Making final decision to get cochlear implant for single sided deafness

[pdk]

On 11/15/2019 at 8:56 PM, Pinky said:

Hi,

My friend is waiting for CI surgery, I am interested in your experiences.
One of his ears is good, the other is deaf since January.
He would get Cochlear now or Medel's new model in February.
Which is better and why?
Is it bad to wait until February?
He is a music producer so music is important for CI's choice.

Is there someone with 1 CI and 1 good ear?

Thanks for your help!

It will not hurt to wait until Feb . It's probably good to wait for a possible improved design.  I have one ear that can listen to music with headphones. I have followed many stories in the CI world and I definitely cannot judge which is better, cochlear, which I have, or a medel device. 

It seems to me that whichever way you go it will be up to you how much you train your ear to hear again. My bad good ear helps tremendously. I keep hearing improvement, I enjoy a lot of music but it does sound different and as I have said before Pavarotti is still a disaster. But as I listen I hear good sounds in all sorts of different music and a lot of squelch in vocals and orchestra. 

Percussion and piano are best, and now flute has come right. 

Having a CI is way way better than not having one. 

Peter 

[Diane]

Hello - I have severe/profound loss in my right ear that happened suddenly June 2019.  I just visited Columbia hospital and meet all criteria for a cochlear implant.  Hearing aids don’t help and the cros system makes me feel very overwhelmed and dizzy.  My tinnitus is horrific and I am extremely sensitive to loud sounds.  

I am nervous to go forward with implant as I do have normal low frequency hearing in that ear (though not very helpful) and am told i will probably lose it after implantation.  Will an implant really improve my quality of life and reduce tinnitus/sensitivity and ability to hear with background noise?  I don’t know if I can handle another disappointment after everything.

 Would love to connect with anyone who has gone through a similar experience.

[KennyW]

Hi all.  Very interested in this thread.  I partially lost hearing in my left ear 4 years ago.  My right ear has "normal" hearing although not perfect.  I got hearing aids and they were a big help.  In September, I woke up one morning fully deaf in my left ear (and tinnitus!).  Long story short - recently got evaluated and I'm a candidate for a CI on my left side.  Going back to ENT for follow up eval on the 16th and will decide next steps.

I have read through a lot of your stories (thank you!), and the success sounds amazing.  

I'm a little concerned about the first few months.  I spend most of my day on Zoom calls for work.  I actually don't have any issue hearing on the Zoom calls and it is often much better than phone calls, which can be difficult if the tone, volume, accent, etc don't hit me exactly right.  Will I have issues in those first few months where my left ear is trying to adjust and maybe it will cause unusual sounds/distortions and interfere with what I'm hearing in my right ear?  I hope that makes sense to everyone.  While I have trouble localizing sound, or hearing in loud restaurants or even the tv, I am pretty good one on one or on something like a Zoom all where the sound seems very direct and fed to my good ear.

Thanks for your feedback! 

Kenny

[Mary Beth]

@KennyW

wishing you the best on your CI journey.

@Kyliecan speak from experience with SSD and a CI.

There are ways to use free speech to text to help during your zoom calls while adjusting.  Do you have an Android phone or an iPhone?

[KennyW]

13 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

@KennyW

wishing you the best on your CI journey.

@Kyliecan speak from experience with SSD and a CI.

There are ways to use free speech to text to help during your zoom calls while adjusting.  Do you have an Android phone or an iPhone?

Thank you. 
 

I have an iPhone. 
 

I don’t think I would need speech to text as long as the CI doesn’t interfere with my good ear during the adjustment period, but would love to hear others’ experiences. 

[Kylie]

No I don't think it will interfere with your other ear so much as to ruin your video calls, though it will sound different overall. You will adjust quickly to this. If you have a very important call or it really bothers you in early weeks you could still just plug in your better ear and ignore the other one occasionally! (Not suggesting this as a regular thing but it won't hurt every now and then if you need to focus). I did this myself in early times.

