pinkster

As most of you know, I havent always been deaf. I lost it gradually over the years and the first hearing test that showed "profoundly" deaf, i was 17. I recently had a vocational/career assesment test, and the woman had my audiogram on file. I myself did not have this. It was the one from when I was 17. However, I do have tinnitus, which i think, plays a factor is how my test went.

The test said 90db (R) and 95db (L) but I didnt know what that really meant. So I looked on the internet and found this little thing that told me what it might mean. I got it from here

-
Degree (based on pure tone average)
normal range 0 -25 dB
mild loss 26-40 dB
moderate 41-55 dB
moderate severe 56-70 dB
severe 71-90 dB
profound 91 dB or greater
-

My question to you is, what is your db loss? Im curious. Its weird I'm considered severe/profound, as I listen to music on my CD player on a 6 or so, (depends on the CD) out of 10.

(PS, i didnt know where else to post this, so I chose here.)

Deafness

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Bush_in_2004!

pinkster,

you'll find that the db loss listing is rather meaningless when trying to compare people. obviously you do quite well enough to enjoy listening to a CD player with a 95 db loss while on the other hand there are many examples of "deaf people" with only a 50db hearing loss who are unable to discriminate between the various types of sounds and CD players are useless. consider yourself lucky.

pinkster

i guess so.. i mean.. i always take in the fact that for 14 years i was trained to hear things the way people normally do. *shrugs* maybe its just me.. my uncle calls our family CODA-LDA and there arent many people like that.. so i guess..

Bush_in_2004!

look on the bright side, if your hearing gets worse, you would be among the people that would do real well with a CI as opposed to some people who "don't use their ears" much anymore. Of course, if you oppose the CI, then that's another story.

DeafSCUBA98

hi pinkysterry

As for me, my right 86 left 92. I start losing hearing slowly when i was 2 years old with menigits, become serve to profound deaf when i reach 11 years old.. yea i still do get tinnius in my ears, hate those ringings sometimes druing the night or so.. :-)

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Nucleus Freedom 04/18/05
activiated 05/16/05

pinkster

I used to be against them, and now I'm not so sure. The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy, and i believe mine is much higher than that. (Hell, if i know what the lyrics are, most of the time i can sing along - depends on the music) So I dont know. I want to try hearing aids again first, then if that doesnt work then i'd consider a CI. But before people go nutso on me, dont get me wrong - i LOVE being deaf and i love being Deaf too. But unfortunately we do not live in a Deaf world, we are just "bits and pieces to present a semblance of a whole." (Something written on a building wall of an art museum here in minneapolis)

DeafSCUBA98

I used to be against it too druing my high school years, since however, last year I'm curious what's it's like to have it, will it improve my social needs with hearies? Another problem i am standing on the fence is that i asked few of my good friends who's deaf and i trusted them completely, they say "i'm against it, but it's up to you". this sounds like an offence to me. Well, this is 2003 right now.. i'm noticing serval gally students took a chance for CI or consdiering getting one.

Other thing. Insurance will cover it completely as for my insurance under my work, and my company is offering me to get one, they even offer to pay the equiement, etc..
But, yet, i am still proud to be Deaf.

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Nucleus Freedom 04/18/05
activiated 05/16/05

stuntchic

That's interesting, becasue I went VERY deaf at the age of 18... I can hear cars, and music, and people talking, just cant hear it all that clearly. I can hear sirens and lawnmowers. I wear hearing aids in both ears, but I have been listed as up to 70 - 90db hearing loss, moderate to severe. I dont think you can really measure it like that. it just doesnt work that way.. It is the audiologists way of trying to categorise somethng that is essentially UNcategorisable (is that a word?)

Anyway, I think thats great - utilise yr hearing as much as you can. dont let any test results make you think you are or arent able to do smoething.....

pinkster

I dont know much about hearing tests, which is why i went online to find out about them. However, I had hearing tests EVERY 6 MONTHS from when i was 5 till i was 14 That was the other reason i stopped wearing hearing aids. I cant hear sirens (tinystrawberry can attest for that one, as a fire truck passed us while I wass driving and I didnt hear it at all.) Nor can I hear lawnmowers anymore, unless its super close to me. I know that there are several kinds of deafness, and you cant classify everyone under 'one' type. And you are right, not let a test result affect your thinking.. However it is hard not to

Bush_in_2004!

p sez: "The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy"

actually it depends on the individual. that is why I said you will do well because based on what your telling me, you are getting the most from your HA.

however, as you pointed out, you're doing well with the HA right now so right now is NOT the time for a CI. However, should your hearing get worse or your sound discrimination (word accuracy) gets worse, then the CI becomes an option.

