helpdesk donate From hearing aids to cochlear implant A guest blog by Kirsteen Allison Kirsteen Allison blogs about her cochlear implant From hearing aids to cochlear implant is a guest blog by Kirsteen Allison. Kirsteen is a working mum in Scotland writing about her cochlear implant and experiences of deafness 2012/2013. Watch a short video of Kirsteen at switch on. From hearing aids to cochlear implant RSS Feed One year on -- But its still a big improvement! I had another check up at the Cochlear Implant Centre where I underwent the same tests as before - watching a video with and without sound. The -- dropped. I was told this was because I was relying more on hearing than lipreading and this is to be expected with cochlear implants. I'm really pleased with my results! I also had my hearing aid in my non implanted ear adjusted although the ound will never be as good as I want it to be. I would still love a econd implant and be bi-lateral but I just have to wait and hope that things change in the near future! -- 'focusing' on hearing something, if that makes sense. I think next time I visit the cochlear implant centre, I'll ask for advice and help with noisy situations. On my last visit, I had two of -- My updates are less frequent now, sorry everyone, but that's because I've been busy and also because my appointments at the cochlear implant centre are decreasing so I haven't had much to report. I get check ups -- hearing in that ear than to go without. Also if I were ever to get a econd implant, the transition would be easier if I have spent some time being bimodal (which means using a cocglear implant and hearing aid together). Speaking of a second implant, I spoke with the head of centre at my appointment. I explained I really wanted a second implant and asked if there was any way of making this possible. However the centre said I do -- I hope to be able to share my experiences here once I'm matched, so that my blog will be an interesting mix of cochlear implants and hearing dogs! -- christmas etc so apologies for the lack of updates. At the end of November, my cochlear implant centre advised me to reintroduce a hearing aid into my non implanted ear. I wore it for a month before I had to stop wearing it. I really hated the difference in sound between the cochlear implant and the hearing aid. The sound is not balanced. The sound coming into the -- Obviously the hearing aid cannot give sound as good as the cochlear implant but I was surprised by how quiet and poor the sound was, considering I wore hearing aids for 25 years pre implantation. I could not turn it up any louder. -- I was taking steps backwards rather than forwards on my journey to better hearing. I felt I did better with the cochlear implant alone so I stopped wearing the hearing aid. My audiologist did say that she did not want my brain to work for the hearing aid over the cochlear implant so therefore she would set the hearing aid a little lower. I will see when I return to the centre if -- carry on without it. Ideally I would like two cochlear implants so the sound is 'equal' in both ears but a second implantation (for adults) is dependent on funding and circumstances such as additional disabilities. I hope one day this changes! As for the current cochlear implant, I'm hearing more things all the time. Popcorn popping at the cinema and being able to follow the whole -- On this, you can see where I was back in May when I underwent all the assessments for a cochlear implant. You can also see where I am now. A big improvement, don't you think? tests pre and post cochlear implants I reckon this is proof more than anything that I made the right decision to have a cochlear implant and I hope it offers others considering an implant some reassurance that it is indeed worthwhile. I can hear so much now - fire alarms, telephones ringing, music playing -- I would be able to cope better in a college environment with the implant. I'm also exercising more - again I'd avoid exercise classes because of the fear I wouldn't understand the instructions and go the -- I am due back at the hospital to reintroduce my hearing aid into my right (non implanted) ear. I'm a bit unsure about this as my surgeon told me many implantees find they do not like wearing a hearing aid in their 'other' ear as the sounds are conflicting and confusing. Then again, some implantees do fine with a hearing aid and a cochlear implant together. I'm not sure how I will feel but I am very conscious of the lack of sound coming into that ear so I'm keen to try it and see -- I also saw Skyfall twice. Skyfall is the first film I've seen post implant. Previously I would go to a film and either spend the majority of it going "what did he say?", "why is she doing that?" or get the -- longer. I've adjusted really well, in fact sometimes I forget I only have a cochlear implant in one ear! It's improving all the time. I can hear music playing when I go to the -- and give me a very quick test. The audiogram showed my hearing with hearing aids compared with my 'new' hearing with my cochlear implant. There's been a HUGE improvement in just 4 weeks. I am hearing things -- gone, so yippee! I returned to the cochlear implant centre six days after switch on and I was in quite a bad mood. The beeping and squeaking was driving me -- There are four programmes in total. The other two programmes with my implant are 'focus' and 'music'. I think these are more or less self explanatory. I will