Hearing Aid in Combo with CI?

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avenable

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Hello all,
I have had unilateral hearing since 8 months of age and am profoundly hearing impaired in the hearing ear. I've always worn a hearing aid and with speech therapy have managed to speak normally, albeit with the "deaf accent" that others on the forum have mentioned. I can also hear fine in 1 on 1 conversation and usually in a groups of less than 3-4, I can hear decently. Any more than that I can't follow the stream of conversation very well.

So what I've been wondering is if anyone has had any experience utilizing a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other. I was thinking that maybe I could have the CI in the completely deaf ear so that the hearing would be bilateral.

Could anyone provide any feedback on this? (I am 26 at the moment).

Thanks,

Aaron
 
:welcome: to aD! I was born with a profound bilateral hearing loss but no CI for me so cant help u here. Just wanted to say welcome. :)

I am sure others can help u out here.
 
Hello and welcome to Alldeaf!

I currently wear a CI in my left and a hearing aid in my right. I decided to get a cochlear implant when my hearing degraded so rapidly in my right ear. I chose my worst ear that I have not heard out of in 15 years to be implanted. My CI provides me far more clarity then my hearing aid does. All I can hear is low frequencies sounds that are muffled, dull, and lacking depth.

I had a rough start in the beginning with my CI, nothing sounded normal which is very normal for those adjusting to a CI but it took me longer then normal to start understanding speech. I am four months post activation and now I can say I can hear and understand a lot. I can walk away and hear someone say something behind me, even at the distance of 15-20 feet. I can understand some things on the TV, conversation is so much easier, but the phone still presents a challenge. Th CI does help a little bit in noisy situations but it still isn't my ideal situation.

There is quite a few people on here that have CI and started wearing a hearing aid in the other ear. Some still wear it like me and some just got rid of it and kind of don't miss it.
 
avenable said:
Hello all,
I have had unilateral hearing since 8 months of age and am profoundly hearing impaired in the hearing ear. I've always worn a hearing aid and with speech therapy have managed to speak normally, albeit with the "deaf accent" that others on the forum have mentioned. I can also hear fine in 1 on 1 conversation and usually in a groups of less than 3-4, I can hear decently. Any more than that I can't follow the stream of conversation very well.

So what I've been wondering is if anyone has had any experience utilizing a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other. I was thinking that maybe I could have the CI in the completely deaf ear so that the hearing would be bilateral.

Could anyone provide any feedback on this? (I am 26 at the moment).

Thanks,

Aaron
Click to expand...

You would be bi-modal not bilateral since you have two different methods of sound processing. However some can do very well with a hearing aid on one ear and the CI in the other ear since I am doing very well with that that setup. I was born with bilateral hearing loss and I was never able to have more than one on one conversation until lately.
 
After I was activated, I tried using my hearing aid in combination with my CI (CI in right ear, HA in left ear) but I found that instead of helping, the HA made everything more confusing, as its two vastly different types of sound. I know many people who successfully use both, but you won't know if that setup works for you until you try it. I use just the CI now and have no qualms about not using the HA anymore.
 
Yes, everyone's experiance varies significently. It's always an awesome idear to experiment and see what works well. You might not be able to get implanted, if your speech perception is too good with even a single HA. But, there might be some wiggle room (and I gotta say that although I kinda think that in some cases, the audis and implant centers are too libral about implantation criteria, if your deaf ear has ZERO perception of sounds etc, then it's a good idear to get implanted)
 
Sorry for delay in posting again. I am living in Caribbean for a while and internet is rather spotty.

For those who did adapt well... did you find that bilateral or "bimodal" as john put it (although if you hear in two different ears, albeit by two modes isn't it still bilateral?) permitted the ability to tell the direction of sound?


I am still hesitant in seeking out a CI with the idea that something better may come along, eventually. I hear pretty good with one ear but I would love to hear directionality and function better in large groups. And hearing in a swimming pool would be even better!
 
avenable said:
I am still hesitant in seeking out a CI with the idea that something better may come along, eventually. I hear pretty good with one ear but I would love to hear directionality and function better in large groups. And hearing in a swimming pool would be even better!
Click to expand...

You can't wear the processor in the swimming pool! It's like hearing aids, it's a no-no near water, although the newer CIs are water-resistant.
 
avenable said:
For those who did adapt well... did you find that bilateral or "bimodal" as john put it (although if you hear in two different ears, albeit by two modes isn't it still bilateral?) permitted the ability to tell the direction of sound?


I am still hesitant in seeking out a CI with the idea that something better may come along, eventually. I hear pretty good with one ear but I would love to hear directionality and function better in large groups. And hearing in a swimming pool would be even better!
Click to expand...

Well, there is always something better around the corner but eventually can be a long time and I am seeing 5 years+ for any major changes in CI technology.

Wearing CI and a hearing aid did not give me any great increase in directionality as compare to wearing hearing aids for 46 years. This in part because the timing information that you get from the cohclear implant is not the same with the ear that is being aided with hearing aids. I just learn how to deal with not having perfect directionality and never was a big issue with me.

Hearing in a swimming pool has never been a high priority for me since I learn how to enjoy myself and to be on guard and most conversation in the pool is not useful anyway.:cool:
 
Great thread, Aaron, I just asked the same question yesterday, and somebody pointed me here.. like you, I am holding out for hope somethng better may come along... I've read so many encouraging things on this website lately... the idea of hearing somebody 20 feet away would blow my mind.. try 4-5 feet, with difficulty for me.

I have used my "good ear" with unitron us80 for at least 15 years. They got me through 4 years in college, and I thnik I had phonaks in high school. The unitrons have a great t-coil, best i have ever used, and if I ever go ahead with the CI... the use of the phone will be a must!

anyway.... keep up with the comments here people.... I'm sure aaron, myself, and others are glad to read them
 
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