Cochlear Implant Experiences

Jumping in. I have bilateral CIs, first implant 15 years ago and second 1year ago. I had to go thru the auditory training with both,. My experience with it was/is that it’s not at all difficult. It is tedious. Lots of exercises in which you identify phrases with almost no context. Someone from the forum at HearingTracker.com suggested doing ESL classes online. Found some that are free, it’s a great help. The phrases are at similar levels, but they’re embedded in a story line. Cochlear has a full library of training exercises on an app they call Cochlear CoPilot. Bottom line- it’s not at all hard to do, but I had to poke myself a bit to keep after it because it’s boring.
Also a, a thought about TCoils. I just asked my audio to turn mine on so I could make use of Ponak’s super device, the Roger. To use the Roger mic with my implants, I wear an ordinary neck loop with a receiver on it. It’s great, really versatile ALD. I use the Cochlear mini-mic too, mostly for streaming from my computer or family conversations.
Best wishes on your exploration

Based on current discussions I want to jump in here to share a few words of wisdom that were shared with me while I anticipated getting a cochlear implant. That was back in 2004. I was on the fence about getting a CI because I was using my telecoils with a wonderful handheld microphone that connected to the telecoils in my hearing aids. I was managing, but I was also watching people I knew through HLAA get cochlear implants and moving much higher up the 'hearing ladder' than I was. Those were people who did much poorer than I did prior to their CIs. Still I waited.

Meanwhile, I used those telecoils, with a neckloop with many audio devices. In fact, a well known audiologist, whom I met on the national board of HLAA gave me this advice: Take 6 months to a year prior to getting a CI and listen to audiobooks with the telecoils in your hearing aids. I had never listened to an audiobook before. I did use the telecoils with a neckloop to use the Infrared system at our local performing arts center. I also used the neckloop with my laptop computer now and then. I was familiar with neckloops and telecoils. It also worked with the many FM systems that had been installed in our community. I just had not used it for books.

Back then, I was using one hearing aid although both ears were testing at a 90dB loss. That is how I was fit in the mid 70s...just buy one and learn to use it with a bicross aid. So that's what I did. Move forward to the early 2000s and even though both ears had initially tested about the same, the one that was unaided had sensory deprivation. I got a hearing aid for that ear so I could listen to those audiobooks bilaterally. At first, that unaided ear had trouble understanding, but within a month I was comprehending speech in those 'books' with both ears.

It was my decision to when it came time to be evaluated for a CI, that I would have it done on the poorer ear that was then in 'training'. The surgeon told me it would likely not do as well as the other ear would. However, I did not want to lose the hearing I had gotten used to using with my hearing aids. Amazingly, that poorer ear did well. I was able to understand speech within a month of activation. I credit Dr. Mark Ross PhD, who unfortunately is no longer with us, for advising me to train that ear to listen.

If you are using hearing aids that have telecoils (which they all should have by law but don't), make certain they are activated. Then tell your audiologist you want a neckloop...or buy one on Amazon. Plug that into an audio device like a portable radio, iPad, computer, etc. and turn those telecoils on. I expect this could amaze you, and also believe that it could help train your ears prior to having a cochlear implant.

Do you have telecoils in your current equipment? Do you know how to use them?

Please forgive if I’ve already posted/said all this. Didn’t see my name.
I have bilateral CIs. The decision for me was easy, my word recognition was hovering around 30-40%. I do have some hesitation about rehab, mostly because with my first implant (15 yrs ago) I didn’t do any. But I worked in a busy office, lots of interactions, and had been using CART captions at work for years. Just kept on using them. After about 6 months, my word recognition was up to about 85-90%. The second implant was a different story, I did try rehab for a bit, but found it unconscionably boring. Someone on a forum suggested watch online ESL classes, which helped quite a lot. That ear still hasn’t risen above 60%.
But my 2cents worth is that while you probably would get improvement with a CI, if you’re already managing well, you can also just wait. Your hearing is likely to continue to degrade, and at some point the decision will be much easier.

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

I had a CI two years ago and no regrets. My hearing in both ears was at 30%. I hear so much better now. I was good about speech therapy afterwards and did my exercises. As for music, I don't enjoy it as much but then I didn't with hearing aids either. Others will have their own experiences. I find that noisy gatherings are a problem such as restaurants or large rooms with many people talking. That is also a problem I have read about a lot in this forum. My CI is AB Bionics and my hearing aid is Phonak. I have a special alarm clock connected to my smoke detector in my bedroom. It was given to me by the fire department. When I go to bed I am basically deaf and feared I would not hear the alarms. So I am happy with my AB CI.

I largely agree with the answer above, although my implant was last December. I have a Cochlear Nucleus 8 and a Resound hearing aid in my other ear, meaning they sync together from the same App as do the AB with the Phonic. Very useful. I was profoundly deaf in my left ear, moderate to mainly severe in my right. After 3 months with the CI in a quiet situation I am hearing with 98% accuracy. About 50% in background noise which is way up from what I had before. Music was something I had pretty much given up before the CI. Right after it was totally unrecognisable and I still don't particularly choose to listen to it, but when it's the background to something it sounds better than it did. I recently was able to recognise something without having a heads up on what it was I was hearing. It is improving but it may never sound like music did it in the 'before'. For me being able to communicate with people was my priority. And I can, and hold phone conversations, and even in a loud restaurant understand enough to join in. It does NOT sound the same as when I was a hearing person, but it is so much better now. And bear in mind, that however many people reply to you everyone's experience will be different and no-one can guarantee yours.

I have severe hearing loss but my audiologist is telling me to stick with hearing aids.
So far my hearing aids are letting me hear well enough but I appreciate the feedback on Cochlear Implants.
I am hoping my next Signia IX hearing aids are even better than my Signia AX hearing aids.
I sound like a commercial for Signia but because of my Humana Gold Plus Medicare plan I am able to get the top of the line hearing aids for $2,000 per pair. My custom molds are interchangeable.
Everyone have a good day.

Also my next hearing aids will have the telecoil feature added. I only found out that because someone in the group mentioned it.
It is nice to get input from so many people.

This group is amazing. I too am approaching a CI in baby steps.

Hi..it is not fun. I had surgery for CI on Jan. 15. Healing was slow but made it. Activating and getting use to the sound was terrible. It was robotic,lisps,staticky too loud too quiet. Now I am at 2.5 months activated and yes it is slowly working out but you will put up with a lot of distortion. So I guess it’s mot perfect but it’s pretty good.