New Cochlear Recipient

Cochlear Implants
#1

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been following this forum for the last year and it has been extremely helpful. I thought I would post as I was implanted with the Cochlear CI622 on Feb 10, 2023. My story: in Sept. 2021 I lost most of my hearing in my left ear. What remained has been very distorted and made it difficult to understand speech. I tried CROS aids from Phonak and Oticon and ultimately have been wearing Signia AX7 on the right with their CROS aid on the left since January 2022. I found this helpful when in public situations but only to a small degree. I decided to pursue the CI process fall 2022 after waiting one year to ensure no hearing returned, was approved as a candidate in early January 2023 and implanted 6 days ago. It seems that I’ve lost most residual hearing in my left ear which seems like a bad thing, but without the distortion (distraction?) I actually feel I can understand speech more easily. I’m scheduled for activation on March 1, 2023 with the Nucleus 8 and Kanso 2 as a backup. I’m currently off work for the week on steroids, antibiotics and pain meds. I’m still in some pain but each day is getting better. I’m excited for my activation in two weeks and am looking forward to participating and hopefully contributing to the discussions in the future.
Paul

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#2

Congratulations on your big step for better hearing. Just reading your post assured me you will do well with CI.

What phone will you be using with your new CI?

Thanks for sharing your CI journey.
Keep us updated please.

#3

Thanks! We’re an iPhone household so I currently have an iPhone 12 pro. I’ve had the smart app installed for weeks playing with the demo mode and mentally preparing myself for the switch.

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#4

Congratulations on moving forward to getting a CI. It’s a huge step to make that decision, definitely not an easy one.
My residual was preserved until I had 2 further drops in my CI ear. I’m now fully electric and I don’t miss my residual at all.
Good luck to you on your new hearing journey.

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#5

Congrats, considered getting a resound hearing aid for that unaided ear and are you going to be bimodal?

#6

Congratulations on moving forward in your hearing journey.

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#7

Thanks everyone!

ssa: For my Signia setup I was using almost no amplification in my right ear. My audiologist says that I should be OK without anything for my right ear, but I do like that Cochlear has the relationship with Resound if / when I need it. My parents wear Resound aids and like them.

One a side note, I went full streaming for my accessories: mini mic, phone clip, and TV streamer. I’m guessing I’ll have some questions about them after activation. Those of you who are single sided, do you use the TV streamer to only one ear or try to use headphones or something to stream in stereo?

I’m looking forward to the challenge of rehab with the implant as I’ll feel like I’m doing something proactive to improve my situation.

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#8

I’m bimodal N7 & Resound Enzo 3D. I don’t require to use any of the accessories that Cochlear suggests to use.

All accessories should stream to both ears. But only if you have a Resound aid. Signia aids won’t work/stream with your CI at all. So for you at the moment you will only get streaming to your CI. To get bimodal streaming you need to get yourself a Resound aid.

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#9

You can probably take the full advantage of full BT/ 2.4 Ghz streaming capability of the resound hearing aid/Cochlear sound processor, just wear it like an “earbud” and enjoy the long battery of this “earbud”, which is very comfy on your ear since it is designed to sit on your ear all day long. wear it with an open dome and enjoy steaming with it…

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#10

Hi, I live in Calif.and am considering a cochlear implant, but I’m really scard about it. Can you explain the procedure to me. What is the followup? Does it run on a battery? And how long in surgery? Thank you, karen

#11

Hi,
Have you gotten a cochlear implant evaluation?
All of your questions and more will be answered there.
Have you read through the Cochlear Implant section of this forum? Lots of great information there also.
Good luck

#12

Your starting point is the 2 hour thorough hearing evaluation.

The follow up varies from state to state to country. I had activation, 2weeks later my first mapping. Then 2 weekly mapping s for first 3 months. Then monthly till 6 months. Then 3 monthly until 1 year. But this can vary a lot depending on your progress. Some people need more mappings than others.

Regarding batteries you can use disposable or rechargeable. It’s your choice.

Surgery is approx 1.5hrs to 2 hours. This time frame depends on a non complicated procedure.

Everyone is nervous about having this procedure done. When you get to see your surgeon ask him/her about post op complications.

Good luck

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#13

Exactly what is the evaluation?

#14

@jcech 2 hours of testing your hearing g both with and without your aids and repeat that same process with white noise in the background. Follow by sentences and words with and without white noise.

As I said thorough testing of your hearing.

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#15

You might start with the website cochlearimplanthelp.com It has lots of good info. Johns Hopkins has a good cochlear implant informational site as well.

#16

Thank you joanhawsey

#17

Thank you Deaf piper

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#18

Deafpiper discussed testing hearing but there is much more to a CI evaluation.
There are many questions about your life and why you want CI. The audiologist wants to know if you really want a CI.

Then the medical end of the CI evaluation begins.

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#19

As we have mentioned before, every state and country have slightly different rules, and follow slightly different protocols.
You will have your surgeons visits a CT & MRI, these 2 tests see, to be globally the same.

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#20

Hi All,

I’m activated! It’s quite the experience so far. I could hear “speech” within minutes of activation, but could only make out a few words in any given sentence. I scored well on the sounds and picture test, but even with an earplug in my right (good) ear I could still hear a bit of what the Dr. was saying, so technical I was cheating!

Today is day two and I feel like it’s improved slightly. I’ve stepped up to the second volume program today. Will return for the checkup / mapping in one week and will discuss and start rehab apps / tools. For now I’m just trying to wear it all day and adjust.
Paul

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