(Introduction from John) A few weeks back, I met a virtual friend Dave Henry who is going through the Cochlear Implant process at about the same time as I am. He had his surgery right after mine, and had his implant activated just before mine (lucky him!) I asked him if he'd like to share his story as a guest blogger, and he graciously agreed. Over to you, Dave...
About me. I am a 44 year old male and have had progressive hearing loss in my right ear for the past 13 years. At the onset of my hearing loss (and corresponding tinnitus) I went to my ENT and after blood work, MRI and a barrage of hearing tests I was told that there was no known cause for my hearing loss. I was not exposed to any loud music or anything like that, I simply awoke one day and realized I was straining to hear and had this annoying ringing in my ears. Since I had one 'good' ear I didn't much of it and life went on.
Fast forward to August of 2014. My right ear hearing continued to decline to the point of severe/profound hearing loss with 10% speech recognition. On 8/1/2014, I awoke to tinnitus in my left ear, a sense of fullness and noticeable hearing loss. I immediately went to my ENT and after blood work, MRI and hearing tests, was diagnosed with cochlear hydrops. Cochlear Hydrops is in the Meneire's Disease family with symptoms of fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus and fullness.
Over the past year, my hearing in my left ear (once good ear) had progressively declined and my speech recognition was at 48% at the end of August. My ENT and I discussed options and we agreed that pursuing a CI was the right choice for me. Since that day, so much has taken place. I had CI surgery on 10/22 and after 2.5 weeks of recovery, I was activated on 11/9. (Please read John's recent blog on suggestions for how to cope during the 'silent period.' Time between surgery and activation.
Fast forward to August of 2014. My right ear hearing continued to decline to the point of severe/profound hearing loss with 10% speech recognition. On 8/1/2014, I awoke to tinnitus in my left ear, a sense of fullness and noticeable hearing loss. I immediately went to my ENT and after blood work, MRI and hearing tests, was diagnosed with cochlear hydrops. Cochlear Hydrops is in the Meneire's Disease family with symptoms of fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus and fullness.
Over the past year, my hearing in my left ear (once good ear) had progressively declined and my speech recognition was at 48% at the end of August. My ENT and I discussed options and we agreed that pursuing a CI was the right choice for me. Since that day, so much has taken place. I had CI surgery on 10/22 and after 2.5 weeks of recovery, I was activated on 11/9. (Please read John's recent blog on suggestions for how to cope during the 'silent period.' Time between surgery and activation.
Activation day for me was a life changing day. I had low expectations for activation day as I understood that everyone's activation is different and that it takes several months to train your brain to hear through your CI. After a series of tests of the electrodes, my audiologist turned on my processor. (This is the external piece that goes over your ear and has a wired tether to a piece that magnetically attaches to the implant) I heard my audiologists voice right away and it was so very clear. She likely spoke for another 5 minutes telling me what to expect, however I was not listening. I heard her, but I was just beside myself with joy that I had sound once again in my ear that I was not really listening to her. My wife who was sitting beside me was just smiling from ear to ear. I was amazed that I was able to distinguish her voice from my audiologists voice.
I am now 5 days post activation and am enjoying all the new found sounds. I am a fan of technology and have enjoyed toying around with some of the accessories that came with my processor. For those tinnitus sufferers out there, I will tell you this. For me, my while my tinnitus has not gone away, it is not as evasive at it used to be prior to surgery/activation. I return to my audiologist in 2 week for another 'mapping' This is where she will turn on additional electrodes that will help enrich my hearing. My homework is to read aloud as much as I can, listen to audio books and most of all just keep on moving forward in life.
While I am very new to all of this, I am very pleased with my decision to pursue a CI. The process can be very scary and daunting. My advice to those that are in a similar situation is to educate yourself as much as possible and find people who are also in the process of pursuing a CI. I stumbled across John's blog one day and since then we've been able to share knowledge and experiences.
Keep moving forward!
I am now 5 days post activation and am enjoying all the new found sounds. I am a fan of technology and have enjoyed toying around with some of the accessories that came with my processor. For those tinnitus sufferers out there, I will tell you this. For me, my while my tinnitus has not gone away, it is not as evasive at it used to be prior to surgery/activation. I return to my audiologist in 2 week for another 'mapping' This is where she will turn on additional electrodes that will help enrich my hearing. My homework is to read aloud as much as I can, listen to audio books and most of all just keep on moving forward in life.
While I am very new to all of this, I am very pleased with my decision to pursue a CI. The process can be very scary and daunting. My advice to those that are in a similar situation is to educate yourself as much as possible and find people who are also in the process of pursuing a CI. I stumbled across John's blog one day and since then we've been able to share knowledge and experiences.
Keep moving forward!