I am NOT a candidate

R2D2 this was to be done on my "dead ear" there no hearing left in my right ear at all so they said nothing to lose it's my good ear thats on its way out and I was hoping to get CI before I went stone cold deaf.Deafdyke-yes tinnitus bad in both ears,what is recruitment?
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Recruitment is when the haircells in the coachla try to compensate for the dead haircells. It apparently causes distorted hearing.
I would totally really push for this. Is your hearing semi decent in your "hearing" ear? You should go and get evaluated and be very insistant that you want your "dead" ear implanted, so you can have some hearing in that ear. Also, say that you've heard that a CI can really help with tinitunas.
I think they might be a little cautious with qualifying adults, since some of them seem to think that the CI is the latest greatest tReNdY "digital aid" innovation.(god, on another site, there was this mom with an audilogically hoh baby. She was pushing for an evaluation, even thou she didn't really know that it was only for kids who had minimal benifit from HA.
If you have a dead ear, I would TOTALLY keep pushing. That is a great reason!
 
deafdyke Thank you for your explantion of recuitment.i didnt know why i would have these donald duck the fly type voices.I wouldnt say my "good" ear is very good on hearing I have 4 good days then about 12 bad ones,as I said I think its killing the nerve trying to render me deaf.I'm in the burn out stage of menieres disease.I had always heard that it will go away after it takes your hearing.Dr said this isnt necassarly so but apparently in my case it is.If its ok with you I am going to print what you said and take it with me to a new Audi I'm going to see tomorrow.She doesnt have anything to do with CI's but is supposed to be very good and will tell me if it's my ear or my hearing aid that is not giving me useable hearing.The CI office seems to think its my HA.I hope they are right but i dont think so.Without CI I cant hear.I have terrible tinnitus for 23 yrs. now. Maybe she will be able to offer me some help on the next step of my freakin nightmare journey!! Thanks for your help on recruitment-I didnt know.
 
Great Site!

Than -You Boult I love this site!:hug: Really answers so much I didnt know.
 
I'm in the burn out stage of menieres disease.
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Menieres? That is pretty much almost the perfect dx to qualify for implantation! I remember reading a few years ago, that they had considered the CI to be a "cure" for Menieres! (ie gets rid of the severe tintituas) Maybe something that could help you is going to see an ENT that specializes in Menieres. Maybe part of the problem is that you went to see just a general audi/ENT who wasn't too familair with Menieres.
 
wow really that would be so great, yes the dr. in nyc did 2 operations on me for menieres d. now he does CI's.Unfortunatley got to qualify through CI team to get surgery and they are saying no to me.So now I'll try in NJ.But I really wanted this DR. with all his knowledge of both CI and Menieres not to mention knew my history.
 
Tami Sam: I got an idea, how about you talk with the Dr. that you had wanted since he knows about your history. Explain to him that the CI team turned you down but you'd still like for the Dr. to see if he can talk to the CI team and explain your situation, maybe it is then that the CI team will have learned something new [like about menire's] and gives you the OK for the surgery.
 
Tami,

I went under the knife or drill in December 2006 and was activated in January 2007. Freedom is what I'm wearing.

I guess for me, I would on those critical Dr. visits and HA reprogramming apts, ask my wife go with me to be my interpreter and note taker since I knew I would have a very hard time hearing what was going on. On occasion, I actually found it humorous that when the Dr. would turn to as me my opinion or thoughts, I'd have to turn to my wife and ask her to highlight the conversation since I could read her lips better. Many many times, I had no clue what they were talking about since I couldn't make out enough to follow the conversation. I think this was yet another reason that helped my case in getting a CI. My Dr. knew I was not very well off and I was more than open in telling him how I was actually doing. No profanity or stretching the truth. Infact, I'd tone down how I was doing since all he needed to do was watch me and ask question and when I'd have no idea, the truth would come out. Without my control or having to remember to play up a role, the Dr. had a pretty good idea of my life and how I was doing over many visits. I'm thankful the office would have me meet with the Dr. before having the HA adjusted. Quite often, they would check my hearing before seeing the Dr. so he would know if I was having a good or bad day.

One thing I can say for sure is I never pushed for a CI nor did I ask if I was a candidate for one. I don't even remember asking about one even though my wife wanted me to. The Dr. brought up the idea of a CI during a visits in October 2006 I think when I was not to good and having a terrible day. He basically said that with a Hearing Aid, we were basically working with a broken system and trying to use the HA to make the broken system work as well as possible and with a CI, we were taking the broken system out of the picture and going directly to the nerves bypassing everything. During this visit, I told him I had read some stuff about a CI and quizzed him about how it works in detail, what patients say about them, how stuff sounds, etc.... I wanted to know everything that he could tell me in the 15 minutes I had with him. In the end, I did pushed off the decision about 2 months because I wanted to put the BTE hearing aid through a real test to see if it would provide benefit even though I was having a really hard time with it since the decision of a CI was pretty much irreversible. I really wanted to think about how my life would change being tied to Radio Shack for ever.

I wish you were in a different position with having to decide which CI to choose. I am not in your shoes but I think I would ask the Dr. what my options are since the HA is not providing as much benefit as I would like let along to be able to hear and understand my family and that it seams to be at the limits with no real direction to go if this is it. I also think I'd be keeping a detailed log as what sounds, voices, words I have a very hard time understanding and to see what can be done with the HA to help me with them if feedback doesn't become an issue.

Do keep in mind that a CI does not make hearing effortless. There are still very hard times depending on surrounding noises but for me, I have the ability, luxury, to hear when I choose and can choose to hear nothing at all. Some call me lucky. I still call those with normal hearing blessed. Some take so much for granted and have no idea what they will miss until it is gone.

