My CI-related Questions

[deafbajagal]

I had to lipread the whole time in school (until I moved to the deaf school). That was really so hard and tiresome. I remember those days!

 

[deafbajagal]

Yeah, but I mean i thought that kids really didn't need intense auditory training past first grade. I mean I think there should be a program available for kids who need or want it.

At one time that's what the experts said but now with the CIs and upgrading mappings and digital hearing aids, auditory training should be ongoing. Even I need it now to recognize some of the environmental sounds that I've NEVER heard before until I got my superboom aids. Lol

 

[deafdyke]

At one time that's what the experts said but now with the CIs and upgrading mappings and digital hearing aids, auditory training should be ongoing. Even I need it now to recognize some of the environmental sounds that I've NEVER heard before until I got my superboom aids. Lol

HAHAHAHHAHAHAH that's awesome. So basicly, the brain is still learning, and the "window" for learning stuff is much wider then orgionally thought? I think that's gonna screw up oralist arguments about the window closing earlier.

 

[jillio]

HAHAHAHHAHAHAH that's awesome. So basicly, the brain is still learning, and the "window" for learning stuff is much wider then orgionally thought? I think that's gonna screw up oralist arguments about the window closing earlier.

Neuroplasticity is life long. If a child is exposed to a language between birth and 8, they will acquire it naturally. The oralists claim it is between birth and 3, and it is the biggest argument for infant implantation. Even one of the men who was intrumental in the original CI design does not take such a narrow view of the brain's ability to train or retrain itself as the oralists do. Once the brain has been retrained, it is not necessary to continue with intensive therapy; it is simply necessary to use what one has gained through the retraining.

 

[Lissa]

Do you sign with your deaf friends? Are you taking formal BSL classes? I thought it was interesting what you said about liking the quiet...I'm the same way with my digital hearing aid.

I am not taking formal BSL classes, but I have grown up with sign around me. my school was a TC school, so at breaktimes, assembly, PE and other things, I was able to watch and use sign, but I still am rubbish!! We was able to take a BSL class as part of our GCSES, and I passed at 14 years old, it was only level 1!

 

[Daredevel7]

Not necessarily. You said you were 28? Your brain was still young.

I am 28 now. Will be 29 soon. I had the implant when I was 26.

I think this is one of the cases where on a molecule/neuron level, there should be no difference between how a young kid and a young adult reacts to the implant because our brains are "still young". However, based on what I've seen and read, it's just too obvious that younger people tend to do better with the CI.

Maybe it has nothing to do with our brains. Maybe adults just have a lot more going on in their lives than children do, so we are more resistant to learning.

 

[deafbajagal]

Can I ask you a personal question? What prompt you to decide to get a CI? It seems that you're pleased with your decision, which is awesome.

 

[Daredevel7]

Can I ask you a personal question? What prompt you to decide to get a CI? It seems that you're pleased with your decision, which is awesome.

I didn't get a CI when I was a baby because it was too new, too experimental and I was still developing without it anyway. I didn't get a CI as a teenager because I was still doing fine without it anyway and surgery freaked me out. Now... well, I still don't need it but I had very good insurance from my job and I had more free time to do CI therapy, so why not? It also helped that my right ear had a 10+dB loss, bringing 90dB to 100+dB loss (that was sort of the push), so I knew HA on that ear was kinda pointless. Also, I've seen the amazing progress that a family member made with the CI. Couldn't speak, lipread, nor sign, no vocabulary at 6 years old (the parents should have taught him sign, although they found out later that he is legally blind, not sure if that would have made a difference), implanted at 6 yrs old. Now he's 17 and is on par with hearing and deaf peers, academically and socially. He is now in both worlds.

So it wasn't just one thing, it was just a few little things all together that prompted me to get a CI.

 

[jillio]

I am 28 now. Will be 29 soon. I had the implant when I was 26.

I think this is one of the cases where on a molecule/neuron level, there should be no difference between how a young kid and a young adult reacts to the implant because our brains are "still young". However, based on what I've seen and read, it's just too obvious that younger people tend to do better with the CI.

Maybe it has nothing to do with our brains. Maybe adults just have a lot more going on in their lives than children do, so we are more resistant to learning.

The fact that some do better than others really has nothing to do with the brain. It has to do with the things you mentioned, as well as the way the therapy is presented. Not all therapies that are given post-CI address the remapping of the brain in the same way. Some are more effective because they address things from a neuropsychological perspective when designing the therapy.

 

[deafskeptic]

1. What kind of rehabilitation training and support do you get in order to have the best use of your CI?

Examples:

* Auditory training? If so, how is it done? Where? When?

There wer none for me.

* Speech recognition and auditory comprehension?

I can understand things a lot better than I could with my HA. However, my hearing will never be the same as the hearing nor do I hear as well as the hearing. it's less painful too.

2. If you had or currently is using a CI while in school, what can the teacher do to make sure your CI is beneficial to your learning?

The best thing they can do for me is let me have a terp. I have poor auditory memory and a short attention span so terp works best for me.

3. Describe the relationship between using your CI and your social life.

It's easier to talk to hearing but my social life has not changed at all.

4. What is your preferred mode of communication with a CI? Is it the same mode of communication you use when your CI is not being used?

ASL for both questions.

5. What advice do you have for a deaf person who may be considering getting a CI for himself/herself?

Keep your expectations low and be aware that CI don't alway work out and that there has been failures.

6. Do you feel accepted by the deaf community? Are you a part of the deaf community or do you feel more comfortable being a part of the hearing community.

I prefer the deaf.

Glad to fill this out.

 

[candybrowneyes]

This thread is exactly where it should be, no worries

 

[deafbajagal]

Thanks!!!