Re: Question I Hope You Can Help Answer....

June 29, 2007

Hi, ,

I admire your courage and your positive attitude. You already know that

everybody is different in how much and how well they will hear again with a

CI. For the most part, while there are exceptions, people are thrilled with

their results.

With all due respect to another poster, please disregard his opinion

that because you don't hear anything now you won't get it with a CI. That is

just so NOT true for the majority of people. We even have many pre-linguals on

board here, and many of them are having amazing results.

Given the situation you describe for doing depositions, I think you will

do fine! It might take a little time - say up to even a year, but I really

have the highest hopes for you.

All the very best to you!

<smiles> Jackie

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

June 29, 2007

Hi ,

I have the Nucleus Freedom in one ear and am doing very well with it. Of

course, everyone is different as to how well they do, and I would think with

your past history and having both ears implanted, you should do quite well.

I work in and around the Courtroom as well as out of my home office and can

hear pretty well in the Courtroom, especially if they have the PA system on.

Without it and in my meetings, I usually switch over to Whisper and can

still hear quite well. However, most of the time I am there for motion

dockets where people there is a fair amount of extraneous noise with people

going in and out of the room and people talking in the hall. I wouldn't say

that I hear at 100%.

What type of court reporting do you do? Are you usually in a courtroom, or

do you primarily do depositions? I would say if you concentrate on

depositions, you just might do fine. The courtroom itself would be more

challenging-- with a much larger room and more parties involved and less

ability to interrupt to clarify if you didn't catch something. Generally

speaking, I would say I hear 100% in an ideal environment. Get someone with

a foreign accent, speech problems, etc and the difficulties begin. You won't

always know ahead of time what your situation will be.

For me, my CI hearing of speech sounds pretty much normal to me. Music still

sounds a little off key, though I do like music with my CI.

My advice is to not get your hopes up, but when you get activated, start

going and sitting in Courtrooms. Ask if you can sit there with your steno

machine off to the side and practice. You'll probably want to do that anyway

to get back up to speed. If you feel pretty good about your hearing, then

start back by doing some depositions for attorneys you know and have a good

relationship with. They should be able to warn you to get someone else to

cover if they are deposing someone who might be difficult to understand.

I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery. I hope they will get you

in there quickly now that you've gotten your approval. If I were you, I'd be

pushing them to get it done NOW. You've been a lot more patient than I would

have been.

Lynn

Fairhope, AL

Nucleus Freedom

Surgery date: 9/6/06

Activation date: 9/27/06

Question I Hope You Can Help Answer....

Hi all,

I'm due to have my surgery within the next month or so and will be getting

two CI's at the same time. I am very much looking forward to seeing how much

this is going to change my life, as I had normal hearing my whole life,

until I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease in November, and by

the middle of January was completely deaf in both ears. I am unable to hear

anything at all, not even someone screaming at the top of their lungs. I

scored zeros in all my CI screening tests and don't hear anything at any

level, high frequency or low frequency. I'm trying to figure out what life

will be like for me after getting my CI's. I know people have said it's not

like " normal " hearing and that it will take time for my brain to understand

this new way of hearing, and I'm wondering, when you have your CI, are you

able to hear every word that's being said, but it just sounds differently

than " normal " hearing, or is it that you're still unable to hear all of

what's being said, in addition to it sounding differently than " normal "

