Okie Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hello everyone, Thanks for letting me join. My name is Genia (Pronounced-Gina). I am 49 years old. My hearing loss is hereditary on my father's side. My first grade teacher noticed I could not hear her unless she was facing me where I could read her lips, she told my parents and that began a life of one hearing aid after another. I am a Head Start teacher here in Oklahoma. I share my life with my husband Fred of 26 years and our children, Nicholas 25, Kaitlin 23 and Haven Rayne 7. I am a candidate for CI. I am researching and reading everything I can before I make my final decision. I have so many fears and questions. A part of me wants to just go get it done and the other half of me is trying to be reasonable and do research. Genia Gerda 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted June 24, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Welcome Genia! I also have hereditary hearing loss of a progressive nature. Mine didn't begin until I was 13. I am also a teacher so I know how demanding listening is in our careers. I received my first CI 15 months ago at the age of 51 and my second CI 7 months ago. Best decisions ever! They have changed my life. I worked on aural rehab extensively everyday and was fortunate that my listening abilities improved quite rapidly over time. I am still practicing aural rehab daily because my second CI is only 7 months old. Smile. And I like working on aural rehab and seeing the progress. It's a great journey! It requires dedication and patience. Last night a group of family members went out for dinner (9 people in total at a noisy restaurant). I heard great and was a active participant in the conversations. After dinner one of our nieces commented on my amazing CIs. I will be forever grateful to Med-El for my CIs. They are amazing! Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted June 24, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hi Genia and welcome to Hearpeers. I'm 65 years old and have been implanted for 3 years. The doctors believe my hearing loss was due to the anesthesia I received from the age of 2 until I was in my late teens. I have the Medel Rondo and it was the best decision I ever made. I can now hear birds sing, crickets, the wind in the trees and so many sounds I never heard before. I go to places and do things I avoided before my CI. It is an amazing journey. No regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ept5777 Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Welcome to HearPeers Gina. I'm 63 and had the CI in Feb this year and Rondo activated April 5th. After only 12 weeks I am hearing so many sounds I have not heard in 25 years like birds, frogs, crickets etc. Like you I spent so much time researching the three main CI companies and picked Med-El for many reasons. The Rondo was a big reason for me seeing I have worn hearing aids for 30 years in both ears. with the Rondo there is nothing in or around my ear which is wonderful so hope you have the same luck the rest of us has had regardless of what CI company you pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almosupremecommander Posted June 25, 2016 Report Share Posted June 25, 2016 I also chose medel mainly because of the rondo also because I think they have the best implant array I've only been activated 12 days and I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs it Listening to music again is Fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted June 25, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 25, 2016 Hello Genia welcome to Hearpeers!! We are glad to have you! We are a wonderful group of people that can answer most of your questions and we are here to support one another. So please make yourself at home here and we even enjoy the quirky jokes or wow moments!! Your post reminds me of our friend Cara she felt the same way as you before she took the plunge. I took the plunge too but my reluctance so were more on how to recover after surgery. In Canada we don't get to pick our CIs we have them chosen by a team of doctors and audiologists as to which would best benefit us. That's how I got a med el!! I love it! I can hear sounds I haven't heard in years. Birds and the concert if the outdoors!! I am 38 and was implanted in November of last year. So seven months in and counting!! Please understand that it a lot of work for the first while doing aural rehab. It is the only way to achieve good results. It's a wild ride so best of luck!! Kara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted June 27, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 A part of me wants to just go get it done and the other half of me is trying to be reasonable and do research. Genia Hi Genia, I understand your dilemma very well. Some time ago I also did an extensive research before deciding to make sure that I choose the best option for me. Never regret after I got my little medel implanted. That's a good thing to spend some time reading about CI technology because you can learn a lot about implants and understand your expectation better (and even get some fun). Wish you the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 27, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Welcome Genia, I am NOT a CI implantee - I am just sneaking here from time to time making some remarks... Kiddin` of course - like to socialize with this nasty gang of CI implantees and stealing their thoughts and ideas... I usually disturb when we reach some silly detail medical questions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kay Posted June 27, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Hi Genia,welcome. You will find a great bunch of people here who are very willing to help and share their stories. It's nice to have someone to talk to who really understands where you're coming from. I just got my CI a week ago last Thursday so I'm not activated yet, that will happen July 14th. I can sympathize with your fears. I had them too, still working through some of them. I finally decided that I was going to be deaf very shortly anyway so I might as well reach for what could help me. I figure I didn't have much to lose. My loss has been gradual since I think in my 50's. Well I'm 77 now and nosey so when my hearing started to rapidly worsen I was not a happy camper. I dropped out of most of my activities, music group, book club, get togethers with friends, bible study. I could hear lots of noise but couldn't understand much of any speech. I'm hoping for good things when I'm activated as is my husband. I chose the clinic I went to because they have an excellent reputation here and I trust their implant choice for me. I wish you luck on this awesome journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted June 27, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Haha Ivan we will call you dr. Frankenstien!! Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted June 28, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 Haha Ivan we will call you dr. Frankenstien!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms_D Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Hi Genia, I'm 34. I'm not a teacher, but at different points, I had considered the career. I was born deaf in my right ear. It goes back four generations on my mother's side - one person each generation has been born deaf in their right ear that I am aware of. I have had doctor's tell me they have never heard of a case that being born deaf in the same ear in multiple generations. So I guess they have been fascinated by my case. I don't know anything about my dad's side of the family regarding deafness/hoh. I started noticing hearing loss in my left ear when I was 12/13. I hid it until it was discovered by my science teacher in the 8th grade. I had progressively loss more hearing over the years in my left ear until about 6 years ago or so - it has remain at the same level - at or less than 10% hearing left. I have went through multiple hearing aids over the years. My doctor constantly recommend that I consider the cochlear implant, but I always said "no" until September 2014 when I finally agreed to go in for consultation. I was implanted in my right ear in January of 2015. What a blessing the CI is! Whereas I was once deaf in my right ear, it became my dominate ear. I can hear on the phone - something that I struggled with even with my hearing aid on my left ear. The journey has been such a wonderful journey. My left ear was implanted recently (June 8th). My Activation Day for my left ear is July 18th. I'm looking forward to the day. :-) For my right ear, I have the Rondo, the Sonnet, and the Opus 2. For my left ear, I will have the Rondo and the Sonnet. Welcome to the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okie Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thank you everyone! After reading the post on the site and others, I have decided to go through with it. I have gone through Voc Rehab here in Oklahoma, they will help me and I am now waiting on a call from Dr. Baker's office to schedule a CI evaluation. Something about a scan, or MRI. I will get a new hearing aid for my right ear probably by next week. I hope the Dr. moves fast, and I get my journey started, I'm overly excited now. Genia Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 12, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 Genia- Awesome! I wish you the best on your hearing journey! You may also want to join the closed FaceBook group called Med El Cochlear Implant Discussion Group Search for it and ask to join. There are several people who are being implanted soon active on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted July 12, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 Welcome to Hearpeers! Okie! Wow it's a very exciting journey full of hard work but it has many chills and thrills!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted July 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome....- to your new life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heywayne Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 I'm surprised at the comments referring to hearing music. At this point and time, I only hear some beats or rhythm sounds but absolutely no melody or words. Am I too early for this experience? Activated on July 1st, this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almosupremecommander Posted July 24, 2016 Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 I was activated on 14th June and I have been enjoying music from day one but it would seem I am exceptionally lucky . At first I could hear all the instruments fine but it sounded like a duck singing. Now it's much better. At the 1 month speech tests I scored 90% without lip reading and 99% with. I scored 0% without lip reading before implant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 24, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Hi HeyWayne, Music appreciation and enjoyment comes at different times and to different degrees with each CI user. For my right CI, I started to really enjoy music at the 3-4 months mark. It started slowly and improved over time with lots of exposure to music. I treated music just like any aural rehab. I listened actively and focused on what I could pick up. At first I recognized the percussion, then the high frequency instruments, then more and more. I started with familiar music but quickly branched out to new music. By 6 months, music was sounding great (lyrics and all) and I discovered I had been singing the wrong words to many songs! Pitch perception was still a work in progress. Then at 8 months, I was activated with my second CI. Music really took off after that and pitch perception improved dramatically. My second CI has liked music right from the beginning. I am not one of those people who understood speech at activation with either CI. I mention this to show that what we hear in the beginning weeks/months, does not necessarily reflect on our long term success with our CIs. For me, aural rehab has helped a lot! Enjoy your journey, Mary Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kay Posted July 24, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Heywayne, you are hearing about the same as I am. Music is just not here yet. I tried to sing at church yesterday but songs that I know well sound like chant. Time and patience I guess. I was activated on 7-14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted July 24, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Hi guys! I still have issues with church hyms at nine months. They just don't sound clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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