Re: CI Candidacy/Audis & CI Info.

[Guest guest]

Liisa, how long would you say it's taken you to get where you are now to

want a ci.? 5 years 2 months? Just wondering if it has taken anyone the

severaly years its taken me about my surgery and i'm almost there, but not

quite yet.

CI Candidacy/Audis & CI Info.

> " Glad I didnt listen and went to directly to CI center 2 years later! "

>

> Lee,

>

> I spoke to three audiologists before I thought about getting a CI. Two

audis

> (my present audiologist and the one I work with at my university)

encouraged

> me to look into a CI and thought I would be considered a good candidate.

The

> third audi (an audiologist I used to see many years ago) seemed less

> enthusiastic about cochlear implants and was unable to answer many of the

> questions I had about CIs with any degree of certainty. For instance, when

I

> asked if I might be considered a CI candidate based on my hearing loss,

she

> said, " I don't know. 90 dB is considered borderline candidacy, so they

> *might* implant you. " (Based on the reading I did prior to my CI

evaluation,

> I found out that 70 dB is the cut-off for borderline candidacy -- and that

> some adults can have thresholds of 40 or 50 dB in the low frequencies with

> severe-profound loss in the middle and high frequencies. Of course, this

> varies from center to center but it is good information to know --

> especially for those who mistakingly think CIs are only for people who are

> completely deaf.) My suggestion to any new list members considering a CI

is

> to visit a CI center, ask questions and set up an evaluation. Don't spend

> your time wondering " What if? " My CI application sat in a drawer for

almost

> a month because that's exactly what I did.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

It took me awhile before I made up my mind to have a CI. I first looked

into it in the fall of 98 and was told I was a good candidate for a CI. I

just didnt feel ready and the idea of wearing a BWP wasnt for me, plus I

felt I was doing fine with just HA's. I didn't like the idea of losing the

hearing I already had either. By 03 I was feeling that I was losing too

much understanding speech and most of the time I would know someone was

actually talking, but forget understanding words. That fall I went back to

see about a CI, not completely sure at the time that I wanted one or

not. After thinking about it for awhile after rechecking, I felt it was

time for me to go the full route and get the CI. So from the fall of 98 to

Feb of 04 when I had the surgery, it took me awhile to know what was best

for me at that time.

susan & hobbes

michigan

At 06:47 PM 9/8/2004 -0700, you wrote:

>Liisa, how long would you say it's taken you to get where you are now to

>want a ci.? 5 years 2 months? Just wondering if it has taken anyone the

>severaly years its taken me about my surgery and i'm almost there, but not

>quite yet.

> CI Candidacy/Audis & CI Info.

>

>

> > " Glad I didnt listen and went to directly to CI center 2 years later! "

> >

> > Lee,

> >

> > I spoke to three audiologists before I thought about getting a CI. Two

>audis

> > (my present audiologist and the one I work with at my university)

>encouraged

> > me to look into a CI and thought I would be considered a good candidate.

>The

> > third audi (an audiologist I used to see many years ago) seemed less

> > enthusiastic about cochlear implants and was unable to answer many of the

> > questions I had about CIs with any degree of certainty. For instance, when

>I

> > asked if I might be considered a CI candidate based on my hearing loss,

>she

> > said, " I don't know. 90 dB is considered borderline candidacy, so they

> > *might* implant you. " (Based on the reading I did prior to my CI

>evaluation,

> > I found out that 70 dB is the cut-off for borderline candidacy -- and that

> > some adults can have thresholds of 40 or 50 dB in the low frequencies with

> > severe-profound loss in the middle and high frequencies. Of course, this

> > varies from center to center but it is good information to know --

> > especially for those who mistakingly think CIs are only for people who are

> > completely deaf.) My suggestion to any new list members considering a CI

>is

> > to visit a CI center, ask questions and set up an evaluation. Don't spend

> > your time wondering " What if? " My CI application sat in a drawer for

>almost

> > a month because that's exactly what I did.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Tina,

I started considering a CI three years ago when I could no longer use my FM

system for communication. Back then, I was told that I had " a little too

much hearing " to qualify for a CI so I started to use interpreters and

captionists for communication.

Earlier this year (March), I revisited the idea of getting a CI after having

a number of frustrating experiences at my internship. I felt like I was

spending more time trying to hear and understand what was going on around me

instead of trying to learn from my internship experience.

I also had a very frightening situation where I was locked inside the

building because I didn't know everyone had left early. Imagine my panic

when I walked around the office calling out to people and wondering why I

wasn't getting any response. I kept thinking, " My hearing can't be *that*

bad. Why isn't someone answering me?? "

I finally had enough and realized that my hearing loss wasn't only affecting

my ability to communicate, it was also affecting my safety. Instead of

telling everyone that I was going to get a cochlear implant, I finally made

up my mind to go ahead and do it.

[Guest guest]

Well i don't feel so funny about it now. And glad you were ok! That

would convinc me too!

CI Candidacy/Audis & CI Info.

> >

> >

> > > " Glad I didnt listen and went to directly to CI center 2 years later! "

> > >

> > > Lee,

> > >

> > > I spoke to three audiologists before I thought about getting a CI. Two

> >audis

> > > (my present audiologist and the one I work with at my university)

> >encouraged

> > > me to look into a CI and thought I would be considered a good

candidate.

> >The

> > > third audi (an audiologist I used to see many years ago) seemed less

> > > enthusiastic about cochlear implants and was unable to answer many of

the

> > > questions I had about CIs with any degree of certainty. For instance,

when

> >I

> > > asked if I might be considered a CI candidate based on my hearing

loss,

> >she

> > > said, " I don't know. 90 dB is considered borderline candidacy, so they

> > > *might* implant you. " (Based on the reading I did prior to my CI

> >evaluation,

> > > I found out that 70 dB is the cut-off for borderline candidacy -- and

that

> > > some adults can have thresholds of 40 or 50 dB in the low frequencies

with

> > > severe-profound loss in the middle and high frequencies. Of course,

this

> > > varies from center to center but it is good information to know --

> > > especially for those who mistakingly think CIs are only for people who

are

> > > completely deaf.) My suggestion to any new list members considering a

CI

> >is

> > > to visit a CI center, ask questions and set up an evaluation. Don't

spend

> > > your time wondering " What if? " My CI application sat in a drawer for

> >almost

> > > a month because that's exactly what I did.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >