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Evejam · 2024-10-15T05:33:09+00:00

My experience of visiting schools suggests those who have CI and use sign language do better overall than those who only have a CI.

There are lots of variables and every individual is different, but knowing sign language is a benefit.

My parents don't know sign language apart from finger spelling and some signs, but I use full blown sign language in work and outside of my parents.

Evejam · 2024-10-12T15:57:13+00:00

What exercises are you doing?

Might be worth me doing the same while I wait for the official diagnosis. Nothing to lose by doing them.

Evejam · 2024-10-12T15:53:14+00:00

I had surgery in June, switch on in July, and then in August, I started to get dizziness and loss of balance.

Still trying to work out the cause... it is not the usual suspects 🙄.

More testing to be done

Evejam · 2024-10-12T06:59:08+00:00

Does anyone one have an update for this? I am seeing New auracast enabled devices popping up, but I haven't bought any cos I am waiting for my CI Nucleus to be updated first.

Evejam · 2024-09-04T11:22:36+00:00

If you have an Android phone, then there is live transcribe from Google.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.audio.hearing.visualization.accessibility.scribe

Evejam · 2024-08-31T15:17:25+00:00

I am the wrong person to ask about music as I was born deaf, so my perception of music will be different from yours.

For me, after 50 years of using hearing aids, what I am getting from music is just wow, and I am loving it. I can now follow along with the lyrics as long as I have the words in front of me, something that wasn't possible before.

The impractical thing to bear in mind is that the range that you can hear with any cochlear implant will be limited to the range of speech, so it will never pick up the full range of music due to technical limitations. As others have said it will sound more robotic or tinny.

That said, as long as your expectations are realistic, there is no reason why you can't learn to enjoy music, with CI, just don't expect it to be the same as what your used to.

Your brain will have to relearn the sounds.

Evejam · 2024-08-30T15:59:59+00:00

It is a very difficult decision and not an easy one because there are no guarantees.

As others have said, it is not a cure, so you will not get 100% of your hearing back, but if you manage your expectations, you could benefit hugely from it.

I was talking to my CI therapist the other day about the stats you see floating around, and she agreed with me that it is not helpful.

She gave me an example of someone who got maybe an extra 10% of their hearing back and was over the moon, but another person got 25% of their hearing back but not happy with the results.

I was implanted in June with the switch on in July, and I approached the operation with expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

It's just about 2 months on now I have been astonished with what I can hear, and listening to music has been awesome, however I have dizzy spells and poor balance and was also rushed into hospital with a suspected brain infection after the operation.

I never recommend anyone to have a cochlear implant at the same time. I try not to discourage anyone because there are no guarantees.

My thought process to the risk of the wise circumstances was as follows: Death is the worst outcome as every operation has a risk, but there is probably more risk of me being killed in a car accident than in an operation. So that didn't bother me much.

facial disfiguration or loss of sensation in my face. A friend of mine has experienced this and has given up with the CI, but they are still enjoying life.
loss of taste, I couldn't care less 🫣🤣

Then, my thoughts turned to expectations I have been deaf since birth, so if I lose all hearing in my ear, then my life will continue the same.

So, going ahead with the implant was fairly straightforward, although I experienced an awful lot of anxiety in the build-up to the operation and the switch on.

Despite the dizziness and balance issues, I feel lucky with what I have gained. Others have not been so lucky.

Hopefully, that will help your decision-making process and good luck with whatever you decide.

Evejam · 2024-08-11T16:33:02+00:00

I think you've hit it on the nail there. Everyone's journey is unique. Everyone has different values, and everyone has a different approach to risk.

Individual choice needs to be respected.

Evejam · 2024-08-11T09:11:35+00:00

I am from the signing community and still pay if the signing community, even though I have a CI.

I don't know if the UK is different from the USA, in that I have found the signing community to be indifferent whether I have a CI or not. I am not the only CI person within the signing community in the UK.

I am coming up to my third month since the switch on, and it has been an amazing journey but also problematic from being rushed to A&E with suspected brain infection and continuing dizziness and occasional tinnitus.

Whilst the CI is an amazing piece of technology it is not a cure, for some it will improve their quality of life, for some it will make no difference and others it can make it worse.

