Hearing Loss & Deafness Support Group

I have no knowledge about the implants all I know is my sisternow that she is grown never knowing sound wouldn't get them.If they had had these when my sister was small (shes 56) my mom would have gotten them for her. Because mom knew the beauty of sound.
Betty

Hi Irish,I'm getting a Cochlear Implant on July 10th. Ask me any qustions you like and I'll try to answer them. I have done lots of research on CI'S.
Hugs Shirley

Shirley, Can a Cochlea Implant help people with tinnitus? I am profoundly deaf in both ears since birth and always wore hearing aids? I have some new digatal hearing aids now and there are very different to my old ones. Since wearing these ones again after i keep swapping my old ones to my new ones whenever i felt like it? My tinnitus have been getting pretty bad and i think my hearing as well? I'm thinking of maybe having the Cochlea Implant but not too sure yet as it's a big step to think about it.
I feel like it might be the only solution to my problems.
Nicky

HI Sporty,
From what I've read about implants the Tinnitus can be worse or leave entirely after surgery.Some told me that theirs was worse after surgery for a while then was gone. Other still had the tinnitus but not as noticeable as it was.
I have a profound loss also and really bad Tinnitus. I hear very little and understand almost nothing said to me.
I really think that you should look into it and see if you are a candidate for a Cochlear Implant.You would have to find out where the closest hospital is that can do the surgery and get an appt. to be tested. They give a hearing test and can tell you if they think it would work.
I got an aided test and an unaided test. The unaided test I heard nothing.I talked to one man who had a CI and he hears at 20 DB'S. I haven't heard like that since I was a child. I am excited about having the implant. It is done as an out patient and you don't even stay all night. After one month they activate the implant and then sart with the mappings. Type in "Harmony Cochlear Implant" in your search engine and you will get lots of info. They send you a box of video cd's and books that help you understand and you can see the implant on these video's. The trouble is getting an insurance co. to pay for it.
If you have any question e-mail me and I'll try to answer you!
Hugs Shirley

When cochlear implants first came out, I was told I was the perfect candidate for one, and if I decided to get one, the fees would be completely covered. At the time I was young and insecure and didn't want another invasive surgery. As I got older, I looked into it to see what it was all about, and I am glad that I didn't let my parents make that decision for me. Technology is advancing constantly, and each year they come out with new research or something better. As a matter of fact, right now they are doing research in preliminary stages with hair cell regeneration in guinea pigs. They have had success, but of course it won't be available to humans for years to come. The problem is, for those who have cochlear implants, it will be futile. The implants kill off any remaining functional hair cells, making it impossible to revert back to hearing aids or to benefit from any new technology. I hope this helps.

This is for Shirley, I went to see my ENT today and told her about my tinnitus problem and i told her it was effecting my hearing too and was still struggling to hear clearly. I told her about the CI and she told me a little what she knows.I will see her again in a bit 3-4 months so she can see how i am doing with my hearing aids! Now i have them retuned? They are a bit better than before as the sounds are a bit sofer now but my tinnitus is still bad. My Hearing Therpast said it will take time for me to get use to these ones i have. So that is what i will do. If i get my body my relax? My tinnitus will then start to ease of.

Hi Sporty,
I hope that the HA's work for you. My Tinnitus is really bad but I know I'll hear much better with my implant. I think I'll have mine done in Pitts. as the people in Morgantown doesn't have thee implant I want.
Hugs Shirley

My Brother had the cochlear implant when he was 5 and now he is 12. The cochlear implant died on him. It was only helpful for him to hear his name and that was it. when my brother got the cochlear his medical problems got wost. He needs an MRI and with the cochlear he can't have one. So is it the best thing to have a cochlear implant.
My doctors ask me if i wanted one for my right ear and I told them no. I will not get one because of what happen to my brother. Also the cochlear can come out but getting a doctor to do it is very hard and it cost a lot of money to take it out. Medical insurance will not pay for the cochlear to be taking out. So it is really up to the person or their parents to get it.

Hi Tiffany,So sorry about your brothers problem with the CI. If he has many medical problems,sometimes it doesn't work well. I have been reading on the "Hearing Exchange Board" and some of the people on there is older,they say they love there implant and can hear great and even use a Cell phone. There is Mother's on there with children that have implants and they are doing very well.Any surgery can fail!! No matter what kind it is. Many things can go wrong with any surgery and it's scary. I have decided to have mine done and am awaiting a surgery date to be set. No one can promise that any surgery will work.We take our cances. You do have one good ear. Neither od my ears are good, so I have to do it or be total deaf. No choice.
Hugs Shirley

I had cochlear implant surgery in january of this year and it has been a blessing. The surgery itself is nothing much to worry about, I was in and out the same day. As for a child I am not sure but it was a cinch for me. I am so very happy to be able to hear sound again, it was so isolating. The only thing I would suggest is that consider that if she has never heard sound before that it will take lots of training for her to understand. People who have been deaf since childhood cope very well and its an amazing culture. You should take her in for an assessment and learn more about the implant. There are lots of websites that deal with it so just type in cochlear implant into your web browser and lots will pop up. I am so happy that it was an option for me, I would have been so lonely being from a hearing world and plunging into deafness. God has been good to me.