MIKE’S COCHLEAR BLOG
In considering the pros and cons of a cochlear implant I
found the blogs of those who went before a source of inspiration and information. So in reciprocation here is my story, written
as I go along, whatever the outcome, in the hope that someone will find it
interesting.
A few facts about me and my deafness first. I’m closing in on my sixty fifth birthday
having been retired for almost five years.
Deafness was common in my family and a constant issue as my mother had
hearing difficulties throughout my childhood. Eventually she reached a point of
profound deafness. So it was no surprise
for me to find when I was 33 that I could no longer hear my watch ticking with
my right ear. Five years later and I
felt the need to refer to my GP as I was struggling at work. Referral to the local ENT hospital confirmed
, much to my surprise, that I had hearing loss in both ears. The prescription was a single hearing aid,
which I decided to use in my worst ear.
A few years later a second hearing aid was prescribed to great effect
and over a period of nearly thirty years I saw my hearing gradually deteriorate
to the point where the hearing aid in the bad ear was no longer effective. I realised this in a somewhat dramatic
way. Whilst preparing for my bath I
turned to place my glasses, and hearing aid on a shelf behind the toilet before
getting in the tub. As I did this, I flushed the loo and to my horror saw my
hearing aid being whooshed round the bend. Fortunately it was the one which I
used in my bad ear. I made an
appointment with audiology to confess my sins but during the time I was waiting
for that appointment I realised that the fact that the hearing aid was gone
made little difference. After a few days I became used to having one hearing aid
again and did not ask for it to be replaced.
However, without the hearing aid in the good ear I could hear almost
nothing including me! It is a strange experience. By switching off my single effective hearing
aid I could not only not hear my own voice but could render a chainsaw into
silence. If my remaining good ear were
to deteriorate in the same way as my bad ear then I realised that within a few
years I would be completely deaf. So I
enquired about a cochlear implant during a visit to the local audiology
unit. I had been told many years before
that such a procedure was not suitable for me but not this time.
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