hearing? Do you know what I'm saying? And if you don't hear every word, what

would you say is the percentage of hearing that you do have? Like would you

say you get 70% of what's being said? 90%? 100%? I'm really trying to figure

out if I might be able to go back to court reporting after my CI's, which is

a job that you must hear well in order to do, and be able to take down

testimony of lawyers and witnesses who are speaking. The environment I'd be

in would be a quiet one, with usually one person speaking at a time, and

most often into a microphone when they're on the stand giving testimony. It

would be a lawyer asking the question, then the witness responding. Does

anybody have any thoughts on this and do you think it's possible I could do

this job after getting my CI's? I'm sort of afraid to ask this question

because I don't want to crush my hopes of returning to work, but I'd just

like to prepare myself and to get some thoughts from all of you about what

you think. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

June 29, 2007

Lynn, thanks so much for this information! This is extremely helpful

to me. And to answer one of your questions, for the past few years

I've been doing a lot of deposition work, which as I'm sure you know,

entails going to different law firms and taking depositions in a

conference room, which is a much better environment hearing-wise than

a huge courtroom, and during a deposition I'd sit at the head of the

table, with the witness and his attorney on one side, and the other

attorney on the other side, and they'd literally be no more than a

foot or two away from me, so hearing in that situation is a lot

easier compared to the courtroom.

And believe me, as soon as I get activated and feel comfortable

enough, I'm going to whip out my steno machine and start practicing,

maybe listening to the trials on Court TV or something. By the way,

post-CI is there a big difference between listening to someone speak

on TV versus listening to someone speak in person? Do you think that

would be a fair assessment of how things will sound, by listening to

people speak on TV, or do things sound totally different in person?

Gosh, I just can't stop asking questions today! I'm really sorry!

You guys are going to be sick of me soon!

But Lynn, thanks again for your help. This information is extremely

helpful to me and I very much appreciate you taking the time to

respond. And just so you know, the order is in for my two CI's, so

my doctor's secretary said they should take a couple of weeks to come

in, and then once they're in I'll be able to set a surgery date,

which should be a few weeks after that. So she said I'm looking at

about 4 - 6 weeks before my surgery. So it's not too far away! And

yes, I'm getting impatient now and I hope this time goes by fast,

believe me! I'll keep you posted when I get a date! Thanks again,

Lynn!

>

> Hi ,

> I have the Nucleus Freedom in one ear and am doing very well with

it. Of

> course, everyone is different as to how well they do, and I would

think with

> your past history and having both ears implanted, you should do

quite well.

>

> I work in and around the Courtroom as well as out of my home office

and can

> hear pretty well in the Courtroom, especially if they have the PA

system on.

> Without it and in my meetings, I usually switch over to Whisper and

can

> still hear quite well. However, most of the time I am there for

motion

> dockets where people there is a fair amount of extraneous noise

with people

> going in and out of the room and people talking in the hall. I

wouldn't say

> that I hear at 100%.

>

> What type of court reporting do you do? Are you usually in a

courtroom, or

> do you primarily do depositions? I would say if you concentrate on

> depositions, you just might do fine. The courtroom itself would be

more

> challenging-- with a much larger room and more parties involved and

less

> ability to interrupt to clarify if you didn't catch something.

Generally

> speaking, I would say I hear 100% in an ideal environment. Get

someone with

> a foreign accent, speech problems, etc and the difficulties begin.

You won't

> always know ahead of time what your situation will be.

>

> For me, my CI hearing of speech sounds pretty much normal to me.

Music still

> sounds a little off key, though I do like music with my CI.

>

> My advice is to not get your hopes up, but when you get activated,

start

> going and sitting in Courtrooms. Ask if you can sit there with your

steno

> machine off to the side and practice. You'll probably want to do

that anyway

> to get back up to speed. If you feel pretty good about your

hearing, then

> start back by doing some depositions for attorneys you know and

have a good

> relationship with. They should be able to warn you to get someone

else to

> cover if they are deposing someone who might be difficult to

understand.

>

> I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery. I hope they

will get you

> in there quickly now that you've gotten your approval. If I were

you, I'd be

> pushing them to get it done NOW. You've been a lot more patient

than I would

> have been.

>

> Lynn

> Fairhope, AL

>

> Nucleus Freedom

> Surgery date: 9/6/06

> Activation date: 9/27/06

>

> Question I Hope You Can Help Answer....

