Feedback from a bilateral user

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DJ:

Here are the truthful facts of my bilateral experience of almost 4 years.

My ability to localize in tests in a sound proof room is outstanding - as

good as I can get for the tests with 16 speakers in an arc. In real life,

it is a vast improvement over just one CI, particularly in traffic

situations.

I also have better hearing in noise (headshadow effect) and it is much

easier to hear soft sounds with two ears. I find that only in EXTREME

situations will I have a need to change my settings to allow for the

conditions. For the first year or more I was continually adjusting the maps

of my first CI down as we brought the second CI UP to finally achieve a nice

balance. I had seven years of single side CI use, so I think it was a

matter of getting the one ear to " give up " doing all the work.

I am not sure what you are trying to get to with your question about how

things sound relative to the descriptions. Things sounded very normal to

me, but I would describe hearing with two ears as more full and rich

sounding as opposed to a more flat sound of one ear. I might also add my

personal experience was that receiving the second CI was almost

anticlimactic compared to going from no hearing to hearing with one CI. I

remember commenting to my husband as we dined in a noisy restaurant the

first night my second CI was activated - that it seemed to be hardly making

a difference. Well, I turned OFF the new CI and already in a few hours the

sound in my first CI sounded different and less pleasant. You see, my brain

was already adapting to binaural sound! What a surprise!

DJ - I truly appreciate your concerns about giving up residual hearing. I

can only share MY experience - and that is that I have never for one tiny

minute regretted my decision to be bilateral. I had no residual hearing to

give up, but I do remember with my first CI concern for giving up what

little hearing I had. It was all I knew........so of course, it was

frightening to consider losing it. I am so happy I took the leap of faith!

When I think about the things that are better for me now, things that comes

to mind:

It is easier to have conversations with people on any side, and to know

where the person is speaking from.

Music - with two ears, it is truly three dimensional and awesome compared to

one CI.

Hearing in noise - much easier now and rarely do I need to change processor

settings to hear.

Soft sounds, such as my soft spoken granddaughter - much easier for me to

hear her. One of the first things I noticed after receiving my second CI is

that I did not have to work so hard to hear in some situations.

Also, distance hearing seems to be improved. I particularly get a kick out

of pulling over for emergency vehicles now long before other drivers give

their attention to them!

Lastly - and one that I didn't think about before becoming bilateral - if

one battery goes out, you still have the other ear while you are changing

batteries, so you don't miss a thing!

Warmly, Carol

Considering Bilateral, Need Feedback From Bi users please!

Posted by: " DJ " soutthpaw@... soutthpaw

Date: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:29 am ((PDT))

Hi,

Did your ability to localize sound change when you when bilateral?

How did it change?

Did your ability to hear in noisy situations change? how?

Did you get the benefit of Binaural (sp) amplification using 2 CI's

together? (this means where the sum of the 2 is greater than one alone)

Did the way (more robotic, natural, garbled etc.) things sound actually

change or stay the same? how?

These are the key issues for me in deciding to go ahead with the Bilateral

surgery. Thanks in advance for your responses

DJ Wooldridge