emily2087 Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Hey guys! I am new, although I was registered with the old hearpears forum but to be truthful, I have not signed onto that account in so long, haha. Anyways, I live in Louisville, Kentucky and I am a bilateral implant user! Hope to make friends on here! Thank you! Kara of Canada 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 21, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Hi @emily2087! Welcome back! I am a bilateral CI user too. Do you want to tell us a bit about your hearing story? Which processors are you using? How long have you been implanted? Whatever else you want to tell us. Smile. I have Sonnets, Rondos and OPUS 2s. I was activated March 2015 for my right side and November 2015 for my left side. I LOVE being bilateral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emily2087 Posted September 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Hey @Mary Beth, as a child, I lost my hearing at the age of 8 months. We presume that I lost my hearing after having chicken pox, a high fever and an undiagnosed illness. It took until was 12 months old for my doctor to really realize that there was something wrong with me. My mother kept telling him something was not right, over and over, still did not listen. However, once it was discovered, my mother immediately started to learn ASL, and taught me. Eventually my parents made the decision when I was 4 i presume to have me implanted. So I was implanted on my left side at the age of 5 in 2003, then I was implanted on my right side at the age of 11 in 2009. I currently use the OPUS 2 that was the newest implant after I received my second surgery. It is time to start looking at the processors because my left will eventually be due to be replaced.... I have a lot of mixed feelings about the RONDO. I really really love the OPUS 2 and the way the Sonnet looks.... How long did it take you to get both of them equalized? I still struggle getting my right to be equal with my left because of a huge gap of time in between but also there was a period a couple years ago where I could not go see an audiologist for two years but also my right implant kept malfunctioning so we were delayed because of that but also, when I wore it a while, it would give me massive migraines for the longest time and I could not wear it for more than maybe 3 hours, after that I was done. But now I currently see an audiologist and she has changed my life so much. I can handle wearing it all day and everyday and not feel like my head is pounding every second, not being able to focus and be extra sensitive to sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 @emily2087. Hi . Welcome back to the forum. I am new. I am I. Awe of all of you bilateral CIs. Your story is amazing! Looking forward to chatting with you here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 21, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 @emily2087 Thanks for telling your story! It’s amazing. I had not processed any sound in my right ear for 24 years before implanting it. It amazes me everyday. I did a lot of aural rehab daily for a long time. It helped me greatly. Check out our aural rehab topic if you are interested. To get my sides balanced I trained each side separately and also trained them together. We made many MAPping adjustments along the way. My audiologist is awesome and patient. I am glad you are working with an audiologist you like now. So are you going to to upgrade to Sonnets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emily2087 Posted September 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 @Mary Beth Wow! That is amazing. I still am training my right side because it is still in need of it. I have not decided on whether to upgrade to the sonnets yet. They informed me a while back that they will be discontinuing OPUS 2. So I know I do not have a lot of time to decide. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emily2087 Posted September 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 @sassychele02 Hello! Thank you! I am looking forward to chatting with you as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaHS Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Hey Emily! I too am from Louisville KY. I had surgery August 23 for bilateral CI. I am doing great, flourishing in rehab. Who is your surgeon? Mine is Dr. Jerry Lin from UofL. Lets stay connected. I would enjoy meeting other CI users in Louisville Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 30, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Meeting other Med-El users is such fun! Jewel and DarlaHS 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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