I'm a first-time visitor to this forum. I've been using hearing aids for about 20 years, and while they are very helpful (not with background noise though) - I was told by an audiologist that I should look into an evaluation for a cochlear implant. I've done that, have been told I am a candidate for a CI and scheduled a surgery only to decide to postpone the surgery as I decided that perhaps I had not done enough research to understand all the pros and cons of going through with the surgery.

I have read that music appreciation was not something I should expect to enjoy following a CI surgery. I'm wondering if any people reading this can offer me their thoughts on this? I listen to a LOT of music (Spotify showed I listened to 23,000 minutes of music last year) so I'm reluctant to lose something that is important to me. Also, in reading the different manufacturers marketing materials there are claims that music appreciation might be more likely with certain equipment. There's also talk about how long a lead should be inserted into the cochlea and the effect on musical appreciation due to the proximity of the lead to the area of the cochlea that is "normally" attuned to the frequency being delivered (inserting the leads 720 degrees into the cochlea vs 450 degrees on some electrodes). Does anyone on this forum have any personal experience related to these matters?
I'm not sure where to turn for good advice on these matters. I've been told by the prospective medical provider (via the audiologist) that I'll need to make a decision as to which of the three FDA approved devices I want installed. I wonder if there are any independent sources to offer advice about such things.

I was excited to (hopefully) have my hearing improved by a CI but don't want to lose the joy I get from listening to music. Has anyone out there felt they got back to a near normal ability to enjoy music after their CI surgery? What about improvement (if any) in hearing in background noise with your CI as compared to using hearing aids? Can you please comment if you have experience using the single piece external device (audio processor?) rather than the processor that looks more like a traditional hearing aid? If anyone has been very pleased with their ability to learn to hear music in what seems like a normal way - could you tell me which brand of device was used for your CI? I know this is a LOT to put out there, but I very much appreciate any guidance on this. Thanks