Good luck.

ideafspy

Hey, Its happen to me also. I used to able hear the phone rang but not anymore that sounds start notice when I was 18 years old. Right now I am 23 years old and processing get surgrey on Sept. My hearing loss both is 85 percent sever to profound. You can check out the cochlear implant process to see if they able let you get cochlear implant or not. Cochlear implant is not for everyone; who is deaf.

Tell you truth that I am little bit nervous about cochlear implant due my friends are deaf with no cochlear implant. Beside the cochlear implant is get better and improve some tech provide me to hear again.

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deafdyke

Huh? I thought that in order to be eligiable for CI, you had to have less then 40% word accuracy!
As for the orginal topic, I have a mild (left ear) moderately severe (right ear) loss. I can hear some women without aids and without speechreading but I cannot hear things like my cat purring or thunder, even with my aids unless it's REALLY loud.

pinkster

-Actually, i dont wear hearing aids anymore. I did benefit from whem when i was in grammar school.

-Good luck with your surgery

- 60% was what i was told by a cochlear company based in Colorado, at the worldwide deaf expo last february, here in MN Oh and if i put my kitty up to my ear, i can hear him purr

Bush_in_2004!

\

hmm, well that is interesting and may indeed be correct.

deafdyke

That might be correct...Wait....did the CI rep say whether the word comprehension was with hearing aids or without? B/c a 60% word discrimination score without aids translates into a moderate loss...I do know that at least 1 person with moderate loss has been implanted but I thought that implanting medically HOH folk was really experimental.

Bush_in_2004!

frankly, implanting HOH is a bit gutsy because there is no way the CI team can guarantee your scores would be better after a CI. Therefore one would think the CI team would suggest a HOH person waits until her/his word comprehension score is truly poor. but this my opinion. if CI technology has advanced to the point they can predict improvement on HOH people then that's great. but in the meantime I'm a skeptical HOH'er.

stuntchic

I am totally the same, Bush2004, I am very HOH, and people always say to me, "Why don't you get a CI if your hearing is that bad?" and I'm like - would you trust a surgeon with what little hearing youve got left? I certainly wouldnt. So I'll just wait til they start growing hair cells in testtubes, and then I'll let them practise growing them in my ear!! Cause thats why Im deaf - my hair cells in my ear are deteriorating. SOunds gross. Makes me feel icky.

deafdyke

Jake, I am also very skeptical. I do know there are some CI cases where the person can hear everything but I thought most of those cases had a purely progressive loss!

Bush_in_2004!

DD, here's something to think about . . . perhaps it has more to do with the implantee's atitude rather than actual hearing loss. If one expects the CI surgery to be a one-step solution, they're gonna be disappointed. But on the other hand, if one is determined to "hear and understand" again, they'll do all the necessary steps (follow-ups and training after the CI surgery) in order to succeed.

I say this having witness a relative of mine get a CI only later said it was "disappointing" just right after it was turned on. This person was LAZY and had lived a life of everything being handed to him -- I wondered how the heck the CI team thought he was a good canidate!?

Bush_in_2004!

stuntchic,

one of the things CI doctors are doing these days is trying to preserve as much "original" hearing as possible because of the concerns raised by people like you. they're getting better and better at it. I'm willing to wait a bit longer for the technology to evolve further and I think you are too.

HoneyShot

OMG pinkster! You seem so much like me! I had progressive loss too, and was profound deaf by 15. I can hear CD's but only well enough to enjoy it on full volume on though. I can't hear sirens either! I never knew anyone who's so like me before!

pinkster

Indeed - its fairly rare I would think. I sat outside today waiting for my mom and an ambulance went by, i closed my eyes to see if I cld hear it without seeing how close it was. It had to get pretty close before i heard SOMETHING slightly loud.

As for music, i dont know if i said this but i listen on a scale of 1-10, at a 6ish - depending on the kind of music.

