qualifications...

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pinkster

Guest
As most of you know, I havent always been deaf. I lost it gradually over the years and the first hearing test that showed "profoundly" deaf, i was 17. I recently had a vocational/career assesment test, and the woman had my audiogram on file. I myself did not have this. It was the one from when I was 17. However, I do have tinnitus, which i think, plays a factor is how my test went.

The test said 90db (R) and 95db (L) but I didnt know what that really meant. So I looked on the internet and found this little thing that told me what it might mean. I got it from here

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Degree (based on pure tone average)
normal range 0 -25 dB
mild loss 26-40 dB
moderate 41-55 dB
moderate severe 56-70 dB
severe 71-90 dB
profound 91 dB or greater
-

My question to you is, what is your db loss? Im curious. Its weird I'm considered severe/profound, as I listen to music on my CD player on a 6 or so, (depends on the CD) out of 10.

(PS, i didnt know where else to post this, so I chose here.)
 
pinkster,

you'll find that the db loss listing is rather meaningless when trying to compare people. obviously you do quite well enough to enjoy listening to a CD player with a 95 db loss while on the other hand there are many examples of "deaf people" with only a 50db hearing loss who are unable to discriminate between the various types of sounds and CD players are useless. consider yourself lucky. :)
 
i guess so.. i mean.. i always take in the fact that for 14 years i was trained to hear things the way people normally do. *shrugs* maybe its just me.. my uncle calls our family CODA-LDA and there arent many people like that.. so i guess.. :)
 
look on the bright side, if your hearing gets worse, you would be among the people that would do real well with a CI as opposed to some people who "don't use their ears" much anymore. Of course, if you oppose the CI, then that's another story.
 
hi pinkysterry :D

As for me, my right 86 left 92. I start losing hearing slowly when i was 2 years old with menigits, become serve to profound deaf when i reach 11 years old.. yea i still do get tinnius in my ears, hate those ringings sometimes druing the night or so.. :)
 
Bush_in_2004! said:
look on the bright side, if your hearing gets worse, you would be among the people that would do real well with a CI as opposed to some people who "don't use their ears" much anymore. Of course, if you oppose the CI, then that's another story.
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I used to be against them, and now I'm not so sure. The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy, and i believe mine is much higher than that. (Hell, if i know what the lyrics are, most of the time i can sing along - depends on the music) So I dont know. I want to try hearing aids again first, then if that doesnt work then i'd consider a CI. But before people go nutso on me, dont get me wrong - i LOVE being deaf and i love being Deaf too. But unfortunately we do not live in a Deaf world, we are just "bits and pieces to present a semblance of a whole." (Something written on a building wall of an art museum here in minneapolis)
 
pinkster said:
I used to be against them, and now I'm not so sure. The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy, and i believe mine is much higher than that. (Hell, if i know what the lyrics are, most of the time i can sing along - depends on the music) So I dont know. I want to try hearing aids again first, then if that doesnt work then i'd consider a CI. But before people go nutso on me, dont get me wrong - i LOVE being deaf and i love being Deaf too. But unfortunately we do not live in a Deaf world, we are just "bits and pieces to present a semblance of a whole." (Something written on a building wall of an art museum here in minneapolis)
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I used to be against it too druing my high school years, since however, last year I'm curious what's it's like to have it, will it improve my social needs with hearies? Another problem i am standing on the fence is that i asked few of my good friends who's deaf and i trusted them completely, they say "i'm against it, but it's up to you". this sounds like an offence to me. Well, this is 2003 right now.. i'm noticing serval gally students took a chance for CI or consdiering getting one.

Other thing. Insurance will cover it completely as for my insurance under my work, and my company is offering me to get one, they even offer to pay the equiement, etc..
But, yet, i am still proud to be Deaf.
 
pinkster said:
As most of you know, I havent always been deaf. I lost it gradually over the years and the first hearing test that showed "profoundly" deaf, i was 17....

My question to you is, what is your db loss? Im curious. Its weird I'm considered severe/profound, as I listen to music on my CD player on a 6 or so, (depends on the CD) out of 10.
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That's interesting, becasue I went VERY deaf at the age of 18... I can hear cars, and music, and people talking, just cant hear it all that clearly. I can hear sirens and lawnmowers. I wear hearing aids in both ears, but I have been listed as up to 70 - 90db hearing loss, moderate to severe. I dont think you can really measure it like that. it just doesnt work that way.. It is the audiologists way of trying to categorise somethng that is essentially UNcategorisable (is that a word?)

Anyway, I think thats great - utilise yr hearing as much as you can. dont let any test results make you think you are or arent able to do smoething.....
 
stuntchic said:
That's interesting, becasue I went VERY deaf at the age of 18... I can hear cars, and music, and people talking, just cant hear it all that clearly. I can hear sirens and lawnmowers. I wear hearing aids in both ears, but I have been listed as up to 70 - 90db hearing loss, moderate to severe. I dont think you can really measure it like that. it just doesnt work that way.. It is the audiologists way of trying to categorise somethng that is essentially UNcategorisable (is that a word?)

