“Since I can now hear, I socialize more and I’m more active. You are never too old to learn – I am 81 years old and found the process easy with all the information and the staff at the Cochlear Clinic.”
In 2021 I was losing my hearing in my left ear to Meniere’s Disease. After that I began to have problems with my right ear. I got a hearing aid for the right ear, but it was failing to help and by November of 2023 I lost just about all the hearing in my right ear.
I had to order a captioned telephone so I could make calls – I had to communicate with my partner and family via texting on my mobile phone. My ENT doctor could no longer help me. But at an appointment, I noticed a Cochlear poster on his wall and asked him if I would qualify for the procedure. He said “Yes, but you may be too old to learn.” My reply was “Oh really, I don’t think so.”
I researched information on the internet about Cochlear implants and came across the Cochlear Clinic and Dr. Greene – I researched Dr. Greene, liked what I read about him and made an appointment at the end of December 2023 to be evaluated.
At the meeting I was evaluated by Dr. Greene and tested by the cochlear implant Audiologist, and I met the qualifications for the implant – I had to get a cat scan and updated MRI of the brain. The operation was successfully completed in March 2024. A month later they would do the activation of the unit. The surgery was outpatient and took two hours. Bottom line, it was a piece of cake! No problems, and the recovery period was manageable. While I was waiting the month for the activation, the clinic gave me books to read about the Cochlear implant and what to expect with the next phase. Since I had stopped social engagements due to my hearing loss, I had plenty of time to read the information which was very helpful.
On the day of activation, I was able to hear 8% of speech, and all sounds. Within a month I was up to 40% of understanding speech and in 4 months 60%. It felt wonderful! At that point, I thought I might not improve much more, but I am now in my 7th month since activation and I recently tested at 80% of understanding speech! There was much more improvement without me realizing it. I think I improved substantially by following the instructions of Dr. Greene/Dr. Hunter and putting in extra effort.
1) The goal was to wear the implant for 10 hours per day – I wear it 16 hours.
2) I was encouraged to listen to speech at least 3 hours per day – I listen to speech approximately 7 hours per day. This comes about speaking to my neighbors for two hours a day; phone calling and watching tv programs with the captions on. While it was a bit difficult to understand the actors on TV, eventually It got better and better to where I am not reading the captions.
3) And I used the Cochlear CoPilot, a self-guided app featuring information, support, and targeted skill-building activities to help build your listening confidence. I went through all the exercises twice.
Since I can now hear, I socialize more, and I’m more active. You are never too old to learn – I am 81 years old and found the process easy with all the information and the staff at the Cochlear Clinic. I tell everyone about the Cochlear Implant as I find it wonderful that they can make people hear again.