Thinking about getting an implant and need information?

 

·         Cochlear Americas: Information regarding the Nucleus Cochlear Implant Systems:  www.cochlearamericas.com

400 Inverness Pkway S Ste 400

Englewood, CO  80112

Toll Free: 1.800.805.3207 V/TTY

Fax: 1.847.438.5732

Email: Customer@Cochlear.com

 

·         Advanced Bionics Corporation:  Information regarding the HiResolution Bionic Ear Cochlear Implant System:

www.bionicear.com

12740 San Fernando Rd

Sylmar, CA  91342

Ph: 1.661.362.1400 or 1.800.678.2575

TTY: 1.800.678.3575

Fax: 1.661.362.1500

Email: info@advancedbionics.com

 

·         Med-El Corporation:  Information regarding the PULSAR Cochlear Implant System: www.medel.com/

2222 E Highway 54 Ste B180

Durham, NC  27713

Toll Free: 1.888.633.3524

Fax: 1.919.484.9229
Email: implants@medelus.com
  

 

Following are the Internet Resources put together by Linn Tearney of Cochlear Americas.  Many thanks to Linn for sharing the information with the readers!

 

·         Organizations dealing with hearing loss and/or cochlear implants:

 

New York League of the Hard of Hearing - The League's Mission is to improve the quality of life for people with all degrees of hearing loss. This is accomplished by providing hearing rehabilitation and human service programs for people who are hard of hearing and deaf, and their families, regardless of age or mode of communication. - http://www.lhh.org/.

 

Auditory Verbal International –Organization that promotes speech and language in children with hearing loss -  www.auditory-verbal.org

 

Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly SHHH) – Support organization for people with all degrees of hearing impairment.  “SHHH and our members are catalysts that make mainstream society more accessible to people who are hard of hearing.  We strive to improve the quality of hard of hearing people's lives through education, advocacy and self help.” - http://www.hearingloss.org

 

Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) - ALDA works collaboratively with other organizations around the world serving the needs of late-deafened people and extends a welcome to everyone, late deafened or not, who supports our goals.  http://www.alda.org

 

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is a nonprofit membership organization which was established in 1890. The

Association promotes full opportunity for parents and their children as well as adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. - http://www.agbell.org.

 

Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses – www.amphl.org

 

·         Individuals’ Web Pages

 

Hearing Exchange – Website developed by Paula Rosenthal;  if you or your child is hard of hearing or deaf, or you are a professional who works with children or adults with hearing loss, you've come to the right place. Hearing Exchange is an online community for the exchange of ideas and information on hearing loss. No matter what method of communication you have chosen, you'll find interesting and supportive information.  http://www.hearingexchange.com/

 

Listen-Up – This site was developed by a parent of a child with a cochlear implant and contains many useful links and tips for issues related to hearing loss and the cochlear implant. - http://www.listen-up.org/toc.htm.

 

CI Hear - CI Hear began as an internet listserv created to support anyone interested in the Cochlear Implant. Within a short period of time, it grew to become more than that. As more and more people found CI Hear, the needs intensified. Thru the links provided, a highway was created to provide information about hearing loss, coping skills, myths and realities and to help all who were seeking a new curve in the road on the journey to hearing. If there's news, you'll find it here as we will make sure all information is current by frequent updates to the site – www.cihear.com

 

Jacob Nuland’s Website – Implanted at age one with the Nucleus 24 Contour, this website shares Jacob’s experiences and has resources for other parents of potential cochlear implant recipients -  http://www.geocities.com/jacobami/

 

Joshua Franich Website - http://www.geocities.com/franichfam/mypage.html

 

Rachel Chaikof Website – A story of two sisters who received cochlear implants as young children - http://www.cochlearimplantonline.com/

 

Ideas for Listening Exercises to Augment (Re)Habilitation

 

University of Iowa Phonetics site - http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/about.html#

 

Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab   - www.esl-lab.com

 

Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab – basic self-study guide - www.esl-lab.com/guide.htm

 

Randall’s Listening Lab – A Day at School  - www.esl-lab.com/elem/elemrd1.htm

 

