Will it sound strange with one normal ear and one CI hearing ?

[Beau]

Hi all, thanks very much for posting your experience here. Finding this forum just like I found MY people. 
 

I was recently diagnosed with  SSNL in my right ear. I am pretty sure everyone here has gone through the physiological distress as I am still going through right now. Loads of tears and questions. Had my hearing test again post injection. Unfortunately, no improvement. The audiologist indicated that I might need CI since I could not pick up much words at all. I almost come to realisation that I have lost my hearing permanently so I need to move on and figure out the solutions for this. I have read some articles about using CI to help single sided hearing loss. My biggest concern is whether the sound of CI will be so significantly different from my normal hearing that I will constantly hear two different voices in my head. As a result, I will hate my CI. Will mapping improve the quality of the sound to as close to natural voice as possible? 

 

Sorry for this elementary level question. 

 

[Mary Beth]

@Beau

Welcome to HPs.  I am sorry you are experiencing sudden hearing loss.  It is a difficult journey.  No time to adjust.  @Kylie is also in Australia and has shared her experience with sudden hearing loss and getting a CI with us here.

 

There is never a need to apologize for any questions.  That is one of the reasons we are here…. To help each other.  And the other reason we are here you mentioned above….. community of people who all understand.

 

Ask as many questions as you have.

[Kylie]

Great questions @Beau! Nothing is too elementary.

 

Firstly I would reassure you that you have permission to grieve for your hearing loss. A sudden permanent disability is a huge change in your life. My loss was also sudden, at the age of 38, and I also cried many many tears for this. I don't know if it is better or worse than the gradual hearing loss others experience, but it ultimately doesn't matter as they are both legitimately awful. 

I have had my CI for 2 years now and I can attest that I only have 1 'channel' of sound now. It didn't start like that - it sounded electronic and layered for a while but it resolved nicely into 1 much better sound. No weird echoes or reverb like you might imagine. This is more due to time and practice than the maps themselves.

When I listen with the CI by itself for targeted practice it does still sound different to but with my 2 types of hearing together it is perfectly lovely.

[Beau]

@Kylie @Mary Beththanks so much for your reply. It’s so good to hear from people who really understands me. I have read some journal articles in regards to the single sided hearing loss and CI. All research results indicate positive outcomes. Nevertheless, I still wanted to talk to someone who had the same experiences with me and I am glad you understood why I needed that. I really appreciate you sharing your experience with me. It gave me confidence to go ahead.  I love my classic music and I still want to do so with a CI. 
 

I am not sure if anyone has ever told you that what you guys have been doing  is amazing. Your replies lay out all aspects of having a CI. It helps the new comers like myself to get the answers that we really want to know. It also helps psychologically. 
 

Thanks again!

 

 

 

 

[Mary Beth]

@Beau

I am glad you are finding HearPeers so helpful.  It’s my favorite platform.

We are paying it forward in thanks for this gift of hearing.  We hope you stick around and post often sharing your experiences too.

If you are interested, think about joining us for our September GoogleMeet with live automatic captions.

[Kylie]

@Beau I read this forum too before my surgery and asked questions. It was so helpful and reassuring. And helpful in new ways afterwards!

[Dianna]

Hi, i am in same situation although loss began young and long ago and has been deteriorating to thecpoint ive withdrawn from so much and hoping ci helps me return to better hearing and social contact. Glad to hear pain is not too bad! How did and how soon with hard work do the sounds begin?

[John F]

On 8/19/2021 at 8:07 AM, Beau said:

Hi all, thanks very much for posting your experience here. Finding this forum just like I found MY people. 
 

I was recently diagnosed with  SSNL in my right ear. I am pretty sure everyone here has gone through the physiological distress as I am still going through right now. Loads of tears and questions. Had my hearing test again post injection. Unfortunately, no improvement. The audiologist indicated that I might need CI since I could not pick up much words at all. I almost come to realisation that I have lost my hearing permanently so I need to move on and figure out the solutions for this. I have read some articles about using CI to help single sided hearing loss. My biggest concern is whether the sound of CI will be so significantly different from my normal hearing that I will constantly hear two different voices in my head. As a result, I will hate my CI. Will mapping improve the quality of the sound to as close to natural voice as possible? 

 

Sorry for this elementary level question. 