>

> Hi all,

>

> I'm due to have my surgery within the next month or so and will be

getting

> two CI's at the same time. I am very much looking forward to seeing

how much

> this is going to change my life, as I had normal hearing my whole

life,

> until I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease in

November, and by

> the middle of January was completely deaf in both ears. I am unable

to hear

> anything at all, not even someone screaming at the top of their

lungs. I

> scored zeros in all my CI screening tests and don't hear anything

at any

> level, high frequency or low frequency. I'm trying to figure out

what life

> will be like for me after getting my CI's. I know people have said

it's not

> like " normal " hearing and that it will take time for my brain to

understand

> this new way of hearing, and I'm wondering, when you have your CI,

are you

> able to hear every word that's being said, but it just sounds

differently

> than " normal " hearing, or is it that you're still unable to hear

all of

> what's being said, in addition to it sounding differently

than " normal "

> hearing? Do you know what I'm saying? And if you don't hear every

word, what

> would you say is the percentage of hearing that you do have? Like

would you

> say you get 70% of what's being said? 90%? 100%? I'm really trying

to figure

> out if I might be able to go back to court reporting after my CI's,

which is

> a job that you must hear well in order to do, and be able to take

down

> testimony of lawyers and witnesses who are speaking. The

environment I'd be

> in would be a quiet one, with usually one person speaking at a

time, and

> most often into a microphone when they're on the stand giving

testimony. It

> would be a lawyer asking the question, then the witness responding.

Does

> anybody have any thoughts on this and do you think it's possible I

could do

> this job after getting my CI's? I'm sort of afraid to ask this

question

> because I don't want to crush my hopes of returning to work, but

I'd just

> like to prepare myself and to get some thoughts from all of you

about what

> you think. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

>

June 29, 2007

If you don't hear anything at all, I doubt a CI will help you.

I had 25% of my hearing when I did get implanted, after 4

years I still toiling to understand what I hear.

Be aware that everyone in the CI business is also trying to make

a nice living out of it.

You should have at least a second opinion by another MD.

Good luck to you.

<jmc62@...> wrote:

Hi all,

I'm due to have my surgery within the next month or so and will be

getting two CI's at the same time. I am very much looking forward to

seeing how much this is going to change my life, as I had normal

hearing my whole life, until I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Inner

Ear Disease in November, and by the middle of January was completely

deaf in both ears. I am unable to hear anything at all, not even

someone screaming at the top of their lungs. I scored zeros in all

my CI screening tests and don't hear anything at any level, high

frequency or low frequency. I'm trying to figure out what life will

be like for me after getting my CI's. I know people have said it's

not like " normal " hearing and that it will take time for my brain to

understand this new way of hearing, and I'm wondering, when you have

your CI, are you able to hear every word that's being said, but it

just sounds differently than " normal " hearing, or is it that you're

still unable to hear all of what's being said, in addition to it

sounding differently than " normal " hearing? Do you know what I'm

saying? And if you don't hear every word, what would you say is the

percentage of hearing that you do have? Like would you say you get

70% of what's being said? 90%? 100%? I'm really trying to figure

out if I might be able to go back to court reporting after my CI's,

which is a job that you must hear well in order to do, and be able to

take down testimony of lawyers and witnesses who are speaking. The

environment I'd be in would be a quiet one, with usually one person

speaking at a time, and most often into a microphone when they're on

the stand giving testimony. It would be a lawyer asking the

question, then the witness responding. Does anybody have any

thoughts on this and do you think it's possible I could do this job

after getting my CI's? I'm sort of afraid to ask this question

because I don't want to crush my hopes of returning to work, but I'd

just like to prepare myself and to get some thoughts from all of you

about what you think. Thanks so much for your help. I really

appreciate it.

---------------------------------

Don't pick lemons.

See all the new 2007 cars at Autos.

June 29, 2007

Hello

With you having had 'normal' hearing until a few months ago, its my

belief that you will adapt very quickly to your C.I.'s. I went deaf

slowly over many years and wore hearing aids for nearly 30 years

before I was implanted. Everything sounds NORMAL to me, normal

meaning that it sounds exactly the way it always sounded and the way

I know it should sound. No weird sounds at all.

As for your work, I would say there is a very good chance of you

being able to get back to it, especially in the quiet environment.

