Kylie

I was able to hear right away. It was robotic but I could understand some speech by the end of the first day. Within a few weeks it was getting really good for speech, though still had an electronic tone. This is fading over time and sounds are becoming more natural.

I was able to hear right away. It was robotic but I could understand some speech by the end of the first day. Within a few weeks it was getting really good for speech, though still had an electronic tone. This is fading over time and sounds are becoming more natural.

Hi Everyone, I'm back here
I'm not sure where I've left off here, but I got implanted 2 years ago on my right side and it is awesome. I got implanted with Cochlear and not Medel tho, so I can't really speak about my experience with Medel. 
Anyway it's really good. Much better than any hearing aid I ever used. I am hearing very well, almost normally. Would say above 90% for speech. Sometimes I can even hear lyrics to songs I listen for the first time, and also TV shows without closed captioning. Cinemas are still a little difficult tho. Maybe it's the surrounding. 
As for whether I could hear instantly after switch on, at first everyone sounded squeaky and there were alien sounds. But I rmb trying not to look at my audiologist and could make out few words back then on the same day. After a few hours, I could recognise more words. It's not the same for everyone tho. Have been told mine was rly fast. Maybe it's because I'm young too? 😅  Was hearing and understanding speech within the week or so.
But of course, in early days, there were still problems like differentiating male and female voices over audio. Its much better now but certain high pitch singers can still get me confused at times. Another problem was kids. Kids are still a little difficult to hear, but have been told by hearing people that sometimes it's that way for them as well. They can't really hear kids and mostly just guess what they're saying? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Then there's also the difficulty in using landline phones. It's a lot harder than using handphones for calls. Although I can stream calls from my mobile to my CI with a streamer, I still use a flathead earpiece to stick onto my processor (mines single unit, smth like the Rondo.) I can also hear quite well if I hold the phone to my processor like normal. Just that accuracy is not 100% and if the background is noisy it's still very difficult. 
Anyway, before panicking, best to check with your doctor if you're a candidate for CIs first. Some people might not even be able to do the CI depending on the scans/condition. Best to check to avoid any potential disappointment. 
Overall, I have no regrets doing the CI and it has made my life a lot better. Dating is now possible too 😅 
All the best, I hope this works out for you too

@Glenda
I had very easy recoveries from my CI surgeries.  I have had tinnitus since my early teens.  Now I don’t notice tinnitus at all when my processors are on.  When I remove them I notice the tinnitus but it is so much quieter than before.
 

@Glenda
Hello, sorry your HA died and that there is no HA that is powerful enough to help with your hearing loss. 
When I was told that Cis were my only option, I refused to accept it and I wasted money buying more powerful HAs over a 5 year period in the hopes that I could prove the doctors wrong. The HAs offered me little help. I still had to rely on lipreading mostly and I still couldn't hear over the phone. 
I finally decided to get a CI and I'm so glad I did. I hardly have to lipread anymore and I can usually hear over the phone with ease. 
My deaf relatives have seen how it has improved my life tremendously. However, they won't go for the CI for themselves. Some people are afraid of the unknown but nothing tried, nothing gained. Of course there are no guarantees with CIs, but it seems that most people make improvement in terms of hearing when they get CIs. So I encourage you to do your research and see what's best for you. Wishing you well on your journey. 

@Ludomiro 
Hello!
My path was similar. I experienced sudden hearing loss on right side, from perfect hearing, at age 37. The cause was an inner ear infection that damaged the cochlear.
I totally agree that a single sided hearing experience is significantly lacking. No stereo means no orientation to sound, no nuances, hard to track conversation, hard to filter in noise etc. It is a loss of way more than half of the hearing world.
I am a semi-professional singer so I have also been focused on music experiences. I sing solo and in a close harmony group. I continued to sing while deaf for 1 year, but it was very challenging and I relied on lots of feedback from others because it was hard to tell my volume and tone (though pitch was still good.)
I have been a CI user for 1 year now. 
EVERYTHING in my life has improved for the better. Conversation, orientation, noisy environments, music.
Music is understandably your main concern. But it is also the most difficult to predict for a precise outcome. No ENT or audiologist will promise you that your previous hearing will be restored, because it just can't be replicated especially for music. However it can get very close. 
Many other musicians on this forum can tell you about their music experiences after much longer time than me (which I find very reassuring), I can only talk from 1 year in.
So far the results are great. With my CI and hearing ear combined I have terrific music hearing. I have plenty of nuances and I can sing confidently including in harmony. And I enjoy listening to music as much as before. With my CI alone (when I'm doing rehab practise via my artone) music sounds weird and more electronic but it's improving all the time. 
I hope this helps, as well as info you will get from others. There is some great info collected on the music section of the forum.

@Ludomiro 
Hello!
My path was similar. I experienced sudden hearing loss on right side, from perfect hearing, at age 37. The cause was an inner ear infection that damaged the cochlear.
I totally agree that a single sided hearing experience is significantly lacking. No stereo means no orientation to sound, no nuances, hard to track conversation, hard to filter in noise etc. It is a loss of way more than half of the hearing world.
I am a semi-professional singer so I have also been focused on music experiences. I sing solo and in a close harmony group. I continued to sing while deaf for 1 year, but it was very challenging and I relied on lots of feedback from others because it was hard to tell my volume and tone (though pitch was still good.)
I have been a CI user for 1 year now. 
EVERYTHING in my life has improved for the better. Conversation, orientation, noisy environments, music.
Music is understandably your main concern. But it is also the most difficult to predict for a precise outcome. No ENT or audiologist will promise you that your previous hearing will be restored, because it just can't be replicated especially for music. However it can get very close. 
Many other musicians on this forum can tell you about their music experiences after much longer time than me (which I find very reassuring), I can only talk from 1 year in.
So far the results are great. With my CI and hearing ear combined I have terrific music hearing. I have plenty of nuances and I can sing confidently including in harmony. And I enjoy listening to music as much as before. With my CI alone (when I'm doing rehab practise via my artone) music sounds weird and more electronic but it's improving all the time. 
I hope this helps, as well as info you will get from others. There is some great info collected on the music section of the forum.

