Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dolly, When I take my CI and HA off at night, I am reminded of how deaf I am. My world is silent and my husband says I sleep like the dead! I think I will always be considered hard of hearing. . . Laurie in TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dolly, I was profoundly deaf with a small " d " since I was never really part of the Deaf world since I did not sign ASL. I lost my hearing early in life and managed very well with no hearing at all because I adapted to learning things visually and always using my eyes and feeling the vibrations. After activation a month after my surgery, my hearing was amazing. For me, it was great but for someone else, maybe not enough. All I had to do was train my brain to re-learn how to tell the difference between sounds. When the CI battery goes off, I am totally deaf again. As long as I am hearing with the CI, I can hear within the speech range, which I never could do with my Hearing aids. A. In a message dated 1/6/2006 3:43:04 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, dolphing@... writes: I am wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you now considered a Hard of Hearing person? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dolly, The CI does not change our status. When the device is off, we are deaf. And in my case, tho HOH before, I am now stone deaf in the implanted ear. Can still hear very loud low frequency sounds in the other ear. *---* *---* *---* *---* *---* I didn't get a toy train like the other kids, I got a toy subway instead; you couldn't see anything but every now and then you'd hear this rumbling noise go by. & Dreamer Doll (Guide Dawggie) Newport, Oregon N24C 3G 8/2000 Hookup rclark0276@... http://webpages.charter.net/dog_guide/ NEW Home Page! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Who is doing the considering? Remember that if I take my CI processor off, I'm totally deaf. So I think of myself as a profoundly deaf person, recently implanted. I didn't feel any different when I put on my hearing aids so why should I feel any difference when popping the processor back on in the morning? If other people say I'm " hard of hearing " -- well, technically I've got as much hearing as a hearing person -- a nice flat even 35 dB audiogram -- but don't have as full sensations of hearing as a hearing person does. activated 12/2005 profoundly prelingually deaf aged 44 On 1/6/06, Gayle Tiana Northcott <dolphing@...> wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > I am wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you now considered a Hard of Hearing person? > > I know HOH person will remain HOH, I think (scratching my blowhole on this one). > > Dolly Dolphin > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hi Dolly, I am still considered totally deaf and totally blind by the state of Arkansas even though I can listen to tv from my computer room, use the telephone with no trouble, appreciate new music, e.g. " I'm gonna hire a wino to decorate our home " and converse with family. When I remove my processors at night, I am totally deafblind. Larry Question on after CI > Hi Everyone, > > I am wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, > after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you > now considered a Hard of Hearing person? > > I know HOH person will remain HOH, I think (scratching my blowhole on this > one). > > Dolly Dolphin > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 In a message dated 1/6/2006 8:46:37 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, writes: I am wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you now considered a Hard of Hearing person? Oh gosh,,, I grew up profoundly deaf from birth, worn hearing aid from age of 3 to 46. Now I can hear " too much " . After more than 46 years being profoundly deaf, I might as well say that I am still deaf even though it is very misleading. I couldn't make up my mind anymore but I still say that I am deaf for as long as I learn to discriminate speech. To be honest, I find no shame to admit that I am deaf. Both of my adult children still tell people that I am deaf, instead of hard of hearing. My brother, he sees me as hard-of-hearing now. My sister says that I am " selective deaf " , for she thinks I hear when I want to hear (opposite of " selective hearing " by kids who don't want to listen). By legal definition, I am deaf even though I can hear at 25 to 30dB across the chart with my CI on. Deaf, hard-of-hearing, selective deaf, hearing, whatever..... Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Thank you Laurie, Larry and for your inputs. Now I understand it better. If I have CI, I will go from HOH to total deaf after taking the device out for the night. I really appreciated you all replying to my question. Dolly Dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dolly, Like all the others already have mentioned... We may hear much better than before with a CI, but either when you turn it off or the batteries go out on you are " dead in the water " deaf (at least in that ear anyway). Essentially, we are all hard of heading regardless of the CI. As one stated, we don't have the full range of sounds. On that note, about the only thing that annoys me is that my family (all with normal hearing) can hear the thunder before I do :-) I speak of the first hint of thunder in the distance.... Dale Gayle Tiana Northcott <dolphing@...> wrote: Hi Everyone, I am wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you now considered a Hard of Hearing person? I know HOH person will remain HOH, I think (scratching my blowhole on this one). Dolly Dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Dolly, Good question~! In short, I consider myself to be a hearing person when my CI is on, but deaf when it is off. While it is true that a CI user can hear at mild or moderate levels on an audiogram, the fact still remains that they are deaf when the processor is removed. Although I consider myself " a blind person who can hear " and " a hearing person " when my CI is on, I identify myself as someone who is deafblind )i.e. totally blind and profoundly deaf). Having said that, I wasn't always comfortable with the term deaf. It wasn't until I lost my ability to understand speech with my right ear (and an FM system) that I felt comfortable using the term. Even then, I primarily referred to myself as deafblin rather than deaf. Speaking of deafblindness, I can still remember the first time a staff member at my local deafblind center called me that. I immediately corrected her and said, " I'm not deaf. I'm blind and hard of hearing. " It was then that I learned about deafblindness and how it