Just dont build your hopes up too high, too soon, because we all

adapt at different rates, but in the long term we all seem to get so

much out of our C.I.'s.

Ted F.

>

> Hi all,

>

> I'm due to have my surgery within the next month or so and will be

> getting two CI's at the same time. I am very much looking forward

to

> seeing how much this is going to change my life, as I had normal

> hearing my whole life, until I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Inner

> Ear Disease in November, and by the middle of January was

completely

> deaf in both ears. I am unable to hear anything at all, not even

> someone screaming at the top of their lungs. I scored zeros in all

> my CI screening tests and don't hear anything at any level, high

> frequency or low frequency. I'm trying to figure out what life will

> be like for me after getting my CI's. I know people have said it's

> not like " normal " hearing and that it will take time for my brain

to

> understand this new way of hearing, and I'm wondering, when you

have

> your CI, are you able to hear every word that's being said, but it

> just sounds differently than " normal " hearing, or is it that you're

> still unable to hear all of what's being said, in addition to it

> sounding differently than " normal " hearing? Do you know what I'm

> saying? And if you don't hear every word, what would you say is the

> percentage of hearing that you do have? Like would you say you get

> 70% of what's being said? 90%? 100%? I'm really trying to figure

> out if I might be able to go back to court reporting after my CI's,

> which is a job that you must hear well in order to do, and be able

to

> take down testimony of lawyers and witnesses who are speaking. The

> environment I'd be in would be a quiet one, with usually one person

> speaking at a time, and most often into a microphone when they're

on

> the stand giving testimony. It would be a lawyer asking the

> question, then the witness responding. Does anybody have any

> thoughts on this and do you think it's possible I could do this job

> after getting my CI's? I'm sort of afraid to ask this question

> because I don't want to crush my hopes of returning to work, but

I'd

> just like to prepare myself and to get some thoughts from all of

you

> about what you think. Thanks so much for your help. I really

> appreciate it.

>

June 29, 2007

You sound bitter and your experience is unfortunate, but fortunately

its NOT the norm. Most people adapt very well with their C.I.'s. I

dont think there are too many shysters in this industry. One has to

pass/fail the tests to even be eligible for a C.I.

You should spend more time tring to find out why YOU are not getting

good results, instead of trying to deter people from improving their

own lives.

Ted F.

>

> If you don't hear anything at all, I doubt a CI will help you.

> I had 25% of my hearing when I did get implanted, after 4

> years I still toiling to understand what I hear.

>

> Be aware that everyone in the CI business is also trying to make

> a nice living out of it.

>

> You should have at least a second opinion by another MD.

> Good luck to you.

>

June 29, 2007

,

You may remember that I'm totally blind.

After my first CI was activated, I had some concerns about my inability to

lipread and use visual cues to help me understand what I was hearing with my CI.

To my surprise, I found that my blindness turned out to be a real asset because

I *couldn't* use visual cues to help me -- all I could depend on was what I

heard with my CI. Also, since I already knew how to use my hearing for mobility

and daily living tasks, learning how to hear with my CI (for the most part) came

naturally.

Interestingly enough, at 3 months post activation, my CI audi asked me what I

attributed my CI success to. She asked me if I thought my blindness played a

role and we both agreed that it had.

In communicating with sighted CI users, many of them have told me that they find

it easier to understand speech if they don't lipread or use closed captioning on

the TV. You might find the same to be true.

I know in my case, learning how to understand what I heard with my CI without

visual cues wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be and I couldn't be

happier about the positive role my blindness has played in my CI success.