Randall’s Listening Lab – Phone practice - http://www.esl-lab.com/phone/phonerd1.htm

 

ESL Gold - Listening Practice – Sounds and Distinctions www.eslgold.com/jsps/site.jsp?resource=pag_stu_pronunciation_sounds

 

Ellen Rhodes, Cert. AVT - Resource for newly implanted teen or adult – independent listening practice – Music, sentences, animal sounds - www.auditoryverbaltraining.com/websites.htm

 

Online collection of Aesop Fables:   http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/

 

Help Read™ is FREE software that reads along with you while you do the reading – http://www.helpread.com/

 

Noddy Theater – Play a RealVideo clip from each of the episodes, or sing along with the "Noddy" puppet songs and fairy tale songs--six animations are featured. Listen to audio clips of the Noddy Songs - http://www.pbs.org/kids/noddy/theater/index.html

 

The Mudcat Cafe presents The Digital Traditions Folksong Database Search Page, http://www.deltablues.com/folksearch.html

 

800 Directory - Find businesses (such as AMTRAK) that provide toll free recorded messages for listening practice http://www.inter800.com/

 

Brain Connection - http://www.brainconnection.com/teasers/

 

·         Assistive and Communications Sites / Cochlear Implant Compatible Phones

 

Phonak – Assistive listening systems, FM systems  http://www.phonak.com

 

Audex – assistive devices for hearing impaired, accessories and telephones - http://www.audex.com/.

 

Hitec - http://www.hitec.com/.

 

LightSpeed Technologies – Assistive listening systems –Sound-field systems, wireless microphone systems – http://www.lightspeed-tek.com/.

 

Phonic Ear – Assistive listening systems, toteable sound field system, personal audio systems – www.phonicear.com.

 

Williams Sound – Helping people hear – assistive devices, accessories, telephones http://www.williamssound.com/.

 

Centrum Communications – Assistive listening systems http://members.aol.com/centrumweb/index.html.

 

Clear Sounds phones and assistive listening systems - http://www.clearsounds.com/

 

Ultratec – Amplified and text telephones – http://www.ultratec.com.

 

·         Special Products

 

CELL OR CORDLESS PHONE ADAPTER

 

The “CHAMP” modified cell phone module - Audex -  710 Standard Street, Longview, TX  75604  800-237-0716  Web:  www.audex.com

 

 Soundbytes – store located in New Jersey and New York City.  They also have online shopping.  Web:  www.soundbytes.com   Product #CPC-CL12 is for a cell phone with a 2.5mm (sub-mini) jack.  This product has a 3.5mm plug that fits Nucleus cochlear implant processors.  There are other models on the Soundbytes website if your cell or cordless phone has a different size headset jack.

 

Robert Mendoza       Email:   robm_94928@yahoo.com or by phone 707-585-0609  www.cihais.com

 

Hatis – cell phone accessory that connect to the cell phone and works with telecoil or “T” setting www.hatis.com

 

Clothing / Pouches

 

Joan Celebi – Designs and sells custom harnesses and pouches.  Joan can be contacted at:  Joan.celebi@verizon.net or by phone at 978-266-0376.

 

Anna’s Design – Special T-shirts with a pocket for cochlear implant processor

http://www.sitewest.com/anna/index.htm.

 

Small CI Pouches for young children.  Access the Jungle, Inc. website at

http://www.junglestuff.com/.  Go to Jungle Online Store, then click on

CI Fanny Packs.  If you have questions, contact Loie Levine at Jungle, Inc. loie@junglestuff.com or Phone 978-356-7722.  The fax number is 978-356-7613.

 

 Neoprene pouches that work well for speech processors - http://www.fwonline.com/belts.htm, www.tunebelts.com

 

My son wears these wonderful cotton harnesses underneath his shirts made by

Gina Maser. She makes them sized individually for your child. The pocket is

on the side. You can get more information by emailing her at

gmaser@bellsouth.net <mailto:gmaser@bellsouth.net>

 

·         Government

 

National Institute of Health – free publications and extracts - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/.

 

·         Articles

 

Ear Surgery Information Center - COCHLEAR IMPLANTS By Mark J. Levenson, MD FACS

http://www.earsurgery.org/cochlear.html.

 

·         Special Interest Sites

 

Language Matters - Information about cued speech as a communication tool

http://www.language-matters.com/cueinfo.php3.

 

American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Website - http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/.

 

Website with information on filing a Title III (ADA) complaint

http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/pages/TitleIII_complaint.htm.

 

House Ear Institute – Simulations of what speech and music would sound like through a cochlear implant http://www.hei.org/research/depts/aip/audiodemos.htm

 

Cochlear Implant Lab at University of Texas, Dallas – Articles, links and listening demos

http://www.utdallas.edu/~loizou/cimplants/.

 

Beyond Discovery - Sound from Silence: The Development of Cochlear Implants

http://www4.nas.edu/beyond/beyonddiscovery.nsf/web/cochlear?OpenDocument.

 

Johns Hopkins Vestibular Lab –  http://www.bme.jhu.edu/lab/chb/.

 

Tinnitus Discussion Site:  http://www.cccd.edu/faq/tinnitus.html.

 

American Tinnitus Association – information on tinnitus – www.ata.org

 

Tinnitus article – A Patient’s Guide to Tinnitus: http://www.healthyhearing.com/healthyhearing/newroot/articles/arc_disp.asp?article_id=182&catid=615

Meniere's Network:  http://www.earfoundation.org

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders:  http://www.nih.gov/nidcd

 

Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons - http://www.nvrc.org/

 

HealthyHearing – World Leader in Hearing Information - http://www.healthyhearing.com

 

Exercises for improving balance - http://earaces.com/vestexercises.htm

 

·         Auditory Verbal Centers

 

Auditory Verbal Center of Atlanta (AVCA) – www.avc-atlanta.org

 

Bolesta Center – Tampa, FL – www.bolesta.com

 

More information on Auditory Verbal communication method – www.nciohio.com

 

·         Auditory Oral Schools

John Tracy Clinic – A school for hearing impaired pre-school children – John Tracy Clinic provides, worldwide and without charge, parent-centered services to young children with a hearing loss offering families hope, guidance and encouragement.  John Tracy Clinic offers correspondence courses to reach thousands of families all over the world.

http://www.johntracyclinic.org.

 

Option Schools – Listing of oral education schools in North America – www.oraldeafed.org.

 

Products for Teaching Speech and Language

 

Super Duper Publications offers materials for teaching speech and language:  “Fun Speech & Language Materials."  Some of the items include "Wh" question card games, irregular plural cards, describing skills, prepositions, and auditory processing.  A catalog of products can be ordered through the website, www.superduperinc.com.  You can view and order the catalog products on the web at http://www.superduperinc.com/products.htm   Super Duper Publications can be reached at 1-800-277-8737.

 

Cochlear Implant Forums

 

Email Lists and Discussion Groups

 

Subscribing and unsubscribing to a Discussion Group or List

 

Most but not all discussion groups/lists are run automatically by a computer.  To join a list, you need to send a message to the list manager.  Some have an automated manager (Listserv or Majordomo) with a slightly different address from the list itself.  For others, you need to contact the (human) listowner.  The manager/owner may control more than one list, so the list name may need to be specified.  Additional information about each group is usually supplied at the time of joining – it is wise to keep such information as you may need to refer to it months later, especially when unsubscribing. 

 

Nucleus Forum – Online Peer Counseling and Support for the Cochlear Implant Community.

 

You can join the Nucleus Forum by going to the Cochlear website (www.cochlear.com).  From the home page, go to “Nucleus Community” at the right side of the screen, then click “Join the Forum.”  More information and a form that you can complete to join the Forum are in that section.  You will be notified when your subscription has been activated -- usually within one business day. 

 

How to Unsubscribe

 

You can unsubscribe from the Forum from the same page as above by clicking “unsubscribe”.

 

Sending a Post to the Nucleus Forum

 

After you have received confirmation that your subscription is activated, you will begin to

receive email from current subscribers.  Feel free to read the various posts without comment until you get a sense of the course of the discussion. At any point, however, you can send a post to the forum list by composing an email message and sending it to the forum address that you will receive in your welcome message.

