Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 Hi Joni, That's an interesting question and one I'll have to ask my surgeon. Based on the studies I've read (and as you also indicated in your last post), the left ear processes music better than speech while the right ear processes language better than music. It would be interesting to read cold, hard data which compares CI users with a similar hearing history background to find out how well they understand speech when the poor ear is implanted as opposed to the better ear. Like you, I favor my right ear for speech. I always have, but that might be due to the fact that my right ear has always been my " better " ear. Since I haven't had speech discrimination in my left ear for almost 10 years, I do worry a *little* about whether or not I will have the ability to understand speech with a CI. CI experiences vary from person to person, so I guess it's difficult to say one way or the other. Also, as so many people have pointed out, one's progress and success with a CI has more to do with the effort they put into listening than anything else. What an interesting discussion! Surgery date: 12/22/04 (15 days and counting!) Activation date: 1/18/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 My right ear was implanted, the language side, and it is not as well as my hearing prior to the loss. I was born left-handed, and when I do karate kicks, I prefer the left side. Wonder if because I am naturally left-handed, I may do better with a left CI? which ear to implant > > lisa > > what about some of the studies that show right ear may show better speech > recognition simply because it is linked to the side of brain (left) that > processes language. both my ear are about similar in degree of hearing loss, but > for some reason my right ear has always felt like my " favorite " ear to use > for listening. im not sure if its like being right handed but very glad i did > my right ear as i have always felt that ear picked up speech sounds better > than my left ear. > > still a hard choice for many when you consider the many different factors > making this decision. maybe after more ci folks get implanted, we will have > even more research data to guide those trying to decide in the future. > > interesting though to think about how the right and left hemispheres of the > brain function. > > joni > prelingual > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 " success with a CI has more to do with the effort they put into listening than anything else. " What this statement tells me is the more effort one puts in CI, the more success therre will be. What about those of us who have put effort into and still not have the success? Re: which ear to implant > > Hi Joni, > > That's an interesting question and one I'll have to ask my surgeon. Based on > the studies I've read (and as you also indicated in your last post), the > left ear processes music better than speech while the right ear processes > language better than music. It would be interesting to read cold, hard data > which compares CI users with a similar hearing history background to find > out how well they understand speech when the poor ear is implanted as > opposed to the better ear. > > Like you, I favor my right ear for speech. I always have, but that might be > due to the fact that my right ear has always been my " better " ear. > > Since I haven't had speech discrimination in my left ear for almost 10 > years, I do worry a *little* about whether or not I will have the ability to > understand speech with a CI. CI experiences vary from person to person, so I > guess it's difficult to say one way or the other. Also, as so many people > have pointed out, one's progress and success with a CI has more to do with > the effort they put into listening than anything else. > > What an interesting discussion! > > > Surgery date: 12/22/04 (15 days and counting!) > Activation date: 1/18/05 > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 <<My right ear was implanted, the language side, and it is not as well as my hearing prior to the loss.>> , Are you saying you had better speech recognition/hearing in your right ear with hearing aids versus your CI? By the way, I'm also left-handed and in my case, I think having my left ear implanted will give me a more binaural sense of sound combined with the aided hearing in my right ear. Eventually I plan on going bilateral, but first I'd like to see how well I function with one. Have you thought about getting your other ear implanted? I bet that would help improve your speech recognition considerably. Surgery date: 12/22/04 (14 days and counting!) Activation date: 1/18/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 <<success with a CI has more to do with the effort they put into listening than anything else. " What this statement tells me is the more effort one puts in CI, the more success therre will be. What about those of us who have put effort into and still not have the success?>> , Other factors such as duration of hearing loss, acquisition of language skills and auditory memory also have an impact on how well someone does with a CI. I would make the comparison of learning how to listen with a CI to learning how to read Braille. For some people (like myself), learning is easy while for others, the learning process is very, very slow or impossible. Some people, no matter how hard they try or how much they practice, will never be able to read Braille. Again, this could be due to other factors unrelated to the effort one puts into learning. Aside from the above mentioned factors, I don't know why some people are more successful with CIs than others. Perhaps it has something to do with brain chemistry? Surgery date: 12/22/04 (14 days and counting!) Activation date: 1/18/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 , Yes, my hearing with HA was better than with CI. Like said, it's not that easy to go bilateral. Re: which ear to implant > > <<My right ear was implanted, the language side, and it is not as well as my > hearing prior to the loss.