Faith1994

I have gotten my CI activated yesterday, and because I was not born deaf I know what sound is. So everyone sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks. But every word is very clear. I love it.

Moved to Hearing aids & Cochlear Implants
Moderator naisho

Deafness

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Beach girl

Cool. Which model did you get?

I see on your profile you are from Ida. When I was a child I had some elderly relatives (grandmother's cousins, I think the relationship was) who had a farm near there.

drphil

It does take "some time" to get used to the sounds from one's Cochlear Implant that is why there is "mapping sessions". Important to be very honest on exactly what understands as "hearing".
I have mentioned before I found that I was wondering why someone was "following me"- just heard my own footsteps which I hadn't heard before. Amusing-no doubt.
I was advised to keep my Implant on all the time to get used to hearing all sounds. The only time off-sleeping and swimming.

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cdmeggers

awesome! how exciting! I'm very eager to get my CI in March.

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bbaseballboy123

Haha, the alvin and chipmunk sounds totally normal!

Congrats!

What company did you get?

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coolgirlspyer90

yay! congrats, I'm happy for you I got implanted in my junior year on my right ear (last year) and everything sounded like alvin and the chipmunks too It took awhile to get used to the sounds and everything, things will progress very well! don't worry!

rockin'robin

Since everything or everyone sounds like Alvin & the Chipmunks....how can you tell which family member is doing the talking?.....let's say your back is turned....and 3 family members are taking turns talking....would you be able to tell which family member said what?....Do they all sound the same?

drphil

As to who is speaking- one usually develops the"habit of looking and paying attention to whoever is speaking"from prior of use of a Hearing aid. This habit carries forward when is implanted-hopefully!

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rockin'robin

Never worn a HA in my life....but am fluent at lipreading....so ur basically saying that if I chose to have the implant, still I would have to "face" the person to undy what is being said...or in better words, still having to lipread that person?...then basically, there is no difference if you are fluent at lipreading, is there?...Without the CI, I lipread...and with the CI, I would still have to lipread.....

zajko

In my family I'm able to tell who is talking .. but well, it isn't too hard because there are only 3 people Mom, dad and brother have each a bit different voice.

Sounds like alvin & chipmunks appears only shortly after the activation, when you need to get used to those new sounds.. then it's ok.

And lipreading .. I can say that lipreading is really easier when you can hear something, because it isn't so tiring as lipreading only. And in quiet environment I don't really need to lipread, but I still do it .. looking at talking person is just some kind of habit for me

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drphil

Speechreading is only a "help" in dealing/coping with Hearing loss which for most people carries forward for the rest of their life-hopefully. It is not a replacement for either a Hearing aid or Cochlear Implant-at least in my experience. That is why I repeated the course of number of times at Canadian Hearing Society/Toronto. Back then I was in the "profound loss" category-left and having became DEAF-February 1992 in right ear.

Again not everybody agrees with my reasoning-one's choice.

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krazykatkitty

Good to hear that =)

Lissa

Even with the CI, If i had my back turned I wouldn't be able to guess which of the three people are talking. I would still have to lipread.

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rockin'robin

Thanks so much. Now, I'm learning a little bit more about the much acclaimed CI. For those who have never heard a sound, the CI might be good. But for those who are late-deafened and lip-read.......I know people's voices don't sound like Alvin or the Chipmonks, neither does a train or a car, etc. And since I already lip-read and look at the person talking, why would I want their voices to sound like the Chipmonks?....And if I closed my eyes, even with the CI, I would not know what all the "chatter" was about.....

What about music?.... can those with a CI "hear" the lyrics? Would they be able to sing along with it, and not being able to "see" the vocalist?.....They "hear" the beat, right?...But a deaf person can also "feel" the vibes.

Now, I recall someone saying their daughter could "talk and hear" her friends on the phone with the CI.....and know what they were saying....

LoveBlue

I suspect the Chipmonks sound is just temporary. When I get new HAs, they sometimes start off a bit tinny but my brain quickly adjusts and then everything sounds normal to me. I'm also late-deafened and didn't start wearing HAs till my early 40's.

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Krissy

Haha awww, congrats!
When I first got my hearing aids everyone sounded like Darth Vader
XD

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zajko

I can. But as I listen only to English/German bands, I need to read and/or learn lyrics, because both languages are foreign languages for me, so I'm not able to understand them when listening only But if there isn't too loud music and the singing is clear, I'm sometimes (but quite rarely) able to understand some words even if I don't know lyrics.


