Jules

Hello everyone!

It almost a year since I've been implanted and I want to know a little about your experience with cochlear implants.

My experience has been amazing and quite a journey, I really started hearing again 4 months ago. The journey back to the hearing world and re-learning sounds like my dog barking, the phone ringing, my own voice it was tough. But I'm happy with my CI.

Deafness

__________________
This advertising will not be shown in this way to registered members.
Register your free account today and become a member on AllDeaf.com

bbaseballboy123

Had it for 14-15 years. Best thing ever. Rely on it too much, but love it. I could NOT ASK for more.

__________________
Deaf and Smart. Business Major at RIT. Have Bi-lateral cochlear implants. But know ASL as well.

Working on a new project that will benefit deaf peeps

dereksbicycles

So what happened with that 7-8 months that you had CI before you would hear phone ringing or dog barking? What was it like?

Deaffy

I will be comming up on my 1 year with my CI and I really must say I love it completely. Comming from a late deafend individual it has changed my life 100%. I simply love having the option of muting the world when ever I see fit and also being able to be involved in the hearing world as my former self used to be able to do. This has been one journey I am glad I took. I have only been through 3 mappings since my original turn on and have not needed anything else. I hear well on the phone and in normal situations.. When I am in public places I do struggle but with the CI it helps me with lipreading in those situations.

__________________
Experience is the best education one can ever have.

RIGHT EAR
Implanted 7-16-10
Activated 8-10-10
Nucleus 5

LEFT EAR
Unaided deaf.

Jules

No, I couldn't.... It was so confusing I couldn't identify any sound because all sounds sounded the same for me. For my surprise my dog started helping me with that. When the phone rings he comes to me and point me the phone and the same thing was with the doorbell ringing he puts his head in my lap and take me to the door. That way I learned how all I mentioned before sounds

Jules

That's amazing and so true we have a sort of power by muting the world when we want to, hearing people can't do that he he! And I also read lips in those situations. I'm happy it turned well for you.

Hohtopics

I've been enjoying mine as well. For starters, it kind of gives me the feeling that I continue to grow, evolve and change. And sometime could see the difference when communicating with strangers out there. And have sometime been told that my speech has improved since I got the CI whereas sometime I could tell that it's been the case.

I also sometime feel that a "new world" has opened up. Whereas I continue to learn new things that I hadn't known before. Like the way certain letters or words sound. Or hearing some new sounds that I either didn't hear it too good in the past or didn't hear them at all.

I also met some of the other CI users and also made some new friends. People that I probably wouldn't have met if I hadn't gotten the CI.

Mudkipz

This^^ I never heard a bird chirping, especially from those small birds until I got the AB.

So far... definitely not there yet up with my Cochlear Freedom's performance, but I love to wear it everyday because it's exciting to hear that one "new" sound or the moment it sounds as great as my Freedom...

__________________

overthepond

It is coming up 3 years since I was Implanted and I have no doubts on having it done. I never ever heard a lot of sounds that people took for granted such as birds singing, recongising children's voices, wind blowing through the branches, my almost 17 year old cat, Misty, mewing. When I first heard them.... it never stopped me from contiuning to smile when I hear them even they can be a bit annoying! Misty had discovered that I can hear her as she mews ALL the time.

Having CI had open up new horizions for me such as going to college and doing work experience. I had wanted to work with deaf children but lack of work out in UK means that I had to look at different work that I would never thought i could do due to difficulty with understanding people. However, I am currently working with nine 16-19 year old teenagers with autism at school!! They are extremely challenging but fun to work with, with no facial expression to read, monotonal voices, loud voices, head shaking, rocking etc it was near impossible to lipread/understand them at first and I really thought i wouldn't last at the school, but I rocked on, now I can recongise each teenager's voice without looking, respond to their questions once. If i was with HA, the sounds are white washed, I would have never be able to work with them, I am so glad i took the decision in having CI implanted as hearing with it is like being in 3D and is rich in colour.

