pudge4moke Posted September 10, 2018 Report Share Posted September 10, 2018 Hello I received my first ci in Jan 2017. I have done great with it and went from 5% to 95% word recognition. I am having testing for second side and wonder if anyone would share their experience for testing and insurance approval for second CI. My second side is around 30% word recognition at last testing which was a year ago. THANKs Jelinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 10, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 10, 2018 @pudge4moke good luck at your eval for a second CI! I qualified for bilateral CIs when we implanted my first side. Since the test was over 6 months old when I was ready for my second CI, we had to test again. It was similar to the initial testing. Speech words in quiet and sentences in quiet and then noise. HA side alone. CI alone. And bimodal. keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudge4moke Posted September 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2018 Thank you for your information. Any information is helpful to me. I was only getting one side done when I tested originally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 11, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 @pudge4moke Me too! I only planned on getting one CI. Then I was blown away with how wonderful everything sounded with my CI and happily got a second one. Being bilateral is awesome! I hope your test goes well. pudge4moke and Jewel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudge4moke Posted September 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 THANKS. I go tomorrow. YAY!!! Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 11, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 Let us know how it goes! @pudge4moke pudge4moke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 11, 2018 Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 @Mary Beth and @pudge4moke when I was tested for my second CI I was only tested with my HA in that ear in quiet (not noise ) since my word comprehension was 0% in quiet ! I was not tested with my CI or bimodal..and Humana Medicare covered with this testing .. An update I just had my post op visit today with my surgeon and all is well and looking foward to activation in 10 days ? Jane Mary Beth, pudge4moke and Jewel 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudge4moke Posted September 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 Good luck with your activation!!! Thank you for your information. Jelinda Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted September 12, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 Like Mary Beth, I qualified for both sides when I was initially tested. I had the approval for a single bilateral surgery from insurance, but wimped out and just got one done. Now I'm scheduled for the second one in a month. I am so looking forward to two ears again! Also like Mary Beth, though, I had to get retested for the second one, but nothing had changed. Jewel and pudge4moke 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudge4moke Posted September 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 Mary, Thank you for your information. Good luck on your surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jdashiell Posted September 13, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 On 9/10/2018 at 7:12 PM, pudge4moke said: Hello I received my first ci in Jan 2017. I have done great with it and went from 5% to 95% word recognition. I am having testing for second side and wonder if anyone would share their experience for testing and insurance approval for second CI. My second side is around 30% word recognition at last testing which was a year ago. THANKs Jelinda I was tested for CI and found speech recognition was Right 48%, Left 52%. Since the Right was below 50% was a candidate and received my first implant in 3/2016. Great results!! After less than a year I wanted the Left side done and the surgeon said OK so 3/17 (one year to the day) I received my left implant. But it did not get fully implanted in the cochlea. So I opted to redo it 6/2017. Again not fully implanted. I switched surgeons and received my third surgery 3/2018 to get implanted. Finally success. Turns out there was a bony obstruction preventing full implantation but it was a success and I am now 7 months , well 6 months since activation and doing very well bilaterally. My suggestion is stick with it - not everyone has the issue I had - but regardless - stay the course Its an amazing journey! Joe Jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 @Jdashiellwow what a story !i haven’t heard of people going through 3 surgeries! I’m so glad that it was finally successful! You’re an inspiration for many people!( I just had my second ear implanted 3 weeks ago..activation next Friday ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jdashiell Posted September 13, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 Yes I was determined to have the same quality of hearing on my left that i received forom my right CI. So I persevered to get there. Best wishes for your activation! Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 @Jdashiellthank u i understand keeping trying I’d do the same since I’ve been so astounded with the quality of Hearing I’ve had with my first side ..