I have been referred to the Nottingham (UK) Auditory Implant centre by an ENT consultant.
I recently asked some questions here and received very positive replies.
I am hoping to get feedback from anyone who has a cochlear implant, and regrets it…if there are any.
Thanks
The last time I looked, nothing in this world is perfect. So obviously there are going to be people who aren’t happy with their implants. But what’s the point.
To get a more balanced view?
Thanks @bluejay2025
Some questions:
When it works is it better than when you just had a normal HA?
When it doesn’t work, is that device reliability or certain situations?
Do you have a normal hearing aid in the other ear?
How long was it from switch on to being useful?
I have read that if you have a normal aid in the other ear you are advised not to use it initially to accelerate the brain learning the implant signals. Was that the case for you?
Thanks very much.
Thanks very much @bluejay2025
I have realised that there is a cochlear section in the forum which I have been ploughing through. Great resource, answers many questions but raises others!
Like hearing aids everyone’s experience with an implant is different. There are no guarantees that your experience will be better or worse.
Yes indeed that is a good point. I still find others experience useful and interesting.
For myself, No, I do not regret losing moderate to profound loss with 10% speech recognition in the implanted ear and usable frequency range was up to 1.6 khz. Now I have full 8khz range and 80% speech recognition.
you aren’t likely to get a person who does regret it. You are in the wrong forum
Yes I’m bimodal HA & CI. Yes I was advised that while doing rehab exercises only to turn off my HA
I could understand speech on the day of activation. Within a fortnight I didn’t have to concentrate on people talking.
I haven’t had any trouble with my CI working per sae. For me, it’s a technology thing, technology and I don’t get in very well together. And as the technology improves yet again with the N8 I get more nervous of something going wrong.
Most definitely is better than just HA’s. I couldn’t hear people talking. Couldn’t talk on the phone. Couldn’t hear unless people were facing me.
What I like the best is if I want some peace and quiet I just unhook my magnet and turn off my HA… BLISSFUL
No I don’t regret getting my CI it’s the best thing I ever did.
I can only think of one person here on the forum who regrets getting a CI. From memory 2 years on they still can’t hear/understand speech.
IMO it’s their own fault they didn’t do any rehab to try to get the brain understanding the signals going to the brain. Many of the forum members told this person they must do rehab. For whatever reason they always had an excuse why they couldn’t.
It’s imperative that you do, do rehab. Some people just do rehab until they can understand speech 3-4 months. Others do a lot more and for longer. At the end of the day as long as you do enough to be able to understand speech.
Good luck on your journey.
Getting the CI evaluation done will answer many questions and possibly make new questions too.
The evaluation is more than your hearing loss. It’s about your mental state of mind about accepting CI and what to expect from the CI and also you.
This evaluation will follow up with medical procedures to see if you are medically a CI candidate.
Good luck
@boreham Completely understand wanting varied input. I did same here and on Facebook pages for all brand of CIs. My approach was that my hearing was only getting worse and if something got any worse I would be exhausted trying to keep up with conversation, phone calls, etc. If it was as good as or better than two hearing aids, it was a win in my book, because it would give me peace of mind if and when my ears degraded and I would already be adjusted to the CI. I did not retain much of my residual - hoped too. I’m OK with that.
I posted about my progress two weeks after activation here: Advanced Bionics CI Activation a Success - #23 by ssa
On the AB Facebook page there are two or three people who are very negative about their progress and how the CI sounds to them even after a good bit of time, effort and rehab. From other things they post, they sound just negative about life. I really believe a positive attitude of acceptance helps the adjustment. It will not sound like normal hearing…but we don’t have normal hearing or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Don’t apologize for asking questions and gathering input. It was an essential part my preparation for surgery. Some of us just need to process things a lot. Others who might be more technical by nature may find it unnecessary. Honestly, I find this adjustment process easier than the preparation research by far.
Thanks everyone for the great info and encouragement. I have moved from being somewhat doubtful and apprehensive to positive, though realise I have to assessed. Other health issues may delay.
Op said for this thread he only wanted negative comments. I guess I took that for what it meant.
Well we know that’s not true. Lack of response is not an indication or proof that something is perfect. There are people on this planet who still claim the world isn’t round.
agreed a small sample size… like i said you are in the wrong forum, if you want to hear how awful CI is go to a Deaf forum (big D) … I heard so many good/bad things about it when I went to RIT… The people who saying bad thing are part of the big D community and those who are not complaining are not part of the big D community.
I have read that the briefer the hearing loss the better the results. But how does a deaf person evaluate their cochlear implant?
I didn’t really think everyone was happy. I should have said “it seems no-one HERE has any negative comments”
Nixon called them the silent majority.