This is a blog about my experience with getting an Esteem hearing implant. Hopefully you will find this an honest and unbiased account of the benefit I experience with this device.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Where this post started
I started this post on a blog called Hearing Sparks. I will repost what I had posted there on this blog. Here is the link to the other blog.
http://hearingsparks.blogspot.com/2010/03/esteem-fully-implantable-hearing-aid
Post from February 8, 2011 3:48 PM I have a fairly sever hearing loss (about 65 db loss). I am going to get the Esteem implant soon I hope. I live in Colorado and there are no ENT doctors that perform that implant here. I will be going to San Jose, CA for the surgery. I am so frustrated with hearing aids. I miss out on so much if there is any noise in the room. I will continue with this blog to let you know how it goes. KG in CO February 8, 2011 3:48 PM
Post from March 23, 2011 5:26 AM The answer to the comment on Feb 23, 2011 is that MRI is not possible after this implant. The web site for the Esteem is envoymedical.com where you can get this info. Also I asked the Envoy team about the reversible option of this procedure and was told that they did devise a reversible procedure as was required for FDA approval. This came from an Envoy employee, so how good the reversible procedure is, I don't know.
I am having this implant next month and have done research on it. March 23, 2011 5:26 AM
Post from March 23, 2011 5:32 AM I have this procedure scheduled for April. The cost is $30,000 and I just found out the cost for battery replacement is $6000. It is required to have a CT scan of your head to make sure you have enough room for the implanted sound processor. The CT scan is included in the $30,000 charge. You usually do not need to spend the night in the hospital, so this would be considered an out patient surgery. If the doctor does think you need to spend the night, that is not included in the $30,000 charge. They usually implant the ear with the poorest hearing. I sincerely hope this works for me, since I have been so frustrated with my hearing aid performance. What I am looking for is improvement in hearing in noisy environments and on cell phone.
I will post on this site the results after activation, which will be in June 2011.
Post from April 26, 2011 8:42 AM This is Kay. I had my Esteem implanted on April 12 in San Jose, CA by Dr. Michael Murray. The surgery lasted 4 hours. I was able to go home (actually to my son's home) about 1-2 hours after surgery. The pain from the implant was not bad, but I did have a BIG headache. I did not fly back home until 2 days after surgery, which is what I would recommend. My post surgery symptoms were fatigue and headaches. The next patient might have completely different symptoms.
It took a good week to feel better, but now 10 days past surgery I am returning to aerobics classes (toned down a bit).
The doctor said the surgery went "great", so that is reassuring.
I am hopeful for the results of the device turn on in mid June, so wish me luck. If you have more questions, you can email me at kay.green169@gmail.com April 26, 2011 8:42 AM
Post from June 10, 2011 10:37 AM I had the Esteem turned on last Monday (June 6, 2011). I am thinking it helped a little over my hearing aid, but not lots. The left ear that I had the Esteem implanted had a severe (85 db) hearing loss and the Esteem can only do so much. They say it should get better over the next few months, so I should be patient. When I had the surgery, there was debate if I should have my good (right) ear or bad (left) ear implanted. I think if they had implanted my right ear, I would have had better results.
As far as MRI is concerned, I asked the Dr and he said that they say you can't have MRI after Esteem because they don't know the effects. He said he did have a couple of patients that did have an MRI after Esteem with no ill affects.
If you want more info, you can email me at kay.green169@gmail.com June 10, 2011 10:37 AM
Post from July 28, 2011 6:54 AM Hi all This is Kay. I did make a post about a week ago. I will repost it now and hope it gets approved.