 

So I’m Bimodal (one HA, one CI).  The HA ear is not perfect and has gone down to the level since surgery on the CI side to needing a CI on that side as well.  (I hope that made sense).

Anyways, many times to give myself a break I’ll not wear the HA and just the CI.  Yes, there’s more sound on the CI that makes it ever so slightly unbalanced but your brain gets used to it pretty quick.  You’ll need a couple of mappings sure but otherwise it should be fine.

[Beau]

Thanks @John F for sharing your experience.
 

i feel that I am much more confident in getting CI now based on the information I have obtained so far. I have lived with one good ear only for almost two months. Trying  to understand others in a meeting with one ear plus tinnitus just simply exhausting. Sometime I just simply zoom out. I will have my final consultation soon, unfortunately there has no change since last time he saw me. I was told I needed to go through some preparation session first if I decided to go ahead with CI .  Thank god, the CI is free here in Australia if it is approved by doctor. 

[Dianna]

Good morning! Ok, i was activated in left ear, right is to be an ha of good quality but for now im just left sided ci and 50 percent in right. My audi gave me 4 initial maps but she stated they only increased volume. She said its basically what i will want for two weeks. So my question is ive already changed to map 2 and wondering if i should just sail along for a bit, recognising sounds and not worry about background noise at this point. I messed with 1 and 2 while listening to tv thru fine tuner echo, of course not catching alot of the words, but it seemed like if i went down in volume i caught more and less of stuff. I wonder if its best i chill out like audi said and just listen. 

Remembering my first set of miracle ears in the 80s, all sounds amplified and the brain needed to be trained to weed out background. Like i could hear copiers all over the office lol.

You guys are great, thanks so much!

Di

[Screech]

Hi! I am Ray. I have been implanted for less than a month. Hearing very well!

I have a hearing aid along with my implant. It is the best of both worlds! Every sound and voice is very identifiable by normal sound and identity. My hearing with just the implant is awesome, but I switch with and without the hearing aid during the day. I am sure it helps my brain to identify the different sounds. I think the hearing aid may soften or mellow the implant sound.

Good luck! Ray

[Screech]

Hi! There is no strange sound with having a hearing aid. In fact, it is enhancing to have both! It is particularly helpful with music!

Thanks for your question, Ray

[Andrew42]

Very valauable inputs. I read @Beau comments and thought, that is where I am except I'm going to be balancing one CI with one HA and have no clue how I may feel. Then I read @John F comments. 

I'm one step ahead of you @Beau becasue my implant surgery was last week. So that is behind me. If it helps, the process was simplicity itself and what amazed me was that I had almost no pain of any kind at any time. A mild discomfort behind the ear for the first few days and a total inaiblity to sleep my my right side (preferred) for just over a week. Oh! and some imbalance which is still somewhat with me. I didn't drive for a week but only becasue of the slight worry over the lack of balance.

It sounds like your decision is when, not if. Go for it and good luck!

[Dianna]

Hi there...i have ci in left ear, need a new ha for right. I stream alot with music, its basically direct to ci. The only time i feel like i have two different sounds is when i am watching/listening to a regular tv using the eas system (sonnet 2) which utilizes the speakers on the sonnet, so its half electronic and half accoustic. Its been 6 weeks since activation and the "double" sound is nearly gone. I probably need to do more speaker listening but i go to a room and stream directly to ci. When i stream directly, i can watch tv and now can hear nearly all voices with no closed captions! My word understanding is now 80 to 90 percent vs 50 percent prior to ci. So i did have residual prior to ci and may have lost some but totally happy that i implanted, and i know that i will continue to improve with practice!!!!

My inclination is to implant the right ear since im so happy with the left, but i will do the ha first as i am told it helps more with music. 

I just returned from a short trip to michigan, eating in crowded restaurants for the first time, and with lots of masks being worn. I could still hear my companions amongst all the many loud sounds around. I was pleased as punch! My audi has not given me asm or controls other than volume i consider it a huge win!

Hope you are proceeding with ci, its a life changer!

