Second CI?

[JohnL]

I was implanted on the right side just over 5 years ago. At the time I used a hearing aid for my left ear. Over the last couple of years the hearing in my left ear has decreased significantly to the point that the hearing aid no longer helps. I have about 70% speech recognition and music sounds awful. I have ordered a new processor for the right side (5 year upgrade) and will be mapped using CT scan results. 
I am trying to decide if I should get a CI for the left side. Has anyone else had a similar experience and did you decide on a second CI?  What were the results?  Was speech recognition better or worse?  How about music?

[Mary Beth]

@JohnL

For me, two CIs are so much better than 1 CI and 1 HA.  This really depends on what benefit the HA is providing.  I encourage people to not focus on test results in a sound booth but rather to focus on hearing in their real lives.

Hearing with two balanced ears is amazing.  For me, that was only possible with two CIs.

[Mary Beth]

@Joan 

@NathalieM

What was your experience going from one CI to two CIs?

[Joan]

My experience was nothing short of incredible. My first implant gave me hearing beyond all my expectations. Within a month or so I quit wearing my hearing aid in the other ear because the sound it gave me was much too distracting. I received my second CI seven months after the first and been very thankful for both for the past ten years. Speech recognition, while quite good with just one CI, was even better after going bilateral, thanks to hearing from all directions and not having to “favor” one side over the other. As @Mary Beth said, hearing with two balanced ears is amazing…something I hadn’t experienced since childhood.
 

[NathalieM]

I completely agree that having two CIs is a game-changer! I received my first CI in my right ear 19 years ago, and it was incredibly rewarding. My kids were entering their teenage years, and conversations became much easier on all levels. I started hearing sounds I never noticed before, like songbirds, a dripping faucet, and even the sound of filling a water bottle to know when it’s full before it overflows.

Although my hearing aid (left) side was still considered my dominant side, my hearing steadily declined over the past couple of years. Last summer, I was quickly approved for bilateral surgery just three months after my assessment. It took some time to adjust, but now that I've been activated for 9 months, it's so, so much better!

Some examples:

• I can join conversations without having to lip-read as much
• I can hear my very soft-spoken colleague without making her repeat everything (she even commented on how much better I hear now).
• I can carry on conversations with some people even when they are in another room or office (I say "some" because there are those I just have to be in the same room to listen to)
• I can localize sounds better
• I can pick up some lyrics in songs, something I could never do unless I read the lyrics first.
• and more +++

I have to keep reminding myself that I was born profoundly hearing impaired and didn't know any better. This technology is truly life-changing and has made my life so much easier!

[JohnL]

Thank you MaryBeth, Joan and Nathalie. 
It appears as though you all were able to understand speech better with a second CI. Was the sound quality the same, better or worse?  How about music?  My current sound quality for speech isn’t  great and music has a terrible sound. And I miss music. 
also, did you have your map via otoplan after a CT scan?

[Mary Beth]

@JohnL

There were 8 months between my first and second CI.  Speech was sounding good already with one CI.  I benefitted from doing a lot of aural training as that ear had not processed any sound for 24 years before being implanted but had heard to varying degrees before then.

Music was a gift that revealed itself slowly to me.  Bit by bit with continued listening of music my brain started to figure it out.  Now music sounds awesome.  Listening with two CIs immediately gave a boost to music for me.

I do not use anatomy based fitting (OTOPLAN) programs.

[Lauren]

Late to the convo. I got my first CI June 2021 and second November 2022. My left ear was the problem side and took approximately six months to one year to get up and running. My right ear was my rockstar side and surpassed my left ear in about three months. 

I experience all that Mary Beth, Joan, and Nathalie shared with gaining two CIs. So much better. Music takes a lot of time, work, and a healthy dose of patience. But I can identify familiar songs and enjoy them. Even music I’m not familiar with, if it has a good beat to it, will get my foot tapping along. 

Neither of my surgeries were done using OTOPLAN as it wasn’t available at the time of my surgeries. But reading into it I learned of ABF mapping and asked my CI center and surgeon for that and got it June 2023. The only roadblock I encountered to it was how new ABF was; I was the first in my state to get it and Med-El flew up to assist - and to help my clinic get setup for OTOPLAN since I got their proverbial foot in the door for the new procedure. Happy to say that as of November/December 2023, patients who go to my clinic and choose Med-El will get the full OTOPLAN treatment. 

I was seven months acclimated to the MAP I was using at the time so the programming change to ABF was big and scrambled my brain. It took me one month to unscramble/adjust, a second month to start understanding, and by month three I was at or above where I was with the old MAP. I’ve since made great progress with it. I stuck with it due to the clarity I got in quiet settings and how much more natural things sounded to me. 

That said, everyone’s experience with ABF is all over the board. Some adjust well, some do kinda okay, others go back to previous MAPs. Whether or not you’ll like it or if it will work for you, no one can say. And no way to know without trying. Just keep in mind if it doesn’t work for you, you can always go back to an old MAP. 

[JohnL]

Thank you all. Meeting with audiologist later this month and will discuss my options. 

[J Taylor]

I recently had my surgery for a second CI, a little unique situation though.  I started out with a Medel implant on my left side and then a few months later had a Medel implant on the right side.  Unfortunately the screws kept coming loose on the right side and underwent 2 revision surgeries to correct the issue.  The surgeon along with the Medel surgical consult could not fit the implant in a way that would effectively stay attached.  One issue is that Medel only offers one size screw to attach the implant, where Cochlear has multiple size screws that can be used.  I went with an Osia on my right side and kept the Medel on the left side.  What an interesting experience and to have a real time comparison between the two products has been incredible!