>> > > , > > Are you saying you had better speech recognition/hearing in your right ear > with hearing aids versus your CI? By the way, I'm also left-handed and in my > case, I think having my left ear implanted will give me a more binaural > sense of sound combined with the aided hearing in my right ear. Eventually I > plan on going bilateral, but first I'd like to see how well I function with > one. Have you thought about getting your other ear implanted? I bet that > would help improve your speech recognition considerably. > > > Surgery date: 12/22/04 (14 days and counting!) > Activation date: 1/18/05 > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Hi, Just a different experience, but probably the same opinion; I chose to have my worst ear done. Like you, I had a 'good' ear and a 'bad' ear, the bad ear was pretty much deaf and I didn't even bother with an aid in it for about 5 yrs. The low, deep tones it could pick up, aided, were just annoying, and didn't help or benefit me. The 'good' ear still was, and is, benefitted by an aid. My implant was great, wonderful, in my bad ear. It's not really, I don't think, how much sound you receive, either aided or unaided, it's more how healthy your auditory nerve is. You can be completely deaf, hair cells all dead/gone, and your auditory nerve still be perfectly fine. That is what happened in my case, and the implant is great in the 'bad' ear, and I still wear an aid on the other side. In my case, my CI center, surgeon and audi left the choice up to me. Having said that, I have to point out that before the implant, I was concerned about losing what residual hearing I still had on the 'good' side, that was part of the reason I chose to go with the bad side. If I had only known and understood what I know and understand now, I think I would have chosen the so-called 'good' ear. The power of the CI is far beyond any puny residual hearing I was so desperately trying to save, which is still progressively going, anyway. I'm happy and I'm doing fine, but I wonder if I would have done even better if I'd had the good ear implanted. Now with the CI, the 'good' ear is the 'bad' ear, lol. Binns ----Original Message Follows---- From: Dale Darwin <sr171soars@...> Reply- Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 05:32:25 -0800 (PST) Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 HI Dale, Thank you so much for your input. It was very helpful. I have been getting very confused as I continue to read other people stories about which ear to implant. My husband says I am reading too much. But your e-mail was definitely helpful. Thanks, Barb _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Dale Darwin Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 8:32 AM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 HI , Thank you so much for your input. It is certainly quite the dilemma for many of us but so far I have appreciated the input from this list serve. My husband tells me to go with what the doctor says.the doctor has done it enough to know what gives the best outcome. Are you able to hear over the phone and do you have good speech perception without reading lips? In what way do you think you may have done better with your better ear? Have more speech understanding? Have more volume? Thanks so much, Barb _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Binns Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 10:03 AM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Hi, Just a different experience, but probably the same opinion; I chose to have my worst ear done. Like you, I had a 'good' ear and a 'bad' ear, the bad ear was pretty much deaf and I didn't even bother with an aid in it for about 5 yrs. The low, deep tones it could pick up, aided, were just annoying, and didn't help or benefit me. The 'good' ear still was, and is, benefitted by an aid. My implant was great, wonderful, in my bad ear. It's not really, I don't think, how much sound you receive, either aided or unaided, it's more how healthy your auditory nerve is. You can be completely deaf, hair cells all dead/gone, and your auditory nerve still be perfectly fine. That is what happened in my case, and the implant is great in the 'bad' ear, and I still wear an aid on the other side. In my case, my CI center, surgeon and audi left the choice up to me. Having said that, I have to point out that before the implant, I was concerned about losing what residual hearing I still had on the 'good' side, that was part of the reason I chose to go with the bad side. If I had only known and understood what I know and understand now, I think I would have chosen the so-called 'good' ear. The power of the CI is far beyond any puny residual hearing I was so desperately trying to save, which is still progressively going, anyway. I'm happy and I'm doing fine, but I wonder if I would have done even better if I'd had the good ear implanted. Now with the CI, the 'good' ear is the 'bad' ear, lol. Binns ----Original Message Follows---- From: Dale Darwin <sr171soars@...> Reply- Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 05:32:25 -0800 (PST) Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 I was implanted in 9/2000 and at that time my ears were the the same on the audiogram. The surgeon said he would have recommended that the best ear be implanted because the hearing nerve would be " stronger " , if that had been the case. But after all these years and reading about which ear people have implanted, it doesn't seem to have been so much of an issue when people have implanted their worse ear. If the choice of which ear to implant was simply a choice and was not medically indicated one way or another, I would definitely choose to implant the worse ear because any bilateral hearing you may have is well worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Barb: We have about the same hearing loss and except I didn't get my BTEs since after I had graduated from college. I wore the body aid " Y " cord with two earmolds. I have a brother who is deaf and is 15 months younger than me and we are in the late 40's and 50's. Our surgeon chose the ear to be implanted and we have no regret for that. We both were implanted with Advanced Bionic on June of 2003. Since our hookup, we have done amazing well and continues to do so. We were able to repeat back to our respective audiologists without lipreading on the hookup. I just got a cell phone for Christmas and is so pleased of how well I can hear it and do talk to many strangers and even families and friends. The nicest thing that both my brother and I can talk to each other via cell phone and landphones. Debbie Auria--07/03 Prelingual BEA Volunteer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Hi Barb, I don't know how to answer that question, really. I do so well with my 'bad' ear implanted. I use the phone routinely, any phone, I enjoy music, I have excellent speech discrimination. I don't know. It just seems so silly, now, to have been trying so hard to 'save' the puny little residual hearing in my 'good' ear. Binns ----Original Message Follows---- From: " Cook " <bcooke49770@...