How well do people hear after getting cochlear implant?

[Raudrive]

@Terost

With the CI, you will not hear the same sound from the dog that’s similar to what l hear from hearing aid. With the CI, it’s an different sound and you need lots of training to notice what these CI sounds are.

This is not entirely true.

One of the things about hearing is it is all about memory, IMO. If you remember a dogs sound from back when you could hear well and you lose your hearing, then get a CI. What will slowly happen is your brain will learn these new sounds from the CI and it will become what you remembered back when you could hear well.

This has happened to me with most sounds. I find sounds from the CI’s to be normal. The only time it is not is when it is a new sound that I need to learn or remember.

Music has been more challenging but very satisfying. I now can understand the words of songs that I never could before. Some music is better than others for CI.

[Zeeza]

What about the other ear that already knows what the sound of a dog or whatever is like? Doesn’t it help in this learning/ recovering process?
Or could the part of the brain connected to the good ear help the other part of the bad ear?

I don’t know if my questions make any sense but I’m trying to understand and learn!
Thank you!

[Raudrive]

@Zeeza

What about the other ear that already knows what the sound of a dog or whatever is like? Doesn’t it help in this learning/ recovering process?
Or could the part of the brain connected to the good ear help the other part of the bad ear?

This is my opinion only.
I believe the good ear is actually a hindrance to the CI ear learning. The newly activated CI ear needs to be stimulated with sound that goes to the brain for it to learn all these new sounds.
The brain tends to be lazy and go the easy path. If you are wanting to talk to someone for example the good ear would take over and the CI ear would not learn.

[Raudrive]

@Terost

With my hearing aids, l can hear a dog barking and knows that it’s from a dog. With the CI, you will not hear the same sound from the dog that’s similar to what l hear from hearing aid.

I got to thinking about this and wonder if I am wrong about CI sounding normal for those with only one CI.

I am bilateral CI so I do not have a hearing aid or a good ear. So it sure could be that I just don’t understand the difference that some have with a good ear. But for me being bilateral CI sound is very normal.

[Terost]

I learned this from the audiology dept at local college in the 1990s. l guess CI technologies has improved a lot and possible that you can hear similar sounds from hearing aids with training.

[Terost]

If l were to get a CI, l won’t do it on my good ear. I would use it on my left ear. I will have to speak with CI audiologists someday. The Phonak L90-UP aids will probably be my last pair of hearing aids.

[joanhawsey]

A LOT has changed since the 90s. Check my audiogram - I got a CI for my worse ear a year ago and it’s been a great help.

[Bimodal_user]

Jak słyszę przez implant - dwa lata później - YouTube

EDIT:
How I hear through the cochlear implant - two years later (youtube.com)

There are link to clip from SSD person from my country (with closed captions in english) “How I hear by CI - two years after surgery”

My experiences are slightly different, e.g. I hear quite well guitar an piano, but I can’t distiguish pitches (maybe yet - it’s very difficult given I have 22 electrodes compared to 3500 inner hair cells).

[Bimodal_user]

@Raudrive

This is my opinion only.
I believe the good ear is actually a hindrance to the CI ear learning. The newly activated CI ear needs to be stimulated with sound that goes to the brain for it to learn all these new sounds.
The brain tends to be lazy and go the easy path. If you are wanting to talk to someone for example the good ear would take over and the CI ear would not learn.

It’s my opinion also. Almost year ago, in Apr 23’, @Raudrive have had given advice to hear only by CI on my left without any involvement of my better ear. I used my Phone Clip for Bluetooth streaming extensively to listen to podcasts, even if I didn’t understand them at all.

I had a break from rehab about 2,5 months due to exam in October, after which I returned to CI training.

At the end of January, in WRS test in quiet (CI only in 65 dbA) I have 80%
I had not perform that test on CI before. In HA only and bimodal condition I have 100%.

Now it’s not ideal, becauce reception the word isn’t the same as perception (see the screens below). I can repeat much sentences from podcasts, but I have to process them for a while. Slowing down speed of playback helps a bit.

So, thank you @Raudrive for advice almost year ago

[Raudrive]

@Bimodal_user

At the end of January, in WRS test in quiet (CI only in 65 dbA) I have 80%
I had not perform that test on CI before. In HA only and bimodal condition I have 100%.

