corina86 Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hello My name is Corina and I am almost 30 years old. Please excuse my broken English, it is not my native language. I was born with severe hearing loss. I have the opportunity to do an implant surgery at the end of January with Medel Synchrony. I have some questions for you: - Does it pay off to do a surgery at this age or would it bring no significant improvement to my current hearing aids ? - I am very physically active; it is possible to do sports after the surgery (running, swimming, maybe bungee-jumping) ? - If the implant proves to be defective or simply bring no real benefit, is it possible to remove it later ? - Would it be a problem with giving birth later in life (hopefully not too late )? - From what I see in other people that I know who did the operation after childhood, it didn’t significantly improved the hearing of words. Could I expect some improvement ? Thanks and nice to meet you J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted January 8, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hi Corina welcome to Hear peers!!! Of these questions are a great start. There is no real age that says it won't be beneficial for people for CIs. Although for what I have heard and others will tell you this too, the sooner the better. As for sports we have a number of meme bees who are quite active and have no issues. Bungee jumping I would stay away from. You don't want to bang the implant but without the processor who knows ask the dr about that one. Getting a cochlear implant is a lot of work. Be prepared for at least 2-3 hours of work or training as we call it everyday. It's not a simple implant procedure and cure. It takes lots of time patience and perseverance to get the benefits of a CI. Please keep I'm mind no two peoples journies are the same everyone has different hardships ad rewards on the process. My story is much different from others as I had quick results. I was able to hear on activation day. Voices that is. So have low expectations and it will be a wild ride. There is no issue with childbirth. So don't worry about that. I have had great improvements with speech recognition and comphrehension. Although I am still working on homonyms. Words that sound the same. I was implanted in November of last year so I have had my processor for 5 weeks. Love it is way better than hearing aids far superior!! Keep us posted we can't wait to hear how thing go for you!!! Kara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted January 8, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Welcome to hearpeers Corina! We have members here from all over the world in different stages of their hearing journey. Don't worry about your English as we have members where English is not their native language. Do you have hearing loss in both ears? Each person is different and responds to CIs differently. It would be hard to give a definite answer as to how well it will work for you. I can say this. Your doctor and audiologist would not suggest going through with the surgery unless they felt you would get a benefit from a CI I am very physically active as well. I run ultra marathons, very involved in martial arts among other things. I have never had any issues. The implants are designed to take impact and be ok. I have bumped my head before, right on the implant and it was fine. Usually if the implant does not work, they will know that in the operating room as they turn it on and test all electrodes before finishing the surgery. Medel has an extremely high reliability rate. I don't know of anyone who has had to have one removed. It does take a lot of practice to teach your brain how to near with the implant. You have to be willing to be patient and practice. I think you would be surprised how well you will do. Many women with implants have babies all the time. Having a CI will not impact having a child at all. Again, every person is different. There are a lot of factors that go into how successful the person is after it is activated. For me, I just wanted to be able to hear enough so I didn't have to rely so much on reading lips as I'm sure you know, that can be very tiring. I was very pleasantly surprised with my results. I did not start losing my hearing until my mid 20's. We are so glad you found us. There are a number of really great people that will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. Keep the questions coming, that is why we are here. We look forward to getting to know you. You can share as much or as little about yourself as you would like. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted January 8, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 Welcome Corina, My hearing loss was progressive starting at age 13. By my early twenties my right ear heard nothing after a surgical procedure to address Meniere's Disease. The loss in my left ear was severe to profound for many years and then progressed to the point beyond what hearing aids could help. I was implanted in my right ear in February and my left ear in October at age 51. Best decisions I ever made! Good luck on your journey. Mary Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted January 9, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hi Corina, welcome to Hearpeers. Adam and Kara have answered most of your questions. I was implanted two years plus and it is the best decision I ever made. I was 63 when I had the implant and from the time I was a child, I lip read. The journey has been fantastic so far but as the others have said, it takes a lot of work on your part and your support team. The 3Ps are essential - patience, perseverance and practice. As Adam says, it's a marathon not a sprint. Let us know how you progress. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted January 9, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hello Corina, I am last in the line and I am not even a CI implantee but - I would also like to round our welcome in the group. Please, anything you want - just ask. If we don't know the answer straight - we'll try to find it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted January 10, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 by the way Corina Ivana is our friend and she is an ENT in Croatia. He has tons of knowledge as well as Adam. Even Mary Beth and sandy can answer any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina86 Posted January 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Thank you all for , you are very helpful, now I have no doubt that I will do the operation. I am wondering about the thickness of the implant...is there a visible bulge on the side of the head (of course after a couple of months when the swelling from the operation had subsided) ? Should I do anything peticular before the operation (besides not worrying ) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted January 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Thank you all for , you are very helpful, now I have no doubt that I will do the operation. I am wondering about the thickness of the implant...is there a visible bulge on the side of the head (of course after a couple of months when the swelling from the operation had subsided) ? Should I do anything peticular before the operation (besides not worrying ) ? Hello Corina once again generally you shouldn`t worry about it because the implant bed for internal part is drilled in the temporal bone. There are few situations which might compromise that principle. This is how it looks like: http://www.alpfmedical.info/tympanic-membrane/images/4589_312_174.jpgfrom the upper perspective but also from the profile perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted January 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Corina After the swelling goes down and if you have longer hair, people will not even see any bulge from the implant. You will be able to feel a small lump where the implant is under the skin but it is not noticeable. Due to my hair cut, I have shaved on sides and back of my head. When I have the processors on, you really can't see anything. If I take my processors off, a small bump is behind each ear. You really have to be looking for them as I have never had anybody ask me about them when my processors were off. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted January 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Well before surgery just make sure that you have time afterwards to recuperate. Everyone reacts to surgery different. Some only need a few days I needed a couple of weeks. Get lots of rest after and just relax!! It will come fast and be over in no time!! I have long hair and you can't even see the processor with my hair down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted January 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Hi Corina, I have short hair and quite like the fact that in social settings it is a great conversation piece. It gets the education of cochlear implants out there. I had a young girl run up to me at the airport wanting to know where she could buy this new iPod! After awhile you don't even notice it. And it's well worth it when you can hear. Good luck and keep us posted on your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted January 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Amen Sandy! Education is very important. Glad I have hair short enough to make that possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted January 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Well you guys I do like to show mine off I wear my hair up in a pony tail so all can see!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted January 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 That's great Kara. I so enjoy talking to people about how it has changed my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted January 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 It`s ok gang, but within certain socities people rather choose less exposition. I understand that because this is specific part I have to cover when I talk with my patients. But, of course, there are people who does not care about it. It`s so cool. I knew that during my growing up, I had certain phases with my hearing headband and people didn`t have urge to ask me anything. They still assumed what they wanted. What a wonderfuuuuul world - as Louis would say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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