Unilateral vs Bilateral CI

[pudge4moke]

I am unilateral CI Sonnet EAS Jan of this year.   I am thinking about bilateral and would appreciate any input from patients

that went from unilateral to bilateral for sensorineural hearing loss. Thank you.

[Mary Beth]

Have you been wearing a HA on your other side?

I received my second CI 8 months after my first CI.  Best decision ever.

Here is what I like about bilateral CIs:

It is so much easier to listen.

I can hear people equally well on my left and right sides.

I can locate the direction of sounds.

Music is so much better with two CIs, especially pitch perception.

There is an emotional safety net knowing that I can function well with one CI if something goes amiss with the other one while we are sorting that out.

It is so cool to be surrounded by sounds...like being dropped in the middle of them.

Music in true stereo is amazing.

[pudge4moke]

I was using a hearing aid without any results.  So I haven't been wearing it.

I have problems with hearing speech and the sounds of the words.  Music is very difficult

to hear the words and sounds of the new music.  Older music I knew before I started having problems

I can pick out the words.  Thank you so much for your information.

[Mary Beth]

I found that aural rehab activities with my CI greatly improved my ability to understand speech, speech in noise and music.  If you look at our rehab topic, you will find lots of tips that helped some of us.

I had stopped wearing my HA in the other ear a few months before my second CI surgery.  By that time I was functioning so well with my one CI that the hearing aid was useless.  So when I had surgery for my second CI, I was already hearing well with the first CI.  That made things easier for me.

Some adults receive both CIs simultaneously and do well that way too.

[Cara Mia]

Hi pudge4moke, I got my second implant in 8 months after my first one. I could understand speech and music with one implant. But it was completely different story in many aspects when I got the second. All that Marybeth told is true for me, too. I hope you will see the same result with your another side implanted. Do you know if your current implanted ear is dominant or not?  My best wishes to you in your decision and results.