Anyway, I think thats great - utilise yr hearing as much as you can. dont let any test results make you think you are or arent able to do smoething.....
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I dont know much about hearing tests, which is why i went online to find out about them. However, I had hearing tests EVERY 6 MONTHS from when i was 5 till i was 14 ;) That was the other reason i stopped wearing hearing aids. I cant hear sirens (tinystrawberry can attest for that one, as a fire truck passed us while I wass driving and I didnt hear it at all.) Nor can I hear lawnmowers anymore, unless its super close to me. I know that there are several kinds of deafness, and you cant classify everyone under 'one' type. And you are right, not let a test result affect your thinking.. However it is hard not to ;)
 
p sez: "The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy"

actually it depends on the individual. that is why I said you will do well because based on what your telling me, you are getting the most from your HA.

however, as you pointed out, you're doing well with the HA right now so right now is NOT the time for a CI. However, should your hearing get worse or your sound discrimination (word accuracy) gets worse, then the CI becomes an option.

Good luck.
 
pinkster said:
I dont know much about hearing tests, which is why i went online to find out about them. However, I had hearing tests EVERY 6 MONTHS from when i was 5 till i was 14 ;) That was the other reason i stopped wearing hearing aids. I cant hear sirens (tinystrawberry can attest for that one, as a fire truck passed us while I wass driving and I didnt hear it at all.) Nor can I hear lawnmowers anymore, unless its super close to me. I know that there are several kinds of deafness, and you cant classify everyone under 'one' type. And you are right, not let a test result affect your thinking.. However it is hard not to ;)
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Hey, Its happen to me also. I used to able hear the phone rang but not anymore that sounds start notice when I was 18 years old. Right now I am 23 years old and processing get surgrey on Sept. My hearing loss both is 85 percent sever to profound. You can check out the cochlear implant process to see if they able let you get cochlear implant or not. Cochlear implant is not for everyone; who is deaf.

Tell you truth that I am little bit nervous about cochlear implant due my friends are deaf with no cochlear implant. Beside the cochlear implant is get better and improve some tech provide me to hear again.
 
pinkster said:
I used to be against them, and now I'm not so sure. The problem with me getting a CI is that you have to have less than a 60% word accuracy, and i believe mine is much higher than that. (Hell, if i know what the lyrics are, most of the time i can sing along - depends on the music) So I dont know. I want to try hearing aids again first, then if that doesnt work then i'd consider a CI. But before people go nutso on me, dont get me wrong - i LOVE being deaf and i love being Deaf too.
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Huh? I thought that in order to be eligiable for CI, you had to have less then 40% word accuracy!
As for the orginal topic, I have a mild (left ear) moderately severe (right ear) loss. I can hear some women without aids and without speechreading but I cannot hear things like my cat purring or thunder, even with my aids unless it's REALLY loud.
 
-Actually, i dont wear hearing aids anymore. :) I did benefit from whem when i was in grammar school.

-Good luck with your surgery :)

- 60% was what i was told by a cochlear company based in Colorado, at the worldwide deaf expo last february, here in MN :) Oh and if i put my kitty up to my ear, i can hear him purr :)
 
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pinkster said:
- 60% was what i was told by a cochlear company based in Colorado, at the worldwide deaf expo last february, here in MN :)
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hmm, well that is interesting and may indeed be correct.
 
That might be correct...Wait....did the CI rep say whether the word comprehension was with hearing aids or without? B/c a 60% word discrimination score without aids translates into a moderate loss...I do know that at least 1 person with moderate loss has been implanted but I thought that implanting medically HOH folk was really experimental.
 
deafdyke said:
That might be correct...Wait....did the CI rep say whether the word comprehension was with hearing aids or without? B/c a 60% word discrimination score without aids translates into a moderate loss...I do know that at least 1 person with moderate loss has been implanted but I thought that implanting medically HOH folk was really experimental.
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frankly, implanting HOH is a bit gutsy because there is no way the CI team can guarantee your scores would be better after a CI. Therefore one would think the CI team would suggest a HOH person waits until her/his word comprehension score is truly poor. but this my opinion. if CI technology has advanced to the point they can predict improvement on HOH people then that's great. but in the meantime I'm a skeptical HOH'er.
 
Bush_in_2004! said:
frankly, implanting HOH is a bit gutsy because there is no way the CI team can guarantee your scores would be better after a CI. ......in the meantime I'm a skeptical HOH'er.
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I am totally the same, Bush2004, I am very HOH, and people always say to me, "Why don't you get a CI if your hearing is that bad?" and I'm like - would you trust a surgeon with what little hearing youve got left? I certainly wouldnt. So I'll just wait til they start growing hair cells in testtubes, and then I'll let them practise growing them in my ear!! Cause thats why Im deaf - my hair cells in my ear are deteriorating. SOunds gross. Makes me feel icky. :dizzy:
 
Jake, I am also very skeptical. I do know there are some CI cases where the person can hear everything but I thought most of those cases had a purely progressive loss!
 
deafdyke said:
Jake, I am also very skeptical. I do know there are some CI cases where the person can hear everything but I thought most of those cases had a purely progressive loss!
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DD, here's something to think about . . . perhaps it has more to do with the implantee's atitude rather than actual hearing loss. If one expects the CI surgery to be a one-step solution, they're gonna be disappointed. But on the other hand, if one is determined to "hear and understand" again, they'll do all the necessary steps (follow-ups and training after the CI surgery) in order to succeed.

I say this having witness a relative of mine get a CI only later said it was "disappointing" just right after it was turned on. This person was LAZY and had lived a life of everything being handed to him -- I wondered how the heck the CI team thought he was a good canidate!?
 
stuntchic,

one of the things CI doctors are doing these days is trying to preserve as much "original" hearing as possible because of the concerns raised by people like you. they're getting better and better at it. I'm willing to wait a bit longer for the technology to evolve further and I think you are too.
 
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