Implant: How to get myself checked for eligibility

Mark Rejhon

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Hi,

Let me introduce myself - I am profoundly deaf but not deaf-cultured. I have a FAQ about myself on my website at http://www.marky.com

I like deaf culture, just not hard core to it. 98% of my friends are hearing, and I work in a hearing environment, and I am in a hearing relationship. The other eason is I also operate a home business at http://www.rejtech.com and I deal with hearing clients all the time. I try to lead the business meeting clients to online conferences (MSN, email, Blackberry etc) or use a laptop for talking back and fourth in person. I already type fast at 140 words per minute. But it would certainly be nice to be able to talk verbally back and fourth better too.

I'm born profoundly deaf. In Year 1992, I was evaluated for the possibility of a cochlear implant but was told that because I was born deaf, I was ineligible.

Now cochlear implant technology has improved greatly, but I am now 29 years old. I am wondering if I am too old or not.

From what I remember, I know I have 85dB loss in one ear, 90dB loss in other ear at aboiut 500 Hz. I recall this increases sharply to about 110-130db loss at about 4000 Hz. (For this reason, I cannot safely hear sounds above 4 kilohertz)

I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

I am inquiring as to whether there are OTHER people in my situation. If so, how did you proceed. If you got an implant, was it worth it? Are there testimonials by other people born profoundly deaf, but got an implant in their early 30's? (Success rates, voice comprehenson percentage improvements after 1 year, etc)
 
Hi Mark,
they've loosened the restrictions on who can/cannot get a CI since you were last evaluated. I have heard of some born deaf folks who have decided to get CI. They have even loosened the restrictions so that even people who are profoundly/severely deaf but who have quite a bit of residual hearing can get CI. However they do not generally implant those who can hear at HOH levels (usually mild) or have more then 60% word/sentence comprehension with hearing aids, or can get along on the phone.
You may find it VERY hard to get CI in Canada unless you have private health insurance, or are willing to come to the States.
You may want to check out Hearing Exchange, for more info on CIs.
http:/www.hearingexchange.com
 
Thanks for the information.

Note: I generally have less than 60% word/sentence comprehension levels during continuous speech, and I always have to use TDD's and relay services to use the phone.

Speech "Hello this is Mark Rejhon"
sounds exactly same as "eh-oh ih iz ah ay-awn"
This is about exactly my limited level of "hearing comprehension"

I'm always interested in information from multiple sources for a fully informed judgement. Anybody else who'd like to add? I also found out about the "deaf online 2" website as well, so that info's already been given to me. But anymore possible sources of information, not just a few :) because it helps, there is always conflicting information everywhere and don't want to rely on just one resource. I want both PRO websites and CON websites!!
 
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That is awesome that you're researching both the pro and con side of CIs! I commend you for that! I think there is a Yahoo! Group for CI failures. If I recall correctly, there are also some implantees here who are non-users. Talk to people who like and don't like their implants. Self Help For Hard of Hearing People might be a good resource.
I remember Banjo saying once that some of his friends were implanted and preferred hearing aids.
I'll try to see if I can't dig up some resources for you.
 
A couple more things....have you tried digital aids? You may want to experiment with different aids before you take the jump for CI. Maybe even try going back to body aids and see if you can't hear more then with your current BTEs. Yes, I know they claim that BTE aids are equal to the old body aids, but there still is a significent tradeoff between size and power. I know that personally.... I wore BTEs for all of my preschool and elementary school years. Then in jr. high I switched from BTEs to ITEs....I thought I could hear everything I could with BTEs, but then I went back to BTEs in high school....and I am NEVER going back to those old person aids! The difference is THAT amazing!
Second of all, you may want to visit a counselor to discuss your reasons for getting a CI. You should also talk to unbiased audilogists who can give you a realistic view of what to expect/ what not to expect with CI.
One very important thing to remember is that....CI can be wonderful for a lot of people. However they won't make you hearing. The results from CIs have varied tremendously. (just as with hearing aids) and it's important to remember, that just b/c one person with a CI acheives amazing results, it does not mean that everyone will. Some people with CI can only perceive enviromental noises...some can only hear some speech, some reduce their dependance on speechreading and so on. I am not anti-CI...I am just telling you to be cautious
 
