I saw a new audiologist yesterday - one who specializes in cochlear implants. We did testing of a different sort - normally, my audiograms have been based on pure tones, with and without noise, and what's called a "closed set" - a set of words that you know in advance and have to repeat back. Although we did that briefly, we also did some more detailed testing with my hearing aids on - identifying individual words as well as sentences, with and without noise, but with no context. I believe it's called the HINT.
With no background noise, I score about 30%. Since I lip read probably 30% of what I 'hear', the rest is made up for with context, bluffing, and repetition - that's a big difference. Bringing the volume up to about 60 dB, which is where I hear pure tones with my aids, I get closer to 70%, which is pretty decent. This means that I'd probably score 70+% on that same test with an implant, which would be a big improvement, and means I'm a cochlear candidate; FDA guidelines say 30%, and the implantation center I'm talking to has 50% as their recommendation for getting an implant.
The whole infection thing still needs to be discussed, but I don't think that will be an issue. Assuming all goes well, I'll get an MRI and possibly a CT scan of my skull and inner ear, do more audiologic testing (to determine which side to implant - the implantation destroys the hearing on that side, so this is important), and then we're looking at surgery in late May. About 10 days later, I could be hooked up for the first time. My history of hearing is pretty optimal for an implant - I'm used to sound, so I don't have to relearn that, and I don't have to learn to hear and learn (spoken) English at the same time. There may be a period where I can't comprehend speech with the implant alone, although I will be able to wear my hearing aid on the other side, and that period could be anywhere from a few days to a couple of months. They recommend weekly auditory therapy for a few months after implantation, but that could even be done back at school.
The two big companies that manufacture implants are Cochlear, which makes the Nucleus Freedom, and Advanced Bionics, which makes the Harmony 120 (there's a third company, Med-El, but they're mostly used in Europe, and the center I'm talking to doesn't work with them right now). From what I've read, they're pretty equivalent; either one is a safe choice. So the decision depends mostly on features. Going through the brochures and DVDs now, it looks like both companies are focusing mostly on people with no experience of hearing loss - seniors and parents of very young children - so there's a lot of emphasis on the whole "hearing again" and "rejoining society" thing. Almost makes me understand why some Deafies find the whole thing so offensive ... almost. And of course, marketing is marketing - but I think I have a bookmark around here somewhere with a fairly neutral comparison of the two companies' products, and I have some acquaintances with implants who I can ask for information. Either way, this will be very interesting.
With no background noise, I score about 30%. Since I lip read probably 30% of what I 'hear', the rest is made up for with context, bluffing, and repetition - that's a big difference. Bringing the volume up to about 60 dB, which is where I hear pure tones with my aids, I get closer to 70%, which is pretty decent. This means that I'd probably score 70+% on that same test with an implant, which would be a big improvement, and means I'm a cochlear candidate; FDA guidelines say 30%, and the implantation center I'm talking to has 50% as their recommendation for getting an implant.
The whole infection thing still needs to be discussed, but I don't think that will be an issue. Assuming all goes well, I'll get an MRI and possibly a CT scan of my skull and inner ear, do more audiologic testing (to determine which side to implant - the implantation destroys the hearing on that side, so this is important), and then we're looking at surgery in late May. About 10 days later, I could be hooked up for the first time. My history of hearing is pretty optimal for an implant - I'm used to sound, so I don't have to relearn that, and I don't have to learn to hear and learn (spoken) English at the same time. There may be a period where I can't comprehend speech with the implant alone, although I will be able to wear my hearing aid on the other side, and that period could be anywhere from a few days to a couple of months. They recommend weekly auditory therapy for a few months after implantation, but that could even be done back at school.
The two big companies that manufacture implants are Cochlear, which makes the Nucleus Freedom, and Advanced Bionics, which makes the Harmony 120 (there's a third company, Med-El, but they're mostly used in Europe, and the center I'm talking to doesn't work with them right now). From what I've read, they're pretty equivalent; either one is a safe choice. So the decision depends mostly on features. Going through the brochures and DVDs now, it looks like both companies are focusing mostly on people with no experience of hearing loss - seniors and parents of very young children - so there's a lot of emphasis on the whole "hearing again" and "rejoining society" thing. Almost makes me understand why some Deafies find the whole thing so offensive ... almost. And of course, marketing is marketing - but I think I have a bookmark around here somewhere with a fairly neutral comparison of the two companies' products, and I have some acquaintances with implants who I can ask for information. Either way, this will be very interesting.
posted by ismith at 2:47 PM
1 Comments:
Hi,
I living in Ontario, Canada and have an Advanced Bionic implant which was done last Jan. I wore one HA and have found this CI has made a BIG difference in the quality of my life. Hope everything goes well for you!
Iris
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