Adults with Hearing Loss

If you’re a Maine adult with severe or profound hearing loss and are considering cochlear implants, you can improve your hearing, communication skills, and quality of life through Aural Rehabilitation with our Listening and Spoken Language Specialists.

hear ME now services are tailored to your specific communication needs with the goal of maximizing and reintegrating listening into your daily life.

Individual Aural Rehabilitation Therapy for Adults with Cochlear Implants

  • We are an integral member of your implant team every step of the way.  We communicate closely with your implant surgeon and audiologist, to make sure you achieve the best outcomes possible.
  • We start with a pre-implant orientation session to answer questions, discuss concerns and help prepare you for what to expect.
  • In post cochlear implant rehabilitation sessions, you’ll receive individualized auditory exercises from our team. All our adult service providers hold a certification in Listening and Spoken Language (LSLS).
  • We’ll monitor your progress and work closely with your “mapping” audiologist
  • You’re encouraged to include family members and/or friends in our sessions to facilitate practice in your home and daily life. This support is important during your transition from dependence on lip-reading to more reliance on listening for everyday conversations.

TELE-THERAPY AVAILABLE
 hear ME now offers its aural rehabilitation services via web-based video therapy.  Video conferencing options allow you to be face-to-face with your speech pathologist so that, just like for in-person visits, you can benefit from speech reading cues and listening with your hearing aid or cochlear implant. There is also an option for closed captions on some video conferencing platforms. Contact us for more information at info@hear-me-now.org.

 

Click here to learn about one recent adult cochlear implant recipient’s experiences

CI Implant Recipient: March 31st, 2011

I first began seriously thinking of a Cochlear Implant (CI) back in 2002 when I went completely deaf in my left ear…but the nearest CI Center was in Boston…

I was excited when I heard that Mercy Hospital has approved this process. After a few months, the surgery was set for March 31st.

Surgery was scheduled and I was very nervous. The staff at Mercy Hospital were terrific, I couldn’t have asked for better treatment.

It was three weeks till the CI could be turned on; I had no problems from the surgery, and almost no pain. The doctor didn’t cut off much hair. The staples were removed in 8 days; it took two minutes and was painless. I realized I had almost no scar and it was difficult for anyone to see that I had even had the surgery done. I was back to work in 10 days. There was a little soreness but nothing major, I felt great.

Being one of the first CI’s for Mercy MKM ENT Associates, was a learning process for everyone involved. I was completely overwhelmed when it was first turned on. Everything sounded so weird, voices sounded like “Alvin and the Chipmunks:’ I was asked to listen for “beeps and tones” and had no idea what they were supposed to sound like. It seemed to take forever…and I was nervous and sweating buckets. I was very concerned about what I was hearing, I couldn’t understand voices, couldn’t hear the doctor jingle his keys. After all the testing was done, my CI was programmed and I was sent out into the noisy world…I was a bit disheartened.

What was crucial as I look back was the sessions with Cathy Janelle from hear ME now! This would be my turning point; Cathy’s knowledge and training were just what I needed. She was able to explain to me what I was hearing and how the exercises were training my brain to work with my ears again. What I can say, it has been a huge improvement from that upsetting day when it was first activated. I would strongly recommend hear ME now! to everyone who receives an implant and after each new programming. It just gets better and better each day.

My social life has been completely turned around. I’m talking to people everywhere I go. I’m slowly building my confidence in the implant. I am so thrilled with the CI and the clarity of the voices I am hearing. I have begun to talk to people who I used to avoid because I just couldn’t understand them and now I can. There are no words to express how that makes me feel, every day is a new day and a new adventure. It’s thrilling!

Sincerely, D.

Contact us to explore our Maine services for adults with hearing loss, and to learn about the latest technologies and communication possibilities through listening and spoken language rehabilitation.