Introducing myself

[Joemar10]

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum and am not sure if I am posting to the right place. I was looking for a place to reply with my introduction, but couldn't find one. Decided to start a new subject. Let me know if I did it wrong. My name is Joe. I am a pretty healthy 70 years old and have hereditary nerve deafness which is getting progressively worse. My father, his two brothers and two sisters were all almost profoundly deaf. My older brother was very hard of hearing at his death at 81 years old. My 5 older sisters all wear hearing aids. My 41 year old daughter wears hearing aids. It seems to have skipped my 44 year old son. (OK, no milkman jokes, he looks just like me.) I am in the process of the tests to qualify for a cochlear implant. in my left ear. I know I am eligible, because I actually qualified a couple of years ago, but chickened out. It seems that everyone on the forums I have visited, when mentioning music, talks about listening. Are there any singers out there who have been able to regain that skill with an implant? I have sung barbershop since 1965 and have actually won two quartet championships, both since starting to wear hearing aids around 14 years ago. I can still sing, but have trouble with the conversation in a chorus or quartet setting. Does anyone have experience with singing, matching pitch, or hearing harmonies after an implant, or am I hoping for too much? Right now, when listening to a capella music, when I can get it loud enough and not bother other people, I hear a Bass/Baritone duet with an occasional Tenor note thrown in if it's strong enough. I miss the melody almost completely, due to the frequencies of that part. Sorry, to be so longwinded. Any singers out there with insight on this subject?