[Javier E]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum. I am presently considering a hybrid implant for my right ear. My low frequencies are still working, but will continue to worsen, while my highs are all gone. My left ear is better than the right one, but also with grim outlook. I currently wear HAs in both and my speech recognition is 50% with both HAs and in noise is lower. So, glad to hear that a CI and HA will work together after necessary work. My question is what will happen to my right ear hybrid implant once I lose my low frequencies? Will I have to get it removed and replaced it with longer electrode implant? How does that work since I read that implants last for life normally and everytime you get one some of residual hearing is affected? What options do I have? Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Mary Beth]

@Javier E

Some people maintain their residual hearing with longer soft flexible electrode arrays like the flex28.  We have members here who have kept their low frequency hearing with longer arrays.  It seems to be highly dependent on surgeon skill at preserving residual hearing during surgery.  Some people later lose that residual hearing and need to switch from using an EAS (electric acoustic combined approach) to a full electric approach (CI only).  I have friends who made that adjustment easily and quickly and friends who took time to adjust.

Have you seen this link about EAS eligibility?

If you already know that you will lose your low frequencies over time due to your personal hearing loss, is it better to just go for CI only right away?

https://www.medel.pro/indications
 

My hearing loss was progressive.  

 

[Enegra]

53 minutes ago, Javier E said:

My question is what will happen to my right ear hybrid implant once I lose my low frequencies? Will I have to get it removed and replaced it with longer electrode implant? How does that work since I read that implants last for life normally and everytime you get one some of residual hearing is affected? What options do I have? Thanks in advance for your comments.

The EAS still uses the standard electrode arrays - short electrodes were only briefly implanted in the past and discontinued. What is done is that a part of the electrodes gets disabled on the processor's end and instead the acoustic stimulation is used for those frequencies. If you lose your residual hearing then it's just a matter of getting a fitting appointment to change the stimulation to fully electical one (and use the electrodes that were previously turned off). It is going to sound different and the brain will need to do some work, but eventually you would get used to it.

[Dianna]

Good morning! 

I have ci, flex 24 on left with sonnet2 eas. I was implanted, and took prednisone a total of 28 days for preservation of residual hearing.

At first i felt as though residual was gone, but testing at activation (14 days) showed remaining sound. 14 more days ( pred 14 day pack) 

1) surg day 1 start 14 day pred. Decrease to none by 14th day.

2) 14 day activation, ci only, start 2nd 14 day pred pack. Omg the stuff i could hear! Sooo much fun!

3) 28 day mapping, add eas earmold, sounds did change for me! Very interesting as some folks voices became clearer! The music i was streaming actually became better. (Wasnt great beginning)

4) 3 month mapping, tested, tuned, more volume. Heavy rehabbing with angel sounds. Music and conversation improving still.

5) 6 month mapping, AI added to maps. I began struggling a bit with this change at first, now at 10 months using mostly "plain" map. I made myself use AI medium. Now on AI strong. Every time i make myself use something i dont really like (map) it gets better!

While working through the activation map, i did not have the eas earplug. I was given eas plug at 28 days post surgery. Sounds were electronic for sure.

Of course i tested several times with and without the earplug. The ear mold picks up accoustic sounds. I could tell the difference! So ive not removed the earplug much. The tubing needs replacing today awaiting the mail.

Im sorry i have no professional explanation, i can say that i believe the eas does work, there is definately a sharpness there when the accoustics are combined.

I am currently on my first mapping with AI. I have an "annual" mapping next month, looking forward to requesting one for music only. While i have a ways to go, music is pretty darn good for 9 months rehab.

I have worn ha's for over 30 years, im used to that almost hollow sound. I can say that with my set up ( no ha yet) i hear so much more its coming together! Its like aging cheese! The longer you age it the sharper it comes!!!!

I hope ive helped!

[Javier E]

Thank you, Mary Beth, Enegra and Dianna! Your insights are extremely helpful!

[Dianna]

Good morning all,

Its now been 11 months since implantation and im about to attend an annual mapping.

I have not added a ha to un implanted side, i have an ha only appointment 2 wks after this ci visit.

I feel like my ci has been more centralized and i lean heavily on it. 

I am anxious to see if we discuss bimodal ci, if so im leaning toward it but still thinking i should try ha first but not sure if it would be a waste. 

My other many thoughts are on my future settings. With all mappings prior to the last one i really had no comprehension of what settings actually were, but at my last mapping (6 mo) with medel there, i have a card and just glanced at it, ive had AI on all 4 maps. I thought i did not care for it...felt as though i lost some but gained some when using any of the maps (comparison)

So im strongly trying to decide what maps i want because im thinking this visit will be almost "final".

Anyone have any advise or experiences regarding their "annual" visit?