> Reply- < > Subject: RE: Which ear to implant Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 11:49:07 -0500 HI , Thank you so much for your input. It is certainly quite the dilemma for many of us but so far I have appreciated the input from this list serve. My husband tells me to go with what the doctor says.the doctor has done it enough to know what gives the best outcome. Are you able to hear over the phone and do you have good speech perception without reading lips? In what way do you think you may have done better with your better ear? Have more speech understanding? Have more volume? Thanks so much, Barb _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Binns Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 10:03 AM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Hi, Just a different experience, but probably the same opinion; I chose to have my worst ear done. Like you, I had a 'good' ear and a 'bad' ear, the bad ear was pretty much deaf and I didn't even bother with an aid in it for about 5 yrs. The low, deep tones it could pick up, aided, were just annoying, and didn't help or benefit me. The 'good' ear still was, and is, benefitted by an aid. My implant was great, wonderful, in my bad ear. It's not really, I don't think, how much sound you receive, either aided or unaided, it's more how healthy your auditory nerve is. You can be completely deaf, hair cells all dead/gone, and your auditory nerve still be perfectly fine. That is what happened in my case, and the implant is great in the 'bad' ear, and I still wear an aid on the other side. In my case, my CI center, surgeon and audi left the choice up to me. Having said that, I have to point out that before the implant, I was concerned about losing what residual hearing I still had on the 'good' side, that was part of the reason I chose to go with the bad side. If I had only known and understood what I know and understand now, I think I would have chosen the so-called 'good' ear. The power of the CI is far beyond any puny residual hearing I was so desperately trying to save, which is still progressively going, anyway. I'm happy and I'm doing fine, but I wonder if I would have done even better if I'd had the good ear implanted. Now with the CI, the 'good' ear is the 'bad' ear, lol. Binns ----Original Message Follows---- From: Dale Darwin <sr171soars@...> Reply- Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 05:32:25 -0800 (PST) Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 I don't know if there is really any rhyme or reason why one ear comes out better than the other, but I do know if is not because one is better than the other prior to surgery. My residual hearing in my first/right ear was better prior to surgery and resulted in a poorer CI outcome (71% after 5 years), whereas the second/left ear had poorer residual hearing prior to surgery with a better CI outcome (93% after 4 months). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 HI Dale, Thanks so much for your input. I see there are several opinions and experiences out there about which is the better ear to implant. I had been thinking that since I have better hearing in my left ear, that implanting my worst ear would be balanced by whatever sound I can get by my left ear. To give you an example of how much better my left ear is when I was helping out at the school this morning I could hear the kids playing basketball in the next room. With my worst ear, I only heard some rather high sounding pitch noise but with my good left ear, I could hear more voices as well as the basketball bouncing. I definitely do hear more environmental sounds with my left ear but have no speech perception without reading lips in both ears. My HINT score was 12% if anyone knows what that means, let me know. But it sounds rather low. Thanks so much, Barb _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Dale Darwin Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 8:32 AM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 HI Debbie, Wow.thanks for your letter of encouragement. Did your surgeon choose your better ear? I am planning on getting the Advanced Bionics and am excited with the possibilities of how much better I will hear. I used to do fairly well with the cell phone but not any more. I have to totally rely on the relay when using the phone. I am excited for you and your brother to be able to talk to each other over the phone. I have a sister who is also hearing impaired. She is a couple of years older than me and was diagnosed at the age of 3. But she is fearful of getting a CI and wants to wait till she no longer hears any sounds with her hearing aid. I tried to tell her that my implant surgeon does not recommend waiting that long. But he told me that my sister will see how much better I will be doing with a CI that she would want one. Barb Cochlear implant candidate _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Rabbitslover@... Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 8:58 PM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Barb: We have about the same hearing loss and except I didn't get my BTEs since after I had graduated from college. I wore the body aid " Y " cord with two earmolds. I have a brother who is deaf and is 15 months younger than me and we are in the late 40's and 50's. Our surgeon chose the ear to be implanted and we have no regret for that. We both were implanted with Advanced Bionic on June of 2003. Since our hookup, we have done amazing well and continues to do so. We were able to repeat back to our respective audiologists without lipreading on the hookup. I just got a cell phone for Christmas and is so pleased of how well I can hear it and do talk to many strangers and even families and friends. The nicest thing that both my brother and I can talk to each other via cell phone and landphones. Debbie Auria--07/03 Prelingual BEA Volunteer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Hi Barb, I also had a better ear and a worst ear. I had been essentially deaf in my left ear for over 35 years. I was unable to use a hearing aid in my left ear due to severe distortion, tinnitus and recruitment (sounds loud enough to hear were extremely painful). I was able to wear a hearing aid in my right ear, but in order to hear with it conditions had to be perfect and the speaker had to be within three feet. My surgeon wanted to implant my left ear since there was essentially nothing to lose on that side. I was implanted on the left side on November 3rd, 2005 and activated on December 1st, 2005. I am very happy with the results of implanting the worst ear. I was able to hear and understand speech by the end of my initial activation. The distortion and recruitment are no longer present and the tinnitus has markedly improved. I just had my 4th mapping last Monday and my Audiologist says I am doing excellent. Best regards, Jim > > HI, > I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear > implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me > there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris > Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to > implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he > said it will have a better chance of success. I started out > wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age > of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in > high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the > worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I > did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now > 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my > worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My > better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech > perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I > would appreciate any input about this situation. > > Thanks > Barb > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Barb, Welcome to the list. Yes, I'm the dentist. I have my CI on my RIGHT ear so that the suction and the drill aren't as loud (my head would be blocking the sounds as I work with my right hand in the patient's mouth). Remember that each ear is " wired " differently in the brain so if your better ear has the best speech comprehension, then chances are you'll be getting speech comprehension with the CI in your better ear -- you'd have " hearing memory " and thus pick it up far more quickly than in the worst ear out of which you've never understood speech. I'd defer to those on this list who have gone your way before. I implanted my better ear -- but both of my ears had profound loss and I never had speech comprehension, having been born deaf, anyway. Still, I'm hearing way lots with the CI, than I ever did with hearing aids. Good luck on your journey! Being a dental hygienist and a dentist involve a lot of listening and a lot of talking -- huh? Which is great for auditory therapy! Where are you located? And how big is your practice? Lehfeldt, DDS two offices, ~ 90 patients a week Rochester, NY activated 12/05 preling, profound aged 44 On 1/3/06, popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > HI, > I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear > implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me > there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris > Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to > implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he > said it will have a better chance of success. I started out > wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age > of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in > high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the > worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I > did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now > 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my > worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My > better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech > perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I > would appreciate any input about this situation. > > Thanks > Barb > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 I had both ears implanted so I can say that it doesn't make any difference in my case. One ear had been completely deaf for many years and the other one for around 14 years. Now I can hear out of both sides equally and am having a blast with my hearing!! Re: Which ear to implant Hi Barb, I can somewhat relate to your situation. I had really only one good ear and always wore a BTE in it (after wearing a BWP for about two/three years from a very early age). The other was just too far gone to bother with it and so I never wore a HA for it. If I did, it would have be just " loud " like you especially when I was much younger when there was more hearing in it. Like you, the implant people recommended that I get my good ear done for the same reason they gave you (better outcome). I decided to just go with it in my better ear as I had nothing to lose. My hearing was definitely going and it was already effecting my speech and communication abilities. I do want to point out that the probability is much better with your good ear for several reasons. The really important one is that you are " wired " for that side and have heard in it for years. It makes the transition much, much smoother. I have no idea how my worst side would fare but I'm quite sure not anywhere as positive as my good ear. If they ever allow me to go balateral, then maybe I'll find out :-) Not that I really want to deal with that for the foreseeable future. To make a long story short, it was a smashing success for me and more. Hope that helps and best of success with your CI. Dale popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: HI, I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he said it will have a better chance of success. I