Long Time CI User's Experience

Here's a great story written by a friend of mine, who has had the CI for 11 years. This is a beautifully written piece that encompasses an entire decade of using the CI, the milestones and frustrations that come with it, as well as the misunderstandings some people have about deaf people and cochlear implants. Per request, some edits have been made by myself to keep this person's identity anonymous.

Enjoy!

..........................................

I've had the CI for 11 years. Prior to that, I had hearing aids but they just didn't work for me; they were too static-y and I just wasn't hearing clearly enough. So my parents and I thought about it and decided to get the CI. At the time, it was still a relatively new procedure with more risks associated with it. So I had to stay overnight in the hospital, etc. Things are much easier nowadays with the outpatient procedures.

Anyway, I remember how heavy the cast on my head was! I also remember the day of activation and all the new sounds I heard. Of course, I didn't know what they were right away. I was starting from scratch so I would ask what a sound was and family members or friends would tell me. I knew from the beginning that it would take tremendous practice to familiarize myself with sounds to be able to recognize them right away on my own. I did those practice tapes with random sounds on them, i.e. hammering, birds, doorbell, that sort of thing. After that, I was able to recognize all sorts of sounds as soon as I heard them. That was an amazing point when I realized that I was doing that with no difficulty or confusion.

From there, I moved on to human speech. I did intensive practice with a speech pathologist for quite a while. She would cover her mouth up and say sentences to me and have me repeat them back to her. I remember when I started hearing sentences with no effort from other people just in random conversation without needing to lipread. It was definitely a great milestone, but it did take a few years to reach that point.

I still kept it up with the speech pathologist for practicing both my hearing other people's speech as well as for my own speech, just to keep both up and not to fall into a rut. On that note, I credit Cued Speech immensely because I already knew the sounds that go into words. I stopped seeing the pathologist around the time of my high school graduation --when I moved away to college-- but even then, I felt good at the phase I was at; I felt ready to move on.

Right now, after steadily improving over the years (I save every audiogram), my hearing is optimal--I hear what people are saying with no problems at all (unless they have accents or something like that). I hear all random sounds and know what they are right away without needing to ask. Best of all, I get to shut off the CI at night and have sweet, uninterrupted nights of sleep ;-)

I really feel like I have the best of both worlds. I'm really happy at the stage I'm at right now. Yes, it took years of practice but it was definitely worth the effort! In fact, I'm in law school right now and I really feel that the CI was a big factor in making my journey easier and smoother. I don't have to struggle with the things I'm required to do in interactions with my attorney peers. Looking back on it, it's definitely been an interesting journey but I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I wrote an essay about it that won me a scholarship/full ride all throughout college. It's still one of my favorite pieces that I've ever written, even 5 years later.

So that's what it's like having the CI for 11 years. It's made such a positive impact on my life. Granted, it came with struggles and obstacles but it makes the outcome all the better. I appreciate where I'm at right now so much. It's been invaluable. I think most people don't realize that it takes a while, that it takes steady patience, and that's why some people give up on it, but for those that stick with it, it pays off in the end.

I find it interesting that the CI is so controversial, by the way. And that not enough people understand it. For example, that horrible House episode from last year. I was shocked at the lack of research! It left me with a bad taste in my mouth because it was all so misrepresented. (CI activation the next day? Ripping out the CI?) I felt like it discounted the years of effort that go into a CI; it's not a one-day instant experience!