(I’d just make sure they do all they could that I didn’t get as sick after the surgery from the anesthesia as I did this past time ) Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted September 14, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 @Jane - what happened with the anesthesia? If it was just nausea, they can add something to the anesthesia meds to prevent that. My CI surgery was the first time in my life I wasn't horribly nauseated in post-op, because I told the anesthesiologist about my nausea after general anesthesia and he said, well THAT'S easy to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 @Mary Featherstonyes nausea and vomiting..I DID tell my surgeon and the anesthesiologist before the surgery that I was nauseous after my first surgery ..I talked in length about it right before the surgery and he said he’d give me anti nausea meds..well I wasn’t bad when I woke up I think what made me sick was this time the nurse in post op offered me a Vicodin and I said should I take this on an empty stomach And she brought me 2 crackers that I couldn’t even eat but not thinking right I took the pill ..and by the time I got home I started getting sick ..so I think that did it ..I’ll know better if I ever need surgery again ..they didn’t give me a Vicodin the first time I was just a bit nauseous in the post op ..they actually gave me Haldol finally which has a side effect of anti nausea and it worked by the time I got home I felt great ..this time not so ..but I did have Phenergan at Home this time and after I took it I was on the next day ..live and learn ? Jane Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 I have been hearing that some people who get a second implant don't like the second as much as the first and that they end up not wearing the new implant? Does this hold true for anyone here? Does the new implant sound better or the same as the first implant? I was implanted in my left (bad) ear about 10 years ago and currently wear a hearing aid in my right (good) ear, I keep pondering about getting the right ear implanted because of the success that I have had with the left ear but was wondering because of the 'not so great' results from other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 14, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 @Percy I love having bilateral CIs! My sides are very balanced in real life and in how they test in the soundbooth. Together, they are even more awesome than they are individually. I trained my second CI separately and I also trained being bilateral. Aural rehab training helped me a lot, Wishing you the best. Valentin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Mary BethI know I’ll find out at activation on Friday but I’m curious how you started getting used to your second CI? Did you wear it a period of time without the first during the day and do rehab then wear it with both ?when I had my first I wore the CI without the HA in the other ear when I was home and doing rehab then when I left the house I wore the HA and CI..I’m not working so I have all the time to do rehab Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 15, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Jane I did a lot of aural rehab every day. Several hours, but not all at once. When we activated my second CI, my audiologist told me to use ONLY the new side for at least 2 hours every day and spend the other part of the day bilateral. I started off using both CIs at work and spent the evenings at home using only my new CI. I did rehab with the new CI alone every day for a couple of hours using apps and live voice. And music smile. I also did some aural rehab with my first side alone daily too. After a little while I added in doing some rehab being bilateral. Aural rehab really helped me a lot. pudge4moke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted September 15, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Mary Beth that's what my audiologist told me would be a good idea when I get my second CI: do aural rehab with the second one alone, but wear both during the day so I can start listening to them together. And holy moly am I getting excited about this. Jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Mary Bethand @Mary Featherston While I’ve been recovering I’ve gone back to doing aural rehab taking advantage of the time Home and to get back in the swing of it..I did see a Speech therapist for it a few months after my first surgery ..it helped me so much and I liked her so much we’ve kept in touch knowing I’d come back to see her after my second CI is activated ..I’m looking foward to seeing her again ! Jane Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 15, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Jane and @Mary Featherston Becoming bilateral was a huge improvement for me. Listening, even in noisy situations, became so much easier. Knowing the location of sounds was such fun. Music, especially musical pitch, leaped forward almost immediately. I had been completely overjoyed with my first CI. After achieving balance with my bilateral CIs, I was even more thrilled. And I remain so today, years later. I was surprised to discover that one of the unexpected benefits of having bilateral CIs was a sense of a safety net. If something happens to one of my internal implants (which I hope never occurs), I know I can function just fine with the other CI while things get sorted out. This is so reassuring to me. Be prepared that at first listening bilaterally will be harder than listening as you do now. It takes our brains time to sort things out again. I had a tired brain after activating my second CI. Smile. I look forward to following your individual journeys. Not many HP members post as much about their second CI journeys, but I hope you both do. Wishing you both the best. Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Mary Bethactually having that safety net was one of the major factors I went bilateral ..and to be able to hear even when batteries needed replacing ..a few months ago my implant migrated ..it didn’t disrupt my hearing (luckily ) it just slipped down and foward ..luckily it’s not too close to my ear that I can still wear my glasses and I already was much more comfortable with the off the ear processor (it did freak me out when I noticed it though ) my surgeon said it had only happened to her once before ..for a short time before I saw her I was afraid of the worse and thought I’d need repositioning surgery and the thought of needing this and maybe not hearing a while was scary)that REALLY made me sure I wanted another ear?I will sure post after ..I’m ready for the challenge and another part of the journey ahead! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 15, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Jane I didn’t realize you were using the Kanso. I’m glad it wasn’t more of a problem that your internal implant migrated. I would’ve been anxious too. Hopefully your second internal stays put! It will be an exciting week for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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