Kathleen Posted December 21, 2020 Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 Hello, I am obviously new to this forum and new to the idea of a cochlear implant. I think I would call my hearing loss double single sided. I started losing hearing in my left ear around 2000. By 2008, the hearing aids just made talking sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. After an MRI, my ENT at the time said there was nothing to do about it, so I got a second opinion at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles and was told the same thing. No one could say what had happened, but they did say it was very unusual to lose hearing in a second ear. I figured that I would just be hearing out of one ear and never know where sound really came from. It did help me teach my special ed middle schoolers to learn to advocate for themselves. The last week of October this year, I had reaction to a vaccination and two days later woke up unable to hear my own voice. Got told to go to ER where they did an MRI, gave me a prescription for prednisone and an appointment with an ENT. The ENT told my that if it didn't get better he would refer me to the House Ear Institute to see if I was a candidate for a CI. He did and I am. Now I have to get set up to take some hearing tests that I am going to fail (according to my Dr.) and go from there. She also haded me a packet with written information about HEI and booklets from the three companies they use for implants. So now I am investigating what one (single side--right). I am just getting to the point of having a few questions after feeling overwhelmed. So, I do water exercises, with occasional lap swim, for my arthritic knees. I really want to be able to do that and it appears I can leave the equipment on. Is this true? When I went deaf in that ear, I had balance issues, which have cleared up mostly, so have not been driving. Two question, Is that normal(ish)? and has anyone had it come back when you weren't expecting it (like driving)? At the moment in my research, it looks like the three companies are all competent, so I guess I am assuming the surgery will go well, I will have to work hard to turn sounds into words and thoughts. Therefore, I am looking for which one has the most daily use things that match me. Kathleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted December 21, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 @Kathleen Welcome to HearPeers! You have had a lot to process in a short time. I had progressive hearing loss beginning at age 13. Right side lost all hearing in my early twenties and left side continued to progress. I was implanted over 5 years ago. Best decision ever! I will share a link to a video with captions of my CI journey in case you are interested. Choosing brands was a bit surreal for me. I chose Med-El due to their electrode array options. I have been thrilled with the hearing these CIs have given me. Especially music. One of my favorite listening moments with CIs is hearing in the ocean! Rondo series (one piece unit off the ear) in waterwear covers is perfect. The covers are light and form fitting so I do not even know they are on. Everything sounds wonderful! Wishing you the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen Posted December 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 Thank you, Mary Beth. You are right, there are so many new things to learn and evaluate. But I trust it will work out. Thank you for sharing your journey. It helps to hear others stories and decisions. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Charney Posted December 21, 2020 Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 Hi Kathleen, I lost all hearing in my right ear from a viral infection about four years ago and it was initially masked by an awful bout of vertigo. I tried at first to live with it (no luck especially with the tinnitus), and then I tried a CROS system (not much help at all) and by the time I got OK'd by the insurance for the implant I was literally full steam ahead with no hesitations about going for surgery which was just this past November. I have had zero issues with balance, and although it's slow to really understand what I'm hearing-- waking up everyday knowing that I get to hear something/anything out of my right ear is a revelation and I also no longer notice the tinnitus. One of the reasons I chose MEDEL was absolutely the customer service. When I reached out to the other companies they were nice and nothing wrong but my contact at MEDEL was once an audiologist herself and she was a huge reason that I went with MEDEL. One thing I really (I live north of Boston) love is putting my hoodie up over my Sonnet 2 & running in the rain the sound of it coming through my ear is a perfect example of the little things I'm really appreciating -- keep researching what the best plan is for you and best of luck! Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen Posted December 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 Thank you for letting me know your story. I am glad that it is going so well. I live near the mountains in Los Angeles and would love to hear the birds, and maybe the bears so I know to back off. Kathleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted December 21, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted December 21, 2020 @Kathleen I was surprised at how many birds we have after I was implanted! Love listening to their songs. Kathleen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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