New with questions!

cb3228,

You also need to know, which no one else has brought up, that having a CI done is a one time shot deal. That means that if . . . and only if . . . the CI does not take, all residual hearing is gone and he will be completely deaf with no sound ever again.

Secondly, he will be thoroughly examined to make certain he is a good candidate, including psychological testing. This isn't something that is done overnight but over a period of a few weeks if not months. He has to demonstrate that he knows what he's getting into and, once it's done, there is no going back.

Techology is so much better these days where the residual hearing are preserved during surgery. So there is chance he would still have his residual hearing. I still have mine so is few people on this site.

Also as for psychological testing... I didn't have that either.
 
cb3228,

You also need to know, which no one else has brought up, that having a CI done is a one time shot deal. That means that if . . . and only if . . . the CI does not take, all residual hearing is gone and he will be completely deaf with no sound ever again.


If for some reason the CI does not work, your husband can be re-implanted. The other ear can be implanted as well. If he has been successful with hearing aids in the past, there is a very good likelihood that he will do well with a CI. Even if he has only had environmental sound awareness with hearing aids, there is a chance the CI will still work for him. I know a CI user who has been totally deaf for 30 years and has been quite successful with her implant. I also know someone born completely deaf who was implanted at the age of 18. She learned how to speak and use her CI to its full potential. In regards to residual hearing, there have been cases where it is preserved (as several members here have indicated) -- although when someone is at the point of needing a CI, there isn't much residual hearing to preserve in the first place.
 
He has to demonstrate that he knows what he's getting into...

The CI team will fully evaluate a person's reasoning for desiring a CI. If they feel a person has unreasonable expectations, he/she will not be accepted as a CI candidate.
 
Wow, gang! I stand corrected! Thanks!!

Pete,

And thank you for having an open mind. :) Unfortunately there are *some* d/Deaf people who continue to spread misinformation (although I'm not saying that's what you were doing) about CIs despite being given the facts by those who have implants.
 
My hubby has had hearing aids since he was 28 and is now 54 years old. He also had a 100% successful stapes operation due to otosclerosis at that time in his left ear. In the past two years his hearing has dramatically deteriorated. He has a mixed loss of conductive and nerve. Yesterday he had an audiogram which showed profound loss in both ears:

Right ear - air/nerve 110db bone/70db
Left ear - air/nerve 90db bone/70db

Word recognition - Right ear 32% @ 110db
Left ear 40% @ 105db

MCL - right 110db
left 105db

This ENT felt that he was a very good candidate for a CI and referred us to University of Penn in Philadelphia and we have an appointment on Nov. 7th. We have been cramming info off of the net and trying to understand what will happen. So now the questions:

1. What is the qualifying period like in general and how long does that process take? What type of tests are to be expecteded during that period?

2. Does he need to receive a meningitis vaccine and if so is it just one shot or a series of shots over a period of time?

3. The HINT or sentence recognition testing.........do they administer that with or without the hearing aids?

4. From the time you receive the approval/qualification for the cochlear implant from the doctor.........how long before you received the surgery?

5. Penn uses Advanced Bionics, Cochlear World Nucleus and Med El. Does anyone have experience with any of these?

6. Disposable batteries and rechargeable.......which do you like best? Hubby's day starts at 5:15 wakeup and he goes till 10:30/11:00pm.....so I'm assuming the disposable would be best for him unless he gets more than 1 rechargeable battery.

7. How long do the rechargables have to charge in order to get a full charge?

I appreciate any and all input as this is a very stressful and frustrating time, as you all know only too well.

Thank you!!!!!!

I also have Otosclerosis. I began losing my hearing at 17 and I'm now 39. I had the Stapes operations in both ears in 2004. The operation was successful for about a year until I got a bad case of the flu in 2005, which killed my right ear and my left ear has been deteriorating.

I seen my ENT surgeon in mid August, they sent me over to do an audiogram and he told me I was a candidate for a CI. He scheduled an MRI, CT scan and consultation with a CI audiologist. I had those appointments within a month. My CI audiologist performed the HINT test with my hearing aid in and I was asked to repeat words and sentences back. No psycological testing, I was simply asked what I expected from a CI and I told them I would like better speech recognition.

My paperwork was submitted to Medicaid on October 1. They called me on October 13 and asked if I could have surgery the 16th, as my doc had a cancellation and my insurance approved the surgery. Had pre-op on the 15th and surgery yesterday, the 16th.

I did not have the vaccine yet, my doctor told me to wait 2 weeks after surgery.
My activation date is October 29. I chose Cochlear because of the battery options and because it was slightly smaller than the AB. They all have amazing technology.

It moves pretty fast once you get the process going. Mine took less than 2 months.

I haven't talked to many people with Otosclerosis so I would love to hear more about your husbands journey. I am wondering if he's ever tried the flouride treatments? I suspect my 18 year old son may have Otosclerosis. I have an appointment scheduled for him in a couple weeks but was wondering if the flouride actually helps.
Well good luck and please keep us posted!

Dawne
 
My paperwork was submitted to Medicaid on October 1. They called me on October 13 and asked if I could have surgery the 16th, as my doc had a cancellation and my insurance approved the surgery. Had pre-op on the 15th and surgery yesterday, the 16th.

Dawne,

Wow! I can't believe how quickly you were approved by Medicaid! In my case (for both CIs), it took 8 weeks.
 
The CI team will fully evaluate a person's reasoning for desiring a CI. If they feel a person has unreasonable expectations, he/she will not be accepted as a CI candidate.

Very true. I had the audie, the doctor, and Physican assistant discuss expectations with me. My expectations were to have a verbal conversation with my daughter without struggling. I also just wanted to hear a little better than with hearing aids.
 
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Thats true, I took a lot of time into deciding whether to get CI or not! Right from the time I was determined a CI candidate, I waited for 4-5 months, debating on and on. I think it was worth it, but I had a lot of questions, nervousness and fear of the implants not working, so my surgeon had to personally set aside some time for me and explain the whole process, what to expect, etc. If you have high expectations, CI wont be right for you 'at the moment'. Just be optimistic and prepared to take on the risk. I can bet, CI surgery today is much better than what it was one or two years ago.
 
Pete,

And thank you for having an open mind. :) Unfortunately there are *some* d/Deaf people who continue to spread misinformation (although I'm not saying that's what you were doing) about CIs despite being given the facts by those who have implants.

It could be that the information I was given by the interviewee was old, as I don't recall how long ago he had the implant done.
 
I don't know what is point cochlear implant. I thought you problem on cochlear implant
 
Not all CI centers require psychological testing. Mine didn't.

I heard so many people (those who were against CIs) mentioning the requirement psychological testings. Why did they say that? I am surprised that it is not required.
 
I heard so many people (those who were against CIs) mentioning the requirement psychological testings. Why did they say that? I am surprised that it is not required.

One of the reasons those who are anti-CI say this is because they want to continue deliberately spreading misinformation about CIs. It's also because they haven't done their research. If they *knew* anyone with a CI (or talked to a CI audi at a qualified CI center), they would understand that not all CI centers require psychological testing.

As for the reason why many CI centers don't have this requirement, it's because CI audis interview candidates about their expectations and make them fully aware of the pros and cons of CIs. CIs audis have alot of experience in identifying candidates whose expectations are too high or unreasonable. Because of that, one-on-one interviews with CI audis have taken the place of psychological testing at most CI centers.
 
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