 

Method of Delivery

 

You have two subscription options: “Immediate” and “Digest.”  Choosing the Immediate mode means that posts to the forum will be emailed to you as soon as they are received by the forum’s automated postmaster.  If you choose the Digest mode of subscription, the forum’s automated postmaster will collect all the posts to the forum once a day and send them to you in a single email.

 

·         Other Mail Lists and Discussion Groups

 

Beyond Hearing (Duke University) – Discussion related to hearing loss; not just cochlear implants.  To subscribe, send a message to dmimi@acpub.duke.edu  and in the text put “subscribe beyond-hearing”  (no need to give your name).  Use no subject.

 

CI Circle – Primarily intended for parents of hearing impaired children with cochlear implants and those researching cochlear implants for their children.  To subscribe, send an email to the following address (exactly as shown):  majordomo@mysql.maxbaud.net.  In the body of the message type: subscribe cicircle@mysql.maxbaud.net if you want the regular version, or subscribe cicircle-digest@mysql.maxbaud.net for the digest version.

 

Deafonline Forums is a discussion forum for deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, cochlear implant users and many others to share information, thoughts, opnions, news and ideas on a variety of hearing loss or deaf related topics and issues. We have wide spectrums of topics to choose from cochlear implants, Education to Technologies - http://www.deafonline.org/

SWC_CI - SWC_CI got started as a list for SWC subcribers who have a Cochlear Implant (CI) or who were in the process of getting a CI and who wanted to share their experiences. It is now also open to people who are considering getting a CI but who want more information first. This list is about providing information and support to existing and new CI users and sharing the experiences with CI's.  If you are interested in subscribing to SayWhatClub or want more information on subscribing to SayWhatClub, please contact us at info@saywhatclub.com.

Your message will be received by the chair of our Hospitality Committee (HC) and one of the HC members will be asked to contact you with further information about SWC and subscribing to SWC.

BhNEWS – News for the HOH and Deaf - Better Hearing News (bhNEWS) is dedicated to the dissemination of interesting and beneficial information for the "Hearing Loss Gang",and more. A flexible format, with some comedy, and whatever.  It will be upbeat, for sure. A place to enjoy and learn !  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhNEWS/

York U CI List - send message to listserv@yorku.ca and in the text put “subscribe ci firstname lastname” (without quotes and using your real name).  Do not put anything in the subject line.

 

When you see a message you want to reply to, highlight that message.  Do this by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the arrow so that the message you want is black or "HIGHLIGHTED". Then right click on your mouse.  A screen will popup giving you a few choices, select "COPY". Now go to the top and click on the "REPLY" button. A new window will pop up with the entire copy of CI forum your are replying to. You don't want to send all of this so right click your mouse again. Click on "SELECT ALL" , the CI forum will go black, press "DELETE", It's next (right) of the enter key. The CI forum will disappear .You will not lose your original CI forum, it's in another window. Now right click on your mouse again and select "PASTE". The original message you wanted to reply to will now appear. Add your own message and  do a quick spell check and hit send.

OR – another method:

When you find a section of the forum that you want to reply to, go to compose message, put address in and then minimize. Go back to the forum and highlight with mouse what

part you want to reply to and then hit Ctrl + C, go back to new message and click inside and then hit Ctrl + V. That will copy the part of the message that you are replying to.

 

 

An email list for candidates and recipients interested in talking about cochlear implants.

To subscribe, go to www.yahoogroups.com/group/ci and go into the subscribe button.

 

CIHear - To subscribe, send an email to:  CIHear-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

Prelinguals Cochlear Implant Mailing list.

 

Community email addresses:

  Post message:  CI-Prelinguals@yahoogroups.com

  Subscribe:    CI-Prelinguals-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

  Unsubscribe:  CI-Prelinguals-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

You can take a look at the website first and look at archived messages.

  http://www.yahoogroups.com/community/CI-Prelinguals

 

You can post short message asking any question on implant.  Be sure to tell little about yourself.   Age, hometown, deaf history, etc.

