ERW Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 Hello Everyone! My name is Erin. I've been wearing hearing aids for probably 15 years now. Trying to cut a long story short, my speech discrimination is down to 20%. Tonal (right terminology?) is terrible, too. Audiologist had her equipment jacked up as high as it would go with no response from me. She suggested the CROS system, where basically my right ear would be useless and a transmitter would direct sound to my left ear hearing aid. This was not appealing to me as I tire out with noise and trying to hear as it is and having all noise coming in one ear seems overwhelming. She sent me to one ENT and he referred me to another ENT that does CI implantation. My appointment is in May. I don't know much about CIs, but I'm in of I will be able to hear better. I think it'll improve quality of life majorly. The thing is, I have no idea what questions to ask on my CI candidacy appointment. If I am a candidate, any suggestions on what to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 20, 2023 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 @ERW Hi Erin Welcome to HearPeers! Hearing with a CI is wonderful after your brain adjusts to the input. Life changing tech! Are you already in touch with your regional Med-El Consumer Engagement Manager? She/he can give you lots of information too. Feel free to ask us questions as well. That first appt can be overwhelming. ERW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 20, 2023 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 @ERW this link will help you connect with your Med-El regional rep https://hearlife.medel.com/en-us/local/us-pages/connect-with-medel ERW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERW Posted April 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 @Mary Beth Thank you so much for the suggestion! I’m afraid to get my hopes up too high until after this appointment in May. I think it would be bimodal, since my left ear is decent with a hearing aid. Only 20% speech discrimination in right ear. I will probably have a zillion questions after this appointment! Thank you also for the contact info for the regional Med-El Consumer Engagement Manager. How often is your CI updated? What made you choose Med-El over other brands? How long did it take for you to adjust to hearing with CI? Do new sounds (even familiar ones) sound robotic? If anyone has experience with a bimodal system, please tell me your experience! I have Siemens Phonak hearing aids, if that makes any difference. My audiologist told me about the CROS system (if I remember the acronym correctly), but not appealing to me. We have two ears for a reason, the ENT told me :). He is referring me to another ENT that does CI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERW Posted April 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 @Mary Beth: I’m watching your YouTube video detailing your experience with CI and it’s answering those questions I asked 😂. Thank you! Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 20, 2023 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 @ERW Erin, We organize our own Med-El CI users HearPeers GoogleMeets and one is coming up. If you would like to join in and get to ask us anything you wish, just follow this link and reply there. We are a friendly group. ERW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERW Posted April 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 @Mary Beth Thank you so much! That sounds great. I’m out of town then, but may still be able to join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 21, 2023 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 @ERW If you want an invite, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERW Posted April 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 @Mary Beth Sure, that sounds good! There just may be a slight chance of me not being able to make it because of being out of town. I don't want to take a spot if there's only a limited amount. Thank you so much for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted April 22, 2023 Report Share Posted April 22, 2023 I’m honestly surprised a CROS was suggested since there’s a very specific / narrow set of qualifications that would provide proper benefits and it sounds like you’re beyond those. Unsure what sort of hearing you have in both ears. Which HA brand you use will play a factor in deciding which brand to go with, as well as features you want. For Med-El, being Bimodal, I’d highly recommended to have a phone with ASHA protocol as well as Dual BT to stream. In other words, when going Bimodal you want an Android supported phone/tablet, not an iPhone/iPad since Apple doesn’t support Bimodal setups. I’ve been Bimodal for three years with right implanted, Oticon More in left. It worked well once I was given a cheap Samsung phone that allowed me to stream to both ears and get away from loop systems. I did just get my left ear implanted due to having lost more and more hearing in my “good” ear right after the right ear was implanted and it’s been going down considerably since. I believe I have a post describing my initial foray into being Bimodal with an Android and all that stuff someplace. It had many benefits but most of all, being able to help train the brain to properly identify words, sounds and music. ERW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERW Posted April 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2023 @John F Thank you for the information! I figure the audiologist suggested the CROS because that's what she has to offer. I do appreciate her, though, because after she gave me the last hearing test (I went from 94% speech discrimination in right ear in 2019 down to 20% and no response at and above 1500 Hz. Left ear moderate cookie-bite configuration with 96% speech discrimination, so definitely the good ear), she immediately referred me to an ENT and he suggested investigating CI candidacy and referred me to a colleague who does implantation. Before that, I kept telling my allergist that my ear felt full and she blamed it on TMJ, and my regular doctor would look in my ear and not see anything abnormal, so for a year (when I first noticed it), it has gone dismissed. The ENT I saw said ear fullness is hard to diagnose, even for specialists. Lesson learned. I'll see if I can find some of your older posts for more info on your Bimodal experience. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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