Great read. I'm a cochlear implant recipient. I live in Melbourne and had my operation at the Eye and Ear Hospital where Graeme Clark did his research, which I thought was pretty neat.
For unknown reasons my normal hearing deteriorated rapidly in my late 30s to the point where my right ear became "profoundly deaf". (My left ear only hears up to 1500 Hz or so.) I got the implant in my right ear in late 2015 and it was literally life changing.
With the combination of the implant and the residual low frequency hearing in my left ear, in most situations my hearing is almost normal. I can understand speech fine and appreciate music.
That is amazing, thank you for sharing. Given you had experienced sound before your hearing deteriorated, is it possible to describe the difference in sound with a cochlear implant? I always thought with the limited number of electrodes in an implant, the sound would be "buzzy" (less rich), but the brain is quite malleable and maybe adapts to the new sounds.
Yes, "buzzy" or "tinny" is a good way to describe the sound I have in my implant ear. But I don't usually notice it with my other ear which has almost normal hearing up to 1500 Hz.
Definitely agree that the brain is quite malleable. I think it was an unexpected result at just how malleable the brain is in adult implant recipients.
FWIW I participated in a post-op research study and IIRC was told that more electrodes wouldn't necessarily improve the quality of the sound. I think what's much more important is the algorithms in the over-the-ear processor. (I have the Nucleus 7: https://www.cochlear.com/au/en/home/products-and-accessories...)
> in most situations my hearing is almost normal ... I can appreciate music.
Is this still true when you block your good ear as well?
There's a chance I'll need a cochlear implant at roughly the same age you received yours - I'd be really keen to understand what the noticeable differences are, particularly regarding music.
I just did a music test with & without my cochlear, using Postmodern Jukebox. ;)
Here's the reference song and timestamp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI1cGPfL-Bw&t=130s Without my implant I can barely hear anything the drummer does for the next 10 seconds, so it must be > 1500 Hz, which is the upper limit of my "good" ear. With my cochlear alone (i.e., plugging my "good" left ear) I can hear all the frequencies, but the song sounds "tinny" and lacks clarity. With both ears I'm not consciously missing much in terms of clarity if I had normal hearing, so the brain does a very good job at creating almost normal sound from my two very imperfect ears.
However, please note that outcomes for cochlear implant recipients vary. I've been told that my result is unusually good given that I scored 90%+ on standard audiology speech tests post-implant.
I have normal hearing in my left ear, but have had two bouts of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in my right ear that left me deaf on that side. I was given a range of options after the initial steroid injections didn't work and, since my bone conduction still works, I've chosen the new Osia bone conducting implant. It looks pretty similar to a full-on cochlear implant, since it has a magnetically attached external processor (no open port!), but the only internal gear is a stud implanted in the mastoid that takes the sound from the processor and sends it over to my good ear. I still won't have stereo hearing, but it does give "true" sound, which is a priority for me since I play several instruments.
Really appreciate you sharing your experience - I have no idea how these work and sound like science fiction! Can you "echolocate" or know where your phone is when it rings with the implant?
For unknown reasons my normal hearing deteriorated rapidly in my late 30s to the point where my right ear became "profoundly deaf". (My left ear only hears up to 1500 Hz or so.) I got the implant in my right ear in late 2015 and it was literally life changing.
With the combination of the implant and the residual low frequency hearing in my left ear, in most situations my hearing is almost normal. I can understand speech fine and appreciate music.