My med-el kit in Australia came with the Artone. I did not realise that was not the same everywhere. Among lots of variations I have come across lately!

Date for July!!!!!!
Sunday July 5 !!!!!!!!
9:30 New York time
We welcome more HP members!  Anyone else want to join in?
@Mary Beth YES
@Jewel YES
@Dave in Pittsburgh  YES
@Kirk S. YES
@Tracey_66 YES
@Kylie YES
@Mary Featherston YES
@Valentin YES
@Watersail ?

My med-el kit in Australia came with the Artone. I did not realise that was not the same everywhere. Among lots of variations I have come across lately!

Yes I will. Am happy to monitor the messages during video chat in case of similar issues.

Yes! 

@Tracey_66
Sorry you missed out on this time.
We may be deaf but we are all chatterboxes! 😂😂😂😂
Next time you will see. 

7 HearPeers members joined in our second coffee chat.
@Kylie
@Jewel
@Kirk S.
@Mary Featherston
@Valentin
@Dave in Pittsburgh
@Mary Beth
 
Unfortunately @Tracey_66 did not receive the invite and I am so sorry I didn’t check our group email to see her message about that.  @Kylie will you please remind me to do that next time in case it happens to others?
We chatted for 2 hours from Japan, Australia, Jamaica, Spain and the United States.
It is such fun getting to know HearPeers friends this way and sharing our experiences with each other.
 
Thank you all for joining in.  My deepest apologies @Tracey_66.
 
Who wants to join in our next HearPeers Virtual Coffee Chat?  All are welcome.
 

I do mine every 3 months. 

I am always thankful for free rehab guides from Med-El .  Thank you @MED-EL Moderator
https://www.medel.com/support/rehab/rehabilitation-downloads

I finally figured out how to get into this HearPeers forum. I am newly implanted with the Med-El Synchrony CI. I've been wearing my Sonnet 2 processor since last Tuesday, which was my activation day. Up until about 2 months ago, I wore a hearing aid in my left ear and I did not use a hearing aid nor could I hear out of my right ear. A head injury caused my hearing to change drastically and the hearing aid no longer functioned for me. My Otologist strongly recommended the CI and I underwent surgery in mid-April. It was a strange and nerve wracking experience being in the hospital during this pandemic, but the staff was excellent and they allowed me to lip read so we could communicate. 
Right now I am getting the hang of this new way of hearing. I am not as wild about the Rondo 2 as I thought I would be and I probably should try it a bit more to see if I really don't like it. Also, I am struggling to find aural rehab activities, which surprises me as I expected there would be plenty of those. Most of what I do find is more appropriate for children. So, I am kind of improvising with various tasks here and there with my family, friends, and on my own. I have read a few posts/comments in the forum about how loud it is after activation. I can say this is certainly loud for me and I am only on program 2 and need to get to program 4 by the end of June! I can't even imagine it at this point. 
Anyway, I've probably said too much but I wanted to introduce myself. I will explore this forum more over the next few days and try to get a profile photo somehow (everything I have seems to large). I am looking forward to connecting with all of you! 

@Kylie
I have been thinking of you and wondering how things are going with your new MAP?

I always found that right after a mapping everything sounded really loud but after a day or two it stopped bothering me. Your maps seems to be way louder than what I experienced though. 
When is your next appointment? 
I recall once the audi gave me varying volumes to work through. She said I didn't need to go all the way to the last program. Just stick to the one most comfortable. 
As long as you're not getting headaches and can manage the loudness try to see how much you can take. 

Yes it was 9:30pm for me - I'm 12 hours from @Mary Beth

Okay!  I am starting a group HP mail message for the 8 of us who are interested in participating in the second HP Virtual Coffee Chat. (Look at the top mail icon)
If anyone else wants to join in, you are welcome.  Just let us know and we will happily include you.

Yes it was 9:30pm for me - I'm 12 hours from @Mary Beth

Both dates are fine for me.  @Kirk S. we had the first meeting at 8:30 Central time, which was also 8:30 for Jewel in Jamaica, it was 9:30 for Mary Beth, and it was 8:30 (I think) PM for Kylie in Australia.  So we can make it work, we don't have to make you get up at 4:00 am!

@Jewel
They would not implant my right ear (the first side) unless I would be happy to just have that implanted ear help me speechread.  They expected no ability to understand speech with that implanted ear ever.  It had a lot going against it.  We almost decided not to have the surgery.  
 
And this was a conversation with a well respected and published CI surgeon at a renowned CI center.
 
I am so happy my right ear beat the odds.  
so many of us do beat the odds.  
 
There is still a lot to learn about predicting success with CIs.

@Kylie
Cool test.  I had a functional NIRS test as part of a research project after getting my CIs.  Maybe it is similar to that.
 
Definitely good to stay with the program as long as you can tolerate the volume.