simona Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Hello there I have been approved for a cochlear implant and meet all the requirements. I have so many questions...dont' really know where to start. the major thing that concern me is after the activation, is it very hard to hear at first? and how long does it take to start comprhend speeches? Thanks simona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 3, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Hello @simona and welcome! Congratulatoins on being approved for a CI. That is exciting! I had otosclerosis too. My hearing loss progressed starting at age 13. By age 27 my right ear had absolutely no hearing and could not be aided. My left ear continued to progress. By age 50, I was really struggling to hear. My world was small. I had to speechread a lot! I was implanted at age 51. First in my right ear which had not processed any sound at all for 24 years. At activation I only heard static and beeps but things really improved quickly. I did lots of aural rehab everyday. Check out our topic on new reha for lots of great suggestions. Things got better every day. Eight months after the right surgery, my left side was implanted. My CIs have changed my life, I hear better now than I have in many decades. It is so wonderful. I can use any phone, listen to podcasts, understand both music and talk radio, understand the TV, converse with my family from different rooms, play the piano again........so many many wonderful things. Everyone’s journey is unique so there is no way to tell you how long it will be before you can understand speech with your implant. Aural rehab will help. Just trust that whatever you hear at activation is just your starting point. There is no way to know how far you will go with your CIs, until you train and experience it yourself. This is a friendly group. Ask as many questions as you wish. Which CI center are you using? Have you selected a processor yet? Matt and stream2525 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simona Posted November 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 hello Marybeth and thanks for replying to me, your experience is wonderful I am so glad to hear how well you are doing. I can't enjoy music any more nor movie or tv without subtitles...conversations are really hard right now and I notice I am withdrowing a lot from socializing because of it. I know it will take time to adjust I just so much hope to get back to a normal life after it. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simona Posted November 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 and no I havent' yet chosen any processor I am still in the process of gathering info about them. which one are you using? and is your other ear working well? my other ear is not perfect but still functioning a bit with the help of hearing aid...I rely a lot on that now...but still very hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hicksy Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Simona, I too was withdrawing from socializing, realizing just how much music I was missing, hearing aids didn’t help a bit... Since I had a bit of hearing in each ear I was encouraged to select the Med El Sonnet EAS to try to preserve my hearing. It didn’t take, but I have a few long winded posts on here on how incredible the benefits are to losing the original hearing which wasn’t much anyway. Poke around this site and you will find lots of stories about life changing results. It certainly won’t happen overnight, but the journey is so rewarding. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 3, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Both of my ears are implanted. I use Med El Rondos and Sonnets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted November 3, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Hi @simona welcome to the group. I have one implant currently and use the Sonnet. Yes it takes time to hear well. But the benefits far out weigh the risks. I have gained back most of my hearing in the one ear. The other is very poor and uses a HA still. I was like you I was withdrawing from social activities and I couldn’t use the phone or listen to music. Conversations were very difficult. But that has all changed for me. I can use the phone I can listen to music again. I can do quite well in social scenes. I hope and wish you all the best on your journey. Remember aural rehab is the key to good hearing with an implant. We have to reteach our brain to hear from a different point of sound. We have a whole topic on ideas and apps for rehab so take a look on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simona Posted November 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2017 Hello Kara, and thanks for sharing your experience...so exciting about possibly hearing the music again and talking on the phone. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted November 10, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 10, 2017 Your welcome. Everyone’s journey is unique but please let us know how your doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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