Have cochlear implants helped you?

[arao6]

Just to gauge their effectiveness. If none of the above, please explain.

 

[drphil]

My experience - since August 2007.

 

[SBirn]

The poll is a great idea but potentially doesn't reflect the entire reality. On this forum, we have a chance to do that (I think) since it is not run by the CI companies (big business limit what is said by user). I have an implant (and got the external hw as of Wed. - a little over 4 days ago). A slightly more accurate poll would have more questions. Maybe people can just clarify their answer (as lol ... drphil ... did). Here are more possible background questions I would like to know but I will not change this poll. It's a good start!

1. How long does the user has wear the CI each day and how long has the user worn it? (Something like that.)
2. Were you hearing then deaf all your life? I can't even fathom this. You would be learning an entirely new language.
3. Were you hearing most of your life? This means you know English now are plunged into this very weird world. You have a better chance of
matching the weird beginnings of CI sound with English.

I never was completely hearing and had a bilateral loss. I heard since the mid 60s never perfectly but it got me through life. My hearing deteriorated. Doctors (old days) thought I was mentally disabled. HAs changed that though, and these days that will not happen since babies are tested at birth. Then my hearing slowly went to severe to profound later in life as predicted by an ENT. My choice was CI and maybe hear or remain deaf. I did not make a subjective choice (there isn't "hope" just try CI as a last resort) but an objective one.

At this point, it is too early to tell if it worked. It's a long process and right now, some voices and sounds I can recognize. Some, I cannot. I can't understand people who mumble (and it's early yet). All voices sound the same. One person stops talking another talks, I don't know who or wear that person is and that is critical (lip reading). Accents - irrelevant but I have breaks or flashes where I recognize the accent as something for maybe a nano second. I "hear" ... it is not hearing to me but processing... other sounds not voices - like a car beeping with seat belt not worn is clear and I had not heard that ever and the same goes for the kitchen timer - never heard it. Walking over fallen fall leaves sound like I'm walking on and through a field of crickets (annoying). I heard a bird yesterday - one, I don't know if there were more (I don't know why) and it was beautiful.

It's probably even more complicated than this. Thank you for your poll. It is a good start for all.

I would like to not wear it at this stage but, with a lot of effort, I heard a friend talk yesterday and I understood 99% of what she said (I read lips and body language and that helped). I expect it to improve. But I don't know how long it will take or if it will be enough to make me glad I had it done. That will take maybe months or longer.

We are all also dealing with a big business and that weighs on me tremendously. It does not skew how I feel about the CI.

Again, great start and thank you.

 

[Frisky Feline]

is this your homework? is it include pay?

 

[BleedingPurist]

The poll is a great idea but potentially doesn't reflect the entire reality. On this forum, we have a chance to do that (I think) since it is not run by the CI companies (big business limit what is said by user).

We are all also dealing with a big business and that weighs on me tremendously. It does not skew how I feel about the CI.

Exactly where are you experiencing the above? You don't say which implant company you went with, but that also factors in.

Advanced Bionic's Hearing Journey forum leaves it all hanging out... the good, the bad, the frustrations, the successes, the reality. This is an official company forum that gives a place for users to discuss their experiences without censorship. There is nothing I've ever read here that hasn't been covered in more depth there. It's an online support group, though it is intended for AB recipients since they can better help each other with their particular needs than someone with another company who would benefit from conferring with others who have the same equipment.

Yes, cochlear implants are a business.. but it sounds like you are bit too caught up in the paranoia generated by a small faction of the population that demonizes it.

It also seems like you really haven't done your research. You are days old into your activation and doing pretty darn good by the "sounds" of it. You may not recognize some sounds because you only ever heard part of that sound or never heard it at all as you've pointed out with some of the alarms you are hearing. You are doing well and months from now after subsequent mapping appointments and your brain setting into it you will be doing even better.

 

[SBirn]

BleedingPurist:
AB's hearing journey website is so padded with people on happy pills that it does not provide any room for anything other than that attitude. Those managing the website delete anything other than someone implying hope or a belief that things will change. It's not WILL change but MAY change. No one knows. So, you may see a comment for a number of hours and it may disappear. That's their policy and it is their website. It's their right to do it. When I went into hearing journey, I did not realize it was managed by AB for a little while. I did, however, recognized the oddness of the exchanges and I quickly understood it was AB's, so I split. But, I understand, Bleeding, that perhaps/maybe you really didn't research this well. To each, our own. There is a difference between one will adapt to the CI and understand this better or may not adapt. Again, that is fact.

You seem to be caught up in a world where you cannot believe that people knowingly have researched a life-changing event. We're not all stupid or ignorant out here. Going into an implant with little information or myopia would be ridiculous. Businesses skew their results - that's fact. I also said very little about it. I didn't demonize anything. That was your conjecture.

You also make assumptions about what I did or did not do and that's ridiculous.

Frisky:
You gave a retort with nothing in it.

To both of you:
The poll is a start and if you read what I said, you would see that I stated it's not only a start but a good one. I believe it's really needed. It just does not have enough information for anyone who's here to help gather data to make a decision or even understand what may or may not occur in the future. If I go to a companies' website that polls people, I will not pay attention to it because it's put out by the business. That has absolutely nothing to do with being paranoid but rather the reality of life. I stated my opinion as you stated yours. That's cool and that's what this website allows, thank goodness. There is a modicum of a possible positive outcome (you seemed to both miss that) and I was clear - my CI is new. I don't know what it will be. Perhaps I'll hear accents ... in the future a processing evolves. I catch glimpses (nanoseconds or a series of nanoseconds) of accents now. That's far more than the audiologist thought would happen so early. But I can't take the poll. It's way too early in this.