Left ear: Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with Freedom BTE

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Right ear: Nucleus Freedom

Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06

June 29, 2007

Wow , I'll have to agree w/Ted on this. My son was born deaf...they only

tested him up to 120 db and he had no reaction so I think that pretty much

qualifies him as hearing nothing. Hearing aids only helped for a short time and

by age 3 he heard only loud firetruck toys leaning his hearing aids and fm mic

down to the speaker. That was the only sound he could hear, and that was

minimal. So he is six now and had his implant since age 3.5 and he speaks just

like me and I have no hearing loss. He didn't even qualify for any speech

therapy after a year so it is possible, and most likely true that an implant

will help. They don't help 100% of the people and depending on the therapy and

anatomy and other factors, but most people would and should have more than a 25%

gain. Like I say it all depends on other underlying factors but have you talked

this over with your audiologist? Do you have someone that can check your

equipment regularly, like listening thru the earbuds to

make sure you are not having equip. trouble?

Val in AL

http://deafkidscanhear.blogspot.com

Parent Volunteer for Cochlear Awareness Network

Mom to Gage (6, one Nucleus Freedom)

Mom to Brook (3, bilateral Freedoms)

---------------------------------

Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join 's user panel and

lay it on us.

June 29, 2007

Hi ,

When I was activated, voices sounded very monotone and robotic. Within just

a few short weeks, voices became normal. I wouldn't say that it is like

listening to someone speak on TV vs. listening in person. Once voices

normalize, hearing in person sounds just like you remember it. I'm in a

different situation than you since I have never been completely DEAF. I had

a steep ski slope loss, so I went from hearing muffled speech to hearing

speech with a clarity that I craved but could not get with my hearing aids.

I understood speech immediately at activation. It just took a few weeks

before people sounded human again and it took awhile to learn how to filter

out the unwanted noises in order to distinguish speech over them. For

instance, if my husband was reading the paper and turned the page, the sound

of the paper turning would block out everything else. The brain just has to

get adjusted, and it had been a long time since I had heard the higher

frequency sounds.

Good luck with your surgery. I'm looking forward to hearing how everything

goes for you.

Lynn

Fairhope, AL

Nucleus Freedom

Surgery date: 9/6/06

Activation date: 9/27/06

Question I Hope You Can Help Answer....

>

> Hi all,

>

> I'm due to have my surgery within the next month or so and will be

getting

> two CI's at the same time. I am very much looking forward to seeing

how much

> this is going to change my life, as I had normal hearing my whole

life,

> until I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease in

November, and by

> the middle of January was completely deaf in both ears. I am unable

to hear

> anything at all, not even someone screaming at the top of their

lungs. I

> scored zeros in all my CI screening tests and don't hear anything

at any

> level, high frequency or low frequency. I'm trying to figure out

what life

> will be like for me after getting my CI's. I know people have said

it's not

> like " normal " hearing and that it will take time for my brain to

understand

> this new way of hearing, and I'm wondering, when you have your CI,

are you

> able to hear every word that's being said, but it just sounds

differently

> than " normal " hearing, or is it that you're still unable to hear

all of

> what's being said, in addition to it sounding differently

than " normal "

> hearing? Do you know what I'm saying? And if you don't hear every

word, what

> would you say is the percentage of hearing that you do have? Like

would you

> say you get 70% of what's being said? 90%? 100%? I'm really trying

to figure

> out if I might be able to go back to court reporting after my CI's,

which is

> a job that you must hear well in order to do, and be able to take

down

> testimony of lawyers and witnesses who are speaking. The

environment I'd be

> in would be a quiet one, with usually one person speaking at a

time, and

> most often into a microphone when they're on the stand giving

testimony. It

> would be a lawyer asking the question, then the witness responding.

Does

> anybody have any thoughts on this and do you think it's possible I

could do

> this job after getting my CI's? I'm sort of afraid to ask this

question

> because I don't want to crush my hopes of returning to work, but

I'd just

> like to prepare myself and to get some thoughts from all of you

about what

> you think. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

>

June 29, 2007

,

I do not believe you are the norm for people who get a Cochlear Implant. I

understood virtually nothing before my implant but understand everything now.

Even the telephone is easy.

I do believe you should get another opinion regarding your situation with your

implant.

Happy Hearing!

Carol

Boca Raton, FL

N24C 3G left ear -12/11/01

N Freedom- right ear- implanted 3/01/06 activated 4/6/06