My Story - Choosing Bi-lateral hearing
In 2007 Ray was the recipient of the Libby Harrocks Award. Read Ray's story in the August 2007 Shhhh Hearing Matters
Dr Ray Hare is the Principal Research Scientist, Durum Wheat Improvement, NSW Department of Primary Industries. His hearing loss meant it was difficult to hear feedback from students. This is his story.
I suffered from a progressive and gradual sensorineural loss of hearing. At school and during university it was always necessary for me to sit near the front of the classroom or lecture hall in order to hear well. At 40 years of age I had a severe ear infection and after the infection cleared I was tested for hearing loss. I was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss and as a result of this my ENT surgeon recommended bilateral hearing aids. However, my hearing continued to deteriorate and I had to replace my hearing aids every two to five years with new and increasingly more powerful ones.
By 2003 my hearing loss was profound in both ears, making hearing aids basically ineffective and my specialist recommended bilateral cochlear implants. I received my cochlear implants sequentially which allowed for a period of adjustment to each implant while using a hearing aid in the other ear. My first implant was on 10 July 2003, followed by switch-on 30 July 2003.
Prior to my second implant I was tested again to determine if another implant could deliver additional hearing benefits. Speech discrimination tests demonstrated that my understanding of sentences was superior without the support of a hearing aid in my non-implanted ear. So a second cochlear implant was suggested, as it was believed this would significantly improve my hearing.
I had a lot of questions. Why was I being considered for a second implant?
I still had some reservations about receiving a second implant. Would the second one perform as well as the first? Would the sound be the same as the first? Had my best ear been implanted first? I had a little residual hearing at lower frequencies, which I could just still use with a hearing aid, although this was declining. My expectation was that this residual hearing would be lost on implantation and since most people only receive one cochlear implant and manage well, why was I being considered for a second implant?
I had so many questions and concerns. With a second cochlear implant, I would be totally dependent on the implants, I had no fall back position. I had to put all my faith in these devices for all time, as there was no return and the slim midterm prospect of being able to take advantage of a medical breakthrough in the regeneration of cochlear hair cells would probably be denied. Given that there were no research reports of successful regeneration results in any animals close to humans or humans themselves, I believed that a routine approved regeneration treatment was some time away. But since I wanted to stabilise my hearing now I was not prepared to wait an indeterminate time for a 'maybe' prospect.
Clinicians report it is better to aid both ears as overwhelming evidence suggests that a patient receives a superior hearing outcome when bilateral. Early research evidence and patient experience indicates a similar outcome for bilateral cochlear implants. Given these findings and my previous experience with bilateral hearing aids, bilateral cochlear implants appeared to be a reasonable option.
The surgery for the second cochlear implant was performed on 1 April 2004, with switch- on 22 April 2004. After each switch- on I was able to understand speech within 24 hours using my new implant, which was truly amazing. The difference between my understanding from my first implant to second implant was considerable. Following the first switch- on, I gave a lecture at university the next day. I could understand questions with some difficulty. However, after the second switch- on, I could converse easily straight away and chatted with my taxi driver while travelling from St Vincents Hospital to the airport.
Since receiving bilateral cochlear implants my hearing appears to have stabilised. I am able to use a mobile phone (on 't' switch) with ease, which was not possible with hearing aids. I can manage TV without teletext, but I still find text very helpful for certain programs where the accents are strong or the sound track is of poor quality. My perception of music, particularly classical, is slowly improving. Some instruments sound well and truly off, while others are very near to how I understand they should sound.
I find the bilateral cochlear implants to be clearly superior to a single cochlear implant. Hearing in noisy situations can still be difficult, but there is a significant improvement in quality over just one cochlear implant or bilateral hearing aids. In addition, the second cochlear implant provides a backup when a speech processor requires repair, or the batteries run out. This means that I am never 'off the air', and I am always keen to replace spent batteries to remain bilateral.
My life is back to normal.
In summary, my life is back to normal, both socially and professionally. In my case, bilateral cochlear implants have proved essential to manage in the hearing world. They have allowed me to continue an actively participate in life without any real difficulty. For this I am most grateful to the people involved in the initial and continuing development of the cochlear implant technology, in large part, an amazing Australian development.
If you are considering bilateral cochlear implants and would like to ask me questions about my experience I would be happy to take your call or answer you email.
My bi-lateral hearing advantages
- Sounds are generally clearer, fuller and less distorted.
- Sounds are centred in my head rather than to one side.
- Adjustment to the second implant was very rapid ie several days, and the sound from each implant is identical.
- People do not need to repeat speech as much as speech intelligibility is much improved.
- Sounds are in stereo ie directional.
- Music can be better appreciated.
- Concentration on hearing during a full active day (eg meetings/conferences) is far less stressful.
- Stress induced headaches are less frequent.