 

CIParents group at Yahoo Groups

 

The CI Parents Group is a free, easy-to-use email group service. Please send an introduction and interest as you join so that we can get to know each other. Feel free to share this group with others who might be interested.  Note that there is a chat option here as well, so if you wish to chat...here is your place. 

 

To start sending messages to members of this group, simply send email to CIParents@yahoogroups.com

If you no longer wish to receive messages through CI Parents, unsubscribe by sending an email to CIParents-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

You may also visit the eGroups web site to modify your subscriptions: http://www.yahoogroups.com/mygroups                 http://groups.yahoo.com/local/news.html

 

Parents Email List for Teens and Pre-Teens with cochlear implants

 

E-mail group for parents of older implanted children:  CITeens-Preteens@yahoogroups.com.  This email group was created by the parent of a 14 year old ASL user about to be implanted with a Nucleus 24 Contour.  The purpose of this group is for parents of older children receiving cochlear implants to be able to share their experiences.  The needs and experiences of parents of older implanted children differ greatly from the needs and experiences of parents of children implanted as toddlers and babies.  The focus of CITeens-Preteens is on the needs of the older deaf child receiving a cochlear implant and their progress post-implant.  Everyone is welcome to join.  To subscribe send a message to:  CITeens-Preteens-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

mailto: CITeens-Preteens-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

 

To post a message:  CITeens-Preteens@yahoogroups.com 

 

Parents-of-CI-Kids -  This is a mail list for parents whose children have a cochlear implant to share their real life problems and triumphs.  To subscribe to this list, send an email to:  Parents-of-CI-Kids-subscribe@yahoogroups.com   

To post a message, send it to Parents-of-CI-Kids@yahoogroups.com

 

ProblemCI – If your CI is not performing well…..here is the place to tell.  Cochlear implants have been a miracle to many people but there are some who have had this surgical procedure and have been disappointed by its results.  Discuss those difficulties and share with others who know how devastating this can be.  If you are investigating an implant and wish to get a well rounded view of the product, this list may be just the place.  To subscribe, send an email message to:  ProblemCI-subscribe@yahoogroups.com      Post messages at:  ProblemCI@yahoogroups.com

 

CI Family – This is a mail list for adults and parents who have a cochlear implant or are interested in a cochlear implant for themselves or their child.  To subscribe to CI Family, send a message to:  CIFAMILY-subscribe@yahoogroups.com  To post a message, send it to CIFAMILY@yahoogroups.com

 

Listen-UP – Listen-up Listserv membership is restricted to parents of deaf/hard of hearing children only and was created to support their informational and emotional needs.  We share problems, strategies, successes and failure.  The main purpose of this group is to advocate for the rights of our children and to make life as good for them as it can possibly be for a child with hearing loss.  To subscribe, send a message to:   Listen-Up@yahoogroups.com   To post a message, send it to:  Listen-Up@yahoogroups.com

 

Yahoo CI Forum

Do you feel like your walking the twilight zone between the deaf and hearing worlds? The CI mail list is for everyone interested in cochlear implants. Whether you have a CI, or are considering getting one, or are just curious about what they are, you’re welcome here. Unlike other CI lists, we hope to develop a warm family type list where you can talk about your family and your day, not just about your implant.  To subscribe, send an email to ci-subscribe@yahoogroups.com  

After you receive confirmation, you will then be able to post to this list by sending your email message to ci@yahoogroups.com

 

Message Boards

 

Meni-Kids – A message board created by the parents of a child whose hearing was affected by meningitis.  This board was created to share information and experiences with other parents of children who were similarly affected and may be interested in cochlear implants.  To participate, go to the following link:  You will be able to create your own account and then post messages to the board and read messages posted by others-  http://www.coolboard.com/myboards.cfm?oid=49607623535367

 

Hearing Exchange – a bulletin board that offers a variety of topics where members can post information and comments for others to read.  To subscribe, go to the following website and complete the registration form:  http://www.hearingexchange.com/ubb/Ultimate.cgi

 

 

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Linn at LTearney@cochlear.com.