Lance Posted March 3, 2022 Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 Gooday ppl, just gonna jump in here. I’ve had a CI in my left ear for about 8yrs and yes, it’s made a huge difference to my general lifestyle. I spend lots of time at folky/bluesy music festivals and have some difficulty picking up on lyrics from the stages. It is improving, but slowly. The actual audio level is fine, just hard to pick lyrics till someone gives me a few lines to work with, chorus often is enough. Anyway, my Right ear has been deteriorating over the last few yrs and I’ve been using the biggest/best Phonak available but it got to the stage of not being helpful. 6mths ago I had a stapedectomy to the R ear which worked brilliantly......... for 4mths, then hearing dropped out.....overnight. I figured easy fix, just go back in and reset the Stapes prosthetic and all will be good. Apparently not ☹ My ENT bloke opted for a Steroid course which I have just finished with no noticeable improvement. So, what I’m considering now is a 2nd CI to the R side and I’m looking for some thoughts as to the ‘Yays’ and ‘Nays’ of going that way. Have you got a 2nd CI ? Is it a major improvement to your lifestyle ? Any regrets ? Does it improve your ability to pick direction ? Does it help with music ? Any other thoughts on having a 2nd CI ? Regards Lance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted March 3, 2022 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 @Lance welcome to HearPeers! Which CI processor are you using? I had similar experiences with stapendectomy surgeries that were initially successful just to fail a few months later. That’s a difficult ride. Sorry it happened to you too. 2 CIs are brilliant. Great improvement with music, hearing in noise, locating sounds, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted March 4, 2022 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 4, 2022 Yes, what @Mary Bethsaid - two CIs are awesome. If you can, do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted March 9, 2022 Report Share Posted March 9, 2022 Bilateral is fantastic. It's way more than twice as good as single CI Dianna 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hicksy Posted March 10, 2022 Report Share Posted March 10, 2022 I am a worst case scenario type of guy. If I was completely deaf in my other ear I would leap at the chance for a second processor. That I still have a bit of hearing in that ear means there is no way I will risk losing my last bit of natural hearing and risk it all to electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted March 11, 2022 Report Share Posted March 11, 2022 How well do you hear with this good ear? Take off your CI and check it out. How long will it remain like it is? Get an audiogram done. My bet is you are not really hearing very well with this good ear. In all probability in another year it will be a lot worse. I have to tell you I felt exactly the same, took 2 years. Check my blog on my website pdk.knight.editorx.io/getanearful Dianna 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira Posted March 12, 2022 Report Share Posted March 12, 2022 I tried the link but it says page not found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteT Posted March 13, 2022 Report Share Posted March 13, 2022 @Moira, I think that @pdk's link was supposed to be https://pdkknight.editorx.io/getanearful Moira 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted March 13, 2022 Report Share Posted March 13, 2022 1 hour ago, AnnetteT said: @Moira, I think that @pdk's link was supposed to be https://pdkknight.editorx.io/getanearful It was indeed. Will be adding an interesting pdf on WHAT today Wireless hearing assistive technology It's long and technical but very informative. AnnetteT and Moira 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted March 13, 2022 Report Share Posted March 13, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynda Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 @LanceI received my second CI ten years after my first. Everyone cautioned me that you don't hear twice as well - that it would be more just a richer sound and a better sense of directionality. However, I find that the balance of hearing from both sides has made it easier to understand conversation (and improved the distance from which I can hear conversation). I use the Med El AudioStream (one on each processor) to listen to music and having two is definitely better than one. Same with the AudioLink that I use to watch TV. Both the AudioLink and the AudioStreams are amazing when used bilaterally. After I had my first CI a friend took me to a Bruce Springsteen concert. I listened with just my CI and then I turned on the hearing aid that I wore in the other ear. It didn't sound like music any more - it was overwhelming loud noise. I experimented with CI alone, hearing aid alone, and both together. Using just the CI made the concert truly enjoyable. One of these days I'll try another concert now that I'm bilateral. Dianna 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted March 14, 2022 Report Share Posted March 14, 2022 Live music is so much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted January 15, 2023 Report Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 3/3/2022 at 6:38 AM, Lance said: Gooday ppl, just gonna jump in here. I’ve had a CI in my left ear for about 8yrs and yes, it’s made a huge difference to my general lifestyle. I spend lots of time at folky/bluesy music festivals and have some difficulty picking up on lyrics from the stages. It is improving, but slowly. The actual audio level is fine, just hard to pick lyrics till someone gives me a few lines to work with, chorus often is enough. Anyway, my Right ear has been deteriorating over the last few yrs and I’ve been using the biggest/best Phonak available but it got to the stage of not being helpful. 6mths ago I had a stapedectomy to the R ear which worked brilliantly......... for 4mths, then hearing dropped out.....overnight. I figured easy fix, just go back in and reset the Stapes prosthetic and all will be good. Apparently not ☹ My ENT bloke opted for a Steroid course which I have just finished with no noticeable improvement. So, what I’m considering now is a 2nd CI to the R side and I’m looking for some thoughts as to the ‘Yays’ and ‘Nays’ of going that way. Have you got a 2nd CI ? Is it a major improvement to your lifestyle ? Any regrets ? Does it improve your ability to pick direction ? Does it help with music ? Any other thoughts on having a 2nd CI ? Regards Lance going bi-lateral is absolutely amazing. The result seems to solve a lot of problems each ear has separately . My left ear still makes voices sound gravelly but with both working all sounds perfect. Do it tomorrow. Dianna 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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