I went for the one month post turn on Esteem adjustment. My hearing test improved 5db from about 40db to 35 db, which is not up to normal level. I also had word recognition test done and here are the results. My word recognition with the hearing aid at 70db was 46%, with the Esteem it rose to 80%, which is significant. What I am noticing is that I can hear someone who is standing close to me with just my Esteem ear. It is not good enough to use just my Esteem ear to hear with but I think it is helping my hearing over all. I still struggle in noisy situations, but maybe not as much. Hopefully that will get better. I am also thinking that having the sound come through to your ear drum normally is what is helping with the background noise and that is what they claim on the website. When I was visiting relatives a couple said that they think I am definitely hearing better, which is good news. I am not hearing up to normal levels, so it is hard for me to judge how much better. Another thing I noticed is that I can hear and understand the TV. In answer to someone who wondered about the brain needing to learn to hear again, I did not find that a problem. Here is what I like about the Esteem: It is invisible. Nothing is in your ear canal. When someone hugs you, you don’t get feedback. You can go in water with it. Sound is clearer. All these are pluses but the procedure is so invasive that getting it for any of those reasons is not worth the risk. But if you are having difficulty with hearing aids, you could consider the Esteem. Again you are welcome to email me at kay.green169@gmail.com July 28, 2011 6:54 AM
Post from July 28, 2011 7:00 AM Hi, this is Kay again. I just wanted to update this post. Yesterday while at a noisy restaurant, I noticed that I was Turning my Esteem implant ear towards the person speaking to me and I was hearing pretty good. I will add this caveat that he was talking to me directly and close by. But still I think I was hearing clearer in noise with that ear. I am becoming more encouraged daily. I want to add again that my hearing loss is pretty severe in that ear( about 80db ) and someone with a less severe hearing loss could do much better.
Hi Kay, I've got a fairly severe hearing loss in both ears--wear digital aids. Seriously considering the Esteem, but the cost is heavy for me. Now that you've had your's for a longer while, I'd like to know if you'd do it again, and what percentage of improvement you feel that you've received. Sally
Hi Sally In answer to your question I feel like I got some improvement over the hearing aid but not a lot. The cost is high and I was hoping for better improvement. I am still glad I got the Esteem. The hearing test shows only 5db improvement, but the word recognition shows better Hope this helps
Post from February 8, 2011 3:48 PM
ReplyDeleteI have a fairly sever hearing loss (about 65 db loss). I am going to get the Esteem implant soon I hope. I live in Colorado and there are no ENT doctors that perform that implant here. I will be going to San Jose, CA for the surgery. I am so frustrated with hearing aids. I miss out on so much if there is any noise in the room. I will continue with this blog to let you know how it goes.
KG in CO
February 8, 2011 3:48 PM
Post from March 23, 2011 5:26 AM
ReplyDeleteThe answer to the comment on Feb 23, 2011 is that MRI is not possible after this implant. The web site for the Esteem is envoymedical.com where you can get this info.
Also I asked the Envoy team about the reversible option of this procedure and was told that they did devise a reversible procedure as was required for FDA approval. This came from an Envoy employee, so how good the reversible procedure is, I don't know.
I am having this implant next month and have done research on it.
March 23, 2011 5:26 AM
Post from March 23, 2011 5:32 AM
ReplyDeleteI have this procedure scheduled for April. The cost is $30,000 and I just found out the cost for battery replacement is $6000. It is required to have a CT scan of your head to make sure you have enough room for the implanted sound processor. The CT scan is included in the $30,000 charge. You usually do not need to spend the night in the hospital, so this would be considered an out patient surgery. If the doctor does think you need to spend the night, that is not included in the $30,000 charge.
They usually implant the ear with the poorest hearing.
I sincerely hope this works for me, since I have been so frustrated with my hearing aid performance. What I am looking for is improvement in hearing in noisy environments and on cell phone.
I will post on this site the results after activation, which will be in June 2011.
Kay
March 23, 2011 5:32 AM
Post from April 26, 2011 8:42 AM
ReplyDeleteThis is Kay.