[Kylie]

On 7/31/2020 at 10:18 PM, Diane said:

Hello - I have severe/profound loss in my right ear that happened suddenly June 2019.  I just visited Columbia hospital and meet all criteria for a cochlear implant.  Hearing aids don’t help and the cros system makes me feel very overwhelmed and dizzy.  My tinnitus is horrific and I am extremely sensitive to loud sounds.  

I am nervous to go forward with implant as I do have normal low frequency hearing in that ear (though not very helpful) and am told i will probably lose it after implantation.  Will an implant really improve my quality of life and reduce tinnitus/sensitivity and ability to hear with background noise?  I don’t know if I can handle another disappointment after everything.

 Would love to connect with anyone who has gone through a similar experience.

Yes it can really help with all those things! It has for me, I would never ever take it back for a second.

[Deborah Williamson]

Hello I am going for an assessment July 22 at sunnybrook hospital in Ontario Canada 

 I have one side deafness in my right ear since this past December. 
Im curious about the surgery. Was there pain, how long did you take to recover ? 
 

I am not sure what device will be recommended for me.
 

I also have difficulty determining where sound is coming  from, conversations   with a small group. 
 

I am very interested to know who also had tinnitus and if there was an improvement? 
Thanks 

Debbie 

 

[Mary Beth]

@Deborah Williamson

welcome to HearPeers and congratulations on your upcoming CI surgery!

I found both of my CI surgeries  to be very easy to recover from.  I hope you are as fortunate.

My tinnitus is so much better and when I am wearing my CIs I do not notice it at all.

I had spent 24 years hearing nothing at all in my right ear.  After receiving bilateral CIs it was so much fun being able to locate sounds.

Wishing you the best!

[Deborah Williamson]

Thank you and s9 pleased to hear your experience.

Do you swim? Are here special precautions around water.. hair washing? 

[Mary Beth]

@Deborah Williamson

I do swim and I absolutely love my Rondos in waterwear.  I put them in an eargears cover with tether and clip it to my suit.  Then under a nammucap.  So comfortable and everything sounds great.  I love riding waves in the ocean and hearing.

 

There are restrictions for getting the incision wet after surgery.  Your surgeon will give you those restrictions.  They vary by surgeon.  Same about hair washing post surgery.

[Deborah Williamson]

Thank You very much! 

[Kylie]

On 7/18/2021 at 3:59 AM, Deborah Williamson said:

Hello I am going for an assessment July 22 at sunnybrook hospital in Ontario Canada 

 I have one side deafness in my right ear since this past December. 
Im curious about the surgery. Was there pain, how long did you take to recover ? 
 

I am not sure what device will be recommended for me.
 

I also have difficulty determining where sound is coming  from, conversations   with a small group. 
 

I am very interested to know who also had tinnitus and if there was an improvement? 
Thanks 

Debbie 

 

I was back at work within the week (with my staples still in!) and there wasn't much pain. You will find that conversations will be so much easier, add localizing sound too - for me this returned to normal levels after being SSD for a year before surgery. My tinnitus also went away while wearing my processor and I notice it less even at nighttime without it on.

[Deborah Williamson]

Thank you so much for sharing your post surgical experience.

it is very helpful.

I hope to hear this Thursday about my surgery date.

Deborah 

[Lisa Y]

I am a professional flutist.  I went spontaneously deaf in my right ear 24 years ago.  I have perfect hearing in my other ear.  I currently have an implanted bone anchored hearing aid for my deaf ear.  While far from perfect, this has given me the confidence to play in orchestras again.      I still am unable to hear the person immediately to my right when the entire ensemble is playing.  Also, I still have no directional hearing.  
 

I recently learned that cochlear implants have now been approved for single sided deafness & wonder if switching to a cochlear implant would give me a greater ability to hear music as well as to restore the stereo sound that I miss so much?

Is there anyone who has gone from a BAHA to a cochlear implant for single sided deafness?  How does perceiving music change between the two devices?  Do the pitches perceived with the cochlear implant match what is heard with the other perfect ear?  Any information is greatly appreciated.

