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Between Cochlear Implant & Keeping On With Hearing Aids

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At a crossroads…

The last visit I had with Audi, the Cochlear Implant was discussed as an option.

A few days later, I listened to Boston’s first album and it sounded so great - this with my 8 year old - AMAZING - Siemens hearing aids. This left me thinking I don’t yet want to give up on natural sound.

But, I do miss stuff with my Siemens. Lots of stuff.

Gratefully, Microsoft Teams captioning has allowed me to continue working without a hitch. I’m very enthused about captioning, and at this time, am thinking to use the newer\better hearing aids (specifically the newer aids that are known to improve speech recognition) and combine that with captioning - via Teams and the emerging glasses technology.

I have an appointment with my Audi tomorrow and was looking to get some feedback on what would be the best hearing aids for my loss as well as anything anyone can add based on my .

Thanks you so much!

H2H

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Pending on those Siemens aids you might have newer aids with better technology that could help you.

The new Phonak Spheres are getting great reports.
The new Oticon Intents are also getting good reports.
They might be worth a try before the big question.

My thoughts on CI is when your hearing gets bad enough making this decision is much easier.

If you are on the fence about a , it might be helpful to request a full CI evaluation and consult with a surgeon. Doing this would allow you to gather all of the information and get up to date input on the CI. A lot of may not be well versed in the latest progress in CIs over the last 10 years or so, and may not be the best source of up to date info. Having a CI evaluation involves about 2 hours of various booth tests - much more in depth than usual. There NO OBLIGATION to move forward with a CI. You can have the testing, talk the CI surgeon and ask questions, and then decide to stick with . Up to now, your experience is HAs, so the thought of a CI can be terrifying. Gathering current knowledge to inform your decision might help clarify the answer for you. Insurance should cover the testing and you can verify that in advance if $$ is a concern. Personally I sent the CI route at the point I was ready for another set of HAs because the cost of new HAs was more than the surgery out of pocket cost - and a CI was in my future anyway. Feel free to ask questions. There are several CI experience posts on this forum that you can review to get some info as well. Food for thought:)

I agree with @joanhawsey.
Try to do some internet researches on the 3 companies. Speak to each companies CI representatives, as you will gain more valuable information from these people than your current Aud. Ask the reps the cost of ongoing accessories for the CI. Some are more expensive than others. You can also ask the CI group here any questions you want more information on. We have members who have CI’s from all 3 companies.

@Raudrive gave you good information on HA’s, just make sure you are able to trial these aids before you have to pay for them in full. As they might not be at all helpful in the long run. I paid $7790 AU for new Phonak aids, 12 months later and numerous reprogramming appointments they were useless to me. As far as I’m concerned that was a waste of money.

Make an appointment at a CI clinic for evaluation. Some CI clinics offer 2 devices so check that out as well. See the Specialist at the clinic you choose. Ask him/her further questions that you have. Ask what device the surgeon is more familiar with and what one they recommend to you. Check with your insurance how much you are out of pocket for the CI surgery. Work out if the HA’s are a more viable option financially.

Once you have been evaluated for CI you are under no obligation to have the surgery. You can go away and think about what’s best for you.
Good luck with whatever road you choose to walk.

Keep in mind, you can get hearing aids on a trial basis. You can not get a on trial.

Thanks for the great feedback!

I have actually gone through the assessment and have had an appointment with the surgeon. The main thought I have right now is that I don’t want to lose natural sound. ’s have worked well for me over the years - I’ve worn a pair for over 30 years now - and I’m hoping that new ones with better technology will continue to work for me.

That said, after reading your comments and a few others in the recent posts, I’m thinking I need to research and reach out a bit more.

I have read the three primary books provided by the three CI vendors and a wonderful book by Richard Pocker called Cochlear Implant Basics. After all this, I admit it was all a bit overwhelming and so, because I would need one new hearing aid regardless of the CI choice or not, I decided on the HA route. I’ve ordered the Phonak Audeo I90 Sphere with Audi and will be trialing those soon.

