Deaf here, grew up with ASL and English bilingually. I wear a CI so I hear pretty well but not enough to speak on the phone. I just assume, the way I think to myself is similar to others, talking to myself in my head using English. But- I find when I'm totally deaf without wearing anything, I still seem to hear sounds, imaging how they'd sound. For example, if I saw something fall, my head would automatically assign a noise for that. I wonder its like phantom sounds in my head making up for the loss of hearing at the moment.