Hi,

Whoops, I never saw this in a long time. Okay, here's my reply

  1. First of all, I'm a self employed individual and am starting to have increasing demands for communications with clients. So I need to figure out what new technologies help me. More about my self employment: click here.
    plus for cochlear
  2. I am profoundly deaf (85-90db loss in both ears). I am only able to get semi-digital hearing aids. The fully digital aids are still not yet powerful enough (as of late 2002, last check) for my level of hearing. Digital help somewhat but I am looking for further help.
    unknown for cochlear
  3. I am 29 years old, becoming 30 years old this next April. Cochlear implants have lower success for older people.
    minus for cochlear
  4. Hearing aids still help me. Well enough to be able to distinguish vowels.
    minus for cochlear
  5. Speech comprehension improvements over without CI will take a long time, possibly years, if any at all.
    minus for cochlear
  6. Cochlear won't permit me to be able to understand voice over the telephone well enough.
    minus for cochlear
  7. I can't hear sounds beyond about 2-4 Khz before the minimum threshold overlaps pain threshold. That means an 8 Khz sound has to hurt my ears before I am able to hear it! So the world's best hearing aids have their limitations. (Note: Once I am wearing hearing aids, my sensitivity is adequate enough to hear leaves rustling during fall, or a newspaper rustling.)
    plus for cochlear
  8. My ability to distinguish between sounds is extremely poor. A pot banging sounds like mom calling my name. A laugh track on television (Sienfeld) sounds exactly like a telephone ringing. I can't tell apart piano keys less than about 4 keys apart. (And I can only hear the lowest 80% of the keys). Digital hearing aids help somewhat here, but not quite. You could say my hearing has an extremely poor signal-to-noise ratio.
    plus for cochlear
  9. I grew up with Cued Speech. My high school english is good (87%) My grammar is probably above average. My grammar could be even better, but I never proofread my online posts. This might help me in favour
    plus for cochlear
  10. Technology is moving too fast, cochlear is improving too fast. Don't do it now or I'm stuck with old cochlear technology.
    minus for cochlear
  11. I'm hearing cultured, not deaf cultured. Almost none of my friends are deaf. My significant other is hearing.
    plus for cochlear
  12. Cochlear is unpredictable. Opinion is unpredictable. Inconsistent results.
    minus for cochlear
  13. I am unable to lipread well enough to keep up with any lecture of any kind. That's why I always needed an interpretor or notetaker in class, even though I had an FM system.
    unknown for cochlear
  14. I'm nearly completely incapable of sound-direction-pinpointing even with two hearing aids. i.e. I have almost complete lack of binocular hearing (3D hearing).
    unknown for cochlear
  15. I can just install CI in one of my ears. Besides, I seem to always wear one hearing aid instead of two, because one of my hearing aids broke down and want to save money for a house before buying new digital hearing aids. (I have near complete lack of binocular hearing, so 1 or 2 hearing aids give me almost equal benefit, anyway).
    plus for cochlear
  16. I can type up to 140 words per minute. My relaxed typing speed is still 100 words per minute! I type on mental dictation, not mental spelling. Which means I never spell while I type - I just picture or mentally speak a word inside my brain - and my fingers type it out at once without even thinking of the keys that I press. I am also technically minded, as a computer programmer who has programmed for 17 years now (since age 11). This may (or may not) mean that my brain may be adequately phoenetically wired for CI and increase my chances of understanding better.
    plus for cochlear -- but no guarantee

My CI decision won't be for another year or two. I plan to review the CI decison once every 5 years or 10 years. (I'm a profoundly deaf guy who is hearing cultured, and will always be that way).

It's possible I will never get CI. But I am definitely going to be chomping at the bit if there is a good chance of reasonably significant comprehension improvements. It is true that the same $30,000 could be better spent on other things, like the stock market (I invest in stocks) for a better retirement. It also is a good downpayment for a nice house too. Then again, a CI could be an invesetment -- like investing in stocks -- if the odds are in my favour and I don't have much to lose. I may decide to buy the house first -- before getting a CI. There's a lot of things I want to do with money, especially travelling all over the world, a few times per year.

Other new technologies (such as CapTel and/or voice recognition) might make CI less necessary for my business, for example. CapTel could theoretically be used with a speakerphone for captioning in-person meetings! By using CapTel at a party or a meeting (with a speakerphone attachment), live real-time captioning of group conversations would be splendid, and make CI much less necessary.

I am still trying to get more information on both camps for Cochlear Implant. I would also love to hear from other 30-year-old profoundly deaf (since birth) who decided to get CI later in their life. And hear from several of them. That'd be a good way to get an unbiased opinion!

Thanks,
Mark Rejhon
http://www.marky.com (personal site)
http://www.rejtech.com (my business)
 
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I am unable to lipread well enough to keep up with any lecture of any kind. That's why I always needed an interpretor or notetaker in class, even though I had an FM system.
Mark, I have a mild-moderate-moderately severe loss and still require notetakers. There are some sucesses who have gotten really high comprehension from their CIs alone, but most people just get an amelioaration of their loss (from severe-profound to mild-moderate)
It's good that you're not jumping into this lightly.....you may find it hard to find other born deafies who were implanted late. Only about 10% of deaf people were born deaf. I do wish you luck. Maybe you could try SHH or the Say-What club for networking purposes.
 
that is on the table but I want to delay it as long as possible Perhaps never.
How come? Thought you were very interested in it, and it sounds like you'd probaly be a pretty decent canidate, since all hearing aids do is to help you with speechreading. Then again, I can totally understand since the results are so accross the board, even for many of those implanted early.
Almost forgot....do you know the etoloigy of your hearing loss? If you do maybe you could talk to others who have the same etoloigy and see what results they got from the CI. It's probaly going to be very hard to get implanted in Canada, especially on the health care system since they are strict about who can and can't be implanted.
 
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