Guest guest Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 My ears had finally gotten to the point that hearing aids weren't going to do it anymore. Plus, the fact that if it got damaged, it could be replaced. I raise and compete with horses in endurance, so, even though I've never had a fall bad enough to damage my head, it's always a possibility. (love my helmet!) It's been about 8 years. I just have one side - the right side, which was my better ear. I didn't join this list until this past year and it's been interesting. I don't use the T-coil for listening on the phone - the CI works just fine on the regular programs. I had also never thought about going bilateral, but now I'm wondering. I still don't know if it's worth it or not. I hear pretty darn good with just the one and with two, I feel that not only would I be going through batteries twice as fast, but I'd be spending all my time adjusting through the program channels (first one ear, then the other) every time I change environments. Seems like it would be a hassle. Rae From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of McMillen Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55 PM Subject: What motivated you... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - __________________________________________________________ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive.com/oneline/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywher e_122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Rae I have been partially implanted on my right side for 17 yrs. Through that time for one reason or anothe electrodes have been turned off. I don't feel I am hearing as much as when first implanted and recently lookied into bilateral. (with approval and a surgery date of 2/4) Since I have had no stimulus in that ear for 17 yrs they can't guarantee what sounds I will have but more is better. Stereo is better than mono. It is only recently that ins. approval for bilateral became prominent. I still remember the days when you had to fight hard for one implant! Don't do anything until you feel you want/need it and that time may or may not come. Each of us is an individual and does things for different reasons. Your comfort zone is what is important not a " label " . Vivian What motivated you... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - __________________________________________________________ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive.com/oneline/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywher e_122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Rae, Do you consider yourself to be part of the DHH community? And, do you think that CIs cure your hearing loss? What motivated you... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - __________________________________________________________ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive.com/oneline/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywher e_122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 I was born with full hearing and then slowly began losing it from the age of 12. My parents didn't know how to prepare me for growing up with a hearing loss and it had a profoundly negative effect on my life. The irony is, I didn't know how much so until I could hear again. By the time I started investigating cochlear implants, I had already had no social life, could not use the phone, never went to the movies...the loneliness of my hearing loss was so much to bear. The final " straw " was that I was no longer able to do my job effectively (junior high school math teacher). There has been no looking back! Having the first CI made an incredible difference in my affect, my social life, my career, my ability to relate to others. The second CI is just now making the sounds more comfortable and rich and helping me to hear better in noise. Baruch Hashem. In a message dated 12/23/2008 3:55:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, sarahmcmillen@... writes: to get CI? **************One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and Mail. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp & icid=aolcom40vanity & ncid=emlcntaolcom00000025) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 My motivation was: 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do 2. More balanced sound 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me 4. To hear my future grandchildren 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%.  ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM Subject: What motivated you.... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 I really don't know of the DHH community. The only other hearing impaired people I know are my brother and his wife. I have always been fully integrated into the hearing world - got my first HA at age 11, second at 15 and those worked find in increasing strength until age 32 when my audiologist told me that this was as far as HA's could take me. I have a good group of friends with (ha) accents - Peru, Venezuela, Scotland, China and both the South and North of the US. After my CI, I never used the other HA in the left ear, and even with the CI having everyone sound like Alvin the Chipmunk, I still had better word comprehension than with either or both of the HA's, so there was no looking back. I can keep up with small group conversations and talking on the phone was added back into my repertoire. Even music sounds pretty good in the right circumstances. I've found that in the car, I can put the CI on channel 1, which is no specific program and lower the volume and sensitivity to 0 (cuts out the car noise), then raise the volume of the music and I hear it the way I remember it being, both bass and treble. It's pretty cool. Rae What motivated you... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - __________________________________________________________ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive.com/oneline/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywher e_122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 I was motivated because of my 3 boys. The HA's was helping SOME, but it was getting to the point where I would just go through so much of battery a week because I kept upping it because it'd get too " soft " on sounds for me. I was born with severe profoundly hearing loss in both ears. (My mom got sick with German measles when she was 3 months pregnant with me). I was implanted right side with Advanced Bionics (AB) on 8/1/08 and I was JUST implanted on the left side with AB on 12/10 and will be activated on the 30th of December. My boys were my main reasoning for getting the CI, where it is improving the understanding and the communication. I've also noticed that it did and does help A LOT with my husband and mine's communication -- My husband's hearing.. We've been married almost 13 years. HTH! Jenifer http://jensmessystudio.com/mycijourney/ On Tue, Dec 23, 2008 at 2:55 PM, McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...>wrote: > > to get CI? > > I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had > no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have > Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a > backup while it's early. > > Have a wonderful holiday! > - > > _ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 26, 2008 Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 , What do you mean... you were motivated to get implanted so you can travel alone? From: jmkinsella55@... Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:55:52 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you... My motivation was: 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do 2. More balanced sound 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me 4. To hear my future grandchildren 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%. ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM Subject: What motivated you.... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 27, 2008 Report Share Posted December 27, 2008 Hi , Â What motivated me to get a CI? Well, my hearing kept deteriorating and I am culturally hearing. My family is hearing. I speak well. My kids can fingerspell, but I am doing most of the work, communication-wse. It would frustrate me more that they were frustrated. Also, I have Usher syndrome, so as my vision wanes, I wanted to at least hear better, too. If an eye implant were to be successful, I would be waiting in line for that, too. Â Shari in WI Â implanted: July 23, 2008 activated: August 25, 2008 Â blog: http://literallyblindsided.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I had a bad experience when I traveled by air to St. Louis several years ago, and ever since then, when I fly, I made sure I had a companion traveling with me so they could interpret for me if I didn't hear something. This year I traveled from Seattle to Idaho by myself last May, and then I flew to South Carolina in November by myself. I find that I have more confidence in my ability to understand people now, which translates into more confidence in traveling alone. I hope this explains what I meant.  ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 10:47:22 PM Subject: RE: What motivated you... , What do you mean... you were motivated to get implanted so you can travel alone? groups (DOT) com From: jmkinsella55 Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:55:52 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you... My motivation was: 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do 2. More balanced sound 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me 4. To hear my future grandchildren 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%. ____________ _________ _________ __ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@ hotmail.com> groups (DOT) com Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM Subject: What motivated you.... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 , What happened when you traveled to St. Louis? From: jmkinsella55@... Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:13:23 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you... I had a bad experience when I traveled by air to St. Louis several years ago, and ever since then, when I fly, I made sure I had a companion traveling with me so they could interpret for me if I didn't hear something. This year I traveled from Seattle to Idaho by myself last May, and then I flew to South Carolina in November by myself. I find that I have more confidence in my ability to understand people now, which translates into more confidence in traveling alone. I hope this explains what I meant. ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 10:47:22 PM Subject: RE: What motivated you... , What do you mean... you were motivated to get implanted so you can travel alone? groups (DOT) com From: jmkinsella55 Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:55:52 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you... My motivation was: 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do 2. More balanced sound 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me 4. To hear my future grandchildren 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%. ____________ _________ _________ __ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@ hotmail.com> groups (DOT) com Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM Subject: What motivated you.... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Lost my luggage and had a hard time communicating with airport personnel about what to do, etc. I just feel safer having someone who knows me who can help me with these types of things.  It was just so stressful dealing with lost luggage, getting transportation to the hotel, getting checked in, not being familiar with my surroundings...all of that.  ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 4:46:53 PM Subject: RE: What motivated you.... , What happened when you traveled to St. Louis? From: jmkinsella55@... Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:13:23 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you...         I had a bad experience when I traveled by air to St. Louis several years ago, and ever since then, when I fly, I made sure I had a companion traveling with me so they could interpret for me if I didn't hear something. This year I traveled from Seattle to Idaho by myself last May, and then I flew to South Carolina in November by myself. I find that I have more confidence in my ability to understand people now, which translates into more confidence in traveling alone. I hope this explains what I meant. ________________________________ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 10:47:22 PM Subject: RE: What motivated you... , What do you mean... you were motivated to get implanted so you can travel alone? groups (DOT) com From: jmkinsella55 Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:55:52 -0800 Subject: Re: What motivated you... My motivation was: 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do 2. More balanced sound 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me 4. To hear my future grandchildren 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%. ____________ _________ _________ __ From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@ hotmail.com> groups (DOT) com Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM Subject: What motivated you.... to get CI? I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. Have a wonderful holiday! - ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Alright, if that makes you feel comfortable. > > From: jmkinsella55@... > Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:08:20 -0800 > Subject: Re: What motivated you... > > Lost my luggage and had a hard time communicating with airport personnel about what to do, etc. I just feel safer having someone who knows me who can help me with these types of things. It was just so stressful dealing with lost luggage, getting transportation to the hotel, getting checked in, not being familiar with my surroundings...all of that. > > > > > > ________________________________ > From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> > > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 4:46:53 PM > Subject: RE: What motivated you.... > > > , > What happened when you traveled to St. Louis? > > > > > From: jmkinsella55@... > Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:13:23 -0800 > Subject: Re: What motivated you... > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I had a bad experience when I traveled by air to St. Louis several years ago, and ever since then, when I fly, I made sure I had a companion traveling with me so they could interpret for me if I didn't hear something. This year I traveled from Seattle to Idaho by myself last May, and then I flew to South Carolina in November by myself. I find that I have more confidence in my ability to understand people now, which translates into more confidence in traveling alone. I hope this explains what I meant. > > > > > > ________________________________ > > From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@...> > > > > Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 10:47:22 PM > > Subject: RE: What motivated you... > > > > , > > > > What do you mean... you were motivated to get implanted so you can travel alone? > > > > > > > > groups (DOT) com > > From: jmkinsella55 > > Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:55:52 -0800 > > Subject: Re: What motivated you... > > > > My motivation was: > > > > 1. To hear people on my right side which I never was able to do > > > > 2. More balanced sound > > > > 3. To maintain independence as I was becoming more and more dependent on my husband to interpret for me > > > > 4. To hear my future grandchildren > > > > 5. To be able to function at work - to hear staff during meetings and other interactions > > > > 6. To be able to travel alone on airlines and > > > > 7. To attend conferences and seminars for work > > > > I was implanted in my right ear 3/07. My right ear was profoundly deaf all of its 51 years of life at the time of my surgery.. It's taken a lot of work, faith, patience and practice, but after 18 months I am able to understand 62% of single words and 85% sentences in quiet with my implant. Combined with my left ear which hears with a hearing aid, my understanding of single words and sentences are 94-98%. > > > > > > > > ____________ _________ _________ __ > > > > From: McMillen <sarahmcmillen@ hotmail.com> > > > > groups (DOT) com > > > > Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 2:55:18 PM > > > > Subject: What motivated you.... > > > > to get CI? > > > > I am just curious because I was born profoundly deaf and hearing aids had no chance of providing me hearing at all. I also got it because I have Usher's Syndrome so my sight is gradually declining so I thought I'd get a backup while it's early. > > > > Have a wonderful holiday! > > > > - > > > > ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _ > > > > Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass. > > > > http://windowslive. com/oneline/ hotmail?ocid= TXT_TAGLM_ WL_hotmail_ acq_anywhere_ 122008 > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 PEOPLE, could we PLEASE cut all the extra stuff at the end of a reply, and just cut and paste what is important, not include 3 or 4 other e mails. They tend to get double and triple spaced and one or 2 words to a line and a lot of marks like >>> at the beginning. Please remember there are a lot of deafblind members of this list who have to WADE through all this. Answer the question, and cut and paste the necessary information from the previous post. Thanks a zillion, ____________________________________________________________ Make a splash with a new above ground pool! Click now! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw3QIixU6lgIAXlvyaldcSj4cdWbFQGf\ ABVdcsYXntj5UNeRF/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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