If you'd like to IM me on AIM, please feel free. o0lostinwaves0o - im more than willing to chat

deafdyke

Actually I seem to recall reading somewhere that about 80% of implantees retain their residual hearing, which is good.
Jake, Sorry but I think sucess with CI has more to do with the type of loss. It's lots easier to remember how to listen, if your brain knows how to process sound like a hearing person's brain. I know that the rate of dissatisfaction with CI is rather low, but that might be due to the fact that overall, most deaf people weren't born deaf. As a matter of fact overall, born deaf-hoh people only make up about 5% of the total deaf/hoh population. That's also probaly why the oral failure rates are claimed to be so low. It's lots easier to interpret sound once you know what sound actually IS. I have a feeling a large percentage of the prelingally deafened sucesses aren't classic prelingals (people who were born deaf or went deaf very early, like when they were infants.) I'm not saying that a classic preling can't be an oral sucess. Hey even back in the '60's with really primative technology something like 10% of born deafies were oral sucesses. I'm just saying that the percentage of classic prelings who are oral sucesses has always been quite low, much lower in fact then most oralists want to admit. Granted a person's attitude can impact sucess quite significently but on the other hand, there ARE people who really don't care for hearing. I think it's an overrated sense and I am a pure aural learner!!! I really admire people like pinkster and CSN who decide that being deaf ain't the end of the world! I wish there were more of you guys out there!

Bush_in_2004!

dd sez: "I think it's an overrated sense"

me: are there any OTHER senses that might be also overrated too??

IMO I don't think it is possible to overrate ANY senses! (except of course for mind reading)

At any rate in the near future we'll have some data to look at that'll answer many of these questions. For sure, the CSNers of the world will continue to find themselves declining in numbers, because for one thing, manditory helmet laws are more widespread and strictly enforced!

deafdyke

Jake, yes I do think it's a little overrated.....I enjoy being able to hear, but at the same time I really like having down time without my aids on.
I'll never forget one time in my dorm, when there was a LOUD punk rock concert...I was the only kid not complaining.
As a disabilty rights advocate I also think walking is overrated (I have orthapedic and nereomuscular disorders, which can make it difficult for me to walk long distances) I think sight is overrated....I think having a "healthy normal" child is extremely overrated! I believe that using a wheelchair instead of walking is equal to walking. I don't believe that using an alternative to something is a crutch the way some nondisabled people believe. I do think that kids should be taught to walk but they should also feel that it's OK to use alternatives like a walker or a wheelchair.
I understand that you feel that you're missing out on hearing b/c you gradually lost your hearing. You KNOW what you're missing. You treasured and wish you had it back. From my surfing and reading your experiance is VERY common among post-lingal/progressively deafened people. However, many of us prelingallly deafened people may like hearing with HA/CIs but at the same time we also like being deaf.
Many of us don't know what we're missing. Nereologically speaking we can hear but it's not the same as what hearing people hear.(or what you and other post/progressives may have once heard) Hearing people don't hear bleeps and bloops the way CIers do! Hearing people don't miss sounds the way many people with hearing aids do.

Bush_in_2004!

dd,

hmm . . . so lets say a person broke her hip and decided wtf, I'll just stay in the wheelchair instead of going through the painful steps of learning to walk again.

so, is that person "disabled" and eligible for all "disablity" assistance? Who provides for their personal wheelchair vehicle? Society?


another question: is vision overrated?

just curious.

CatoCooper13

~~258~~ I, myself, have a CI and have had it for 3 years now. Although these days, I don't wear it on a daily basis due to the nature of work I do. ( I work as a Carer in a group home and I wear a body processor with a cord connected to the body processor to the coil near my ear -- it is constantly grabbed by clients at work and getting pulled off.)
-- for those who opt for a CI -- choose a BTE not the body processor, heh.
Besides that...before I had the operation, I had to go through a few assessments to see if I was a CI candidate: balance check (some operations on the ear can severely challenge the sense of balance), listening test (got about 47% accurate), and audiologist test (75% and 85 to 90%). When the operation came up, I opted for the worse ear which was 85 to 90% severely/moderate deaf as I didn't have much to lose.
About a year after surgery and hook up, my listening skills went up from 47% to 71%. I reckon that has slid a bit as I don't wear it on a daily basis these days.

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DeafSCUBA98

u know, there's cordless ones now aviliable and u don't need to wear a body processor.

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Nucleus Freedom 04/18/05
activiated 05/16/05

Boult

cordless!???? no such thing as "cordless" !! clarify?

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Sweet_KJ

I think s/he meant BTE. it's not called cordless heheh