Blog 2. Getting going

I was invited to meet with a health professional who had experience of cochlea implanted patients and she provided a wealth of information based on real experience which I found re-assuring, especially her assertion that, of all the people she had worked with, not one had regretted having the implant.  Next step was to ask my GP to formally refer me to an ENT consultant.  This was done electronically and within half an hour of leaving the surgery I had an appointment.  More tests of my hearing ability followed, done by a senior audiologist.  On the basis of this the consultant referred me to Bristol Royal Infirmary, where the West of England CI team resided for assessment for an implant. The implication of this was that my local health authority would be prepared to pay the considerable sum of £40,000 for the implant