Can anyone share experience with cochlea implants please?

[chrisabbott]

Immediately following my last tumor resection, I lost the hearing on my good side.  It's not related specifically to the type of surgery I had, more a rare side effect of anesthesia & possible change in CSF fluid.  Currently, I'm completely deaf, and looking wistfully at the bicros hearing aids that I enjoyed for all of 5 months following losing hearing on the AN side.

My otolaryngologist is recommending cochlea implant as soon as prudent - ie:  after my current surgery has healed, and possibly after radiation treatment on the residual tumor.  He has info from 3 manufacturers of implants for me to read through, but of course I would love to hear from anyone that has had this done; maybe it will help me make more informed decisions/prepare for this. 

I certainly don't want to wait any longer than I have to - its tougher than I imagined to be completely deaf!

[notaclone13]

Hi Chris,

I came across this article last week:

https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/acoustic-neuroma-technique-preserves-restores-hearing

Duke has been doing cochlear implants to restore hearing in AN patient’s for sometime.

[notaclone13]

You should go for it!!

[chrisabbott]

I'm certain I will!  My doc has also implanted same time as tumor removal for other patients (as described in the article - thank you for posting the link).  I lost all my hearing before my first surgery though, and was OK with a bicros set up.  My hearing on the non-AN side disappeared about 3 hours after my tumor revision surgery. 

I sure hope an implant works well for me - I mostly interview individual business owners for a living, and I like my work well enough to want to continue until I retire (which I can't afford just yet ;o)

[notaclone13]

My friend’s 80 yo mother who was practically deaf in both ears got a cochlear implant a few months ago. She is now hearing well enough to converse with others for the first time in years. She is delighted. I hope and pray yours will be as successful as well.

[chrisabbott]

Thank you - that is good news

I have an evaluation for the implant on the 30th.  In the meantime, I'm trying to get beyond the promotional material to the facts about these things - its very reassuring to know your mother recovered conversation.