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My anniversary


Adam

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Almost forgot to let everyone know. 4years ago April 26 I became Bionic. recieving a cochlear implant changed my hearing journey and my life forever. Probably one of the most important decisions I have made. Next Anniversary is 4years ago May 26th, when I decided to take the leap and go stereo ( bilateral)

thank you MEDEL for changing my life and the lives of so many others. You have way more of an impact on these people's lives and mine than you can possibly realize. THANK YOU.

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Congrat!  :P

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Hard to believe it has been 4 years. Time flies

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Guest JPH17

Hi Adam,

 

Congrats on your journey- could you give me insight into the rehab process particularly its duration. I am in my late 20s currently fitted with BTE in both ears. Hearing has deteriorated significantly over the last 5 years, currently a candidate for CI and will probably be fitted by the end of the year. I'm leaning towards the RONDO however I still have to discuss the CI's with the ENT/audiology team.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

J

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J

That is a tough one to answer as every person progresses at different rates. Once you have the surgery, they usually wait a few weeks to let the swelling go down before your activation.

The day you are activated will be filled with very strange sounds. Some people hear clearly, some only beeps, but most people say that when talking to others, they sound like cartoon characters. That is what I got. My wife, family and coworkers sounded the most normal. Anybody else, there was no telling.

Voices and other sounds started to sound more like what they were supposed to after a couple of weeks.

One thing you will hear repeated here are the 3 p's. You have to have patience, practice and persistence.

Music and talking on the phone, at least for me, took the longest to come back. Medel has plenty of rehab material on their site and there are other programs on the internet that are helpful. The first thing I started doing (besides asking my wife every 5 seconds, "what was that sound") was going to the library and checking out books that have audio with them. I would choose children's books that I was very familiar with like the 3 little pigs. Listen to the story but read a long out loud. You can practice the same way with friends or family. Write down a conversation then read along and talk it out at the same time.

Initially you will have great days and very frustrating days. You have to remind yourself that your braking is relearning how to hear. That is a big job so it is going to take some work and time. Trust me though, it will be WELL WORTH IT. Ask as many questions as you like. There are no stupid questions. You will also have to decide depending on the hospital you go to, between 3 companies. MED-EL, Cochlear Americas and Advanced Bionics. Some hospitals offer all three and some just 2. I have heard of some people not getting any choice but I believe that is mainly in Europe. You will hear with all three companies and that is the ultimate goal. I can give you some tips on things you can do to help you decide. I WILL NOT tell you what company to go with. That is a very important and personal decision that you need to make. Don't let anybody pressure you into going one way or another.

Each recipient is VERY loyal to the company that they chose and will wave that flag with great passion. It is good to hear from other recipients but you need to do some research on your own . This reply is getting a little long so I will end it here. Do not hesitate to ask any questions or tell us about your hearing journey. You can share as much or as little as you would like. Hope this helps. Your bionic buddy

ADAM

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Hello guys,

 

Just to remind on few very important things - how long were you Adam, severly hearing impaired? And how long this period was for you - JPH17? (it's not your real name, isn't it  :blink: )

 

Also, from the professional point of view - today thoughts go in the direction of earlier implantation to cut the period of rehabilitation: nerve and brain are just like muscles - if you do not use them, they atrophy. This means that you need longer time and more effort to (re)habilitate your understanding of what was said. 

So today, threshold levels start at 70-80 dB.  

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100% correct Ivana. Every person is different and gets results quicker or slower based on length and severity of hearing loss

Any physical issues that could have caused the hearing loss

Condition of the cochlea and hearing nerve

Age of patient

Willingness to do the work

Having correct expectations

This is why it is so hard to say how long. You can have two people with the exact same hearing history but they might adjust at totally different rates.

To me that is very interesting

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Of course - it is pure behavioural science: we are not same, don't even have same dreams or motivations which leads us into certain direction unconsciously.

that's why these is the intersection where neurology and ENT/Audiology overlap between.

For instance, lot's of interesting scientific papers today about hearing issues are now published in the neurological journals not - ENT's.

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I remember when I listened for the first time the voice of the 'mapping ing.' Who said:"Can you hear me?" His voice was strange but I could listen her... my mother could not tell me nothing she was crying... and so the voice of my mapping ing was the first voice I could hear... 14 years later when I decided to do the second Ci because I could not hear the busses or Tir noises with the ear aid on the left ear... the 10th november 2014 the day of the switch on of my left CI my voice and the voices of the Dr. and audiologist were not understable like 14 years ago, the voices were strange sounds not words.. and the first day post switch on... every time I said word I stopped because my voice sounded strange I could heared so: slie siip cis ciss cis... really strange... but now i am able to listen and to hear with the second ci. The second ear in the days of switch on had different experience from the first ear. The first think in my brain was:"oh my God what I have done!! I will have to work hard to arrive at the same level of the oldest Ci..."

In 6 months post switch on I have got good results and I will do this choise other 1000 times!!!

Have a nice evening

Ela

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Elsa, I was the same way. My activations were MUCH closer together but both activations were very different. I was expecting the same but it wasn't. The 2nd ear eventually caught up with the first. It just took a lot of work and patience.

Adam

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Well, as I am not CI user I can not imagine exactly how it was in your shoes but I also needed some time to adapt my brain. When I was activated for the first time everything sounded like I am in the tunnel.

- What's this?!?

I imagined that I will just start at the same place where I was with my analog hearing aid. First difference when I could separate music from keyboard typing - Whomaaaaooouuu! And then when I started to discriminate separate talking lines between few separate group of talking people. Just - precious. ;)

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Ivana

You are so right. Those little steps forward mean so much. Makes you realize how many people take their hearing for granted.

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People take for granted lots of things ;)

 

I was not warned, but luckily I had you and other guys here whom I could constantly bother and you comforted me each time! :D That's why Brothers in Arms for. ;)

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Ivana I forgot to answer your question, I went 24 years hearing impaired before getting my first implant.

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Ok - but you had very good hearing memory... It helped you a lot, isn't it?

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Yes I think it did. That being said, I think remembering that every brain is different needs not be forgotten. Somebody that has only had hearing loss 10 years might progress slower than me

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