Highlands's CI journey

highlands

highlands

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
4,311
Reaction score
5
I've been visiting sites of cochlear implant manufaturers for technical information to decide brand name .. cuz I would like to apply soon..( and I need to consult a clinic next week to see if I would be qualify for a CI )

My first concern is about directional microphones in speech processors. Med-El has no directional microphones and Nucleus does have . I wonder if this is helpful in noisy situations for a cochlear implant user..I need feedbacks from CI users from Med-El , Nucleus and others.. Do you use directional microphones in daily life ?

thanks in advance :)
 
highlands said:
I've been visiting sites of cochlear implant manufaturers for technical information to decide brand name .. cuz I would like to apply soon..( and I need to consult a clinic next week to see if I would be qualify for a CI )

My first concern is about directional microphones in speech processors. Med-El has no directional microphones and Nucleus does have . I wonder if this is helpful in noisy situations for a cochlear implant user..I need feedbacks from CI users from Med-El , Nucleus and others.. Do you use directional microphones in daily life ?

thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

Acutally Med-el does have speech processors and micophone too. I pick med-el cuz it much more safer. But then again, everybody choices is different from what type of C.I.'s they prerfer to have. I have med-el and I am doing great so far. But speaking of batteries it pain in the ass. Because it use 3 batteries number 675 size and it only last like 2 to 3 days and replaces the batteries again. I am not sure about other C.I. have the same batteries issues. They will have to give me feed back on that too.
 
GarnetTigerMom said:
Acutally Med-el does have speech processors and micophone too. I pick med-el cuz it much more safer. But then again, everybody choices is different from what type of C.I.'s they prerfer to have. I have med-el and I am doing great so far. But speaking of batteries it pain in the ass. Because it use 3 batteries number 675 size and it only last like 2 to 3 days and replaces the batteries again. I am not sure about other C.I. have the same batteries issues. They will have to give me feed back on that too.
Click to expand...

:ty: and how can you handle noisy situations ? I know success is relatively low in noise.. I do little in noise with my digital hearing aids..I feel worn out if I have to listen to people in noise for half an hour :(

I waste nearly all of my energy on lip reading..I hope a CI could make me feel at least a little better.
 
Let's hope so, too. Let us know how things progress for you. I love my CI and sounds are a lot more clearer thank they were with my HAs. As for my batteries, you need to special order them and they'll last only 3 days for me. I'm also a Med-El user.
 
highlands said:
:ty: and how can you handle noisy situations ? I know success is relatively low in noise.. I do little in noise with my digital hearing aids..I feel worn out if I have to listen to people in noise for half an hour :(

I waste nearly all of my energy on lip reading..I hope a CI could make me feel at least a little better.
Click to expand...

I can handle noisy place because it same thing with hearing aid I used for years. I am hard of hearing but it still means deaf to me. I am so used to noises my whole life. I know sometimes like three or four noises happen the same time drive me a little crazy but I can handle it well. let say the TV on loud and my brother was talking to me the same time the TV making loud noise. I would have to say " wait,, I need to turn off the TV sound so I can catch on what you are talking to me about." if I turn down the volume on the tv that helps too and still hear my brother talking to me. it can be rough at time but get take time getting use to so many sounds. The best sound I ever heard is my dogs barking and my baby first cry at birth, that something I would never forget.
 
Oh one more thing,, yeah I Do get worn out from time to time when too many people talk to me the same time I was ready to zzz's on them! ha
 
Hopefully you can go to a place (I don't know if there are places like that) that carries all three of the major CI brands...that way, you'd be more likely to get fairer feedback....make sense?
 
deafskeptic said:
Let's hope so, too. Let us know how things progress for you. I love my CI and sounds are a lot more clearer thank they were with my HAs. As for my batteries, you need to special order them and they'll last only 3 days for me. I'm also a Med-El user.
Click to expand...

:hmm: It took me two years to decide to have a CI if I'm qualify.. I'm not in a hurry and will take my time.. I tried digital hearing aids for a year but got little benefit from hearing aids for speech perception.. so it is time to give a try to a CI :)
 
Tousi said:
Hopefully you can go to a place (I don't know if there are places like that) that carries all three of the major CI brands...that way, you'd be more likely to get fairer feedback....make sense?
Click to expand...

yeah.. you are right .. I will visit their local clinics .. I only know Med-El office right now.. My first interview will be with Med-EL and then others.
 
highlands said:
:hmm: It took me two years to decide to have a CI if I'm qualify.. I'm not in a hurry and will take my time.. I tried digital hearing aids for a year but got little benefit from hearing aids for speech perception.. so it is time to give a try to a CI :)
Click to expand...

