Jump to content

Decision on a implant


Lilly

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

 

My name is Lilly I am new and a candidate for a CI and I am still seriously having doubts as to which implant is the best for me. I was born with deafness due to prematurity at birth, wore HA's all my adult life only. But last 8 yrs my hearing as been on and off, they have found no cause for the hearing loss. Been tested or a lot of things, lupus, lyme. etc... still working on that. Nevertheless I still can't hear.  I am  now deaf in right ear which was my bad one to begin with. Now I am a candidate for implant. My left is a little under 58 in quite. but is going too. How long I have that who knows. So yes I am looking at Med-el but I love music, love to talk in conversations and I am a very outgoing person.

 

I am in between afraid I will pick the wrong one I want to go with the one that has most warranty and I love the idea of the Rondo and nothing on my ear. A lot of folks I do not know well do not know I wear hearing aids but it is the vanity of it all that is probably the hardest for me. I am a little nervous because I have heard of so many problems with dizziness and the ringing of the ears do not go away. Well I have that anyway it is a constant for me now. Drives me nuts. Not to crazy of how the surgery of it all is. I have no tolerance for pain, and most pain meds make me sick so that is a fear factor for me too.  I work Part time and I really want to keep working. Guess what I am asking what made you decide on the implant that you have and how well have you adjusted. The doc that is doing mine, usually does AB but I do not like the 3 yr warranty. He started doing Med-el a while back. The cochlear seemed a little big for my small size. Decision time for me quickly. Any advice would be appreciated.

All the technical things are confusing. My audiologist didn't really explain each one much but said they are all good.

 

Thanks again.

Lilly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Lilly and welcome to the site. What you are experiencing is perfectly normal. You are making a life changing decision! I have been bilaterally implanted for over 4 years and I must say that without MedEl's commitment to R&D, technology and customer service I would not be where I am today. I wear RONDOs as I wear glasses and don't want my processors fighting for precious space behind my ears. I, too, love music and can tell you that it is possible to enjoy music once again. My surgeries were outpatient, in at 6 AM and out at 2 PM. MIld discomfort but I did take my pain meds and followed the doctor's orders and did fine. You have the ability and right to request as much help as needed to ensure a smooth and steady progress. It is a journey and it will take patience, practice and perseverance. Listening therapy after activation is extremely helpful.

I was shown all three brands and MedEL stood way above the rest. I wore a CI and a hearing aid for 5 months and couldn't wait to go bilateral. Getting my first CI helped me remain self-employed and able to continue on with my life just as before.

We forum members are very willing to answer any and all of your questions. So, please ask away. Thanks

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

This is not really a reply, but a reiteration of Reva's question. Since there is probably no one in the world who has had different brands of implants, how does one know which is the best? AB advertises a lot of stuff like really, really high Temporal Resolution and Spectral Resolution. What does that mean? I am a meat and potato's guy, not a wine taster. My senses are not that keen. Does the human brain know the difference between 12 electrode and 22 electrodes, or is that just hype? Right now, the only reason I am even considering anything other Med El is that AB advertises Implant & HA compatibility. If I am able to use a HA with my implant, I do not want to have two different remotes. It would mean having to get a Phonak HA, because I now have Siemens. Is anyone out there using both?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oops, I meant Lilly, not Reva. Don't know how that happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HearPeers Heroes

Actually Joemar10 - there is.

I've read a case report in one distinguish ENT journal where one patient was implanted with second CI of other than original Ci but it was not done intentionally.

Clear conclusion couldn't be done because both CI's was not just by another producer than different generations that's why second (which is Med-El's) was better subjectively for the patient.

Another problem was that person was already partially hearing-rehabilitated so, by obvious reason, patient had better hearing threashold with second CI.

So - it's hard to tell just from the technical datasheet which is better - because, data processing is also different. My best shot as advice to you is to talk with implantees to see their results. Ask their personal opinion to compare with their original hearing memory. Of course, here is also the problem of how well person is rehabilitated.

So - no, ilt's not an easy decision. But just a minor detail - one music critician from USA took Ned-El's CI because the longest electride which can cover wider frequency range. But taking into account that music processing does not have same principles as speech discrimination put this opinion on the mental board again. And, so you can go on - and on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...