This is amazing.
Thank you so much for letting us know how you are doing.
You have learned how to learn.
Stick with it. It just gets better.

[Bimodal_user]

I’ll try, thanks:) However we will have to remember that gaining better hearing with CI is hardly a target in itself. Rather, it’s getting a better tool to communicate with anyone, for example.

By the way, referring to the main topic, recently I found another useful article, in that case about hearing music with CI:

Improving Cochlear Implant Recipients’ Relationship with Music | The Hearing Review

I like especially this scheme. Of course it’s a rule of thumb, but very useful to sum up knowledge about rehabilitation:

[debbie_o]

I’m going to state that your hearing isn’t going to be identical to any hearing you had before a loss. With my situation I lost my hearing in my better ear by SSHL in 12/2019. I was implanted in 7/2020 and activated in 8/2020. There wasn’t a long period of time between the loss and implantation. So I had a bit of an advantage.

I wear a hearing aid i. The other ear and hear naturally, but without my hearing instruments, I am profoundly deaf. Your brain ends up blending the natural sound from one ear with the sound through the sound processor of the implant. After time, it all seems to sound the same, at least for me. Another thing you gain by using both a HA and a CI is you regain a stereo sounding experience. I can tell the difference when I don’t wear my sound processor and then put it on. That’s been my experience.

[Bimodal_user]

@debbie_o

After time, it all seems to sound the same, at least for me

Really? Hearing through a CI only is (at least to you) the same as hearing through a better ear? I have that on the trebles such as bips.

I agree with most of you have written.

[debbie_o]

What I said is that the brain adjusts to the sound and it doesn’t sound as mechanical. Nothing will be as good as your natural hearing was. How ever, if one were to have had a profound loss for a while before they had the implant, that person will hear sounds more clearly and at a level they could not hear before the implant.

An implant isn’t a replacement for natural hearing. It won’t miraculously give you super hearing better than you ever had. It enhances your ability to hear. A lot of it is practice and your brain. This is why if you have a sudden total loss of hearing in one ear, an ENT would encourage that person to be implanted sooner than later because of how your brain remembers sounds.

The sound is what concerned me, but since I had a sudden total loss, I had nothing to lose (I already lost the natural hearing) and the possibilty of hearing out of that ear again.

[user699]

I’ve bee bilateral for a 2 years now. First implant 15 years ago.
Now I have 94% WRS in R ear, but only 70% in L. The L is gettin g better, thanks to advice from this forum!
I didn’t do any rehab with my first implant and everything went swimmingly. Looking back, I think that was thanks to working full-time at a highly interactive job, plus involvement in lots of social stuff outside of work. Things did not go well with WRS in my second implant but for some reason I made excuses (or whatever) and didn’t put any effort in for far too long. I had retired and gotten a bit hermit-like.

Finally woke up and started being faithful about doing rehab(whic amounted to any focused listening with only my L ear). After about 4 months, my WRS increased from 30% to the 70% it is now. Much better. I’m continuing to do an hour s day of Lonly listening and hoping for the best.
Best wishes! There’s every reason to expect good things.

[joanhawsey]

Glad you are seeing results from your efforts. I thought about waiting until I retired to get my CI, but glad I didn’t. I think the immersion and forced varied environments was great “rehab” without realizing it. I did the usual rehab about an hour on most days, but that was it.

[Zeeza]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Glad to hear you achieved that high WRS.

[d_Wooluf]

There’s this place where I get a coffee in the morning. Being going there for years. Vietnamese owners. Our communication is usually smile, nod, thankyou, the odd word. A lot of pretending to hear on my part. There’s this guy in there the other day with a CI. He pays for what he’s ordered and, while doing so, has an actual conversation with the lady. It’s obvious that there’s to and fro going on and understanding on both sides. It set me back on my heels a bit to be honest.

[user699]

I think you’re right.
I’m so grateful for this forum.

[Raudrive]

@d_Wooluf

It’s obvious that there’s to and fro going on and understanding on both sides. It set me back on my heels a bit to be honest.

This is so true! It is good to know other people even noticed this.

With CI it’s the same with me now. Understanding foreign dialects has become the norm.

With hearing loss so many little sounds are missed that CI picks up that vastly improves speech understanding.

Thanks for sharing.