How does one look into becoming a

[lilraysofhope]

candidate for Cochlear Implant? How does one qualify? My insurance will not cover ANY type of hearing aide/ device so how do others pay for it? I really think this would be the route to go in my left ear (95db loss) Right ear has 60 db loss

Also, if I find myself removing my HA at the end of the day because I just don't like the noise/ way it sounds will I be doing the same thing with CI??? Are the sounds different vs with HA? How noticeable is CI?? At this point, if it works immensely I don't care if the world sees it. I just know some find it scary looking

 

[R2D2]

candidate for Cochlear Implant? How does one qualify? My insurance will not cover ANY type of hearing aide/ device so how do others pay for it? I really think this would be the route to go in my left ear (95db loss) Right ear has 60 db loss

Also, if I find myself removing my HA at the end of the day because I just don't like the noise/ way it sounds will I be doing the same thing with CI??? Are the sounds different vs with HA? How noticeable is CI?? At this point, if it works immensely I don't care if the world sees it. I just know some find it scary looking

It may be covered under insurance because it is surgery, whereas hearing aids are not. Most insurance plans which cover CIs do not cover HAs. So you'll need to check that out with your insurance provider.

The best way to find out if you will be a candidate is to approach a CI center in your area or get a referral through your audiologist. They usually do speech recognition tests to see if you still benefit sufficiently from conventional aids, an MRI or CT scan to see if your ear structure is normal and other tests as well depending on your situation and specialist.

It's hard to know if you will need to rest from the CI as we are all different. I personally found that as the CI was clearer for me that I didn't need to rest as much with HAs. Also there are programs on the CI for when you want less sensitivity to every sound.

As for noticeability, the speech processor of the CI is bigger than the BTE part of the hearing aid and there is the coil and magnet that goes to your hair but then there are no molds in your ears as with hearing aids. I think that people seemed to notice me wearing hearing aids more often because of the molds but other people may have different experiences. I find I don't really think about it anyway but do appreciate that some people are more sensitive about that. The other thing is that I live in Australia, where even old people know what a CI is because it has been so well publicised.

 

[jag]

candidate for Cochlear Implant? How does one qualify? My insurance will not cover ANY type of hearing aide/ device so how do others pay for it? I really think this would be the route to go in my left ear (95db loss) Right ear has 60 db loss

Also, if I find myself removing my HA at the end of the day because I just don't like the noise/ way it sounds will I be doing the same thing with CI??? Are the sounds different vs with HA? How noticeable is CI?? At this point, if it works immensely I don't care if the world sees it. I just know some find it scary looking

Most insurance does not cover HA's but many now cover CI's.

You can begin by contacting an inplant center near you. You can find one by going to either Cochlear's website or Advanced BIonics web site. they will list drs and clinics that do inplants. From what I saw when I began looking into getting a CI most clinics do both.

I was able to just make an appointment with no referral. But my insurance does not require me to get a referral to see a specialist so I can't say if you would need to be referred or not.

Once you've had the hearing tests to see if you qualify then they help you get the approval from your insurance. The CI is not considered to be a HA.

 

[cdmeggers]

Contact a CI center close to you, they will evaluate you (hearing tests, etc.) and decide if you're a candidate.

My CI audiologist, when I saw her in September for the CI evaluation, she said if you cannot deal with noise/sounds with the hearing aid, then you might not want to get a CI as for a while, with the CI EVERYTHING will sound terrible while your brain gets used to all the sounds all over again. I don't know if this is true for everyone who couldn't deal with what they heard with hearing aids. Also it could just be how your hearing aid is programmed (if it's digital). Sometimes they need to be adjusted some more for things to sound more "right" or normal. Sometimes it's too much bass or not enough bass, too much high frequencies, or not enough, etc. There's all sorts of stuff that can be missed when getting a hearing aid programmed. With the implants, they'll have to be programmed/mapped too, tweaked here and there.

Also, check with your insurance and see if they cover cochlear implants. And if you have been declared a candidate for the CI, and your insurance doesn't want to cover the CI, the CI center can talk/fight with your insurance and try to get them to approve the CI (the Let Them Hear foundation at Let Them Hear Foundation also will fight with the insurance for you, free of charge, and convince the insurance to cover the implant.

 

[LadySekhmet]

Also, if I find myself removing my HA at the end of the day because I just don't like the noise/ way it sounds will I be doing the same thing with CI??? Are the sounds different vs with HA? How noticeable is CI?? At this point, if it works immensely I don't care if the world sees it. I just know some find it scary looking

As of now, after being activated for a month and half, sometimes i find myself taking my CI off at night. To me, it's not a big deal because I'm used to taking off HAs at night because everything seems louder at night.

Sounds - I really think it's all depends on your auditory memory. If you feel that you can hear well with your hearing aids, and find yourself that things are sounding more muffled, lower, etc, you probably will hear just as well. For me, the first couple days it sounded like crap, but then things sounded totally normal. Many people have said that it "sounds robotic" - I think the reason is because they are lacking the high frequencies and when they do hear that, it sounds strange.

Freedom CIs and Advanced Bionics have various color choices. Some wants it displayed for the world to see, others like it discreet. I have brown coil with beige processor (which took me quite a while to get used to the large size!).