Anyway, from what I know, as long as your hearing is fluctuating, it is most likely continuing to get worse. In time, a CI may be an option whether the degrading hearing qualifies you or Dr's ease up on restrictions. Until then, things will be difficult and I hope you have understanding people around you to help you pass the time.

Best of luck in your journey and keep us posted.
Steve
 
TAMI SAM said:
Well Im back and Im pissed. I have fluctuating hearing loss and of course this is a good day I get about 10-12 bad days then maybe 4 good ones.When it goes back to bad its worse everytime and disstorted like donald duck. I think its still attacking the nerve trying to make this ear deaf too. So i have a hearing test with my hearing aid then one with one the girl brings in that is so LOUD that its just whistling away in my ear from feedback.So I tell her no one can walk around like this.She wants me just try it ok i do.Now she says well maybe YOUR HA isnt adjusted right or you need a better one.I've just gottten a otican b.t.e it was $2800 .i was told its a really good one and it is extremely powerful.>>>>>>>>

BTDT (forgot to get the tshirt, :)) anyway if they 'think' your HA's aren't adjsuted right did they actually test them? When I did my first CI test they did come in and test the HA's and recommended I get them adjusted and then they'd try again after that. I got them adjusted and still scored around 70% (need to get less then 60% to qualify) in a nice QUIET booth. My complaint was to get it loud enough caused distortion not clarity. the ha's were only a year old at that time.

>>>>>>>>>

.Only thing she can say is well I wish we could see you on a bad day but we are booked so how can I get you in when it happens.Well I dont freakin know???!!!So i will try and see this new Audi and hope for the best and if it works out and I just spent this last year going through a absolute freaking living hell and putting my family through hell tears ect. just because someone didnt know how to program a hearing aid Im going to flip.Sorry to be so mean but I'm so flustered thinking I was finally to where I would get help and accepted getting a CI.:pissed:
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I wish you luck in getting your HA's programmed. Maybe if you take notes of situations where they really aren't working well and what you're hearing or not that will help get them programed right. Another idea is to actually go outside with the audi after she/he programs them and carry on a conversation and tell her what you are hearing to much of and not enough of. she should be talking to you, my daughter did this and finally got the background noises low enough and the voice sounds coming through pretty good.

Having said that it sounds like you need them programmed to you bad days, rather then good days.

I did get a CI even tho I tested higher then the guidelines. I got one based on my hearing in noise. I heard and understood one sentence out of the 10 or so they read. (after the HA's were adjusted) :eek2: Both the audi and the ENT agreed that they would write to the insurance asking for approval to implant based on what I heard in noise. That number has now improved to over 50% in noise, that improvment was in less then a year. If you have private insurance you might be able to work with your drs. to get approval based on your needs if you cannot get the HA to work for you. There are some people like me who 'should' get great benefit from their aides but for some reason don't. If you are on a goverment form of insurance the ci centers won't even bother because the goveremnt doesn't grant exceptions.

good luck.
 
Tami Sam: Seems to me, since you have Meniere's, and hearing aids aren't benefitting you as well especially on bad days - all the more reasons for them to give you the OK to move forward with your CI journey. :/ Really, print out anything you think would be helpful to the Dr's from these threads & stuff. Explain to them excatly how you feel & everything.

That's what I did. I mean- growing up my hearing aids benefitted me very well but as I reported before, it all changed when I started having issues, even though my hearing loss isn't the progressive one and I hadn't went down, except for the 5% in one ear. All I wanted was to be able to hear again, that's what I stressed to my Dr on that first visit I had with him and he completely understood where I was coming from & agreed to go ahead.

I wish you the best of luck, Tami. I feel for you & hope you find some one that is willing to do the CI for you. :]
 
Jag thank you for your post no Im not on private insurance so I feel this probably isnt helping my cause at all.My neighbor went to a black tie fundraiser for CI's not even knowing I was considering one.He said it was a big political deal.He is high up in a electronic company like bose and they were contributing $50,000.He said they rolled the film of a child hearing for the first time which is a wonderful thing and the checkbooks came flying out.Dont think alot care about a middle-aged disabled housewife getting hearing back.So I'll just have to wait until it gets worse I guess. Steve: You sound like my alter ego,Just about everything you say is what i am going through.My ent talks to my husband and not me,not out of rudeness but he knows i cant hear him. then my husband tells me when we leave.No i certainly dont push for CI.I'm embarressed to say when he told me it was time to consider one I busted out crying.I have always been strong there no numbing before shots in ear nothing when tube was put in,even stayed awake for last surgery as it was a quick one and chose it easier to do without being sick from gas.Unfortunatly, he's an older man and great on inner ear disease but said he felt it was too late for him to get into CI's.So now I will take my time,document everything I am going through and see how long I can get by until I asume I will eventualy go totally deaf,which really feels like a horrible thing to say as I type this to you.I am going to find someone closer and more to my liking who deals with more adults.I did like NYC dr.but they really wont give you the time of day.Wouldnt even answer question on CI. Now I feel too I need someone I can get to if and when I have to as things do not go easily for me and to get into a hi-end dr is impossible.I did notice the woman who worked at CI office who had one and came over to say HI was really lost in background noise,so as long as I can get by without one I see no benefit of a CI at this point-I suppose.Just didnt want to go deaf all the way as i dont read lips or sign so it will be a hard road when it happens.Thanks for listening and helping me so much throughout this difficult time. Tami
 
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