Carina Users: How the Implant Has Changed Their Lives
Carina has given me the opportunity to hear like I never have before. I'm 18 years old, and one of my ears is completely normal and the other has a malformation in the external ear and in the auditory ossicles, inside the middle ear. Since I started using the Carina fully implantable hearing system, I have discovered what the term 'surround sound' really means! I don't have to turn my head anymore to use my best ear to understand what people are trying to tell me: I can simply understand them, and that's a truly wonderful feeling!
Since I was a child, I've suffered from chronic otitis with long-term periods of suppuration. I had five operations on my right ear and and three operations on my left ear to attempt to cure my infections. Luckily, the sixth operation on my right ear was successful, so I no longer have infections. But my hearing loss has persisted. I now have a large cavity on my right ear and I have lost my right ear's auditory ossicles. Due to the size of this cavity, I couldn't wear a conventional hearing aid. I was informed that Carina would be a good option for me, so I decided to undergo the operation to receive the Carina hearing implant. I have shed many tears of joy since the Carina was implanted, but, by far, the most beautiful and comforting feeling was being able to hear clearly, for the first time, my three-year-old son calling me.
I suffer from hearing loss in both ears. According to doctors, this is because a medical treatment I received as a child, to fight an infection, damaged my internal ear. I've always lived near the ocean. I love going to the beach in the summer, and jogging and going for long walks with my dog in the winter. I've always used hearing aids, and the problem is that they are simply not designed for these kinds of outdoor activities. Perspiration or humidity were constantly interfering with my hearing aid, so I would have to take it out when I was outside, which left me totally isolated from the rest of the world. I found out about Carina while surfing the Internet, so I asked my ENT specialist about this fully implantable hearing system. He told me I was a candidate for it, so I decided to try it. After the surgery, I eagerly awaited the activation day so that I could finally go to the beach and listen to and enjoy the breeze and the sound of the waves.
10 years ago, I was in a serious car accident that sent me into a coma for 20 days. As a result, I went completely deaf in my right ear, and, due to an injury to my auditory nerve, I also suffered a severe hearing loss in my left ear. At first, during the rehabilitation process, it was really hard, because I had to get used to reading lips to understand what someone was saying to me. I also tried to wear a hearing aid in my left ear, but it caused some problems in my ear canal because it kept itching and suppurating, so I would have to leave it out for days at a time. My ENT told me about this fully implantable hearing system, Carina, and I did a lot of research to find out as much as I could about it. I was very anxious about having another operation after all that had happened to me. But, my family, friends, and my ENT offered me a lot of support, so I believed that everything would go well. I’m someone who has had to fight a lot to bring his life back to normal. Thanks to the Carina fully implantable hearing system, I’ve regained so much of my self-esteem, and I feel really lucky. I can’t thank everyone who helped me make the decision to use Carina enough.