Would a cochlear implant help me?

Supposing I couldn’t hear music again? I did a lot of hard thinking before going ahead – but now I’m really glad I did.

By Russ Palmer

I have been wearing a cochlear implant (CI) for nearly two years now, together with a hearing aid in my other ear. This has been a major milestone in my life and many colleagues and friends have noticed how much easier I find it to follow general conversation and join in social situations.

As a deafblind person with Usher Syndrome type 3, I am now able to follow radio, talking books, music, TV, cinema, theatre and concerts. To give one example – before the implant operation I went to Brian Wilson's Smile concert in London. A year later, I went to a concert again and the difference was amazing. I could hear the percussion and high frequency instrumental sounds much clearer, and the vocals were easier to follow too.

Preparing myself

It took me about five years to decide to go ahead with a CI. I met other CI users, heard about their experiences and wondered if I should have the operation on my better or worse ear. I was frightened of not being able to hear or play music again. I finally decided to have the operation done on my worse ear because this way I had nothing to lose. The doctors at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge respected my decision but they did take some convincing!

Before the operation, I psychologically prepared myself for the worse – that I might only be able to hear though one ear. That helped me. 

The implant device I went for was the Medel Combi 40+ which I chose over the Nucleus CI since some doctors said this appears to have a more natural sound quality - although no research had been carried out using music with CI users. This was a totally new area and the final decision was down to me.

After the operation

Seven weeks after the operation the CI was switched on. It was strange at first since all the middle and high frequency sounds were being picked up and I was able to hear consonant sounds for the first time. People sounded like the Daleks on Dr Who! But as the months went by the sound quality improved and so did my hearing of music. At first it was hard to tell the differences between male and female voices but after nine months this improved.

It was almost like learning to hear all over again. I listened and sang along to songs, I had learned as a child and gradually my confidence grew. I learned to balance my voice with the implant and hearing aid; and somehow the implant helped me to judge the depth, quality, and pronunciation of words and to hear pitch much more clearly than before.

In terms of music, the implanted ear was picking up the high frequency instruments, rhythms and percussion sounds with a level of detail that I have not heard before. The single hearing aid was picking up the harmonies, middle and low bass tones and the whole sound experience. At the same time I was able to hear the lyrics of the songs, which previously had been impossible to do without reading or learning the words of the songs.

My first performance

I gave my first musical performance using the implant with Törmäys (a Finnish Theatre group) at the Helen Keller conference in the summer of 2005. To my surprise it worked really well. Somehow the implant was able to tell me how loud or soft I was singing and to give me the overall balance between the sound of the piano and guitar and my singing voice.

This was very exciting for me. The implant was functioning better than I had expected and I realised for the first time that I had reached my goal as a musician. Now I would like to do more live performances – who knows what the future will bring?

What have I learned?

Ask questions and be curious - find out beforehand about the tests. Ask questions and don’t let the doctors persuade you to do something that you feel does not feel right for you. Make sure you have a suitable interpreter or communicator-guide with you during the assessment process.

Deafblind Awareness - make sure your hospital has the right information about dual sensory impairment. If they don’t, ask Sense or Deafblind UK to provide this.

Research and networking with other CI users - learning from other people’s experiences will help you choose the device that is right for you.

Which ear do I have operated on? My advice would be to go for your worse ear since this will enable you to adjust easier and quickly use the hearing aid in the other ear. Doctors will often advise that they should operate on your better ear.

Be patient – starting to wear a CI can be like going back to school again which may be frustrating. Your brain takes time to adjust.

Balancing CI and hearing aids together - have the CI and hearing aids checked and tuned up regularly. As time goes by so the sound changes and the brain needs to adapt.

An implant is still like another hearing aid device. It doesn’t cure hearing loss, but it does make communication and spoken language easier. For people using sign language, the implant offers the possibilities of being able to pick up environmental sounds easier - and being able to hear some spoken language may develop in time.

I have been one of the lucky ones to be given this wonderful gift. My thanks to the staff at Addenbrookes Hospital, my love to Riitta Lahtinen (my other half) for her support, and to my parents Jean and Peter Palmer for their love, patience and understanding.

© Russ Palmer, Music Therapist, www.russpalmer.com