Re: decision...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/3/2004 6:36:09 PM Pacific Standard Time,

abcardsinc@... writes:

What were your criteria for choosing your implant? What were the important

factors and influences for your decision? Did anyone flip back and forth

between the models? Anyone flip a coin?

wow,,,,,,, i remember that days! When I was asked to choose among the

3,,,,,,i thought,,,,, whoa!!!! This is how I decided on the 3.......

1) thought i wanted rechargeable batteries, but when told average life 10

hours,,,,,, YIKE,, ruled one model out

that leave two to make up my mind.

With the two to make up my mind in 2 weeks, it was STILL undecided when I saw

my audie next. I asked various question!

One, I hate the design, another, seems " normal " , but not sure.

I weighed my decision based on " what if............ " , after about an hour

asking " what if......... " to my audie, I have came to conclusion to one of them.

My advise,,,, make a list of what important to you and what is not

important,,, which model has what you like/dislike,,,,,, and that should help

you narrow

down your selection.

Keep in mind........ all 3 models are equally good, in it own ways.

Lee

[Guest guest]

Amy,

First - let me congratulate you on the news you received today as it will go in

your memory bank as one of the big days in your journey. It's exciting to get

this news because it brings hope.

I'm not surprised to read that you are questioning your decision. It's not at

all uncommon to sway back and forth with your choice because it's a very big one

and you want to make the best decision for yourself because it affects the rest

of your life.

First - let me say that no matter which choice you make - it will be a good one.

The biggest decision you had in this journey was whether or not to have a

cochlear implant. That part is behind you. Now you need to make sure you are

shown each implant type. Try them on and ask the audiologist to make sure you

have the weight of the batteries as you try them. You will know which one is

comfortable and comfort is important because these processors become addictive.

You don't want to take them off.

Next.. take a piece of paper make a list of what is important to you. Then put

next to each of your preferences the implant type that meets that preference.

When you have completed this exercise, count which one took care of your needs

the most. That is you answer.

Good Luck ! Keep us informed. I'm going to want to hear the rest of this...

date, place, surgeon?

Alice

[Guest guest]

Amy:

My operation was all ready to go with the model I had chosen when the FDA

suspended its use due to a meningitis scare. So I just asked the doctor to

switch to the other brand and he said " You've made the right choice. " I'm sure

he

would have said the same thing if it had been the other way round. I'm happy

with what I have.

Hal

[Guest guest]

Alice and Amy,

I have to totally agree with this statement aobut the hardest

decision was whether or not to get an implant.. The rest was kids

play for me..LOL

Kind of like picking my own Christmas gift, knowing that one was

just as good as the other.

It took me 9 years to decide on whether to be implanted or not and

only a couple of weeks to decide which implant I wanted.. At the

time I only had a choice of 2, so that made it a little easier for

me.

With my mom having had her implant 9 years before though, I'd

already pretty much decided to follow in her footsteps and this is

the same choice my sisters made; (one sister and I wre implanted the

same day)

I had to start with a body processor though as the bte for my model

didn't come out till 6 months after I was implanted but I knew it

would be available when I was implanted. Had 4 slots for programming

choices on my body processor too which made it much easier to get by

between visits to my audie for programming in the early days when

more frequent programming was necessary. Choice of disposable or

rechargeable batteries was a big plus, because I could slip into any

store and pick up 3AAA disposable batteries if I didn't feel like

taking my charger on long trips. I did get 2-3 days on my

rechargeable batteries too so didn't have to worry about whether or

not I'd make it home before my batteries ran out<smiles>

When the bte model came out, it was like Christmas all over again as

I had several colors to choose from, and I could use any 675 high

power battery in my processor if the need would arise. Also received

300 free batteries to get me pretty much through my first year of

wearing the bte..add to that that 2 of my sisters have the same type

of implant(moms is an older model) and we have our own support

system and spare parts to borrow in an emergency..

Amy, bottom line is that all 3 implants work so just choose the one

that best fits your lifestyle and you won't go wrong.

wishing you all the best and hope you will continue to share with us.

If you have any questions, please know that we are all here for you

and feel free to email me at anytime.. either here on the forum or

privately.

Have a great weekend.

Hugs,

silly MI

The biggest decision you had in this journey was whether or not to

have a cochlear implant. That part is behind you. Now you need to

make sure you are shown each implant type. Try them on and ask the

audiologist to make sure you have the weight of the batteries as you

try them. You will know which one is comfortable and comfort is

important because these processors become addictive. You don't want

to take them off.

>

> Good Luck ! Keep us informed. I'm going to want to hear the

rest of this... date, place, surgeon?

>

> Alice

>

>

>