Information about CI as an adult

[contradica]

THANK YOU, R2D2! I wonder about lipreading and CI. Now lipread is SO exhausting! If I meet with professor or someone I need to lipread and understand all (not just social conversation), after I am tired and have headaches. So when I read about continuing lipread after the CI........seemed like no benefit then. But less work would be a benefit.

Lipreading is SO exhausting when it done with no audio cues what so ever. I use to get headache from focusing so hard. I haven't stopped lipreading and quite frankly, after 24 years of doing so, I doubt I ever will stop. A CI is just a tool like a HA, it does not give you perfect hearing which is why it is so important to have a low expectation of it. With a CI, I can say it is so much easier to get through a conversation without my ears and eyes straining so hard.

I need to talk with my audiologist I guess (I know). But this part for me probably is unknown unless I get CI - probably no person can say how CI will be for me really.

Correctamundo! Each person has a individual experience. It might seem that the lot of us CI'ers all have similar experiences, but there is a bunch of things that one person might hear that I can't hear yet and vice versus. It works differently for each person.

That helps a lot. I do read some old articles because I want to see change in science and thinking about CI - year before how do scientists think about CI benefit, surgery etc? now? I only don't read articles I think "sell" one brand of CI.

I did exactly what you did when I first started researching CI's, I wanted statistics and I wanted them to be based on people similar to my history. The white papers were extremely interesting, the research papers tended to unbiased but none of them really provided me with any detail like the people who actually have them.

 

[deafdyke]

katin, what I mean by "other alternatives" are things like more powerful HAs, (eg body worn aids, power aids etc) Most people do come to CI as a last resort, but b/c of nonstandardized implantation criteria (ie you can "shop around for a doctor to implant you) there are some people who "shop" for an implant.
I really do think in SOME cases a more powerful aid might be just as effective.
Like it stands to reason that if there are hoh losses where dinky aids (ie ITE and smaller) can amplify, but not give the best hearing possible, there are probaly profound and severe losses, where the person can hear with a basic BTE, but could get more benifit from more powerful aids.
Make sense?

Lipreading is SO exhausting when it done with no audio cues what so ever.

Oh yes. I quite agree with you there! Being able to get more sound definitly helps with speechreading. However, the thing is, the way its promoted it makes it seem like you could understand almost every and anyone purely by audition alone.

 

[jag]

Exactly! Which is the exact reason why when people post about looking into CI canidacy, I tell them that it might be worth it to experiment.The studies treat ALL profoundly deaf people the same. It's like it's promoted as a cure all.
and why is it, that pro ci people harp on the possibilty of not lipreading? Why is that considered a "crutch?" EVERYONE reads lips..........its just that hearies do it subconsciously, while we dhh folks do it consciously.

I would say that when a deaf person begins to explore the possiblity of getting a CI it's because they want more then the HA's that they've already used has to offer.

As for reading lips, you are right people pick it up by themselves, i did it for years and was never 'trained' to do so. And I did NOT do it consciously, didn't even realize I was doing so til my dr. asked me if I was. But not having to rely heavily on watching peoples faces anymore is a wonderful thing. Stress levels decrease very very much. And even if one has had very limited access to sounds (or none) the sounds through a CI are clearer and probably would greatly relieve the stress of trying to follow what's being said, even if one does continue to watch faces.

 

[jag]

I need to talk with my audiologist I guess (I know). But this part for me probably is unknown unless I get CI - probably no person can say how CI will be for me really.

Actually no person can say how you would do with a CI. That's why you have to decide if you are willing to take the risks associated with the implant procedure. Many of us are happy we did and there are some who aren't. It mostly comes down to how badly do you really want to hear? And are you willing to except that your brain may not be able to process the sounds so the most you may get is enviromental sounds?

THe number of actual implant failures is itself low. (the actual implant) But if you think that being able to not understand speech is a failure then the numbers increase, and in most cases the failure has alot to do with not having had access to sound before. But even people who have a good speech memory can fail to hear clearly with a CI. I know that for me what I hear depends on the speed of the processor. For me slow is better.

