Janet Johanson

[Guest guest]

Hi Janet,

Thanks for giving us your history. A Cochlear Implant will certainly

help you communicate with your mother and children.

It's always a shock when a dose of medicine or something erodes the

hearing level even further than you thought. Even if you are " adjusted "

to being HOH, it's still a shock to suddenly lose the little bit you

have. Mine went in an auto accident. Had no hearing in the left ear,

and was using a HA in the right when I was struck by a car (I was riding

a bicycle). Whammo - no hearing in either ear. Got implanted about 6

months later. And those intervening 6 months were the longest of my

life. Being deaf in one ear in no way prepares you to be deaf in both.

My surgeon implanted my worse ear (one that had no hearing and no

stimulation for 20 years). He used the Nucleus 24, which was in clinical

trials at the time. Within 3 months I was hearing much the way I do now,

talking ont he phone, understanding speech, enjoying music, TV, movies

and so forth. Amazing what an ear that had no hearing for 20 years can

do.

I started with a body worn processor, and when the behind the ear

(BTE) became available, I switched. I switched to the 3G when that

became available, and LOVE the built in telecoil feature. I just flick

it on and talk on the phone with no problem. Regular or cell phones.

Love the disposable batteries because I hate to have to remember to do

something every night. I just put a 6 pack of batteries in the purse and

am set for when I need to change them.

If you have any questions about the Nucleus brand, let me know. I

chose mine based on what was available at the time. The Nucleus had a

BTE processor available, the Bionics device did not. So that was my

reason for choosing. I figure you should always make a decision based on

what is out the day you choose, not what is " coming right down the road "

or what is promised for the future. Because a lot of promises don't

happen, 's law being what it is.

Good luck,

The Original

From: johanson3j@...

Subject: Introduction

Hello, all! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, and now that my

implant

surgery date has been set for February 1st, thought it was time to

introduce

myself, and to express my appreciation to all those who have been posting

and

of such help to me.

I'm 9th generation Deaf, and also adopted 2 Deaf children. I was very

much

against cochlear implants until just recently, when I saw that the MAP

community and parents were realizing that the CI advantages and benefits

needed to be

balanced with the social and language needs of deaf children. Having

grown up

in the late '50s and early '60s where the " controversy " was " sign at the

risk

of never developing speech " , or " use binaural hearing aids at the risk of

losing it all " , and " heaven forbid any parent allowing their child to be

contaminated by Deaf Culture, " this was a very important issue for me.

I'm happy to

see that this sort of cycling mindset is going into an ebb stage.

I was identified as deaf (severe to profound loss) when 2 1/2 years of

age,

went to several deaf education programs for a short time, but by

kindergarten,

was attending regular education program with speech services only. I was

trained " aurally " by my hearing mother, who utilized strategies from

several

different programs, including the HEAR Foundation and the

Clinic. I

graduated with high academic achievement from a small coastal high school

in

Oregon, but was instantly stymied when I entered a large university (BYU)

in 1975

with no interpreters or services of any kind. I also found that my

social

group WAS with the Deaf Community, and after five years of struggling on

my own,

finally graduated with a B.S. in Communicative Disorders. I went on to

get my

Deaf Education certification and later a M.S. and have worked in several

administrative jobs in the postgraduate, nonprofit community based

programs,

vocational rehabilitation, and now back in the education field as a

school

administrator.

Through the years, I functioned quite well utilizing my hearing aids,

speech

reading, and closure skills, until a dose of erthromycin in 1986 dropped

my

hearing threshold 30 decibels. After that, I was not able to enjoy music

any

more, and oral communication was much more difficult. It has steadily

dropped

until it is virtually total at this time. This means I am completely

unable to

use any aural skills, which are vital to communicating with my mother

(now age

80). The major reasoning for implant now is so that the quality of the

time we

have left (and may it be many many more years!) will be positive with

less of

the frustration from not being able to communicate.

So, there you have it. Please be thinking positive thoughts and prayers

for

me on February 1st! And, wish me luck in the final decision as to what

make of

implant to choose by Monday!

Janet Johanson