started out wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I would appreciate any input about this situation. Thanks Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 HI Thanks so much for your response. I appreciated your explanation about why it is better to implant the 'better' ear. It does make sense. There are certainly so many different opinions and experiences that people have had. It makes me stir crazy wondering what is best for me. My husband thinks I am over analyzing this to death!! :-) He feels the same as you.go with the doctor's recommendation. If that is the case.I will be implanting my left ear and I am right handed. The suction will be on my left but I think I will hear the patient better. I am wondering about the Cavitron. Will the electromagnetic Cavitron affect my processor program? I am thinking since the Advanced Bionics BTE processor is supposed to be MRI safe that the Cavitron should certainly not be a problem. How long have you been in dentistry? How did you do in dental school with your hearing difficulty? I had my struggles but made it through very well. I have been a hygienist for almost 34 years now. It has worked great for me especially raising a family. I only worked full time for a couple of years. After I started my family I worked part time. The office I am currently working in has been my place of employment for 32 years!!! I have also worked in other offices at the same time off and on over the years though. Right now I am just working two days a week. My first boss at the current office retired in October of 2004 and the new dentist who bought his practice is my current employer. He just graduated from dental school in 2004 and is 27 years old. He is really nice and I enjoy working for him. He talks loud.a real plus for me!!!! I work in a small town of about 3200 people. But we draw patients from surrounding communities. There are four dentists all together in this town. Our office is going well.I don't know how many patients the dentist does a week. I never really kept track but he is busy. Thanks so much for your input. I truly appreciated it. It is also so nice to know I am not alone in the dental community in dealing with hearing impairment. Barb _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lehfeldt Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 5:59 AM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Barb, Welcome to the list. Yes, I'm the dentist. I have my CI on my RIGHT ear so that the suction and the drill aren't as loud (my head would be blocking the sounds as I work with my right hand in the patient's mouth). Remember that each ear is " wired " differently in the brain so if your better ear has the best speech comprehension, then chances are you'll be getting speech comprehension with the CI in your better ear -- you'd have " hearing memory " and thus pick it up far more quickly than in the worst ear out of which you've never understood speech. I'd defer to those on this list who have gone your way before. I implanted my better ear -- but both of my ears had profound loss and I never had speech comprehension, having been born deaf, anyway. Still, I'm hearing way lots with the CI, than I ever did with hearing aids. Good luck on your journey! Being a dental hygienist and a dentist involve a lot of listening and a lot of talking -- huh? Which is great for auditory therapy! Where are you located? And how big is your practice? Lehfeldt, DDS two offices, ~ 90 patients a week Rochester, NY activated 12/05 preling, profound aged 44 On 1/3/06, popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > HI, > I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear > implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me > there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris > Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to > implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he > said it will have a better chance of success. I started out > wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age > of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in > high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the > worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I > did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now > 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my > worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My > better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech > perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I > would appreciate any input about this situation. > > Thanks > Barb > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Barb, No, there's no danger of the electromagnetic stimulation wiping out the programs on your CI processor, as it is a very different frequency. You'll probably find that the noise of the Cavitron annoying - " zzz, zzp, zzzzzzzzzshhh, zzz, zz, shhh " so you might want to consider a different MAP for work to dampen that particular frequency while you use the Cavitron. I have six dental hygienists (we are a large dental group of 8 dentists) so imagine hearing 6 Cavitrons going off at the same time. I think a lot of us dental folks have difficulty hearing " s " sounds from prolonged work exposure. We are supposed to be wearing ear protection... but no-one ever does. Oh, dental school was difficult. I haven't really recovered from it, 18 years later! This was before ADA was enacted, remember, so I had to fight for an sign-supported oral interpreter. Thank goodness for class notetaking services: the classes organized their own note takers and I would be a typist and type up the notes and get them out to the students in my class. A good way to study, while working. Many professors were very helpful, and were eager to help me when I was struggling, but there were a couple of people who made it difficult, wouldn't understand that I had difficulty lipreading them (talking to the blackboard, having a thick moustache, deliberatively wearing a face mask in clinic, etc. etc.)