How Do You Define Success with a Cochlear Implant?
Tuesday July 15, 2008
How do you define success with a cochlear implant? My understanding is that it is a very individual thing. For myself, I define success as being able to understand speech when lipreading, without much effort. I also define it as being able to follow spoken words with the aid of captions or subtitles.
Another deaf person or parent of a deaf child might define it as being able to understand speech without looking at the person. Someone else might define it as being able to understand the words and sounds of music when listening with an iPod. Still another person might define it as being able to hear environmental sounds.
How do YOU define success with a cochlear implant?
Comments
I received my first implant December 2007. Now going on 6 months, I would say that it is a success for me. I was born with profound hearing loss, but was able to use hearing aids most of my life and learned how to talk and lip-read. I was never taught ASL, because it was never needed.
When I was 24 yrs old, my right ear hearing loss was so severe that hearing aids were no longer effective. Then at 32, my left ear did the same thing. Over the next 3 years, I just lived in silent, lip-reading and also learned ASL.
Finally, I got a job that had great insurance, and was able to get the C.I. for my left ear. My expectations were to basically have “situational awareness,” such as hearing my 6 month old baby crying or noise that would need my attention. My Audiologist told me that I would not be able to talk on the phone or the likes of that.
After 3 months on the implant, to the surprise of everyone, including my audiologist, I was able to talk on the phone and understand for the most part. Now it is 6 months, I am doing better and better. I enjoy music and movies a lot more.
But old habit dies hard, I still use captions on my TV, my kids are not quiet, so I need that. I still lip-read, since I do not hear “everything”. Now I am getting a C.I. for my other ear, which will be this September.
So what is a success? I would say if you have your expectations low and work from there, it would be a success. Remember, I just wanted situational awareness and I got more than that.
In my book, considering the money spent on cochlear implant(s), success is when you no longer need assistive devices or services (interpreters, visual alerts, etc…).
I am deaf and only use my hearing aids when listening to music. Personally, I would never get a cochlear implant.
I consider success to be when one can live independently, have a job, be happy with oneself, and pursue goals.
One can do all of these without implants. I guess that’s why I don’t consider them necessary.
The first time I heard and understood my 9 year old daughter’s voice with my back turn, that defined success for me!
I have always said that a CI is a personal journey, my success was able to understand someone behind me.
interesting article
I watched the HBO Documentary, “Hear and Now,” about an elderly Deaf couple implanted with CIs, the husband being the guy who invented the TTY.
I thought the Deaf Man’s attitude toward CIs was SPOT ON. He treated CIs like any new-found technological gadget. Indeed, he treated SOUND as a new-found gadget. He appreciated what CIs gave him without any expectations.
He loved being able to listen to Music, to the Radio, but didn’t expect it to be PERFECT or a CURE for Deafness. When he got dick of SOUND, he turned the CI OFF, just like an older person logging off the Internet, once he got what he wanted, appreciative of what the Technology REPRESENTED, but, you know, I’m DONE with this for today. At the end of the day, he could be DONE WITH SOUND. I respect that so much.
Contrast that with his WIFE’S attitude, trying so hard to be able to recognize Speech and so unable to. She tried SO HARD to be HEARING but COULDN’T. But there are scenes of her exploring Sound. Scratching and tapping the walls, listening for every new sound. Breaking branches and trying to figure out what every sound MEANT. And she broke down CRYING not being able to understand the World as Hearing people do.
I thing Paul Taylor had the RIGHT Deaf attitude towards CIs. You take what you CAN from them, just like Deaf people have done with every bit of technology that has come along.
So often Hearing people lament how Deaf people will never know how Birds chirp, how Music sounds, the Voice of their Hearing children. Well, CIs give Deaf people SOME appreciation of this. Maybe not the way that Hearing people do, but as how THEY do with CIs.
CIs do NOT “Cure” Deafness. They, according to Late-Deafened people, give an ARTIFICIAL Hearing, something they must re-train their brains, often for YEARS to understand.
“Success” with CIs shouldn’t be OBJECTIVE Goals, like understanding Speech, but SUBJECTIVE goals, like gaining a better appreciation for SOUND and, maybe a better understanding of a Hearing World.
Thanks so much for this article. I am getting a cochlear implant this September and am excited for finally getting my hearing back in my left ear (it disappeared for no apparent reason 6 years ago - I am also severely hard-of-hearing in my right ear and wear a hearing aid).
My audiologist said that because I have been exposed to sound in the left ear in the recent past (recent meaning the past 10 years), I have a better chance of success than someone who gets a CI and has been deaf their entire life.
However, this all depends on how much work I put into it - I will be going to aural rehabilitation for a year or more to train my brain how to make sense of sound. I am completely ready for the challenge!
I received my implant a year and half ago. I was a hearing person who lost my hearing very rapidly. they are wonderful but you have to teach your self to use it. Talked to a lady who had one in a store and the only time she wears hers is when she goes out cant do this you have to leave them on to let yourself get the full value of them . Oh yes I went from zero hearing in my left ear to 96 percent life is good for me now. Can not under stand why people wont have them.
It’s definitely a personal thing.
My hearing with hearing aids is very profound, but currently equal to your definition of success with a CI (able to understand speech when lipreading, without much effort and able to follow spoken words WITH captions). So hard to know if a CI would help or not.
Success is what you make of it, rather than have other people define success for you. As for the CI case, the greater chance of success are those who are implanted while very young compared to adults with the exception of late deafened adults.
Saraj, spot on. It is a personal thing. It is for the person him/herself to define what he/she consider as a success or not.