@cjspizz That's great that you are going to an HLAA chapter. Beside having a cochlear implant I founded a chapter in my city, and have immense satisfaction in helping others like you and me. What a joy to be in a group and understand everyone because of CART (captioning) and everyone being in the same boat, so to speak. I do much better now with the CI in group situations, but not always. For instance, at church coffee hour, it's almost impossible sometimes to hear and understand conversation. Sometimes, if it's important, I ask the people to join me out in the hall where it's more quiet. We will never hear perfectly (and you'd be surprised how many do not hear well since one out of five has some degree of loss), but the best way is to try to come up with a solution so we can. Most important, don't try to hide your loss. Your puzzled looks or incorrect responses will always give you away. Just curious how you ended up in this forum.