... but overall, it was a great experience, and I'm loving my career, and can't imagine doing anything else! Thanks for sharing your work experiences. Sounds like you have the ideal employer. You're the most loyal employee that he has -- that is a wonderful record! And I'm sure that it brings you joy to watch families grow up and have their own children just as I do. activated 12'/2005 prelingual profound, aged 44 On 1/5/06, Cook <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > HI > > Thanks so much for your response. I appreciated your explanation about > why it is better to implant the 'better' ear. It does make sense. There > are certainly so many different opinions and experiences that people have > had. It makes me stir crazy wondering what is best for me. My husband > thinks I am over analyzing this to death!! :-) > > He feels the same as you.go with the doctor's recommendation. If that is > the case.I will be implanting my left ear and I am right handed. The > suction will be on my left but I think I will hear the patient better. I > am wondering about the Cavitron. Will the electromagnetic Cavitron affect > my processor program? I am thinking since the Advanced Bionics BTE > processor is supposed to be MRI safe that the Cavitron should certainly not > be a problem. > > > > How long have you been in dentistry? How did you do in dental school > with your hearing difficulty? I had my struggles but made it through very > well. I have been a hygienist for almost 34 years now. It has worked great > for me especially raising a family. I only worked full time for a couple of > years. After I started my family I worked part time. The office I am > currently working in has been my place of employment for 32 years!!! I > have also worked in other offices at the same time off and on over the years > though. Right now I am just working two days a week. My first boss at the > current office retired in October of 2004 and the new dentist who bought his > practice is my current employer. He just graduated from dental school in > 2004 and is 27 years old. He is really nice and I enjoy working for him. > He talks loud.a real plus for me!!!! I work in a small town of about 3200 > people. But we draw patients from surrounding communities. There are four > dentists all together in this town. Our office is going well.I don't know > how many patients the dentist does a week. I never really kept track but he > is busy. > > > > Thanks so much for your input. I truly appreciated it. It is also so > nice to know I am not alone in the dental community in dealing with hearing > impairment. > > > > Barb > > _____ > > From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of > Lehfeldt > Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 5:59 AM > > Subject: Re: Which ear to implant > > > > Barb, > > Welcome to the list. Yes, I'm the dentist. I have my CI on my RIGHT > ear so that the suction and the drill aren't as loud (my head would be > blocking the sounds as I work with my right hand in the patient's > mouth). Remember that each ear is " wired " differently in the brain so > if your better ear has the best speech comprehension, then chances are > you'll be getting speech comprehension with the CI in your better ear > -- you'd have " hearing memory " and thus pick it up far more quickly > than in the worst ear out of which you've never understood speech. > I'd defer to those on this list who have gone your way before. I > implanted my better ear -- but both of my ears had profound loss and I > never had speech comprehension, having been born deaf, anyway. Still, > I'm hearing way lots with the CI, than I ever did with hearing aids. > > Good luck on your journey! Being a dental hygienist and a dentist > involve a lot of listening and a lot of talking -- huh? Which is > great for auditory therapy! Where are you located? And how big is > your practice? > > Lehfeldt, DDS > two offices, ~ 90 patients a week > Rochester, NY > > activated 12/05 > preling, profound > aged 44 > > On 1/3/06, popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > > HI, > > I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear > > implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me > > there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris > > Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to > > implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he > > said it will have a better chance of success. I started out > > wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age > > of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in > > high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the > > worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I > > did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now > > 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my > > worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My > > better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech > > perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I > > would appreciate any input about this situation. > > > > Thanks > > Barb > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Barbm Welcome to the forum! I'll snip parts of your message out, and respond to your questions: > > Do you have the Advanced Bionics CI? That is the one I am planning on > getting. There are pros and cons regarding the battery situation but I > don't' think I would mind taking care of the batteries every night.I am kind > of used to that with other things I have to plug in like my FM system. How > well are you doing now with your CI.are you able to use the phone, and hear > without reading lips? No, I have Cochlear Americas' Esprit 3G. The one before they came out with the Freedom. I researched my options as well, and chose CA for a variety of reasons. All are good choices, and I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice. You should know that CA will eventually (somsone else will correct me if I am mistaken) come up with a rechargeable battery for the Freedom processor, *as well as* providing one with the choice of using both disposable batteries and the rechargeable battery. I chose CA because I hike a lot, and am always *far away* from an electrical outlet, travel overseas, etc. and would be stuck (ahem) in limbo (they are going to do away with this term very soon, so I might as well milk that for all it's worth today <grin>)... it's like choosing a brand car, all cars will take you from point A to point B. All Cis do that for you, to