Cochlear implants without auditory training is like a cell phone without a signal. If you can’t get a signal on your phone despite a nearby cell phone tower, you might feel disconnected and different (compared to everyone else who can get a signal).
Similarly, with cochlear implants, the signal in the signal-to-noise ratio is the voices you want to hear when there is background noise. If you need the signal to be quite a bit louder than the noise, the listening environments in which you can enjoy communication are going to be limited.
But what many people with cochlear implants haven’t been told is that your ability to hear in noise is not fixed. With auditory training, you can withstand a higher level of noise and still be able to communicate.
When I got my second cochlear implant a year ago, I knew that I could improve my hearing through my own efforts. I could spend some time training, and it would get better. I wish everyone with cochlear implants was at least given the information about auditory training so that they could make a choice.
Neurotone AI’s Lace program is a good place to put some time and effort.
Related post: The Case for Lace
