Evaluation Process for CIs - Your experience?

Thank you so much.

The second AUD tested both ears. All testing was done with aids. No testing without at least one aid on. He did use some data from the first fitting. He did not test me in noise. I asked him to but he said he didn’t need to. Both ears are implant candidates. He could not understand how the first AUD got the hearing % she did. He studied it it wondering how.

He initially wanted to test me with aids he programmed but changed his mind, not sure why.
This AUD asked a lot of questions about life and hearing situations. We talked a lot. He seemed to understand everything better than the first AUD.

The second AUD does have 2 CI’s, Kanso’s. He got his implants 9 years ago. He doesn’t need any Bluetooth devices to hear TV, phone or anything else. He could hear everything, didn’t miss anything.

@Raudrive said:

So, my journey begins.

Great news! Wishing you the best. I’m sure you will find a lot of support from everyone here.

@Raudrive said:

He could not understand how the first AUD got the hearing % she did.

I can tell you what the difference was: she is HOH, too

Since getting accepted for cochlear implants it has taken 2 weeks, 3 emails and finally the help of my Cochlear representative to get a doctors appointment with the surgeon. September 1, 2020 I will talk to the doctor.

This pre-journey is something.

Agreed.
The pneumonia shot is part of the pre-surgery list, failed to mention it. I happened to get one a few months ago.
Something else I forgot was a Covid-19 test has to be done.
Thanks

On the COVID test they may have a restriction on when you can have it on the surgery timeline (given that it’s only a snapshot in time). I had mine two days prior at my pre-op.

I’m very happy for you Raudrive that your assessment and surgeons visit have gone as you had hoped. Good luck with your procedure.

I had a localized reaction to one of those injections. Golly my arm was inflamed, hard and painful for weeks after. Can’t remember which one though. The thought of having to get them all again every 5 yrs is not nice. But far better to be safe than sorry.
I had to have Covid swab 4 days pre op just recently, if I didn’t the hospital wouldn’t admit me for the procedure.

I hope all goes well. Best wishes!

Sounds like you’re on the right track. My CT scan just happened to be the same day I had the SSHL while I was at the ER. They used that one so I didn’t have to have a second. My MRI was done about a week after the SSHL. At the time my doctor wanted to make sure I hadn’t had a stroke because of diabetes. That was convenient. I just had to go through my physical and labs twice because of the delay in surgery due to COVID.

I’m almost a month post activated. I can notice a difference if I have just the hearing aid on and not the sound processor. It’s weird how your brain “blends” the normal sound from the ear with my hearing aid with the processor on the other ear. Next appointment at three months in November. What processor did you choose?

Good luck with your surgery, will bevthinking of you on 10/01!

Thanks for this information.

Today I had the CT scan. It went smoothly, about 8-10 minutes guessing.
Monday the 14th I get the pre-op physical, shots and EKG.
3 weeks from today, October 1st, I am scheduled for the implant surgery.

Audiologist has ordered the Kanso 2 processors hopefully. My understanding the Kanso 2 will be available in October.

@Raudrive said:

October 1st, I am scheduled for the implant surgery.

Hope all goes well with surgery and activation.

@Raudrive Never hurts to get a second opinion from a user.

I have an appointment at the end of the month to continue the process now for my left ear. I’ve already qualified so this is just kicking off scheduling and what not. Also, had a mapping session this morning and that was fine; we created a secondary map with bumped up higher frequencies to potentially compensate for masks a little. I’m to play around with that so we’ll see how that goes. I also still have two remaining progressively louder maps just in case, since my next appointment barring my left ear appointments won’t be until mid-December.

It sure sounds like you are doing well. Thanks for giving us an update.

I just got home from the doctors office getting pre-op stuff done. After the physical, EKG, blood work, CT scan, shots and Covid-19 test I am kicking myself for not standing my ground with the surgeon about getting both implants done at once. Knowing I will have to do all these things again. I wonder if it’s just to milk the system more at my expense?

I admit I don’t quite understand it either. Yes, I have a job, so it would’ve been inconvenient for (at least) those three weeks prior to activation. But let’s face facts here: I’m not doing that well with hearing aids; that’s why I’m a CI candidate in the first place. So, if you do both, and one or both don’t work out, or you don’t benefit, is it really THAT big a deal? They say yes. My research though, there’s relatively few cases where they didn’t work out, or discovered something during surgery that made it a no go.

But at the same time, I know I’m a weirdo because I’m sitting here on a conference call with technical jargon streaming direct to my CI only and I’m doing pretty well with it. This is from everyone I have spoken to beyond expectation for only two months in.