enable you to hear. > > > I have to admit I am still struggling with wanting to let go of my 'better > ear' which when unaided there is no difference but when I have my hearing > aids on I can tell quite a difference between the two ears in hearing > environmental sounds. I wonder about some of the CI surgeons who have told > their patients to implant their worst ear as they have nothing to lose but > other CI surgeons definitely want to implant the 'better " ear. Obviously, > if the implant surgeons have different opinions on this, I can see why it is > so hard for people like me to make this decision. I wrote to my > audiologist at the implant clinic who pretty much told me the same thing you > did about the reason behind implanting the 'better' ear but said it was my > choice. Oh well.I have to keep praying. > Barb, follow your gut feeling, and choose which ear you'd like to implant. Remember both ears are different, and both are " wired " differently as the auditory nerve for each ear go to different areas of the brain, such as language processing area, music, sounds, language. Someone else on this forum will tell you the differences he/she can hear with either the L or the R implant, when bilaterally implanted. I can tell you that I hear far more with a CI than I ever did with 2 hearing aids in my whole life. I feel more connected, am speaking better (better modulated voice, so people tell me) and saying my " s " and " sh " siblants more naturally whereas with hearing aids, I would have great difficulty in hearing them, and missing them altogether, making for more stressful communication when speaking. > Cochlear Implant Candidate > I'm rooting for you, Barb! Let me know how your journey progresses. It only took me six weeks to get the surgery done from my first initial appointment with my CI team audiologist: initial interview, sound booth testing, insurance application, CT scan, pre-surgery blood work, vaccine for meningitis, and then the actual surgery itself. Was out of work for three days, and then back to work the following Monday. Thank goodness, no post-op complications, though you should be aware of things that go wrong, etc. Have you checked out Problem CI? Lehfeldt, DDS activated 12/2005 prelingually profound deafness aged 44 > > > > > > > > > > > _____ > > From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of > Lehfeldt > Sent: Friday, January 06, 2006 9:39 AM > > Subject: Re: Which ear to implant > > > > Barb, > > No, there's no danger of the electromagnetic stimulation wiping out > the programs on your CI processor, as it is a very different > frequency. You'll probably find that the noise of the Cavitron > annoying - " zzz, zzp, zzzzzzzzzshhh, zzz, zz, shhh " so you might want > to consider a different MAP for work to dampen that particular > frequency while you use the Cavitron. I have six dental hygienists > (we are a large dental group of 8 dentists) so imagine hearing 6 > Cavitrons going off at the same time. I think a lot of us dental > folks have difficulty hearing " s " sounds from prolonged work exposure. > We are supposed to be wearing ear protection... but no-one ever does. > > Oh, dental school was difficult. I haven't really recovered from it, > 18 years later! This was before ADA was enacted, remember, so I had > to fight for an sign-supported oral interpreter. Thank goodness for > class notetaking services: the classes organized their own note takers > and I would be a typist and type up the notes and get them out to the > students in my class. A good way to study, while working. Many > professors were very helpful, and were eager to help me when I was > struggling, but there were a couple of people who made it difficult, > wouldn't understand that I had difficulty lipreading them (talking to > the blackboard, having a thick moustache, deliberatively wearing a > face mask in clinic, etc. etc.)... but overall, it was a great > experience, and I'm loving my career, and can't imagine doing anything > else! > > Thanks for sharing your work experiences. Sounds like you have the > ideal employer. You're the most loyal employee that he has -- that is > a wonderful record! And I'm sure that it brings you joy to watch > families grow up and have their own children just as I do. > > activated 12'/2005 > prelingual profound, aged 44 > > On 1/5/06, Cook <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > > HI > > > > Thanks so much for your response. I appreciated your explanation about > > why it is better to implant the 'better' ear. It does make sense. There > > are certainly so many different opinions and experiences that people have > > had. It makes me stir crazy wondering what is best for me. My husband > > thinks I am over analyzing this to death!! :-) > > > > He feels the same as you.go with the doctor's recommendation. If that > is > > the case.I will be implanting my left ear and I am right handed. The > > suction will be on my left but I think I will hear the patient better. I > > am wondering about the Cavitron. Will the electromagnetic Cavitron > affect > > my processor program? I am thinking since the Advanced Bionics BTE > > processor is supposed to be MRI safe that the Cavitron should certainly > not > > be a problem. > > > > > > > > How long have you been in dentistry? How did you do in dental school > > with your hearing difficulty? I had my struggles but made it through > very > > well. I have been a hygienist for almost 34 years now. It has worked > great > > for me especially raising a family. I only worked full time for a couple > of > > years. After I started my family I worked part time. The office I am > > currently working in has been my place of employment for 32 years!!! I > > have also worked in other offices at the same time off and on over the > years > > though. Right now I am just working two days a week. My first boss at > the > > current office retired in October of 2004 and the new dentist who bought > his > > practice is my current employer. He just graduated from dental school in > > 2004 and is 27 years old. He is really nice and I enjoy working for him. > > He talks loud.a real plus for me!!!! I work in a small town of about 3200 > > people. But we draw patients from surrounding communities. There are > four > > dentists all