Jul 06 2010

Journey Into the World of Sound

Published by Senthil at 9:45 pm under Open Chat Night

Opening Topic for Open Chat Night:  Learning from Cochlear Implant users

We had an interesting conversation in last week’s Open Chat Night.  A member was scheduled to get Cochlear Implants and wanted to know the experiences of others who have gone through the process.  We had a couple other implant users share their story from surgery to activation.  It’s really amazing how this type of technology is helping people in our generation.

I think it’s great that users are coming to our chat on Wednesday nights to discuss their experiences with this great technology.  Tomorrow night, stop by and share your journey into the world of sound!  This will be helpful for those who are considering or planning to get the Implants.

www.OpenChatNight.com

One Response to “Journey Into the World of Sound”

  1. # Carol Burnson 07 Jul 2010 at 6:47 pm

    I am so sorry I missed this chat, and unfortunately I won’t be able to join you tonight. All I would like to say is that I recieved my first CI almost 14 years ago. For me it has been a life altering experience. I have had hearing loss most all of my life, receiving my first hearing aid at age 5, but had been with a hearing loss for a few years prior to that. By the age of 15 I had a 92dB loss. Fast forward to my early 40’s and I had another dip in my hearing to an average 110-115dB loss. That was the darkest time of my life, as at that point I had to speechread everything. I was fearful of losing my job, my 20 yr. marriage was over and I was struggling just to survive. When I was 51 I received my first CI and what a difference! Within 3-4 short months I no longer needed to use the TTY or two line VCO of the relay to manage the phone. I changed jobs between surgery and activation of the CI, going to a position that had zero communication requirements from a supervisory position. Of course I was bored beyond description with the new job, but excited for the possibilities that the ability to use the phone presented me. One year almost to the day of my activation, I promoted 3 levels in my new job. I was handling cold phone calls from all 72 WI counties for a new program. Seven years later I had a second CI to become bilateral.

    I understand so well the fears of making the decision to have a CI. For me it was a huge step because in the 90’s there was very little data and much less online support for candidates. I always tell people considering a CI that they need to have realistic expectations of what the CI will do, how much effort they will have to spend to achieve optimum results and most importantly get through the time when the brain is adapting to the new sounds from the implant. With practice, patience and perseverance anything is possibile.

    I hope you have a good discussion tonight Senthil and I hope I can read up later on the discussion thread. Have a wonderful evening……..

    Carol

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