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This article will be the starting point on documenting my journey from being near-deaf to a ‘re-introduction’ to the hearing world.
I’ll attempt to explain how a cochlear implant works. In a person with normal hearing, you have tiny microscopic hairs inside a ‘snail-like’ shell, which is located in the inner part of your ear. These tiny hairs conduct or funnel sound into the auditory nerve which processes sounds. For many of those people who are hard-of-hearing (HOH), profoundly deaf, minimal hearing, etc., the tiny hairs are virtually non-existent or dead. With a cochlear implant, the tiny electrode array is fed into the cochlea and when sounds are made, the device sends signals down the electrode array and the brain is able to process the sounds. Then you also have the external microphone that is worn, similar to a hearing aid, with a magnet that attaches to the implant. It’s sort of hard to explain, so refer to the pictures included.
According to my doctor, it is estimated that in about 20 years or so, with the use of stem-cell research, scientists will be able to regenerate the tiny hairs in the cochlea and restore natural hearing. In the mean time, I see no other option and I have decided that a CI is the most beneficial for me. There are some drawbacks to having a CI. Certainly, the cosmetics of having a device attached to the outside of your head and walking around like someone straight out of a Star Wars movie, is not appealing to me. In fact, during my research, one person described the sound made from a CI as: ‘Everyone sounds like Darth Vader or Mrs. Darth Vader’. With a CI, the device is permanent and you can not revert back to natural hearing at a later time. I enjoy music as much as the next person, but sadly haven’t been able to enjoy it at all for the past 3 years. While I understand that music will never sound the same again, I think it is fair to say that hearing sounds is better than hearing nothing.
A CI is not without controversy either. In the ‘Big D’ (D for deaf) community, people look at CIs and hearing aids as being an affront to those who are deaf. Typically those in the Big D group, are born deaf and communicate with sign language. They see themselves as a minority threatened by the ‘hearing’ majority. Often times those children now being born deaf are getting CIs while still in diapers and those in the Big D group don’t think that is fair to commit an infant to the ‘hearing’ majority without the child’s consent. Watch this video of an infant who just had his CI turned on for the first time.
Some relevant background on myself, I’ve worn hearing aids since I was in 3rd grade. I'm 33 years old and, up until about 3 years ago, could converse well in a group setting, talk over the phone and generally speaking led a fairly normal life. Keep in mind, there is a difference between pre-linguistic and post-linguistic hearing loss. Typically, those with pre-linguistic hearing loss were born deaf and are not able to speak as clearly as those with post-linguistic hearing loss. I’m an example of post-linguistic hearing loss.
I guess my hearing has been slowly becoming worse and worse over the years. It eventually reached the point to were I have had tinnitus (ringing in the ear) 24/7, for the past 3 years. Some days are worse than others, but it is what it is. As it stands right now, my hearing is virtually non existent and I’m still wearing two hearing aids. Most of my residual ‘hearing’ comes from bone conduction and I can still hear people’s voices, barely, yet can’t comprehend enough of the sound to process the speech. In order to communicate, I use my hearing aids and my self taught ability to lip-read combined to form a sort of metaphoric ‘puzzle’ to comprehend what the conversation is about. It’s not an exact science and I sometimes become easily confused on what was said. It’s certainly been a very frustrating time for my family and friends, to communicate with me.
The CI device, operation and the associated costs for rehab amount to about $100,000, in my own case, anyways. Being without insurance that would cover the cost, I was lucky to have a device donated to me, which amounted to half the total cost. Plus, I was equally fortunate to have a generous surgical team which donated much of the cost of the surgery and post surgical rehab. My surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic estimates that I will be able to hear about 80% that of a normal person, post surgery. It is important to understand that everyone adapts to the CI differently, so there is no absolute guarantee on the positive results. But due to my, relatively speaking, young age, residual hearing in my right ear, and my ability to already speak clearly…I should adjust fairly easily, at least that’s what they tell me.
According to the Wiki article on cochlear implants (CI), almost 200,000 people through out the world have cochlear implants, since April 2009. Due to the high cost of the devices, those people primarily live in the developed world/western countries.
Next week, I will be undergoing an operation for a Cochlear Implant. The surgeon will make a small incision behind my left ear, extract a few layers of skull bone to fit the recessed internal device and drill a small hole in my skull to fit the electrode array into my cochlea. I know it sounds bad, but the operation is considered outpatient with a surgical time of less than 2 hours. After two weeks recuperating, the first week also being without a shower, they will turn the device on.
To my surprise, there is even a cat with a CI...he doesn't look too happy...
So, what are your thoughts? Do you or anyone you know, have a CI?
