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Directionality


Wayne P.

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Hi all! As I am scheduled to be implanted in a few months with left CI, will I loose directionality? I have worn HA most my life and can tell which direction sounds come from. I will still have my right side HA that I will still hear sounds from, although speech clarity is almost just as bad. 

Thanks! 

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@wpeters

You should be fine.  Directionality requires sound input from two sides.  Our brains recognize which direction a sound is coming from by using two types of cues.  
 

The sound is louder on the side closest to it.

The sound arrives faster to the side closest to it.

 

I spent 24 years with a completely deaf ear that was unable to process any sounds at all after a surgery to treat Ménière’s disease.  I had absolutely no ability to determine the direction a sound came from for those 24 years.  It was unsettling when the sound was an ambulance/fire truck siren.

 

I was not sure if my brain would regain the ability to determine the direction of sounds after that long standing deaf ear was implanted.  But it did! And I love it!

 

When will you find out if Sonnet 2 is an option for you?  Surgery in January right?  Activation in February?

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Oh, you have no idea how comforting that is to know this! I read in different threads etc that implanting only one ear will not give directionality and now I know that the ability to hear in the other ear or not is what determines the ability to have a sense of directionality. I am SO relieved!!! 
 

Yes, I get implanted in January and activated in February. I am going to email the cochlear team on Monday to find out if the Sonnet 2 will be ready by then. I imagine that they will implant me with the synergy 2 regardless (hopefully!). I grabbed the first available date so we will see!

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@wpeters

I am glad you feel relieved.  Yup, hearing from two ears is what is needed.

Keep us posted.  And feel free to ask questions.  We are a friendly bunch.

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The old story, everyone is different. My ci dominates my hearing. I can only get the direction of a sound by turning my head to and fro. However it's not a thing that worries me. At the moment I'm listening to the radio and cannot tell from the sound where it is in the room. 

There are going to be so many pluses, with a CI you will never regret it. 

Peter 

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