not receive these programmes until later although I -- Hearing Link had given me. The physicist (the guy who put the 'electric drill' through my ears a while back!) set the cochlear implant up. He explained he would first go through 22 channels and I would hear -- began to sound a bit more normal. I wasn't aware there were 22 channels Then he told me he would switch the implant on and I would hear pretty much everything. Wow, what a lot of noise! I clutched my hands to my -- it will never start to make sense unless I bear with it. I was given two programmes on my Cochlear Implant to start with - programmes one and two. I'm currently on programme one and I've to -- when I do. I'm getting rather beeped off! I go back to the Cochlear Implant Centre next week to report back and get some more adjustments. I will have to return several times in my -- 28 August 2012 Here's me talking about my implant - after surgery but before switch on. -- the mornings. Kirsteen's implant scar - after 1 day When I washed my hair, I made ure I had someone to help me. I put cotton wool in my ear and tilted -- On the ward, I had visits from the anaethesist, a lady from the cochlear implant centre and my surgeon. The anaethesist explained the process of going to sleep and checked if I had any allergies etc. As I had anaethestic previously with appendicitis, I knew what to expect. The lady from the cochlear implant centre brought instruction manuals for my Cochlear speech processor and remote control for me to read -- information she gave me I already knew through undertaking research and peaking to other implantees. I told her all about my blog and she took a note of it, so hello if you are reading! -- into a funny hairstyle. I'm so vain, he laughed at my expression! He drew an arrow on my neck to indicate which ear would be implanted and asked me to sign a consent form. I asked if the implant would be 'high up' on my head but he reassured me it would be quite low. -- I will be in hospital for a few days and it will be 4-6 weeks before my implant is ‘switched on’. I reckon I’ll be very impatient during this time! -- was also asked if I smoked and drank. It took about an hour overall. Why is only one ear implanted? It's to do both with funding and the N.I.C.E guidelines (which you can Google). These guidelines advise children should be bilaterally implanted and adults with certain additional disabilities should be considered. Cochlear Implants are very expensive. There are several upport groups easily found via the internet if you need further -- The rehabilitation process is most likely described on your Cochlear Implant Centre's website or leaflets that they issue you with. It can take 9 months to a year before you are receiving the full benefits of the implant. It will not restore full hearing and there will be several appointments to adjust your implant to get the sound as best as it can be for you. -- effect is only temporary and I was warned it may happen. My expectations for my implant 16 July 2012 Well, for the implant to be a ‘success’ for me, I would like to be able to enjoy music again. It's hard to describe how it sounds now with my -- hearing aids and that it will take a long time to get ‘back to normal’. I also worry that one cochlear implant will not be enough. Would I need two? Would I need to use a hearing aid in the other ear? I asked these questions when at the Cochlear Implant Centre and was told: 9 months to a year to get the full benefit of a cochlear implant. additional disabilities. The centre follows the N.I.C.E guidelines. least 6 months to help me get used to my implant. I was advised ome people find they do not like it as the two sounds are very different. Some people on the other hand find it is helpful. responds differently to the implant. Information and expectations. Day 2 -- wait being around 9 weeks. Finally it was back to viewing the cochlear implant and explaining how it would work. I would receive advice on how to use the speech -- I had to complete a computer questionnaire where I had to rank where I thought my hearing would be after my implant on a scale of 1-10. This was to check my expectations were realistic. Finally I was able to view the different types of Cochlear Implant. My centre offers three brands – Cochlear, Advanced Bionics and Med El. I -- encountered was deaf aware. Obviously this is where the Cochlear Implant Centre is based so that explains why they are more deaf aware than other hospitals, but I -- each attempt sign language with me (which I don’t actually speak). I thought only the staff in the Cochlear Implant centre would know this. -- 05 June 2012 I had my assessment days over two days at the Cochlear Implant Centre. When my appointment letter came through, it offered April, which was a -- deaf I am. I had never considered myself as a candidate for a Cochlear Implant and always thought I wouldn’t be ‘deaf enough’ for one. I felt I was managing okay with the support I already have and with my family -- consider one and said she would refer me to the ENT consultant. My hearing loss had progressed to the stage where an implant would be enormously beneficial. When I met with the ENT consultant, I was still -- confused and feeling quite emotional and scared. The ENT Consultant’s words were that an implant would make my hearing ‘much much much better’. So that was the start of my journey towards getting a Cochlear Implant. I will blog soon about my assessment days.