I'm reading with interest the comments on the CIs. I, too, am teetering on the edge of going down the CI route. But I have a lot to lose if I do. My hearing is mild to moderate at low frequencies (500 up to 1,000 hz) and profound above that. What that means is that I can hear noise pretty well but can't understand speech.

I'm told that I'm a candidate for a hybrid CI which uses a hearing aid in conjunction with an implant in the same ear. The hearing aid covers the low frequencies and the implant covers the high frequencies. However there is no guarantee that my low frequency hearing will be preserved in the low frequencies with implantation. In other words I could go backwards.

With regard to the large noisy gatherings during the holidays I have the usual problems. I don't get to add much to any conversation because by the time my brain figures out what someone said and I want to add a comment someone else has already done that and the conversation moves on without me. Frustrating!!!!

On Thanksgiving evening we had a visit with my granddaughter and her boyfriend in our living room. The boyfriend has a noticeable hearing loss and I think my granddaughter has some hearing loss as well. The conversations that night were in a quiet environment and at a slow pace. We could all participate. That just doesn't happen when hearing people are present.

But at our upcoming Christmas dinner there will be about 20 people at a long table. That means at least 4 or 5 conversations going on at the same time along with dishes and glasses clanking while people talking with mouths full of food. That's pretty much an impossible listening environment for me. Usually the best I can do is read the lips of the person across from me if it isn't covered with a glass or hand covering the mouth while catching some of the words (and a few correctly). I'll be in a crossfire of speech from both sides and way behind in auditory processing. It will be so relaxing to get in the car to drive home and just listen to the road noise (which I can hear very well).