Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation for Adults
Blog Home All Blogs
Search all posts for:   

 

View all (49) posts »
 

I've completed my clinician-guided auditory rehabilitation. How can I maintain what I've achieved and continue progressing?

Posted By Naama Tsach, PhD, Monday, October 30, 2023

After a period of clinician-guided auditory rehabilitation (AR) in which you met with your clinician weekly or every two weeks, the AR has concluded.  During AR, your clinician--a speech-language pathologist (SLP)—guided and helped you properly care for your cochlear implant sound processor.  She ensured that you consistently used your sound processor and became familiar with and knew how to use the features and different programs offered.  She assigned tasks for you to practice in different listening settings to enhance your speech perception and comprehension skills.  She challenged your hearing and listening skills, expanded your use of hearing in various daily situations, and encouraged you to believe that you were experiencing continuous progress.

Further, your SLP was in contact with your audiologist at the cochlear implant center and kept you informed about technology advances and other relevant updates. She encouraged you to practice using assistive devices and accessibility technology. They supported you when you felt concerned and perhaps even frustrated. They answered questions from your family members, reflected on your progress, and assured you that they knew exactly where you were in terms of your hearing function, and if there were any changes in your hearing, they would notice.

After AR concludes, who can you turn to for support? What can you do to maintain your progress and continue to progress?

Obtain a written summary of your AR process and recommendations going forward from your SLP. The summary should include:

  • Exercises to help you maintain your achievements over time and progress.
  • Recommendations to share with the audiologist responsible for your care at the CI center. This summary should include specific and clear practice recommendations, including the conditions for practicing each task (e.g., quiet or noise, speech rate, listening with only the implanted ear, or both ears).
  • Suggestions should be tailored to your ability at the end of the AR process and should be concrete and specific. For example, they might be:
    • Engage in a five-minute phone conversation every day with someone you're comfortable talking to. Be sure to ask the person questions, as well as answering their inquiries.
    • Listen with both ears at least twice a week to a written article—one minute with the written text and then two minutes without it.
    • Listen with both ears without subtitles to TED talks at a slow speech pace, one minute at a time. As you progress, move on to listening at a regular speech pace.
    • Continue practicing in comfortable acoustic environments.
    • Listen to conversations that aren't directly “aimed at you” for half an hour each day.
    • Expand the circle of people you explain your communication needs to.

These are examples that are specific to a particular CI recipient based on the exercises (s)he practiced during her AR timeframe, and the subjects included in the AR process.  These are general examples and do not necessarily apply to everyone who has completed AR.

Practice Helps a Recipient to be Aware of their Hearing Progress

Practicing challenging tasks that are appropriate for your abilities (but are not overly difficult) will help you stay tuned to your hearing outcomes. It will also help you to be aware of your progress (or lack of progress, or even decline). In many cases, a decline indicates maintenance problems or possibly issues with the sound processor.  Such issues can typically be corrected by the audiologist. 

These recommendations may seem simple at first glance, but ongoing commitment to practice and improvements in hearing outcomes are not a given. With clinician-guided AR, there's a commitment to dealing with challenging hearing and listening tasks. The AR dynamics and tangible progress contribute to motivation and willingness to cope with hearing challenges. However, even after AR is completed, it's essential to maintain one’s motivation to practice and continue to improve.

Schedule Periodic Mapping Appointments

Pursue regular mapping appointments and prepare for these by assembling relevant information and questions for the audiologist.  Such preparation was discussed in a prior post. https://www.acialliance.org/blogpost/1334356/357192/How-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-CI-Mapping-Appointment?hhSearchTerms=%22mapping%22&terms=

Follow the recommendations for maintaining your sound processor.  Poor maintenance can lead to a gradual deterioration in your hearing quality and can affect speech comprehension. The decline can be gradual, and you may not notice it. Some people notice such changes only after a significant degradation in their hearing. Practicing challenging hearing tasks help you recognize a decrease in your hearing. Optimal sound processor maintenance is part of ongoing rehabilitation.

Joining groups and being familiar with resources and organizations of people with hearing loss, specifically CI recipients, can provide valuable information and support.  Increasingly people are benefitting from online groups such as Cochlear Implant Experiences, which is moderat4ed by knowledgeable individuals and is a reliable source of information.  Some clinics maintain such groups and ACI Alliance can also help by connecting recipients with others. ACI Alliance resources (including articles and webinar) will keep you informed about various topics such as technology, accessibility, and knowing your rights. In addition, groups and organizations can support and encourage proactive and practical approaches that will help you navigate challenging communication situations. They may facilitate meetings (virtual and physical) with people who share similar life experiences and a willingness to contribute and collaborate.

Maintaining an optimistic, practical, curious, and courageous approach will support your continued progress. There may be ups and downs, and you might need to reach out to your clinician for advice and follow-up, but your awareness and overall positive approach will push you forward. Successful coping with hearing challenges and rewarding hearing experiences will boost your confidence and motivation to stay engaged in the auditory learning process to maximally benefit from your CI.

This post has not been tagged.

Permalink | Comments (0)
 
The mission of the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance is to advance access to the gift of hearing provided by cochlear implantation through research, advocacy and awareness.