The one other thing that stuck with me during recent reading of posts here is that my work recognition score is very poor - less that 10% - and that concerns my Audi.

To summarize where I’m at now…

  • HA’s do work for me and provide good natural sound.
  • Word recognition is not good and likely will not improve with new HA’s.
  • The CI seems daunting and will be a major life change. Once that I don’t know for certain will benefit me in the long run.

I will keep this thread active as I go through this process.

Thanks again!

@here2hear said:

I’ve ordered the Phonak Audeo I90 Sphere with Audi and will be trialing those soon.

Hopefully you will be able to rule out hearing aids or accept them during the trial.
Have you ever used UP receivers? The P receivers are a little too weak for your hearing loss.

You mentioned needing a hearing aid if you did decide to go . It takes a special compatible hearing aid to link to the CI.
uses Phonak. Not the Audio Sphere.
Cochlear uses Resound.
Medel will need a separate device to to stream from your phone.

Good luck with this. U know it’s challenging.

In reply to @here2hear

Tough decisions - losing natural hearing, even a little, feels scary. I might note, however, that what you consider “natural” hearing now after so many years with severe hearing loss, is likely no where near the normal it should be. It’s hard to know until you see how much better it can be. I compare it to an electric vs acoustic piano. Both offer good music. There is more nuance to the acoustic, however that doesn’t mean the electronic piano doesn’t do a darn good job at providing enjoyable sound. Good luck:)

Last week picked up the new Phonak’s and I must say that they are amazing! All things considered, I’m very happy with my choice to keep on with hearing aids. These are without a doubt the best hearing aids I have ever sported. The default program was not great, but better than what I had. After getting the Phonak app going and tweaking my first profile - it was awesome. I’ve done this journey (hearing aid wearer) for close to 30 years. One thing I can say is that no one person has the same results. For me, hearing aids work and these Phonak I90 Spere’s are amazing. To note, I do have a custom ear mold and would recommend that highly vs. the flimsy other option for people with loss like mine. My Audi did a great job with that fit! I have not yet tested the Sphere part but will soon and will update on that. Most amazing thing to me is that without this tech I would be isolated but with it, I can be connected and engage with my friends - very thankful for that! Thanks to this group. Invaluable!

@here2hear said:

My Audi did a great job with that fit! I have not yet tested the Sphere part but will soon and will update on that

That’s great news about the hearing aids. We have a few members here with similar hearing loss as yours that do well with this aid’s.

Let us know how they are working out for you.

Edited

In reply to @here2hear

@here2hear said:

Most amazing thing to me is that without this tech I would be isolated but with it, I can be connected and engage with my friends - very thankful for that! Thanks to this group. Invaluable!

It’s really pleasant to read that good news!

Despite being an advocate for and not being a fan of procrastinating getting a CI, I think now is a good time to wait for newer technology. Cochlear is planning to introduce a new, more precise sound coding strategy (FMS—Focused Multipolar Strategy in place of ACE strategy), which will require a new internal part of the CI system (CI1032?) due to the necessity of providing multiple current sources.

Advanced Bionics may also plan to release a new sound processor with features and perhaps better solutions.

@here2hear said:

The one other thing that stuck with me during recent reading of posts here is that my work recognition score is very poor - less that 10% - and that concerns my Audi.

I wonder how Infinio Spheres 90 helps you? I ask because there is a rather common view that it is very rare to break through that ceiling with hearing aids, especially when it is poor, like 10%.

And do you see the improvements only in Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program or in Calm Situation program or ordinary Speech in (Loud) Noise also? What makes default program (I assume AutoSense) not that great?

There is a useful function after moving the cursor over the empty space in the range:

image

Or:

image

In the graphs above, there are progressively bluish to more reddish areas separated by white horizontal lines.

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