Is there anyone who still has same residual hearing before CIIs there anyone who still has same residual hearing before CI

[stream2525]

9 hours ago, Jewel said:

@Hicksy

Thanks for sharing your experience. Balanced perspective. 

So many unknowns when doing the CI. Just have to hope for the best. 

I hope by the time my surgery is scheduled Rondo2 and the flex soft will be available in the US. My low frequency hearing is normal so I hope I retain it. I don't understand how it takes so long to roll out new Med-El products in the USA. Do they require clinical trials in the US before the FDA approves them? 

Has your surgeon told you that flexsoft is good for preserving hearing? 

[Jewel]

 @stream2525no, but I like that it is a longer length. 

@Hicksysorry for some reason I can't delete your name. 

 

 

 

 

[Hicksy]

Stream2525, if you look at the chart, the Flex 20 through to the Flexsoft are all presented as viable for an EAS attempt. Which one is the “best” is a meaningless question in my opinion because it comes down to to your particular cochlea and what the surgeon feels comfortable attempting.

[stream2525]

46 minutes ago, Hicksy said:

Stream2525, if you look at the chart, the Flex 20 through to the Flexsoft are all presented as viable for an EAS attempt. Which one is the “best” is a meaningless question in my opinion because it comes down to to your particular cochlea and what the surgeon feels comfortable attempting.

From my reading , only Flex20 and Flex24 are designed for EAS or for a cochlea with special anatomy. Flexsoft is the longest, so it goes deep inside the cochlea and damages the low frequencies area in the cochlea. 

[hadron]

Actually the FLEXSoft has been around for a long time. Hearing preservation studies with FLEXSOFT have not been as successful as MED-EL had hoped. Thus the creation of the FLEX24 and FLEX28.

Drs. Dhanasingh and Jolly of MED-EL have a great article about CI electrode array design in the December Volume of Hearing Research. Link is below. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595517302940

 

[Mary Beth]

Thank you for sharing that link @hadron.  It is full of great info.

I was surprised to read this statement though....

”As the lifetime of any CI is typically less than twenty years, many CI recipients will require explantation and re-implantation during their lifetime.”

I was hoping that my internal components would last longer than 20 years.

[stream2525]

9 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

Thank you for sharing that link @hadron.  It is full of great info.

I was surprised to read this statement though....

”As the lifetime of any CI is typically less than twenty years, many CI recipients will require explantation and re-implantation during their lifetime.”

I was hoping that my internal components would last longer than 20 years.

I know people who have been implanted for over 30 years and still doing very well. 

[Mary Beth]

I would be interested in seeing a graph of the percentage of people who still have their original internal CI extended out over the entire time period that Med-El has been implanting.  If anyone comes across a graph like that, please share the link.

 

@hadron and @Ivana Marinac are very good at locating research and articles.  Maybe one of them has seen a graph displaying this data?

[Cara Mia]

16 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

Thank you for sharing that link @hadron.  It is full of great info.

I was surprised to read this statement though....

”As the lifetime of any CI is typically less than twenty years, many CI recipients will require explantation and re-implantation during their lifetime.”

I was hoping that my internal components would last longer than 20 years.

Mary Beth, great to see you pic! You did that! I missed somehow this part of the article. Sounds not very encouraging. My surgeon told me before I started my journey, my implants will serve me the whole my life. I told him that I am going to last for a very long time. He answered, that he is pretty sure about this and my implants ability to do their job well. 

So, I expected that CIs should work much longer that just 25 years promised for backward compatibility... That less than 20 years mentioned in the article does not work for me at all.... Ok, we have nothing to do but just prove that the article was wrong on this matter  

@hadron, thank you for the good read and I second Mary Beth's request for some data about the CI's real lifetime if you can find.

[Megan L.]

@Cara Mia

I was told the same thing by my surgeon! And I too expect them to last longer than 20 years. So I was definitely concerned when I saw that 20 years reimplanted in the article. We’re definitely going to prove the article wrong ?

@Mary Beth nice pic! 

 

[Jewel]

@Mary BethGlad you were able to sort out the profile pic issue. Nice pic! 

[Mary Beth]

Leigh had to upload the profile pic for me for some reason.  Thanks.

 

My surgeons also said my internals are for life.  Let’s prove the article statement false indeed.

 

@Cara Mia, where did you read backward compatibility is promised for only 25 years?  I missed that.

[Cara Mia]

I don't remember exactly. Somewhere in the booklets I have.

[Jewel]

The internals better be for life as I can't afford to go abroad to do a reimplantation, especially when my insurance doesn't cover it. 

I didn't realise that even after getting the CI, there are still several maintenance costs, e.g. replacement covers, batteries. If I'm out of a job, I will be in trouble. I will have a CI but may not be able to afford all these maintenance costs. What a stress... 

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

Your particular situation is more complicated since you are going to pursue your implant abroad.  Definitely ask for a print out of the warranties that will apply to you.