 

[deafdyke]

jag, You're assuming that everyone's gonna hear better with CI..........but the thing is response to hearing technologies is so indivdual. It's prolly exactly like the debate between digitals and analogs. There are people who are ambigious who could definitly hear better with CI, but then again there are some people who get really good benifit from the old analogs!

 

[Audiofuzzy]

jag, You're assuming that everyone's gonna hear better with CI..........but the thing is response to hearing technologies is so indivdual. It's prolly exactly like the debate between digitals and analogs. There are people who are ambigious who could definitly hear better with CI, but then again there are some people who get really good benifit from the old analogs!

I don't think so for this reason - CI works very differently from HAs,
and analog or digital HA in the end works the same way - they just amplify sound.


Fuzzy

 

[jillio]

I don't think so for this reason - CI works very differently from HAs,
and analog or digital HA in the end works the same way - they just amplify sound.


Fuzzy

They may uise the same mechanics, but the individual responds differently. Thus, the number of people who receive different benefit from different devises.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

They may uise the same mechanics, but the individual responds differently. Thus, the number of people who receive different benefit from different devises.

A rose is a rose.... HAs just amplify sounds, CI - NOT. They do more than that.

Fuzzy

 

[sr171soars]

jag, You're assuming that everyone's gonna hear better with CI..........but the thing is response to hearing technologies is so indivdual. It's prolly exactly like the debate between digitals and analogs. There are people who are ambigious who could definitly hear better with CI, but then again there are some people who get really good benifit from the old analogs!

Er...with few exceptions, most people will hear far better with a CI over any HA. Given my perspective of having a CI, there is no comparison between a CI and that of a HA. The CI wins hands down every time. The key question is whether they will understand speech especially without lipreading. That is the question and where the main variations exist.

On another note, I do agree with you that things have gotten fuzzy (pardon the pun and not referring to Audiofuzzy) about drawing the line between the CI and HA world.

To reiterate for everybody's edification, HAs and CIs operate totally differently to provide hearing. HA's use the natural system with amplification while CIs do a direct stimulation on the cochlear nerve.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

To reiterate for everybody's edification, HAs and CIs operate totally differently to provide hearing. HA's use the natural system with amplification while CIs do a direct stimulation on the cochlear nerve.

and that is a BIG difference.
Maybe I am mistaken but it looks like some pple still doesn't understand fully the huge difference between how the CI and HAs work. Even if one can hear relatively well with HAs - its' a far cry from what CI can do.

Fuzzy

 

[jillio]

A rose is a rose.... HAs just amplify sounds, CI - NOT. They do more than that.

Fuzzy

That is still nothing more than mechanics. You are leaving out the most important variable, and that is the individual's response to any devise.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

That is still nothing more than mechanics. You are leaving out the most important variable, and that is the individual's response to any devise.

And the mechanics is what makes all the difference - you either travel via car or by plane.

Fuzzy

 

[sr171soars]

That is still nothing more than mechanics. You are leaving out the most important variable, and that is the individual's response to any devise.

To the first part...not so! That assumes they provide equal input and I can confirm via first hand experience that they don't. If a device provides more input and concisely at that, then all things being equal, one will have a much better response with it. One has to consider whether the playing field is level or not before one can talk about an individual's responses to the devices.

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

A rose is a rose.... HAs just amplify sounds, CI - NOT. They do more than that.

Fuzzy

Well, hearing aids, ditigal hearing aids have limit sound on the dial on 1 t0 10. C.I. can amplfiy more lounder sounds through computer set up. So C.I. have more power. Because I have C.I. and I can hear very clearly and what level of sound on C.I. is good for me. I have no regret wtih C.I. and no turning back. Hearing my daughter cry when she was born was the best sound I ever experinces. So everybody is different how they deal with C.I and HA differently.

 

[vallee]

CIs and HA both so different! I have first hand experience. You can't compare the two at all.

