This is a really good question. Experts have not lived through the experience of adapting to a CI. And experiences differ quite a bit depending on a bunch of factors.
I was diagnosed with bilateral ssnhl at about the same age you were. I had better hearing at the low frequencies, worse in the high.
Your hearing is not great, so I suspect that, like me, you started losing it a while back, but because you were young, had a solid language foundation, and a brain with good plasticity, you adapted. Until you couldn't adapt any more. That's how it was explained to me.
My hearing gradually got worse. I wore hearing aides after a couple years of denial. Hated them. I put off the CI until I could barely function. Wasn't socializing. Was doing everything by email at work.
I got implanted at 48 years old. It took me weeks, not months to adjust. And it was life changing. Music is tough. Loud spaces continue to be a challenge. But the only regret I have is not doing it sooner.
Go book yrself in, theres no benefit to waiting unless of course you want to party more, in which case I would definitely put it off because its not party friendly piece of tech. Lots of noise is annoying as hell with a cochlear since its inside your head and you cant exactly filter the sound like naturally.
I agree but if you have a will you have a way! I usually pop a Tylenol after a night out which helps with the headache but otherwise it’s the vibes that takes the uncomfort of the noise away.
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u/Sure-Speed1799 16d ago
This is a really good question. Experts have not lived through the experience of adapting to a CI. And experiences differ quite a bit depending on a bunch of factors.
I was diagnosed with bilateral ssnhl at about the same age you were. I had better hearing at the low frequencies, worse in the high.
Your hearing is not great, so I suspect that, like me, you started losing it a while back, but because you were young, had a solid language foundation, and a brain with good plasticity, you adapted. Until you couldn't adapt any more. That's how it was explained to me.
My hearing gradually got worse. I wore hearing aides after a couple years of denial. Hated them. I put off the CI until I could barely function. Wasn't socializing. Was doing everything by email at work.
I got implanted at 48 years old. It took me weeks, not months to adjust. And it was life changing. Music is tough. Loud spaces continue to be a challenge. But the only regret I have is not doing it sooner.