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Anyone got a CI on an ear they never heard anything from?


Aitana

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Hi everyone!

My name is Aitana! I'm deaf and I wear bilateral hearing aids.

But I didn't come here to talk about me! 😊 I came here on behalf of my best friend, also deaf and an unilateral Med-el CI user. ❤️

She got implanted as a toddler, at a time when it was only allowed to get one CI implanted at each surgery and it was common to save the other ear intact for future technology and medical advances. (I know! how things have changed in only a few decades! 😂)

She (almost) never heard anything from that non-implanted ear, hearing aids never worked at all on that ear either. So, in the end, she kept that ear intact and non-stimulated for basically all her life. Now she's already an adult in her early 20s.

There has been a few times we have talked about if she ever considered having bilateral hearing and getting a CI on that ear and the conversation always ended with professionals telling her that they can't really assure her if she will ever hear anything from that ear, as things work very different when you get a CI as an adult and they aren't aware of any patient getting a CI on an ear that has remained non-stimulated for so long.

She would like to know if there has been anyone ever that already went through this journey and would like to share their experience with her.

I told her that there's a lot of deaf/hoh people on the internet and social media that we could ask! So this is me, trying to help my friend out! (Honestly, to this point we are both really curious 🤣) So far it's been really hard to find anyone but I'm sure that there has to be more people that already went through this journey or a similar one that can help us. 

Thank you for reading! ❤️

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First I had both hearing aid and ci device it made it worth and now I have two Med-EL cochlear implant devices and I 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕 it so much

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@Aitana

welcome to HearPeers.  Wishing your friend the best.

Lots of variability in going ahead to implant an ear that has never heard and has not worn a hearing aid.  Some CI centers will not do it.  Others will.

I read a blog written by a young adult who did exactly what you are asking.  I searched trying to find that blog online to share with you but I can not remember enough information for a successful search.  Sorry.  This young adult beat the odds and loves hearing with 2 CIs implanted decades apart.

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Thank you for your answer @Mary Beth!

Maybe the blog you're referring to is this one: https://blog.medel.com/music-and-cochlear-implants-ruths-story/ 

I was given this blog today and already read it, so so similar to my friend's story!

I was also given this other one: https://blog.medel.com/bilateral-cochlear-implants-mary-beths-story/ that I think is yours! 😂

I'll be definitely gathering and translating all this info to my friend so she can understand everything perfectly.
Thank you!

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@Aitana

@MallaRuth is a dear friend of mine.  Her blogs are great!

I just can not find the person’s blog I read who has the same story as your friend.  If I do stumble upon it, I will share the link.

I shared my entire online CI journey in this post.  I hope it helps your friend.  I beat the odds with my right ear.  Sometimes we get lucky.

 

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@Aitana

This is not the blog I was referring to earlier but it is someone who is in the same situation as your friend and chose to get a second CI.

https://www.acialliance.org/blogpost/1555801/269898/My-Bilateral-Cochlear-Implant-Experience

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@Mary Beth Yay!!! Thank you for all those links!!

I've just read them all and the last one is fantastic!! So so close to my friend's story! And I love that she detailed a lot and was realistic. She says that it took a lot of practice and patience and that she couldn't hear anything at all at first, but eventually got better so there's hope!

And she says that, even if she doesn't hear as perfectly as she does in the right ear, she still gets a lot of benefit from that implant and doesn't regret at all getting it, because in the worse of cases, having a second processor acts like a safe net in case the right processor fails or breaks. My friend is always super scared of her only implant breaking and that's one of the reasons she would like to have a second one.

Thank you!! ❤️ I'm so happy! I  gathered a bunch of diferent stories already!

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You are welcome @Aitana.  Wishing your friend the very best.

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@Aitana

In the Facebook group Bilateral CI Warrior there are people talking about this topic right now.  Some have implanted their second ear already.  In case you are interested.

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Good luck and best wishes for your freind 💘 i am implanted on one side and have 50 percent in un implanted ear and do have a little fear of losing my processor, starting to consider what i would do if given the option to implant other ear. 

I would definately go for 2nd ci if i had less residual in the unimplanted ear, but obviously not comparing to your friend....hoping whatever she chooses works well.

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Hi @Dianna and @Mary Beth!!!

Sorry for not answering sooner, I was very busy these past days 😅

Thank you @Mary Beth for everything! And I will definitely look into that FB group!!

And thank you @Dianna for sharing your story too! ❤️

Hope you are having a nice day!

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Nope it never happen to me, did u call the company or the audiologist to help you. 

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