind of career you are going into but you should be thinking about how your hearing will impact that. For example, if your job will involve a lot of meetings would you need an interpreter and would potential employers provide one? Would coworkers be willing to take notes for you? If you are going to work for a small company (<15 employees)ADA( Americans with Disability Act) does not apply.

07-09-2007, 03:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tousi Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 7,543	All that will happen as you wait for something better to come down the pike is that you grow old.

07-09-2007, 06:09 PM	#16 (permalink)
shel90 Sun Whorshipper Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: A Desert Rat that has found herself in Maryland Posts: 14,994 Blog Entries: 1	Forgot to add from my earlier post...I was going to say that I agree with everyone else. Life is too short to be worrying about what the future will bring. __________________ ~Shel~

07-10-2007, 02:55 AM	#18 (permalink)
TAMI SAM Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: the lovely garden state Posts: 230	well it fascinating and good to know that researchers are trying to develop other impements besides the CI.ive lost my low tones which is very hard to get back through a HA. Im going to my Otranologinist on the 18th.Ill see what he thinks as he deals with inner ear problems and is up on the latest. __________________ Life's a Journey...Not a Destination!:

10-25-2007, 02:21 PM	#21 (permalink)
GarnetTigerMom Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,595	This is the desicion only you can make for yourself. It up to you if you want to get C.I. (cochlear implant). I have C.I. (cochlear implant) 3 years ago. I had to go through series of test first before getting approval to get C.I. and then sugery. I am using med-el C.I. and so far I can hear pretty well with it and my speech still good. I was born deaf and wear hearing aid my whole life. So far I have no regret getting C.I. and I know there are few types of C.I. brands. Suggest talk with your doctor to see which one is best for you. Hope it all works out for you. :-) __________________ GarnetTigerMom "The rain may be falling hard outside, But your smile makes it all alright. I'm so glad that you're my friend. I know our friendship will never end." -- Robert Alan

10-25-2007, 05:08 PM	#22 (permalink)
vallee Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,034	I agree with all the wonderful advise. I chose not to wait, I also chose not to just implant my "bad ear." I had bilateral C.I. implants. It has changed my life completely. I started losing my hearing at age 3 from rheumetic fever. I was implanted at 38 in July of this year. The first step is talk to your doctor and get a refer for a C.I. evaluation. I'm not big on wait and see, I love the fact that 5 years down the road, I will be enjoying the sounds of life. __________________ Right and Left Implanted July 19, 2007 Activated August 9, 2007 Both Advanced Bionics Harmony

10-25-2007, 05:36 PM	#23 (permalink)
Audiofuzzy Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,968	This is very difficult, yes - what's better - wait for a newer technology or go for the well known existing one... well from my POV the CI technology is being perfected by now, and the newer ones are still in more experimental like stages. So I guess the quality and 'surety' would be better with CI.. and is it worth waiting up to 10 years to have something more advanced? it's up to you to decide.. As for the fact of your deafness and wish to understand spoken langauge better - I suppose you are a very good CI candidate. Fuzzy __________________ Truth breeds hatred. ~Bias of Priene, Maxims A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Mohandas Gandhi

10-25-2007, 07:03 PM	#24 (permalink)
SkullChick Lil Ci-Borg Chick Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Middle Of Nowhere, Delaware Posts: 603	Well I'm going to use my worst ear to get implanted with today tecnology and I'm going to get nucleus freedom implanted on january 15th 2008, the implant is compatable of accepting newer technology to "upgrade" without needing another surgery so you'll be fine and I plan on preserve my better ear for future better technology so that way I don't miss anything out and still have other ear to have any other option in 10+ years so maybe you can do same? __________________ [Left Ear] Implanted 1/15/08 with Nucleus Freedom! Activated 2/12/08 with Freedom BTE Link for my Cochlear Implant http://skullchick.blogspot.com Link for my Blog unrelated to cochlear Implant http://skullchickworld.blogspot.com

10-25-2007, 08:39 PM	#25 (permalink)
Bear Out Of Hibernation Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,026	The problem with waiting is..that no one knows if they will even be alive for the next great advancement to come out in regards to hearing loss. I can't guarantee I will be alive 10 years from now. H Heck I cant even guarantee I will live to see tomorrow. So my philosphy in getting the CI was live for today and hear for today. I would rather hear today than hear again 10 years from now. The CI decision is a very personal one. And I believe to make a decision from a forum is not a good idea. Your best bet is to even see if you are a candidate and go from there. The only one that can answer if a CI and the surgery is right for you is after candidacy is determined is you! Ofc, those of us who have success with the CI is gonna tell you that you should get one or determine to get one. Those against a CI are gonna tell you against one. You are the one that is gonna have to go through the surgery if you are accepted as a candidate. You are the one that is gonna have learn to hear with the CI. You are the one that is gonna have to realize that a CI is nothing like a hearing aid. You are the one that is gonna have to accept that you could be one of those that get one and may fail. You are the one that is gonna have to determine if all these risks are worth the chance to hear again.

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