HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 When I read research on factors that predict success with a CI, they list medical info like length of deafness, etc. I appreciate that there are medical factors that may help predict success with a CI. But after living this CI journey, I think that there are mindsets, personalities, outlooks and behaviors that are equally important for success with a CI. Do you agree? What do you think helped you be successful with your CI? Megan L. and Kylie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Megan L. Posted July 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 @Mary Beth I completely agree!! You definitely have to be in the right mindset to get the CI. It’s definitely hard work and I don’t think most people realize that when they firsts start considering a CI. Having a positive, optimistic, patient as well as dedicated personality helps a lot with everything after the surgery, in my opinion. When my parents meet someone who is considering a CI and they want to chat - I always tell them you have to be in the right mindset and commit to it for the desired results. The mindset portion is probably why I haven’t gotten the other ear done 🤷♀️ One day inspiration will strike for the other ear 😂 Mary Beth and Mary Featherston 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 12, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 @Megan L. I agree with everything you wrote. And also that it is so important that someone is ready for the CI journey and not just looking for a quick fix. You will know if and when a second CI is right for you. Trust your instincts. On the morning of my second CI surgery I jumped out of bed and started singing happy birthday to my second ear. I was sooo ready. Megan L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Megan L. Posted July 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 @Mary Beth So true! It is a journey not a quick fix. Unfortunately, I think that is the urban legend out there that CIs are a quick fix. I’ve talked to people who were ready to hear better but when they found out that they had to rehab the ear and that sometimes the CI doesn’t work as wanted for up to 2 years, they backed away. Maybe one day those people I talked to will take the leap! I’m thrilled I took the leap and put in the hard work - it’s been so rewarding 😊 and you are right - when the timing is good, I’ll know and have the other ear done 🦻 Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes polyesternapkinstowaway Posted July 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 You are not kidding about the perception of a quick fix. On our Miata forum I posted yesterday about having had the surgery and one person asked if I was hearing better yet... Megan L. and Mary Beth 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 12, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 @phobos512 I think people assume it is like cataract eye surgery! Megan L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kylie Posted July 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 I agree with everything here. A good dose of a resilient and optimistic attitude is needed to make it worthwhile. Surely that is a significant factor! And as I was saying in a different thread - you need to find ways to 'own' it and for it to be a part of you. Not something you resent or feel you have no control over. Mary Beth and Megan L. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 12, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 12, 2020 Like you @Kylie I had ordered skinit designs prior to my surgery and was ready to deck out my FineTuner as soon as we returned home after activation. I still have that same skinit design cover on that FineTuner. It’s a sea turtle underwater scene. I am happy to show my CIs to anyone. They have changed my life. Kylie and Megan L. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jewel Posted July 13, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 I remember meeting with a local doctor about CIs late 2017.He had done a few implantations while studying abroad. From the one appointment he concluded that I was not ready to embark on this journey. I was most upset. If I wasn't serious I wouldn't have made the appointment to see him in thr first place. Thanks to this forum I knew the CI wouldn't be a quick fix but I am a goal getter. I will put in the required work needed to get the desired results. And so it was with that determination that I approached my journey. It isn't something that another person can do for you. You have to put in the work and keep positive. After activation I was quite disappointed that I couldn't make out speech but I just kept the processor on for most of my waking hours even when everything sounded like alien noises. Fortunately everything worked out. Mary Beth and Megan L. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 13, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 You all pretty much nailed it. I've seen people complaining about how they don't work (or comparing them to hearing aids unfavorably) and always wonder if this is a person with a technical problem (like Joe had) or someone who just put on the processor and started complaining? I had weeks of poor sound. I have actually wondered whether some CI centers aren't doing all that well at outlining what happens after implantation. Megan L. and Kylie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 13, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 It’s tricky isn’t it? It could be unrealistic expectations, need for aural rehab training, need for a more skilled MAPping audiologist, need for reimplant due to poor electrode placement (although this could be solved by all surgeons taking images in the operating room like my CI center does and save everyone a lot of unnecessary trouble) or it could just be an ear that does not have enough neural survival to deliver adequate info to the brain. Tricky. Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey_66 Posted July 14, 2020 Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 I agree with everything said. For me I did the homework about the process and expectations while going through the assessments. It was clear from what I've read at the time that it was never going to be easy or a quick fix. Both the speech therapist and surgeon made it clear that it's not an over night thing. I am puzzled too. How some do think that to go for an implant that it will restore hearing over night. I suspect maybe because a cochlear implant/processor so different from a hearing aid, that it has all this technology, then it must be super fantastic and therefore provide superpower hearing quickly. An example, on the day of my activation, my parents when we got home, said " Can you hear anything?!!! Their expectations were based on their research regarding the technology of a CI implant. I have repeatedly said to them don't expect me to recognise sounds that quickly!!! My brain can only go at a certain speed! In 2016 my speech therapist then did not think in her view that I was capable to have one. Mainly, because of me being English my vocabulary range may not be of help in translating to Spanish, if you see what I mean. She didn't express this view till last month! It was after a lot of persistence and a new consultant/surgeon that I now have the Rondo 2. Definitely a mind set to it all. having been living in Spain for 14 years my Spanish was good but in the five years with no hearing I've lost it. I'm now in my second month with my Rondo2. I did surprisingly well in my 1 month test -----in spanish from scratch. ( she was surprised and pleased). ( my English rehab I do at home). I hear sounds, vocals that sound fluted and muted, when I whistle or sing (badly), it does cut out, perhaps in protest........😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 @Tracey_66 Training in 2 languages has to be interesting! The audio from your implant should not cut out, even in protest...smile. Is it possible that when you are singing your implant is moving slightly and losing connection? Try singing while holding your Rondo 2 against your head. You may want to talk with your audiologist about the cutting out of sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey_66 Posted July 14, 2020 Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 @Mary Beth retraining my ear in two languages does get interesting and with a lot of work and patience; just taking each day as they come! I've tried the idea of holding the Rondo against my head. It doesn't seem to be the problem of the processor itself. It's a weird one. I think when i'm trying to sing along , at the moment Its not coping with more than one sounds at one time. My voice comes across quite boomy against the music being played. I've tried the remote but no difference. As I think it's how the 1st mapping after activation been set up. My next one maybe be in September or October. I'm currently using programme 2. The artone 3 does pop and click when using the kindle. Perhaps the kindle is the problem? I will have another go with settings on both the kindle and the remote to see if I've missed anything, as it is early days with the Rondo 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 14, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 @Tracey_66 I would definitely discuss any intermittent sound with your audiologist. Strange sounds are expected at first but I don’t think intermittent sounds are expected. It’s worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 14, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 @Tracey_66 may I ask, where in Spain are you? I have some really great memories from time spent there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey_66 Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 @Mary Featherston I live up in the mountains North of Malaga in Andalusia. Where have you been in Spain. @Mary Beth will ask when the audiologist is available from Madrid. At the moment the speech therapist having to do it herself, and if she has problems she gets in touch via video link means or on her mobile. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 16, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 18 hours ago, Tracey_66 said: @Mary Featherston I live up in the mountains North of Malaga in Andalusia. Where have you been in Spain. @Mary Beth will ask when the audiologist is available from Madrid. At the moment the speech therapist having to do it herself, and if she has problems she gets in touch via video link means or on her mobile. Um, many places, not including Malaga! Let's see. Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla. Salamance. Santiago de Compostela. Vitoria, Bilbao. Burgos. In 1978 I was there with a couple of friends for December and into early January; we spent most of our time in Pais Vasco with a friend of one of my friends, and met all sorts of HIS friends and had a great time over the holidays. Then in 1982 I went back and went on a driving trip with one of the people we'd met before and we went to Salamanca and the southern cities. I do like Spain. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey_66 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 @Mary Featherston. Wow a lot of places. Sounds like you had a great time. I have promised myself one day to go to Cordoba when I can hear better ! Maybe next year. Fortunately it's reasonably easy to get to. I can get the train from Malaga to Cordoba.😁 Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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