I have had always turned off my HA when I ride my horses because it gives a lot of feedbacks when wearing helmet (I had ridden horses for very long time) it was difficult to stay calm on roads especially when I am on my own as I get bit nervous not hearing oncoming cars and what speed they are at, I constantly keep looking behind me. In the past 2.5 years with the CI, I can hear the cars/lorries etc and felt at ease with riding my horses on roads.
Yesterday, I was riding with a friend on country lanes which is no wider than a car's width when I heard whistling/lots of vibrations in engine (probably when they revs up after going round the bends), with tractor in the field chugging away, I asked my friend did you hear that, she said no... I told her that I was not happy and we proceed to get to a field, lo behold just a sec or two it was a motorbike at high speed zooming past us without even slowing down.

I also have made a lot of new friends as they are in similar boat as I am. I have more hearing friends now days as I could get involved more and I haven't lost any deaf friends, as I still sign with them.

krazykatkitty

Had it for a decade. Got second one done earlier this year. My experience has been incredible amazing. I loved it. I cannot live without it. Before cochlear implant I never heard a bird chirping, cat meow or other small sounds.

Lissa

I've had mine for 10 1/2 years and it is the best choice that myself and my parents made. I can hold conversations without having to lipread, listen to the radio at work without even concentrating, I can lipread the kids while staff doesn't understand them. After activation I began to hear things I NEVER heard before, some of those sounds make me smile just because I like the sound of them. Even with hearing aids, you will never hear all the sounds, there's so much more with the implant that you can hear.

__________________
lissa, 23, profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
http://bioniclissa.blogspot.co.uk/

Hohtopics

Yeah, just the other day I was near a group of seagulls that were on the ground. Whereas one of them, perhaps a dominant one, "roared" at the others. It made me jump a little and even reminded me a little of the dinosaurs!

Fl885

wow, it's amazing to read these replies from Jules, bbaseballboy123, Deaffy, hohtopics, Mudkipz, overthepond, krazykatkitty, Lissa!
I have had mine switched on 3 weeks back and it's amazing so far, seeing that I have so much to look for in the future, keep the good things coming

Cricket's

I really enjoyed reading this, I am hearing and it showed me some of things I have taken for granted and what I am missing by doing so...I felt like my senses were on overload putting myself in your position...also pointing out how much you have gained, while loosing nothing.... for sharing

Hohtopics

I've also been finding it easier to approach strangers, like the store clerks at the store, and ask for help. Whereas I sometime used to be a little more timid in a "uhm... could you..." sense. And now come right out and say "I'm looking for..." more often these days.

Katina22

I am almost on the waiting list for my first CI and I am so nervous about getting one.
I feel I have no choice though as it's getting more and more difficult for me to get by at work and I don't want to stop working.

Reading others' experiences is very encouraging.

Rampratt

I've had right side CI for just a bit over a year and sure glad I got it. Used CI on right and Ha on left for about a year and then was able to get CI for left side. Have had Left side activated for about two months now and it seems like I'm a bit slower by a fair amount that it was with right side but I do feel it will come eventually. I have no regrets on the decisions I made. Have the Freedom 5 on both sides.
I wonder if any on has heard of the "Esteem" hearing system. I've just been made aware of it and it looks interesting but quite new I think. It will be interesting to see how it develops and how successful it really is.

Hohtopics

Sure, it's normal to feel a little nervous. I also did prior to mine. Feel free to come back in here and let others know as you move higher up on the list for help and support from others. There are also probably CI support groups you could go to in your area so you won't go on about the journey alone.

cdmeggers

So wishing I have gotten my CI. Sigh. Hopefully by November of this year or later, I'll be able to get the CI for my left ear. Will see what happens. Of course, I'm not looking for some magical miracle for the left ear... I don't expect the CI to be of much help/benefit right away, I have a feeling it'll take me a long time to get some benefit with a CI in the left ear (dead ear, no sounds/HA for years). But if I could just hear some sounds with the left ear CI, that would be great.

__________________
My Ear Blog
Advanced Bionics BEA Volunteer Mentor

Hohtopics

I remember reading one of the authors who wrote about her experiences with the CI saying "I didn’t realize how deaf I was till I got the CI..." or something to that sort.