Lisa

 

[pdk]

On 2/19/2019 at 3:08 AM, Lynn Agnes said:

I had sudden onset of single sided deafness three and a half years ago in my left ear.  It was diagnosed as sensorineuro hearing loss. My right ear has normal hearing but has had one recent surgery to remove inflammatory tissue from my middle ear.  Since the onset of hearing loss, I have had great difficulty localizing sound and also hearing in noisy environments.  I am hoping that the cochlear implant will help me with these.  Localizing sound is a safety issue for me as I do a lot of walking and bicycling in the community.  I would love to hear from others with single sided deafness with normal hearing in one ear.  I am wondering if anyone in my situation experienced music differently after the CI was in place.  My insurance recently approved the cochlear implant and so I need to make a final decision in the next few weeks.  One of my biggest fears is not being able to appreciate music as well after the surgery.

For me the flute was one of the first instruments to sound right. Your good ear will make you think the other ear is good. Good luck

[Mary Beth]

@Lisa Y

Welcome to HearPeers!

True separate left and right stereo hearing and the ability to locate sounds require two ears which are working separately & together.  So a CI ear with a typical acoustic ear enable this to happen.  Along with other benefits of listening with 2 ears like improved hearing in noise.

The brain is just amazing in how it learns to use the CI audio input.

I will tag @Kylie as she is single sided deaf with a CI and also performs vocally in two choirs.

Wishing you the best.

[Kylie]

I have responded to your private message @Lisa Y

[Kylie]

@Lisa Y I also recommend the single sided deafness forum area for more feedback and people to talk to!

https://forum.hearpeers.com/forum/42-single-sided-deafness/

[jujcm]

I am a few months short of my 67th birthday and have been totally deaf in my left ear since I was about 10 years old.  
 

I was recently evaluated by a otolaryngologist with scans etc. and told I was a candidate for a CI because everything was intact in that ear.  During that process I was fitted with new crossover hearing aids which I have had several times over the years.  They help, but not in a lot of situations.  I was leaning toward going forward with the CI, but now I am suddenly being told that I am not a good candidate for it because I have been deaf on that side for so long (more than ten years is what they said).  Is that correct?  Or, should I seek another opinion?
 

[Mary Beth]

@jujcm

My right ear had not processed any sound at all for 24 years following a surgery to treat Ménière’s disease.  It had heard before that.  We implanted it and it is an amazing CI ear.  This captioned video tells its story.

 

[jujcm]

@Mary Beth

Thanks for your reply and video.  I guess the question is does my 57 years without any hearing whatsoever in that ear make a difference from the 24 years you mention?

Thanks again for your reply and inspiring video.

[Mary Beth]

@jujcm

I wish we all had a magic ball that would show us life with a CI prior to having the surgery.  The best the professionals can do is tell us realistic outcomes based on research.  The predicted outcomes for my right ear with a CI were no ability to understand speech just by listening but would likely assist with speech reading.  I almost did not implant it.  Then I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a chance.  I worked on training my brain everyday.  It was an incredible journey.  New WOW moments every day.  It is a fabulous CI ear…. phone calls, audiobooks, music.  I am glad I took the leap.  I wish you the very best on your journey.

[Rubella]

@pdk  Is Pavarotti still a disaster for you?  My son is starting out his career as an operatic tenor...and I do love classical music and music of all kinds.  I am not a critic and will enjoy my son regardless, but does it sound bad or just not correct?   I feel like soprano would be less appealing with a CI.    I have read the Med El is supposed to have a slight advantage for music, perhaps, but not sure if that still holds given other technology advancing.  I'll wear a HA in my right ear if this happens.

[Mary Beth]

@Rubella

Music sounds great to me now with bilateral Med-El CIs but it took its own journey to get there.  At about 3-4 months after my first activation, music started making rapid gains in quality.  Wishing you the best.