 

[Frisky Feline]

why not its a lot of questions.

 

[BleedingPurist]

BleedingPurist:
AB's hearing journey website is so padded with people on happy pills that it does not provide any room for anything other than that attitude. Those managing the website delete anything other than someone implying hope or a belief that things will change. It's not WILL change but MAY change. No one knows. So, you may see a comment for a number of hours and it may disappear. That's their policy and it is their website. It's their right to do it. When I went into hearing journey, I did not realize it was managed by AB for a little while. I did, however, recognized the oddness of the exchanges and I quickly understood it was AB's, so I split. But, I understand, Bleeding, that perhaps/maybe you really didn't research this well. To each, our own. There is a difference between one will adapt to the CI and understand this better or may not adapt. Again, that is fact.

You seem to be caught up in a world where you cannot believe that people knowingly have researched a life-changing event. We're not all stupid or ignorant out here. Going into an implant with little information or myopia would be ridiculous. Businesses skew their results - that's fact. I also said very little about it. I didn't demonize anything. That was your conjecture.

You also make assumptions about what I did or did not do and that's ridiculous.

Hearing Journey has people "on happy pills" because quite frankly.. they are happy. They are experiencing a major change in their quality of life directly due to their implant and how it's working for them. It's very real.

I don't know what you are basing the rest of your claims on... but HJ does not delete comments simply because they are negative. What are these "odd exchanges" you refer to? There is no policy to delete anything that doesn't tow a certain line. They will delete any promotion or mention of competitors, but that is certainly to be expected. They also won't tolerate propaganda, as they shouldn't. They do not delete the struggles. They do not delete the technical difficulties. Those posts and the responses all help address the variety of experiences.

If being positive-minded is encouraged... well frankly, if you were alive in the 60's, you should be mature enough to recognize that as one of the secrets to happiness in life.

 

[BleedingPurist]

There is a modicum of a possible positive outcome (you seemed to both miss that) and I was clear - my CI is new. I don't know what it will be. Perhaps I'll hear accents ... in the future a processing evolves. I catch glimpses (nanoseconds or a series of nanoseconds) of accents now. That's far more than the audiologist thought would happen so early. But I can't take the poll. It's way too early in this.

It's good that you recognize this. This is what those happy-pilled people refer to. It WILL change. Not may change. They know this because they have lived and experienced it. You are experiencing it and will continue to. You will be surprised at how it seems to evolve on it's own without adjustments. The mappings are just part of the equation. Your brain does the rest. Without an office visit, you will start hearing things in a week or two that you can't hear right now due to the brain's continued adjustment.

Yes, we know there are people who struggle to use a CI. Pre-lingually deafened individuals should approach it as an experiment. Those implanting their worst ear can expect slow or lesser results. Not everyone will be able to use the phone. All of these realities and then some are addressed and discussed at Hearing Journey.

 

[ambrosia]

Am I the only one wondering why "I don't have an implant" is even an option for a poll on its effectiveness?

 

[JClarke]

I chose the first one but still use sign language to commuunicate as the main.

 

[arao6]

Am I the only one wondering why "I don't have an implant" is even an option for a poll on its effectiveness?

Statistical control group.

It helps gauge how many people have cochlear implants relative to those who do not.

 

[arao6]

1. How long does the user has wear the CI each day and how long has the user worn it? (Something like that.)
2. Were you hearing then deaf all your life? I can't even fathom this. You would be learning an entirely new language.
3. Were you hearing most of your life? This means you know English now are plunged into this very weird world. You have a better chance of
matching the weird beginnings of CI sound with English.

Thank you. These are great questions to keep in mind.

 

[BleedingPurist]

Statistical control group.

What's the control group? Why don't they have an implant? Do they even qualify?

 

[arao6]

What's the control group? Why don't they have an implant? Do they even qualify?

Hi. In research, a control group is one that has not received treatment. For statistical validity, it is often beneficial to represent a single population instead of a particular subset of a population.

 

[femme Fatale]

I would describe my experience as slightly better than what I heard from an HA, but the issue is not sound interpreting, more like "sharpening" the sound from oral communication as opposed to just hearing voices.

 

[BleedingPurist]

Hi. In research, a control group is one that has not received treatment. For statistical validity, it is often beneficial to represent a single population instead of a particular subset of a population.

I know what a control group is. I certainly hope the responses here aren't being used for data collection for research. The answers here are cute at best because it is an uncontrolled group. Your "No" respondents could be parents, interpreters, or people with normal hearing who have fetishized deaf people. You need to know the agenda and history. At least, asking for the range of experiences among CI users-only will give you somewhat of a control group, but with no guarantee that someone clicking "no benefit" isn't someone with an agenda who "knows" they don't work so what's the harm in giving weight to it?

 

[arao6]

Thanks for your input. In no way will this data be used in actual research. (We are only allowed to reference data collected at a clinical setting.) However, it is still helpful to view the data through a research orientation.

In addition to the points you have mentioned, there is no empirical baseline for measurement; as such, only relative efficiency can be gleaned from the data, as was its intent.

 

[ambrosia]

Well I don't have one now, but will as I can, if my cochlea will allow it. So if I clicked "I don't have one" it wouldn't really help your control group.

 

[arao6]

You all win ok