Sure - no problem. Just to give you some context, I got my implant in 1991, and technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then.
Cochlear implants are quite different than hearing aids. Hearing aids just amplify sounds. Cochlear implants actually directly stimulates your auditory nerve via a surgical implant, mimicking sound. Normally, sound waves pass through your cochlea and stimulate the multiple hair cells, triggering different "sounds" (as interpreted by your brain). Since the cochlear implant stimulates the auditory nerve more directly, once a person is implanted, the person loses all of his or her residuary hearing. Obviously, only people with profound or severe hearing losses are allowed to get a cochlear implant.
My cochlear implant has two components - the inner and external portions. The external portion is the speech processor and it looks somewhat like a hearing aid without the ear mold and it has a magnetic part that attaches to your head. The speech processor converts sounds into electrical signals that goes through a magnet that is attached to my head. The electrical signal will pass through the internal parts of my cochlear implant (the implants itself) and stimulate the nerve, causing me to hear sound. I should add that the conversion process filters out most background noises and focuses on frequencies used for speech. As a result, I can't really appreciate music because with the limited frequency range of the cochlear implant, music sounds all muddled to me.
Of course, that's the technical part. I can hear, but I can't hear anywhere as well as a hearing person. I still have a lot of difficulties hearing in a noisy situation, such as restaurants, bars, etc. I can't really differentiate between certain sounds such as b/ps, g/hs and the like.
I can, however, converse with most people. I have an "accent" because I learned how to speak relatively late - 8 years old. I have met people who got their implants when they were two or three and they barely have an accent.
One thing I should also add - most people who receive a cochlear implant need special training to use it. Since I was one of the first 500 children to receive a cochlear implant after the FDA approved it for children, I underwent intensive speech-and-listening training. I had to learn how to listen since I had no frame of reference for sound. I'm sure you can imagine how hard it is to get a six-year old to sit still and practice listening for hours at a time. It took me two years before I could start learning how to speak. I didn't feel comfortable speaking in public until I was thirteen or so.
Of course, the process is quite different for someone who heard before they got an implant because he or she has a frame of reference. After talking to younger implant recipients, I get the impression that the technology and training methods have improved, so the whole process isn't as onerous anymore.
Hopefully this wasn't too much information and if I misstated something (probably biology-related) I apologize in advance! If you have more questions, feel free to ask!
You know, I was thinking about this recently. Since the operation is quite expensive (tens of thousands of dollars), insurance coverage is a must. It's hard to get insurance coverage for a new internal component if mine is still functional. Also, today's technology - in terms of the internal component - is not that much better than what I got in 1991. For example, right now I have 22 channels, but the best that one can get today is 24 channels. The improvement is relatively small for the amount of hassle that I would have to go through to get that improvement - surgery, recovery time, etc.
Like all surgeries, cochlear implant surgery has risks. I don't want to take heedless risks, so I'm content with what I have for right now. Although I think I would get the surgery if the implant was 100% internal - no more external parts!
The speech and listening training sounds very similar to what I went through with my hearing aids, called auditory-verbal therapy. I've got severe/profound loss in both ears, but I never really learned ASL since I was diagnosed ~2 and started early. Thanks for sharing your story!
Comments
Sure - no problem. Just to give you some context, I got my implant in 1991, and technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then.
Cochlear implants are quite different than hearing aids. Hearing aids just amplify sounds. Cochlear implants actually directly stimulates your auditory nerve via a surgical implant, mimicking sound. Normally, sound waves pass through your cochlea and stimulate the multiple hair cells, triggering different "sounds" (as interpreted by your brain). Since the cochlear implant stimulates the auditory nerve more directly, once a person is implanted, the person loses all of his or her residuary hearing. Obviously, only people with profound or severe hearing losses are allowed to get a cochlear implant.
My cochlear implant has two components - the inner and external portions. The external portion is the speech processor and it looks somewhat like a hearing aid without the ear mold and it has a magnetic part that attaches to your head. The speech processor converts sounds into electrical signals that goes through a magnet that is attached to my head. The electrical signal will pass through the internal parts of my cochlear implant (the implants itself) and stimulate the nerve, causing me to hear sound. I should add that the conversion process filters out most background noises and focuses on frequencies used for speech. As a result, I can't really appreciate music because with the limited frequency range of the cochlear implant, music sounds all muddled to me.
Of course, that's the technical part. I can hear, but I can't hear anywhere as well as a hearing person. I still have a lot of difficulties hearing in a noisy situation, such as restaurants, bars, etc. I can't really differentiate between certain sounds such as b/ps, g/hs and the like.
I can, however, converse with most people. I have an "accent" because I learned how to speak relatively late - 8 years old. I have met people who got their implants when they were two or three and they barely have an accent.
One thing I should also add - most people who receive a cochlear implant need special training to use it. Since I was one of the first 500 children to receive a cochlear implant after the FDA approved it for children, I underwent intensive speech-and-listening training. I had to learn how to listen since I had no frame of reference for sound. I'm sure you can imagine how hard it is to get a six-year old to sit still and practice listening for hours at a time. It took me two years before I could start learning how to speak. I didn't feel comfortable speaking in public until I was thirteen or so.
Of course, the process is quite different for someone who heard before they got an implant because he or she has a frame of reference. After talking to younger implant recipients, I get the impression that the technology and training methods have improved, so the whole process isn't as onerous anymore.
Hopefully this wasn't too much information and if I misstated something (probably biology-related) I apologize in advance! If you have more questions, feel free to ask!
Do you consider getting an upgraded implant someday, or is that not practical?
You know, I was thinking about this recently. Since the operation is quite expensive (tens of thousands of dollars), insurance coverage is a must. It's hard to get insurance coverage for a new internal component if mine is still functional. Also, today's technology - in terms of the internal component - is not that much better than what I got in 1991. For example, right now I have 22 channels, but the best that one can get today is 24 channels. The improvement is relatively small for the amount of hassle that I would have to go through to get that improvement - surgery, recovery time, etc.
Like all surgeries, cochlear implant surgery has risks. I don't want to take heedless risks, so I'm content with what I have for right now. Although I think I would get the surgery if the implant was 100% internal - no more external parts!
The speech and listening training sounds very similar to what I went through with my hearing aids, called auditory-verbal therapy. I've got severe/profound loss in both ears, but I never really learned ASL since I was diagnosed ~2 and started early. Thanks for sharing your story!