Good luck to you. I will share the same advice that was given to me when I had my cochlear implant surgery when I was 65 years old. I had been fit with one hearing aid several years prior. It was my decision to have that unaided ear implanted even though I was told I had sensory deprivation in that unaided ear.

A dear friend suggested that I get an aid for that poorer ear that had a telecoil like the other one had. That way I could use the telecoils to listen to audio books on a small portable radio/recorder. (They are obsolete today but available if you look for them) I used a neckloop to listen. I did that for a full year before having the CI surgery. I spent about an hour each day listening to audio books, but also to music that I was familiar with. Amazingly, I was able to hear fairly well. Not perfect, but the 'good ear' helped.

The day my CI was activated I could hear sound and identify some of it. It started with the clock ticking. When I arrived home from the CI center I heard birds for the first time. I wasn't sure what they were, but my husband pointed out the bird in the tree by our home. Amazing.

Within a couple of weeks I was understanding sentences. I had asked that the telecoil be activated in the new CI processor so I continued to listen to those audio books; sometimes with only the CI processor and sometimes with both the hearing aid and processor. Within a couple of months I was understanding speech very well. Later that year I tested with 90% word understanding.

I truly credit my friend who advised me to spend a year rehabbing that ear that had gone unaided for about 25 years for my CI success. I also credit the information and support I received from the Hearing Loss Association of America. I met that friend through HLAA.

I share that story with people I know who are considering the CI option because I believe that rehab made a big difference for me. My only regret about my cochlear implant is that I didn't do it sooner. I was still working, and my work life would have been far less stressful. Same for my personal life.

I have the same feelings as you Frances. I’m 81 and have had hearing loss since my service in Vietnam. I regard those “engagement managers” as sort of specialized salesmen. I was recently referred for a CI evaluation which is soon to be scheduled. And I’ve been paying attention to CI issues for several years now. I’m not a real social person and often enjoy quiet over struggling to hear. It’s going to be a tough and important call to decide on getting a CI for me too. I plan to seek out some counseling from knowledgeable people to help me make an informed decision. I’ve never thought of myself as needing counseling, but in this case I’m going to request it.

I am 73 years old and have been wearing hearing aids for 7-8 years. My in network audiologist is excellent but extremely overwhelmed because her company has cut back to one audiologist for all their offices. They used to have two per office.
I went out of network to UCH the biggest hospital in the Denver area. The Audiologist they assigned me to spent an hour and half with me did extensive testing and determined that a CI would be no better than my top of the line hearing aids and proceeded to adjust them based on the results of my hearing test. I left hearing better than I had before and was appreciative of her opinion regarding Cochlear Implants.
Like you I was hesitant to take that step and thanks to her knowledge I was able to make an informed decision.