together in this town. Our office is going well.I don't know > > how many patients the dentist does a week. I never really kept track but > he > > is busy. > > > > > > > > Thanks so much for your input. I truly appreciated it. It is also so > > nice to know I am not alone in the dental community in dealing with > hearing > > impairment. > > > > > > > > Barb > > > > _____ > > > > From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of > > Lehfeldt > > Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 5:59 AM > > > > Subject: Re: Which ear to implant > > > > > > > > Barb, > > > > Welcome to the list. Yes, I'm the dentist. I have my CI on my RIGHT > > ear so that the suction and the drill aren't as loud (my head would be > > blocking the sounds as I work with my right hand in the patient's > > mouth). Remember that each ear is " wired " differently in the brain so > > if your better ear has the best speech comprehension, then chances are > > you'll be getting speech comprehension with the CI in your better ear > > -- you'd have " hearing memory " and thus pick it up far more quickly > > than in the worst ear out of which you've never understood speech. > > I'd defer to those on this list who have gone your way before. I > > implanted my better ear -- but both of my ears had profound loss and I > > never had speech comprehension, having been born deaf, anyway. Still, > > I'm hearing way lots with the CI, than I ever did with hearing aids. > > > > Good luck on your journey! Being a dental hygienist and a dentist > > involve a lot of listening and a lot of talking -- huh? Which is > > great for auditory therapy! Where are you located? And how big is > > your practice? > > > > Lehfeldt, DDS > > two offices, ~ 90 patients a week > > Rochester, NY > > > > activated 12/05 > > preling, profound > > aged 44 > > > > On 1/3/06, popeye2buddy <bcooke49770@...> wrote: > > > HI, > > > I am a dental hygienist who is going to be getting a cochlear > > > implant sometime in Feb. Someone on another CI list serve told me > > > there is a dentist on this listserve who has an implant. (Chris > > > Lehfeldt) I am wondering about his thoughts on which ear to > > > implant. Right now my doctor wants to implant my better ear as he > > > said it will have a better chance of success. I started out > > > wearing a hearing aid in both ears when I was diagnosed at the age > > > of five. (actually a body aid with two ear molds). When I was in > > > high school I received my first BTE aid and did not get one for the > > > worst ear as I thought it made things sound loud and distorted. I > > > did not wear a hearing aid in my worst ear for many years. (I am now > > > 54 years old) A few years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my > > > worst ear to get some more hearing to help out my better ear. My > > > better ear is the best for speech perception. I have no speech > > > perception in my worst ear. Just some sounds that are louder. I > > > would appreciate any input about this situation. > > > > > > Thanks > > > Barb > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 HI Patti, Thanks for your note. It was great getting your input. Yes, it is a relief to know which ear I will implant. Granted, I am not looking forward to a whole month or so of silence while I wait for my activation day but I know it will certainly help me to appreciate it so much more. I do hear minimal environmental sounds with my aided worst ear but not like my better ear. It will help a little tiny bit during my healing time, though. My local audiologist (not my CI audiologist) wrote to a CI instructor about my case and the instructor answered her in a very detailed letter that doing my 'better' ear is the way to go. I had already made my decision when I read the letter but it was good to receive confirmation on my decision. I am so glad you are doing so well with your CI. It sure makes me excited to have my done. Thanks so much for your input. I will keep you posted. Barb Cochlear implant candidate _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of velma214 Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 3:44 PM Subject: Re: Which ear to implant Hi Barb! Isn't that a relief to have the decision concerning which ear over with? I witheld my 2 cents and had just been reading the posts lately. I will now share my own experience. I was born with a profound bi-lateral sensori-neural hearing loss which was not diagnosed until I was 6 years old due to other health issues at birth. I never ever could hear via my right ear and must have had some hearing in my left ear, when I was younger, because I did gain some speech before the age of 6; albeit it was not clear. At the age of 6, I started wearing an analog hearing aid in my left ear. My hearing continued to get progressively worse over the years. I was only hearing muffled sounds by the time I was a teen. I wore various top of the line Oticon analog hearing aids until the age of 39 when the rest of my aidable residual hearing was gone overnight. My right ear was never aidable as it always just itched when my audies tried one in there over the years. When I was deemed a cochlear implant candidate and had the CT Scan done, my audie was all set to implant my right ear; my worst ear and the ear I have never ever heard anything out of. My dad and I both shot his decision down right there at my appointment. I told him that if I was going to go through this only once, I wanted to do it with an ear that I know has heard sound at one time. He readily agreed and so I had my better ear, my left ear done. To this day, I am very pleased with my decision to have my left ear done. Today my hearing is better than I ever remember it being in my whole life! I am in awe with what my CI has given me in just 3 years of being hooked up. It has truly gotten better and better for me. I am going to sign off now but I will sit and type my latest CI Moment. Good luck to you on your journey out of Muffleness! The end of February is not that far away! Keep us posted on how it's going for you! Patti Surgery Day !!/25/02 (What A Day!) Hook Up Day BWP 1/2/03 (A Happy Day!) 3G 1/21/03 (An Even Happier Day!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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