encompasses varying levels of combined vision and hearing loss It took awhile for me to feel comfortable identifying myself as a deafblind person, but once I did, it was much easier to move forward with my life by acknowledging (and later -- accepting) the challenges and rewards of dual sensory loss. . Some people on the list may be wondering what I mean by " rewards. " When I lost my hearing 10 years ago, I was an extremely angry and bitter person. Losing my hearing was one of the worst things I've ever experienced in my life. However, once I received training at my local deafblind center and began to realize that deafblindness isn't the end of the world, I started to see my life in a different way. I started to appreciate the many people who helped me learn alternative methods of communication, computer skills and mobility techniques that would allow me to travel independently despite blindness and severe-profound hearing loss. I'm grateful for all of the people I've met along the way because if it were not for their help, I wouldn't be where I am today. It looks like I've digressed from your original question, so I will end my post here. <smile> Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05 Deafblind/Postlingual BTE hearing aid user 20 years Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 , The same is true for me. When I saw my audi in September, she tested the hearing in my implanted ear and found that I have no residual hearing - not even at 120 DB. However, I'm still able to hear low frequencies with my nonimplanted ear. When I remove my hearing aid, I don't notice much of a difference between either ear. What I found most interesting following CI surgery was the fact that I didn't feel any " deafer " (for lack of a better word) than I did before with hearing aids. To my surprise, I really didn't miss the hearing in my implanted ear and still found myself relying heavily on my right ear just as I have been doing for the past 10 years. Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05 Deafblind/Postlingual BTE hearing aid user 20 years Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hi , Thank you for your inputs. I enjoyed reading everything you had said so please do not worry in the future to write long email. The information I am getting by reading everyone emails have given me more knowledge and understandings of CI. Please continue to talk beyond original question as I enjoyed reading yours and everyone on . Dolly Dolphin K. wrote: Dolly, Good question~! In short, I consider myself to be a hearing person when my CI is on, but deaf when it is off. While it is true that a CI user can hear at mild or moderate levels on an audiogram, the fact still remains that they are deaf when the processor is removed. Although I consider myself " a blind person who can hear " and " a hearing person " when my CI is on, I identify myself as someone who is deafblind )i.e. totally blind and profoundly deaf). Having said that, I wasn't always comfortable with the term deaf. It wasn't until I lost my ability to understand speech with my right ear (and an FM system) that I felt comfortable using the term. Even then, I primarily referred to myself as deafblin rather than deaf. Speaking of deafblindness, I can still remember the first time a staff member at my local deafblind center called me that. I immediately corrected her and said, " I'm not deaf. I'm blind and hard of hearing. " It was then that I learned about deafblindness and how it encompasses varying levels of combined vision and hearing loss It took awhile for me to feel comfortable identifying myself as a deafblind person, but once I did, it was much easier to move forward with my life by acknowledging (and later -- accepting) the challenges and rewards of dual sensory loss. . Some people on the list may be wondering what I mean by " rewards. " When I lost my hearing 10 years ago, I was an extremely angry and bitter person. Losing my hearing was one of the worst things I've ever experienced in my life. However, once I received training at my local deafblind center and began to realize that deafblindness isn't the end of the world, I started to see my life in a different way. I started to appreciate the many people who helped me learn alternative methods of communication, computer skills and mobility techniques that would allow me to travel independently despite blindness and severe-profound hearing loss. I'm grateful for all of the people I've met along the way because if it were not for their help, I wouldn't be where I am today. It looks like I've digressed from your original question, so I will end my post here. <smile> Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05 Deafblind/Postlingual BTE hearing aid user 20 years Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Lee, You said " I might as well say that I am still deaf even though it is very misleading. " Its not misleading. People who wear glasses for near- or far-sightedness are still near- or far-sighted. When it comes to legal or medical situations, I can see the need for various terms. Personally tho, I dont see the need to weigh ourselves down with a lot of terminology. I am blind but still ahve some vision. The average person is not going to know the difference between blind and visually impaired and I am not going to spend a lot of time trying to educate them on the finer points. Same goes for my deafness. LOL I am deaf and have a cochlear implant. Keep it simple. LOL *---* *---* *---* *---* *---* No one is listening until you make a mistake. & Dreamer Doll (Guide Dawggie) Newport, Oregon N24C 3G 8/2000 Hookup rclark0276@... http://webpages.charter.net/dog_guide/ NEW Home Page! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Being profoundly deaf from birth and wore the strongest HAs, I was not able to understand speech or heard many sounds that my HAs did not give me the ability to hear. Now that I have had my CI for 2 1/2 years, I'm able to understand speech without lipreading but it is NOT perfect. With my CI, I consider myself HOH but without my CI, I consider myself Deaf. That the same with my brother. We both were implanted on the same morning by the same surgeon. It has been such a wonderful CI journey that we have shared. Debbie Auria--07/03 Prelingual BEA Volunteer -------------------------------------------------------- I'm wondering for those of you who were Deaf, profound or severely Deaf, after you had your CI and you now able to hear words and sounds, are you now considered a Hard of Hearing person? I know HOH person will remain HOH, I think (scratching my blowhole on this one). Dolly Dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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