dnagy Posted October 15, 2022 Report Share Posted October 15, 2022 Hi, all! Let me explain my situation: I have severe HL on my left since a month. Before that I had mild-moderate HL, but it suddenly got much worse. I still can use HA on that ear at least for a while. But on my right ear I'm profoundly deaf and did not use any HA for approx 15 years. I told my doctors that I'd consider a CI for the right ear but they were not too optimistic, because I have ignored the right ear for a long time (as I could get by with my left). Will I be able to learn to hear with my right ear after this many years? Also: I'm terrified that people close to me will have very different voices. Will I ever be able to recognize the voice of my friends/family members? Will they have their own voice? How will nature sound (like cars passing by, water flowing, my own footsteps, dogs barking, etc)? I am only 26 years old, I have plenty of time to live on this planet and I want to live a full life. I'm terrified about losing my ability to connect with my loved ones and enjoy the sounds of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 15, 2022 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 15, 2022 @dnagy Welcome to HearPeers. I can relate to your fears. My right ear heard nothing after a surgery for Ménière’s when I was in my early twenties and my left ear kept getting worse and worse and needed stronger and stronger hearing aids until finally no hearing aid helped. That is a terribly depressing journey. Hang in there. We implanted my long standing deaf with no hearing aid ear first. Even though it had not heard anything for the last 24 years. I have Med-El brand cochlear implant. When it was turned on (activated) 3.5 weeks later all I heard was static and beeps. Within hours words started to appear. And every day got better and better. Training my brain with apps and activities helped a lot! It is an amazing CI ear. Eventually everyone’s voices returned to normal. I can hear a voice and know who is speaking without looking. Music took longer but wow what a gift now! Each instrument has its own voice. It takes time and work but it is life changing. Here is a link to a captioned video where I share my story in case you are interested. Wishing you the best! https://youtu.be/uAG0fCgafqk Darlene Mac and dnagy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 15, 2022 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 15, 2022 @dnagy and here is a link to other parts of my CI journey dnagy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnagy Posted October 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2022 @Mary Beth Thank you for the encouragement! I hope I will do well. I am also looking forward to have Med-El as I researched a lot about brands, and I have the impression that Med-El has the best implant technology with long electrodes and FineHearing. Also I want to preserve the most of my cochlea, as I am optimistic about future gene therapies. I know that a lot of attempts to restore hair cells failed, but I'm only 26 and 20 years from now I will still be only 46. Who knows what happens until that. Anyway I will update this community about my jurney. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 15, 2022 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 15, 2022 @dnagy We are a friendly, helpful group. Feel free to ask questions. I look forward to following your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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