Odds of a cochlear implant not helping?

Posted by adela @adela, Apr 30, 2019

I am having my first appointment for a CI evaluation. Do surgeons have statistics on the chances of a CI really helping? I know people who seem to hear very well with a CI and others who do not hear well at all.

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@imallears

@julieo4

Hi Julie,

The Audi I saw for the bone condution evaluation told me they don't need to do MRIs anymore...just CT scans. I was always unde the imipression that an MRI was necessary. Things change so rapidly.
Advanced Bionics and Phonak are owned by the same healthcare company. So you get a free assisted deviced from AB, like the Roger Pen.

FL Mary

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That's interesting as an MRI is far more sophisticated than a CAT Scan. I understood the MRI would detect abnormalities like acoustic neuromas or unusual bone issues that might make it difficult to do a CI.

The CI - Hearing Aid - Assistive Technology is also interesting. Cochlear teams up with ReSound, and includes 2 of their accessories with an implant. I think Med-El teamed up with Oticon, but not sure. Maybe someone else out there knows. AB is with Phonak. Yes.

Its unfortunate that they are not universal with their syncing. I have been using a Widex HAs for years, and have had excellent results with them. Great telecoil, etc. Widex does not sync with my Cochlear CI processor. I tried 5 different ReSound models when I upgraded to the CI processor that was designed to sync with the ReSound products. They worked great when I was using the accesories, but when I was listening without the assistive tech I could not hear as well as I had been hearing with the Widex aid and the Cochlear processor. I have continued to use Widex.

Frustrating to say the least. When I'm able to upgrade to the next generation CI processor I will try again, hoping that improvements with ReSound since the last attempt will make a difference.

In fairness to the brand issue, I do believe that a person adjusts to the sound they are used to hearing with a specific product. Changing products can affect that.

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@julieo4

That's interesting as an MRI is far more sophisticated than a CAT Scan. I understood the MRI would detect abnormalities like acoustic neuromas or unusual bone issues that might make it difficult to do a CI.

The CI - Hearing Aid - Assistive Technology is also interesting. Cochlear teams up with ReSound, and includes 2 of their accessories with an implant. I think Med-El teamed up with Oticon, but not sure. Maybe someone else out there knows. AB is with Phonak. Yes.

Its unfortunate that they are not universal with their syncing. I have been using a Widex HAs for years, and have had excellent results with them. Great telecoil, etc. Widex does not sync with my Cochlear CI processor. I tried 5 different ReSound models when I upgraded to the CI processor that was designed to sync with the ReSound products. They worked great when I was using the accesories, but when I was listening without the assistive tech I could not hear as well as I had been hearing with the Widex aid and the Cochlear processor. I have continued to use Widex.

Frustrating to say the least. When I'm able to upgrade to the next generation CI processor I will try again, hoping that improvements with ReSound since the last attempt will make a difference.

In fairness to the brand issue, I do believe that a person adjusts to the sound they are used to hearing with a specific product. Changing products can affect that.

Jump to this post

@julieo
You are right in your comments in the last paragraph. I am a Phonak girl. Have trialed all the major brands last year except Oticon and I wore those for many years but always come back to Phonak. There were things I liked in some brands…one of them had better speech clarity for me but not the power I needed. But would like to try the latest Oticon even though my Audi doesn’t care for Oticon in general.
I think most Audis are biased towards a specific brand.

Will be getting a very custom made mold next week from my Audi via Westone….she had them make the canal part longer with sort of a lock up the concha. First mold’s canal wasn’t long enough….material is very soft..almost velvet like. My Audi knows the importance of molds and she loves to hear what new apps or things I have learned about so she can pass it on. My ENT doctor there now uses OTTER because of me. I really lucked out with this ENT practice.

It’s a moot question for me regarding the MRI since I am not going that route but I did have one way before my retina surgery in 1983 that ruled out any abnormalities.

Anyway….have a great hearing weekend and I really soak up all the information you so generously post on this forum. You’re the bomb…if they still say that lol.

FL Mary

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