And you really don't need to worry about chipmunk sounds .. it's only temporary. I feel that I hear "naturally" - I know I don't really in comparison with normal hearing, but for me it is natural. No chipmunk sounds. Btw - when I upgraded to new processor, there were monitoring earphones, so I tried to give them to my dad. He said it sounds like an old telephone

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bbaseballboy123

from my experience, (right ear) I hear just about anything a normal hearing ear does basically. Not as well but everything comes the same as a normal hearing. Music and lyrics are easy to follow. And the phone never been an issue with me, however I must have a decent phone otherwise it IS a hassle.

Left ear... lets just say, nothing but it does sound a lot like chipmunk sounds all the time. Cant hear music or be on the phone with it, ever. Right ear does all the work
lol, i wish that was my experience rather than chipmunk sounds.
"i am your father" said dad... haha just saying that would be mad funny.

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BleedingPurist

Wow! You have no idea how much you are missing out on and how much you have to learn about cochlear implants. You have it completely backwards on a CI being better for someone who has never heard before, quite the reverse really.

First, to be frank, this forum is not the best place to learn about cochlear implants. This is a Deaf forum. If you have decided that your identity as a hearing person is of no importance, that is perfectly fine. However, most post-lingually deafened adults do not gather here, which explains why you have no real concept of others like you using a CI.

I am post-lingual and have been implanted with Advanced Bionics for almost 6 years now. My hearing with a CI sounds very close to natural hearing. I hear people in their own voices and accents. Yes, you can put three or 6 people behind me and I'll tell you who and what they said. I am able to use the telephone again and I listen to talk radio in my car. I have a huge appetite for all kinds of music, from complex classical to rock... both familiar (know the song from having normal hearing) and new (heard for the first time through my CI.)

A CI is not perfect, but it comes very close when optimized. It is life changing for those of us seeking to retain/get-back our hearing identities. A post-lingually deafened adult statistically performs much better than a pre-lingually deafened person because your brain is already wired to hear.

You need to visit hearingjourney.com or look up Cochlear Corps website for their version of a discussion forum. That is where you will find people like you. CIs and hearing aids have different meaning to Deaf people vs deaf people. A Deaf person may regard their CI as interesting at best and have no problem forgoing wearing it. A deaf person who was once hearing won't leave the house without it, much less their bedroom.

A CI is much more powerful than any hearing aid and can not be compared to one. It is very much a modern day bionic ear that has brought great joy to so many.

Good luck in your journey.

Krissy

LOL now that would be quite funny
x

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DeafCaroline

Then why are you here?

BleedingPurist

In a sub-forum about CIs? Because I have one and they are discussed here.

Jiro

But you stated that this forum is not the best place for CI so what's your intention here? You are clearly not here to learn more about CI. Are you here to recruit members to your CI forums or something?

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Cheetah

Then why do you say this:
Obviously you identify yourself as hearing. Most of the CI users that I know consider themselves deaf. As do I. And if you consider yourself as a hearing person, then you are missing out on part of your own deaf heritage.

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DeafCaroline

Exactly, this is a CI forum where prelingual and postlingual members have described in detail about their experiences and rockin' robin, having been a member since 2007 has probably had much exposure to many many personal and detailed stories by CI users here.

And you're very much mistaken if you think D/deaf people don't read the CI threads. I mean, look how many deaf people are commenting on the CI threads, they do come and gather here.

Many regular posters here ARE post-lingually deaf by the way. Some have HAs and some have CIs. You are not exactly the first post-lingually CI implanted member to come here and talk about your experiences.

BleedingPurist

Sigh..... Yes, Caroline... I've read them. I didn't just jump on yesterday. I reviewed many threads and the arguments that go back and forth here. I've lurked on AllDeaf since it opened. Before that it was DeafNotes. Frankly, the louder contingent here drive away large droves of other types of deaf people and with good reason. AllDeaf is not representative of deaf people, just those that monopolize the forum.

Nowhere did I state or indictate that d/Deaf people don't read CI threads. So no mistake there. Further attempts to engage me in nonexistent arguments that you came up with yourself will be ignored.

DeafCaroline

Non-existent arguments...lol, ok.

Out of curiosity, when did you become post-lingually deaf?

Banjo

Um, you are making the attempts to engage the others into arguments.

BleedingPurist

No, my heritage is not "Deaf." My heritage is Irish. I was born hearing and my brain is wired as a hearing person. Being deaf is a disability and that is perfectly fine. I arrived at this point after trying out a school for the deaf for one year, a visit to Gally, and other interaction with the Deaf world. I realized where I do and don't belong and I'm at peace with that.

naisho