I had my Esteem implanted on April 12 in San Jose, CA by Dr. Michael Murray. The surgery lasted 4 hours. I was able to go home (actually to my son's home) about 1-2 hours after surgery. The pain from the implant was not bad, but I did have a BIG headache. I did not fly back home until 2 days after surgery, which is what I would recommend. My post surgery symptoms were fatigue and headaches. The next patient might have completely different symptoms.
It took a good week to feel better, but now 10 days past surgery I am returning to aerobics classes (toned down a bit).
The doctor said the surgery went "great", so that is reassuring.
I am hopeful for the results of the device turn on in mid June, so wish me luck. If you have more questions, you can email me at kay.green169@gmail.com
April 26, 2011 8:42 AM
Post from June 10, 2011 10:37 AM
ReplyDeleteI had the Esteem turned on last Monday (June 6, 2011). I am thinking it helped a little over my hearing aid, but not lots. The left ear that I had the Esteem implanted had a severe (85 db) hearing loss and the Esteem can only do so much. They say it should get better over the next few months, so I should be patient. When I had the surgery, there was debate if I should have my good (right) ear or bad (left) ear implanted. I think if they had implanted my right ear, I would have had better results.
As far as MRI is concerned, I asked the Dr and he said that they say you can't have MRI after Esteem because they don't know the effects. He said he did have a couple of patients that did have an MRI after Esteem with no ill affects.
If you want more info, you can email me at kay.green169@gmail.com
June 10, 2011 10:37 AM
Post from July 28, 2011 6:54 AM
ReplyDeleteHi all
This is Kay. I did make a post about a week ago. I will repost it now and hope it gets approved.
I went for the one month post turn on Esteem adjustment. My hearing test improved 5db from about 40db to 35 db, which is not up to normal level. I also had word recognition test done and here are the results. My word recognition with the hearing aid at 70db was 46%, with the Esteem it rose to 80%, which is significant. What I am noticing is that I can hear someone who is standing close to me with just my Esteem ear. It is not good enough to use just my Esteem ear to hear with but I think it is helping my hearing over all. I still struggle in noisy situations, but maybe not as much. Hopefully that will get better. I am also thinking that having the sound come through to your ear drum normally is what is helping with the background noise and that is what they claim on the website.
When I was visiting relatives a couple said that they think I am definitely hearing better, which is good news. I am not hearing up to normal levels, so it is hard for me to judge how much better. Another thing I noticed is that I can hear and understand the TV.
In answer to someone who wondered about the brain needing to learn to hear again, I did not find that a problem.
Here is what I like about the Esteem:
It is invisible. Nothing is in your ear canal. When someone hugs you, you don’t get feedback. You can go in water with it. Sound is clearer. All these are pluses but the procedure is so invasive that getting it for any of those reasons is not worth the risk. But if you are having difficulty with hearing aids, you could consider the Esteem.
Again you are welcome to email me at kay.green169@gmail.com
July 28, 2011 6:54 AM
Post from July 28, 2011 7:00 AM
ReplyDeleteHi, this is Kay again.
I just wanted to update this post. Yesterday while at a noisy restaurant, I noticed that I was Turning my Esteem implant ear towards the person speaking to me and I was hearing pretty good. I will add this caveat that he was talking to me directly and close by. But still I think I was hearing clearer in noise with that ear. I am becoming more encouraged daily.
I want to add again that my hearing loss is pretty severe in that ear( about 80db ) and someone with a less severe hearing loss could do much better.
Kay
July 28, 2011 7:00 AM
Hi Kay, I've got a fairly severe hearing loss in both ears--wear digital aids. Seriously considering the Esteem, but the cost is heavy for me. Now that you've had your's for a longer while, I'd like to know if you'd do it again, and what percentage of improvement you feel that you've received.
ReplyDeleteSally
Hi Sally
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question I feel like I got some improvement over the hearing aid but not a lot. The cost is high and I was hoping for better improvement. I am still glad I got the Esteem. The hearing test shows only 5db improvement, but the word recognition shows better
Hope this helps