And recalled thinking "Oh c'mon, I could hear many things with my hearing aid...". And could also at times communicate pretty well (i.e. "that is for a deaf person").

However, it wasn't till I got the CI was when I realized what she meant. And that I wasn't hearing as much as I originally thought. And that there was also more of a difference between a typical hearing person's speech and mine than I originally thought.

friendlymom21

it been 6 months since i was implanted of early last year dec 2010 i believe it have been a good experiencing what im going thru in my everyday life as a mom with ci because there were some things i never heard before sounds like water running, kids in the background talking or playing, understanding words without looking at someone but i still do relay on lip reading, inside of a car tht makes sound and other im still hearing etc... than hearing aids i used to wore all my life since 2 or 3 yrs old so.

kokonut

Yes, quite encouraging. I agree. Though I have no need for it since my hearing aid does very well me but I'm glad other people's CIs are working out superbly for them.

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Hohtopics

One area I'd like to work or improve on is dealing with indoor areas with a lot of background noise. Just the other day I went to a relatives party, whereas when I came out to head home, I asked another hearing relative that was walking by "Was it noisy inside?". Whereas my relative claimed that it was. "Oh cause I could hear the difference", I then responded to my relative.

Anyway, that's where I hope the N5 would come in handy. Cause I currently have the Freedom and hope to upgrade sometime soon, possibly sometime later this year. And could see using the remote to help adjust the setting and so forth.

I'm also currently not wearing a BTE in my non-implanted ear when I go out (i.e. although sometime I do when I'm home by myself and taking a break from the CI), cause the one I have is a little old and worn. And would probably also like to get a new BTE in the near future. So, I'm also hoping and wondering if having a BTE in the non-implanted ear will also help with the noisy indoor situations, particularly with the amplification aspect.

ptcallaghan

Well I am only about 5 days post activiation but I am loving it so far...I dont take the CI off except to sleep and shower.

And like some other people have mentioned...I feel like I really had no clue how deaf I was until taking the CI off after wearing it for a bit...

I have noticed that I no longer have to lipread most of the time when my fiance is talking to me, I could even hear her ask me something from another room yesterday. This is after my initial programming...so I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

I dont regret the decision at all.

coolgirlspyer90

I had my left CI for about 10 years, and loving it! I recently got the right ear done, I had my N5 for about 8 months on my right, I can really tell the difference than what I was hearing before i got my right ear done. It's amazing how the CI works. I just absolutely love it. I still have to lipread (i always do) but I noticed that I am improving on being able to understand on the phone while talking. I perfer using my cellphone because the speakers on the phone seemed more louder and clearer for me than our landline phone. I take my implant off when I'm going to take a shower and when i'm going to sleep. But I'll wear my CI everyday unless it's raining.

Hohtopics

I've gotten some "your speech is better" or "has improved" lately. I don't go around asking others "How's my speech?". Others just usually tell me that.

Want to know something interesting? I've also been told by some of the late deafened that even they've been told that their speech has improved after getting the CI.

Cause it's one thing for some of the profoundly deaf that was born with their loss and has an accent and all to have theirs improved, cause there is, as constructively put "more room for improvement".

But it's another for some of the late deafened to also have theirs improved. In another word, their speech did get somewhat affected when they may have either been getting no or little auditory input or were wearing just the hearing aids only for it to improve again after they got the CI.

Daredevel7

Love my CI. It really helps me lipread. Nowadays, I'm picking up sentences here and there without lipreading at all. It's pretty awesome because even though it's slow progress, it's STILL going! It's glaringly obvious when I'm too lazy to put on my CI on weekend mornings that it really helps me "listen" because I'm like huh? What? with those who mumble. They just either try to sign or tell me to get my CI.

kokonut

Ever gotten a moment when you understood a word or sentence without looking and without even trying?

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Beach girl

You have a natural-born hearing ear dog there! Love it.

Daredevel7

yep!!! It happens surprisingly often!