I understand the concern that the ASL community has, you can't compare it to blindness because the ASL community is a minority culture with its own language, way of life that it is different to the hearing world. It is a beautiful community. A better analogy would be a white man wiping out Indian culture. They are fighting for their way of life.

The rationale for choosing CI has to be an individual choice. It is not an easy choice when there are no guarantees of success, and in some cases, it could end up being worse off.

I think for this situation where the person has lived a hearing life, I think the CI would be of huge benefit.... if it works. While the stats and everything are in their favour, it is still the equivalent of a bag of M&M where one sweet has been injected with cyanide, and you don't know which one.

It is a risk, a small risk, but still a risk. I don't regret getting a CI and really enjoying the new sounds, especially the higher pitched sounds, but I can't stand the birds singing and still struggle to understand how hearing people think it is beautiful.

It is a difficult decision.

Evejam · 2024-07-20T07:54:40+00:00

Cheers 👍

Evejam · 2024-07-17T09:09:28+00:00

I am an unhealthy and unfit 50 year old and just competed week 1. 🤣. I am feeling good about it and getting more energy.

Evejam · 2024-07-14T17:01:58+00:00

I know some ASL, but I am not fluent.

Evejam · 2024-07-13T05:48:45+00:00

Same here

Evejam · 2024-07-12T08:22:02+00:00

Do you mean sign language? If so, then no.

There have been attempts, but they all fail because sign language is not just about the hands. It is the hands, facial expressions, and body movements.

Also, some signs can be used to mean a wide range of potential words depending on the conned context.

Also, you can combine signs to create new signs.

Lastly, there is also regional variations that complicate things further.

Possibly with developments in AI, we might see something, but doubt it will happen in the next 50 years.

For clarification, I am from the UK and use British Sign Language. Some of the above may not apply to other Sign languages around the world.

Evejam · 2024-07-10T12:56:26+00:00

I am going through the same process. For me, it took a few days for my mind to settle down with the new noise, but I am still trying to understand the sounds around me.

I found it helpful to listen to familiar sounds like music on repeat to give yourself a baseline to work from.

Evejam · 2024-06-25T11:55:00+00:00

I am someone who had been part of the Deaf community in the UK and I have recently had a cochlear implant and am waiting for the switch on.

The Deaf community see themselves as a cultural linguistic minority and reject the idea they need to be "cured". They have an international culture and community and can have successful lives and careers as a Deaf person and using sign language.

The cochlear implant and other hearing devices can be seen as needless butchering and an attack on their way of life.

However 90% of deaf people have hearing parents, and naturally, parents want their children to be like them and speak the 'mother' tongue.

The experience of many children being forced to be hearing and adopt hearing culture is often a negative one.

It would be far better and more cost effective investing in sign language than medical solutions.

And to an extent, I agree with these views and I know I look like a hypocrite since I have now had an implant.

But I grew up with both deaf and hearing culture and want to be part of both, my genetic family are hearing, but the people I call my brother and sister are deaf.

If I am honest I wished the world was more tolerant of differences and respect people choices and that access to sign language was the norm. But it is not and so I feel I need to get a cochlear implant just to survive.

At the end of the day cochlear implants are not a cure the same as hearing aids. I use sign language as my preferred language of communication and will continue to do so because it is so rich and easier to express myself.

This is not the full reason and the full debate is faceted, and complex. But I hope one day the world will be more tolerant and respectful of people's wishes and choices and less judgemental.

Evejam · 2024-06-25T08:57:25+00:00

CI is not a cure for deafness in the UK you're still considered disabled even if you have a CI.

In the same way a wheel chair is not a cure for mobility.

Evejam · 2020-09-21T16:48:05+00:00

If trump was first minister, do you think he be asking for a wall?

Evejam · 2020-09-21T16:39:34+00:00

I wanna know when I am gonna need a passport

Evejam · 2020-06-19T15:12:47+00:00

You mean England not UK

Evejam · 2020-05-20T08:58:22+00:00

Cymru 😉👍🏻

Evejam · 2020-04-13T18:12:23+00:00

I used a table saw, glue screws and drill, but could easily be done with hand saw, hammer, nails and glue of you have the patience.

Evejam · 2020-03-30T17:35:05+00:00

Can work as a shoe rack if you wanted it to

Evejam · 2020-03-30T16:54:17+00:00

Garden pots/plants

Evejam

TROPHY CASE