My Rondos have been maintenance free.  They have never needed to be serviced and no parts have ever broken.  The only cost is the disposable batteries. 3 Power One Implant batteries last 3 days for me in my Rondos.

My Sonnets have needed to be serviced, but fortunately it was all under warranty.  I change my Sonnet mic covers every 2 months (Med-El suggests every 3 months but I notice a sound quality difference before then.). The Sonnet battery covers have needed to be replaced and were no longer under their 1 year warranty.  You can choose rechargeable or disposable batteries.

There is a graph on the Med-El website that shows the percentage of repairs for each processor.  The percents are low.  The Rondos have the lowest percent on the graph.  

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

the service percentage chart is at the bottom of this link

http://www.medel.com/us/reliability-reporting/

[Jewel]

Thanks @Mary Beth? 

[stream2525]

9 hours ago, Jewel said:

The internals better be for life as I can't afford to go abroad to do a reimplantation, especially when my insurance doesn't cover it. 

I didn't realise that even after getting the CI, there are still several maintenance costs, e.g. replacement covers, batteries. If I'm out of a job, I will be in trouble. I will have a CI but may not be able to afford all these maintenance costs. What a stress... 

Where did you have your CI ? 

Don't you have a health Center in your country? I also don't have this in my country. 

[Jewel]

@stream2525

I haven't gotten my CI yet. I'm just starting the journey. I live in Jamaica, a small island. No CI centres here so I plan to get the CI in Jamaica. Which country are you? 

Insurance here doesn't cover CIs because as far they are concerned all you need is a HA and even then they cover less than 10% of the cost of HAs. As far as they are concerned unless you have a terminal illness, you shouldn't complain. 

So I'm doing this from my savings. I will know the cost when I meet with the CI surgeon in the US next month. I need to hear in order to support myself in Jamaica. It is a place that pays little attention to disabled people and when you have an invisible disability people don't believe you. 

[hadron]

@Jewel The Dallas Hearing Foundation has provided funding for children and adults whom are unable to pay for CIs or their country does not provide access to cochlear implants. I believe the recipients to date represent individuals from 12 different countries. You can apply to be considered. The link to the web page is below. From the menu choose financial aid and complete the required forms.

http://dallashearingfoundation.org/about/

[Jewel]

@hadronSeriously? Wow! That would be awesome if I'm able to access some assistance that way! Thanks for letting me know. ?

[hadron]

It probably is pretty competitive and I am not sure if candidacy has changed but It definitely is worth checking out. They just had a big gala to celebrate 20 years. Facebook page is below.

https://www.facebook.com/Dallas-Hearing-Foundation-123812984318530/

[stream2525]

10 hours ago, Jewel said:

@stream2525

I haven't gotten my CI yet. I'm just starting the journey. I live in Jamaica, a small island. No CI centres here so I plan to get the CI in Jamaica. Which country are you? 

Insurance here doesn't cover CIs because as far they are concerned all you need is a HA and even then they cover less than 10% of the cost of HAs. As far as they are concerned unless you have a terminal illness, you shouldn't complain. 

So I'm doing this from my savings. I will know the cost when I meet with the CI surgeon in the US next month. I need to hear in order to support myself in Jamaica. It is a place that pays little attention to disabled people and when you have an invisible disability people don't believe you. 

I live in Arab Region in the Middle East. I am also in the same situation as yours. After making search I decided to travel to India for this. I know exactly which hospital and which doctor I am going to. I also read that private clinics in the USA can do it for low cost Around $ 30,000. This is not an option for me, because I can't travel to the USA. 

I need to hear mainly to be able to get another job. Even this job that I have I might lose it because I can't hear well. I am not between MEd-El Rondo and Cochlear Kanso. 

[Dave in Pittsburgh]

I don’t know if this is what you are looking for,asking for or want to hear I  had my CI  Oct ,2016 in my left ear had very little hearing ,after the implant no hearing in the left ear I was told this is normal if I remember correctly. Now on to the right ear I am going to have a CI done on Maech 22,2018 as my hearing has gotten progressively worse so this will make me bilateral 

Dave

[Jewel]

21 hours ago, stream2525 said:

I live in Arab Region in the Middle East. I am also in the same situation as yours. After making search I decided to travel to India for this. I know exactly which hospital and which doctor I am going to. I also read that private clinics in the USA can do it for low cost Around $ 30,000. This is not an option for me, because I can't travel to the USA. 

I need to hear mainly to be able to get another job. Even this job that I have I might lose it because I can't hear well. I am not between MEd-El Rondo and Cochlear Kanso. 

@stream2525

Although I like that external Cochlear components are smaller than Med-El's, I prefer Med-El's internal processor so I am most likely going to get a Sonnet and a Rondo2 if it gets released in the US soon. I wouldn't want to just have one. I want to have a backup especially since there is no CI center locally. When are you planning to go to India?