That totally understandable. It took me like a year and half to decided since hearing aid didn't have enough power on it like C.I. that have more powerful volume than hearing aid. I have try to use digital hearing but it didn't help much for me since my hearing loss was getting worst. So I went ahead to ask questions to the doctors about C.I. and what are the pros and cons and health issues.. so far wearing C.I. almost 3 years now. It was a big difference in my life but often times I like to take it off to have some quiet time to relax when I am not wearing it. Whatever you decided to do take your time. No need to hurry to make a rushing decision. It up to you when you feel what right for yourself. :)
 
GarnetTigerMom said:
Oh one more thing,, yeah I Do get worn out from time to time when too many people talk to me the same time I was ready to zzz's on them! ha
Click to expand...

Of course, I'm not expecting to have 'perfect' hearing but I hope a CI could help me much better than hearing aids.
 
GarnetTigerMom said:
That totally understandable. It took me like a year and half to decided since hearing aid didn't have enough power on it like C.I. that have more powerful volume than hearing aid. I have try to use digital hearing but it didn't help much for me since my hearing loss was getting worst. So I went ahead to ask questions to the doctors about C.I. and what are the pros and cons and health issues.. so far wearing C.I. almost 3 years now. It was a big difference in my life but often times I like to take it off to have some quiet time to relax when I am not wearing it. Whatever you decided to do take your time. No need to hurry to make a rushing decision. It up to you when you feel what right for yourself. :)
Click to expand...

yes,I will take my time.. it is a very serious decision and cannot be taken back.
 
highlands said:
yes,I will take my time.. it is a very serious decision and cannot be taken back.
Click to expand...

Yep take your time and you are right about that it is very serious decision to make that you can't take it back but you can always get it remove if you not happy with it. I am glad to hear you are taking your time slowly taking your time. Don't let anyone tell you any different what you want to do. :)
 
Good luck with your journey and hope you get qualified cuz I have been reading how frustrated you are these days. :)
 
GarnetTigerMom said:
Yep take your time and you are right about that it is very serious decision to make that you can't take it back but you can always get it remove if you not happy with it. I am glad to hear you are taking your time slowly taking your time. Don't let anyone tell you any different what you want to do. :)
Click to expand...

A few weeks ago,I was in a computer shop.. and to my surprise, the shop owner said that his mom was also hard of hearing and she got a CI several months ago.. he said his mom is doing fine with her CI.. and he said I should take a CI into consideration... he encouraged me :) and after two years of being a member here and learning about CIs, I have decided to start my own CI journey :)
 
While I do not condone pushing one brand over the other.

I myself wear a AB Bionics HiRes90K Auria *sp?* and I love it.

It is not what I expected a CI to be like, but in my opinion who cares?

I do prefer a hearing aid to a CI, but sadly for me I got little to no benefit from my hearing aid after 20 years of having a benefit. So my choice was to either stay deaf or try a CI and hear again.

After extensively questioning good friends of mine like GTM and others, that have a CI, i decided the risks were worth it for me.

When I went into this, I went into it with one simple goal. To hear music again. If I achieved nothing else but that, then I would still consider it a success. But I have achieved much more than just music.

Unfortunately, with multi-directional microphones, I am not sure if my AB has one. Im not all that interested in the specs of my C.I. The only thing I am interested in is if it helps me to do what I wish to do.

A noisy enviroment is not only hard on us *deaf folks* even hearing people have trouble in a room ful of people all talking loud,tv blaring, music blaring, and still be able to hear what someone is trying to tell you. It gets frustrating for anyone.


I usually try to avoid those very noisy situations. And if I cant I usually just switch my processor off by turning the volume so low I cant hear out of it lol.I know that is not ideal for learning to cope around noisy situations, but hey each to their own is my saying lol.
 
shel90 said:
Good luck with your journey and hope you get qualified cuz I have been reading how frustrated you are these days. :)
Click to expand...

:ty: yes,I am fed up with wasting my energy on lip reading..heh..why should I have to do it if I could have better device options ?
 
highlands said:
A few weeks ago,I was in a computer shop.. and to my surprise, the shop owner said that his mom was also hard of hearing and she got a CI several months ago.. he said his mom is doing fine with her CI.. and he said I should take a CI into consideration... he encouraged me :) and after two years of being a member here and learning about CIs, I have decided to start my own CI journey :)
Click to expand...

Sound like a wonderful way to start your own CI journey to do more research and learning more about it and taking your time to make your desicion in your life. I know making desicion can affect a person life and it sure had affected my life in a good way. If you have any other questions about C.I. and I am open about it. Ask me anytime you ever need to know anything more. I would be happy to to discuss it. I think it was the best thing ever happen to me about the choice I made. :)
 
Back
Top