Hello from Ludomiro

[Ludomiro]

Hello,

My name is Ludomiro and I am totally deaf on my right year since February 2020.

Before my SHL episode, I had what doctor would call excellent hearing on both sides. Ironically I had my hearing tested 2 weeks before my SHL episode.

Only a few DB loss around 4K, depending on the day.

Hearing was/is one of my work tools because my profession is being a music manager.

In February, all of a sudden I felt a terrible pressure on my right ear accompanied by strong vertigo.

I now know that these are common symptoms for what happened to me but back then I thought it was something to do with the heart.

A good doctor visited and excluded issues with the heart and prescribed me steroids and rest. The hearing came back in full after one week. Unfortunately the same happened 2 more times in the next 3 weeks, hearing gone and back, until I was hospitalized. An intratymphanic inspection could not reveal anything strange, liquid liquid loss or structure damage. The vertigo in the meantime became terrible, I was not able to work or do anything as usual. The steroids and medicine taken in hospital did not bring any improvement.

I have made improvement with the vertigo only 3 months after the SHL episode and still recovering.

Like probably many people on the forum I had to face the fears that the SHL could have been caused by chronic scary conditions, which was excluded during my hospital stay with MRI, ear and X-Ray etc.

One month late, I was told that there were 99,99% chances that my hearing on the right side would never come back and that I should start considering a cochlear implant.

I apologize in advance if what I am about to say could be offending people on the forum who have to face way worse than my loss on one side only.

My left ear is still excellent. After 2 months when music sounded horrible, when I thought of giving up my career, job and even listening to music at all - I am learning to listen with one ear. It is still nothing like before, but it is bearable.

Originally the sound felt stuck on one side of my head, a painful experience that was beyond what I could imagine. Now it seems that my brain is learning how to position, in my head, what I can hear with my left ear.

I have been told that the audio from the cochlear implant is nowhere close what one needs to listen/enjoy/work with music.

Is there anybody in the forum who had to go through something similar?

If the audio from the cochlear is not good enough for music, are the advantages to hear in stereo again, “ruined” by an overall deteriorated quality of sound?

Either a music professional, or somebody with a great passion for hi end music, who would tell me if the cochlear implant is somehow useful to regain any level of stereo sound or if - for this specific subject - is an additional mountain to climb.

Music is not the only thing that would make me consider the cochlear implant, obviously, but it is one of them.

Thanks in advance to all who would like to reply to me.

Ludomiro

[Mary Beth]

Hello @Ludomiro

Welcome to HearPeers!

Let me begin by letting you know that this is a safe, friendly group of people. You never need to worry about offending us by sharing your experiences.  We understand how hearing loss impacts daily life.

I wish there was a magic ball that would tell you how music will sound to you with a cochlear implant.

For me, music was a gift that my cochlear implant gave me over time.!!i returned to playing the piano.  I love all kinds of music.

Check out the Beats of Cochlea music festival on YouTube.  You will find many Med-El CI users there.

I will tag my dear friend @VeroNika.  She is a musician and has single sided deafness with a Med-El CI.

Wishing you the very best.

[Mary Beth]

Check this out too

https://blog.medel.com/10-things-that-may-surprise-you-when-you-get-a-cochlear-implant/

[Jewel]

Hello @Ludomiro

Welcome to HearPeers. 

I wasn't able to enjoy music for several years due to hearing loss but my CI corrected that. Things have been going so well that I have attended a number of live concerts and have been able to make out most of the music. 

Of course there are no guarantees but many of us are enjoying music once again. 

[Ludomiro]

Thanks for your kind replies

[Kylie]

@Ludomiro 

Hello!

My path was similar. I experienced sudden hearing loss on right side, from perfect hearing, at age 37. The cause was an inner ear infection that damaged the cochlear.

I totally agree that a single sided hearing experience is significantly lacking. No stereo means no orientation to sound, no nuances, hard to track conversation, hard to filter in noise etc. It is a loss of way more than half of the hearing world.

I am a semi-professional singer so I have also been focused on music experiences. I sing solo and in a close harmony group. I continued to sing while deaf for 1 year, but it was very challenging and I relied on lots of feedback from others because it was hard to tell my volume and tone (though pitch was still good.)

I have been a CI user for 1 year now. 

EVERYTHING in my life has improved for the better. Conversation, orientation, noisy environments, music.

Music is understandably your main concern. But it is also the most difficult to predict for a precise outcome. No ENT or audiologist will promise you that your previous hearing will be restored, because it just can't be replicated especially for music. However it can get very close. 

Many other musicians on this forum can tell you about their music experiences after much longer time than me (which I find very reassuring), I can only talk from 1 year in.

So far the results are great. With my CI and hearing ear combined I have terrific music hearing. I have plenty of nuances and I can sing confidently including in harmony. And I enjoy listening to music as much as before. With my CI alone (when I'm doing rehab practise via my artone) music sounds weird and more electronic but it's improving all the time. 

I hope this helps, as well as info you will get from others. There is some great info collected on the music section of the forum.