Re: Bilateral Implantation

[Guest guest]

It is true that there is currently a study on

bilaterals for children but I'm not sure of the

centers that are involved except mine.

You might contact Linn Tearny at info@... for

information on a center near you that is involved with

the studies.

Alice

[Guest guest]

> It is true that there is currently a study on

> bilaterals for children but I'm not sure of the

> centers that are involved except mine.

As far as I know, NYU is involved as well. At least we were told though when

looking for an audiologist in the US to do mappings for (bilateral)

Christian.

Sabine in Cologne, Germany with

(12/98),

Christian (4/00; meningitis 10/00; 2 N24 1/01) and

Florian (6/02)

[Guest guest]

> Does anyone have any information on bilateral cochlear implantation?

What type of information are you looking for? Our son, now 3, was

bilaterally implanted at the age of 10 months (N 24).

He's doing wonderfully, especially in background noise. You can hardly tell

a difference to his hearing peers.

Sabine in Cologne, Germany with

(12/98),

Christian (4/00; meningitis 10/00; 2 N24 1/01) and

Florian (6/02)

[Guest guest]

Hi

I am not sure where you are writing from but we are in Western

Australia. My 9 yr old son has had the N22 since Mar 97 when he was

3 He has been wearing the espirit since Dec 2000. Just two and a

half weeks ago he had his second implant and he was switched on last

Tuesday. So he is now bilateral. If you look back thru the messages

you will find a lot of posts from me leading up to and especially

since the operation. If you want to you can email me privately and I

can fill you in.

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hi

Your 9 yr old must have been implanted before the older sibling?I was implanted

in 1996 with the N22 and i received my N24C in my other ear in 2001.I did notice

an improvement in the N24C..as I had 12 electrrodes turned of on my N22 so I was

never able to hear the " S " sound.There is a great imprvement with bilaterals ,as

my tests indicate.Music is better ,I hear better in noisey conditions,I can tell

directionality .But the biggest improvement is that my R ear is no longer

dead!!There is life there after having been deaf for many years!!Now when the

batteries go dead on one of the processors i hurry to change it!!I have noticed

that whwen I do have only one on I have to put more effort into speaking.And yes

I have to look around to find out where the speaker is.Having bilaterals is so

natural..as my Dr. says ..I am now hearing as God intended for me to hear!!

Love Dora weber

Bilateral Implantation

Does anyone have any information on bilateral cochlear implantation?

My 9-year-old has a Nucleus 22 and wears the Espirit 22. The

audiologist mentioned the study on bilateral implantation becoming a

reality. My older child has the 3G Nucleus 24 and hears so much

better. They both attend public grade school and Auditory-Verbal

therapy. I am just wondering how much better she could be doing.

[Guest guest]

Shari,

Holly wanted to have both ears done at the same time, but her doc wouldn't do

it. She likes to do one ear and make sure it works for the patient before doing

the second ear. That makes some sense too, I think. But it still would have been

nice to go bi-lateral at one time. Half the long drives for doctor appointments,

mapping, etc. The big advantage for us tho, is that we have more times to eat

out in the city and spend quality time together.

>

> Hi List,

>  

> I think bilateral implantation (at the same time) would be cost-effective,

too. You are paying for one surgery and team of doctors. Sure there's twice the

goodies (equipment) but overall, I think if insurance companies start to realize

that hey, more people are getting second surgeries for the other side (ear) so

they should think about how a one-time surgery is better. And for children-as

they adjust to hearing in surround sound so much better as they develop language

skills.

>  

> I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about how much of a difference of one surgery

for two implants vs one implant would be considering the extra time two implants

take.

>  

> Thanks,

> Shari

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My surgeon told me he would not do it. I like the idea of doing bilateral though

for all the reasons you have mentioned. It is one learning curve. He said they

need to be six months apart.

>

> >I think bilateral implantation (at the same time) would be

> cost-effective, too. You are paying for one surgery and team of doctors. <

>

> Shari, that's a good point! I'm trying to remember how I was billed for my

> simultaneous bilateral surgery -- I know I got two charges each from the

> surgeon and the anesthesiologist (an identical charge for each ear) so I

> don't know if that was discounted or saved me any money.

>

> The total time for my surgery (both ears) was 2-1/2 hours so it wasn't much

> longer than most single-ear surgeries. However, you definitely save money

> as far as actual hospital costs go and pre-op since you only need the

> operating room once, only one round of pre-op tests, etc. It probably

> depends on the kind of insurance you have, too -- some people have awesome

> insurance where they pay something like a $35 co-pay for the whole

> shebang. Other people (like me) have huge deductibles and co-pays and pay

> thousands of dollars out of pocket.

>

> It's still totally worth it! And you will be bilateral soon -- I am SO

> excited for you!!

>

> ~Wendi in Illinois

> Bilaterally Implanted 7/2008

> http://suddensilence.wordpress.com/

>