I was able to schedule an appointment with the VA Audiologist in Palo Alto, California on August 31st and hope they will be able to do something to restore some measure of hearing. Every day has been a struggle trying to communicate. Most people think all they have to do is talk louder or shout and that's not my problem. COVID-19 has made getting an appointment any sooner impossible. Captioned I Phone, texting, email , writing notes has kept me from going batty.
I'm sorry to hear that, Lon, and hope that they will be able to improve on that. I know that cochlear implants are more successful for some people than for others. I can't truly imagine what it might be like to have significant hearing loss although, like many seniors, I have experienced some hearing loss. My wife always plays the radio about two clicks lower than I can hear it, and she gets upset sometimes when I ask her to repeat stuff. She thinks I'm not paying attention, I suppose, but unless I know she's going to say something, I often can't hear what she has said. That can be frustrating, so I can appreciate how much worse it might be to have a more significant loss of hearing.
I will be going to the VA Audiologist in Menlo Park on the 31st of August and hope that they can make some adjustments to my left ear Cochlear Implant of three years ago to give me some measure of hearing. The frustration of not being able to hear has made living day to day a real challenge.
Good luck with that, @Lon Tanner. I really hope it works out for you, as I can only imagine how frustrating it can be.
Three Years ago my hearing was bad enough even with the best of hearing aids available and it was determined after much testing that I could benefit from having a Cochlear Implant. I had the surgery to the left ear three years ago. Because I could hear a little bit with a hearing aid in the right ear I will continue to use it. You actually have to practice listening to certain irritating sounds and voices to train your brain to comprehend and understand. Now here I am three years later and I can hear a little bit with real effort one on one conversation. Can't hear on phone at all and use captioning. I watch TV with captioning. Music I cannot hear at all and I miss it so.
I had my Cochlear implant 3 years ago also. When first implanted I listened to all kinds of news reports because the Cochlear does in fact need to be trained. I also go an app from Cochlear that plays music on all kinds of instruments so that eventually I'll listen to music again. The Cochlear is in my left ear and I wear a hearing aid in my right ear. It died about 2 months ago so I struggled with having only the Cochlear because I had to keep it on 24/7/365 so that when my wife needed help I could hear her. Well, long story short I consulted with the audiologist that checks my Cochlear and she found a was for me to get a new hearing aid that had most of the features of my broken one at less cost. So in short I'm a happy camper.
Rush Limbaugh frequently took breaks from political talk to discuss his progress in learning to use his cochlear implant and was able to continue with a successful radio show for many years afterward, although it appears that cancer is likely to take him out.