So it’s been 8 years since my first cochlear implant! So much has happened since my first one and now.
Ben and I got married!
Then we had a baby:
Then I got a new job:
And then we had another baby – we’re now a family of four!
And now…
I have finally decided, after 8 years – to get a second cochlear implant.
You can read all about my new journey here: An emotional journey to bilateral cochlear implants.
Thanks for sharing this incredible journey with me!
August 12, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Congratulations on all your accomplishments! I have two cochlears and I love them!
October 24, 2017 at 4:02 am
Kate, I found your blog through google searching and congrats on quite a ride and story. I’m so happy for you everything worked out so well for you. The reason I was google searching and found your blog was because my wife, who was born hearing impaired, but able to hear pretty well (talk on the phone, etc) with a hearing aid just became a victim to sudden sensory hearing loss, significantly taking down her hearing ability in her good (with aid) ear – from about 84% to about 40%. Now she hears muffled sounds, nothing very clear. Coincidentally she happened to be researching cochlear implants about 1-2 months ago as an option, but it now appears to be a necessity. She’s a strong woman, but as you can imagine in the short term she’s nervous and scared. She’s taking steroids as we hope the hearing comes back but we know we can’t count on it as we prepare for the next steps. If possible I would love to pick your brain over email about the cochlear implant, it seems to have been a godsend for you, which would be the light at the end of the tunnel for my wife.
Thanks,
Jonathan
NY, NY USA
December 24, 2017 at 4:27 pm
Greetings from Southern California! I have been reading your blog and most of the associated correspondence with the greatest of interest. I am 74 and have had a lifelong history of profound hearing loss and unilateral hearing, after having lost most of it to Scarlet Fever at age 4. I’ve worn hearing aids on a chest harness when I was 6, when hearing aids ran off tubes just like radios did in those times, and they were forever breaking down. Over the years I have had umpteen surgeries on my ears, and I functioned pretty well with the lip-reading I learned at the New York League for the Hard-of-Hearing from age 6 through my adolescence.
Less than a year ago I had an audiogram made and was a bit concerned to see that my hearing was less good than it had been before, but a couple of weeks ago the reason became clear: I am losing ALL my hearing and on my way to becoming deaf.
Fortunately I have Kaiser and an excellent audiologist there with a PhD, and my ENT is a neuro-oto-laryngologist. They have agreed that I am a likely candidate for the CI and I have been browsing the internet to learn whatever I can about it. Your blog is very encouraging.
Actually, I don’t need encouragement: I am going into this surgery as I have so many times in my assorted ear surgeries in the past, with extreme optimism, and the outcome has always justified this. And in this case, with the alternative being total deafness, I having nothing to lose and everything to gain, which is optimism in a nutshell!
I really appreciated reading your blog, and have bookmarked it for future reference! You are, as many of your readers have noted, an excellent writer, and it is a pleasure to follow your blog. Thank you for your encouragement!
Mary Elgabalawi, Christmas Eve, 2017
January 31, 2018 at 8:30 am
I really enjoyed reading your blog about your CI journey! A question comes to mind regarding the quality of music since receiving your second CI. You mention that the bass sounds from the new CI are much better than what you experienced with the CI of 8 years ago. Can you comment on any physical differences in the implant arrays that might be a contributor to the improved sound. I.e, is the newer array longer and able to reach further into the cochlea where low frequency sounds are processed?
My hearing loss is almost to the point of qualifying me for CIs and I’m curious about recent advances in CI and improved perception of music.
Thanks, Dave Detty Grove City, Ohio USA
February 1, 2018 at 8:51 am
Hi. I just came across our blog by accident – I had an implant seven days ago and my husband and I were just saying ” this time last week…..” .
You mentioned that the day after implant you felt great, almost painless but then things became a bit sore and you felt groggy. Me too but I am so relieved to have read that it had happened to someone else. You also mentioned that your voice sounded odd and talking was a bit sore – again, my experience and again relief that it’s not just me.
Thanks for that reassurance! I think by now you are just having or have had your second implant. I hope that has gone well for you.
I have switch on in 20 days…… here’s to the future 😀