I got to hear my daughter sing in her school program tonight. She is in 3rd grade and this is the 4th program, I have been to. But it is the first one, I could understand! She had a speaking part and I was able to understand and enjoy! I could never do that with HA.

 

[deafskeptic]

I must say that I agree with sr117soars and vallee on this one. The sound is much clearer with the CI than my HA.

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

CIs and HA both so different! I have first hand experience. You can't compare the two at all.

I got to hear my daughter sing in her school program tonight. She is in 3rd grade and this is the 4th program, I have been to. But it is the first one, I could understand! She had a speaking part and I was able to understand and enjoy! I could never do that with HA.

Yep I agree with you that HA and C.I. are both so different the way we hear sound more clearly and more power then HA, I have no regret getting C.I. two years ago.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Well, hearing aids, ditigal hearing aids have limit sound on the dial on 1 t0 10. C.I. can amplfiy more lounder sounds through computer set up. So C.I. have more power. Because I have C.I. and I can hear very clearly and what level of sound on C.I. is good for me. I have no regret wtih C.I. and no turning back. Hearing my daughter cry when she was born was the best sound I ever experinces. So everybody is different how they deal with C.I and HA differently.

But that is not ALL what CI can do. CI can do something that HAs will never do.
And even if "everyone deal with HAs or CI differently", the CI is a whole other ballgame. Always.

Fuzzy

 

[jillio]

To the first part...not so! That assumes they provide equal input and I can confirm via first hand experience that they don't. If a device provides more input and concisely at that, then all things being equal, one will have a much better response with it. One has to consider whether the playing field is level or not before one can talk about an individual's responses to the devices.

I am not assuming that they provide equal input at all. But when you talk about the way that either one work, you are discussing mechanics. The variable I am speaking of is the indiviudal response to either one. Not all individuals respond the same way to the input from the CI, and not all individuals respond the same way to the input from HAs. If individuals all responded the same way, you would not see such a variance in the way that individuals respond and adapt to both HAs and CIs. And I think you will have admit that, in HA users, there are individual variances in benefit, and in CI users, there are individual variances in benefit. I wasn;t comparing the two devises at all, but I was saying that there are variances in both populations of devise users.l

 

[Audiofuzzy]

I am not assuming that they provide equal input at all. But when you talk about the way that either one work, you are discussing mechanics. The variable I am speaking of is the indiviudal response to either one. Not all individuals respond the same way to the input from the CI, and not all individuals respond the same way to the input from HAs. If individuals all responded the same way, you would not see such a variance in the way that individuals respond and adapt to both HAs and CIs. And I think you will have admit that, in HA users, there are individual variances in benefit, and in CI users, there are individual variances in benefit. I wasn;t comparing the two devises at all, but I was saying that there are variances in both populations of devise users.l

You have to understand - it doesn't matter jillio. regardless of an individual input, or "variances" as you call it,
the same person will always hear better with CI than HAs,
simply because of the way the CI works - it stimulates nerves that aren't working with HAs. and that is what matters.

The variable of how one person can hear and speak better with HAs than someone with CI depends on one particular instance (not only on the devices itself) - on how was that individual growing up - was he/ she able to acquire language before she/he lost the hearing, was that person well trained to hear and speak with HAs, was that person prelingually or postlingually deaf and so on.

In THAT instance, it is possible that someone with HAs may hear and understand speech better than someone who was born deaf, raised deaf and late implanted. But that same person- late deaf, late implanted- will always hear more with CI than with HAs.

I would bet both my hads that if we had identical babies at birth with identical hearing loss, identical therapy afterwards and identical motivation to work - the one implanted would develop hearing and speech far better than the one with HAs.


Even our small private AD's lovely bunch of implantees shows clearly CI beats HAs - hands down. Alomost, if not fully everyone was able to hear better with CI.

Even those who said they didn't like CI, reported hearing sounds they haven't heard before (and thus couldn't understand them).
Even if they did not like it- they heard what they did NOT heard with HAs prior to implanting.


Fuzzy