All About HearPeers

Are you looking for advice from others about hearing implant experiences? Or maybe, you want to help others starting their hearing implant journey? If you are a parent of a child with a hearing implant, have a CI yourself, or are thinking about getting one, HearPeers could be just the right place for you.

HearPeers is an online chat forum hosted by MED-EL. It is an open, honest, and supportive environment, and it is absolutely free to use. Whilst the HearPeers Forum members are mostly MED-EL recipients or parents, everyone is welcome to join the conversation. Many topics, like rehabilitation and communication tips, are universal for any hearing implant user, so we recommend checking out some of the invaluable personal tips from other recipients.

There are many different reasons why people from all over the world join HearPeers. Here are some of the types of people who join the conversation.

Someone making a decision on:

Cochlear implants, hearing implants or audio processors
Hearing implant accessories like Assistive Listening Devices, waterproof options, or rechargeable batteries

Someone seeking advice on:

What the process is like leading up to surgery
What the surgery is like
Which implant brand to go for
The rehabilitation journey
Tips and tricks for better hearing

Someone who is looking for:

Stories from other implant users
Quick tips and suggestions from others
A long-term support network of people with hearing loss

We’d like to introduce you to some of our most active community members on HearPeers. These guys are regulars on the forum and are all passionate about sharing their experiences and helping others on their hearing journey in any way they can!

Mary Beth

I am thankful to all of the people who have come before me and participated in research to advance CI technology. Participating in the HearPeers Forum is my way of paying it forward. I enjoy sharing experiences and answering questions when I can. We all have unique CI journeys but they are journeys we do not take alone. HearPeers is a team ready to help, encourage and celebrate everyone’s CI journey.

My hearing loss: I experienced progressive hearing loss beginning at age 13. By my late 20’s, there was no residual hearing in my right ear. My left ear continued to progress. I was implanted at age 51 in sequential surgeries, 8 months apart. Best decisions ever!

MED-EL CONCERT and SYNCHRONY cochlear implants. SONNET, RONDO and OPUS 2 audio processors.

Cara Mia

I joined HearPeers Forum to get first-hand information about MED-EL cochlear implants and things related to the CI surgery and rehabilitation. I have stayed involved in the forum because I found interesting and supportive people on there who make my CI journey a much easier and enjoyable path to success.

My hearing loss: I have sensorineural hearing loss due to meningitis. I was unilaterally implanted in February 2016, and became bilaterally implanted in October 2016.

SYNCHRONY cochlear implants and SONNET audio processors.

Adam

I enjoy sharing my experiences and answering questions from people who are in the middle of having to make a very difficult and life changing decision. I am passionate about encouraging and supporting those folks that are walking the path that I once did and still do.

My hearing loss: Some years ago I had ear surgery (not CI related) which destroyed all residual hearing in my left ear, resulting in sensorineural progressive hearing loss. I experienced sudden hearing loss in my right ear a few years later. I am 5 years bilaterally implanted.

SONATA cochlear implants, now using SONNET audio processors after using OPUS 2.

Kara of Canada

I like HearPeers as I once felt lost and didn’t know where or who to turn to. I met these great people on HearPeers who had been where I was, and they comforted me and encouraged me through the tough days and laughed together on the good ones. I found all the information I needed from these people which made the HearPeers Forum a gold mine! I recently helped another CI recipient learn to use her Quattro 4.0 Adaptive Bluetooth System. It took some trial and error. But we made it work—she loves it now!

My hearing loss: I have been using hearing aids since I was seventeen, in both ears. My hearing has deteriorated all my life from the time I was a baby—I had meningitis. I also have an enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) on the right side. It can cause hearing loss as well. I was implanted on one side in November of 2016 and activated in December of the same year.

SONNET audio processor.

Hadron:

The internet is a great place to express yourself, and many people like me choose to stay anonymous on HearPeers because they don’t want to call attention to themselves. As a scientist I have a passion to discover and explore the technology of hearing implants and share my findings with hearing impaired people and their families.

My hearing loss: I received the SONATA Ti100 cochlear implant in 2010, and use the SONNET audio processor.

Ivana Marinac:

As an otorhinolaryngologist (ENT specialist) by profession, I became a prodigy of HearPeers back in 2013 along with my new group of friends found on the forum. This group of virtuous people have helped me on my own path of rediscovering the world of sound with the BONEBRIDGE, a hearing implant that has become my trustworthy companion. The HearPeers Forum is my comfort zone where I feel like I stand on the shoulders of giants. I constantly remind others about applying the “3 Ps” in their rehabilitation—practice, patience and perseverance.

My hearing loss: Living between two worlds, my silent one is due to having a moderate to severe conductive hearing loss, bilateral and congenitally acquired as the part of Treacher-Collins syndrome. I received my unilateral BONEBRIDGE hearing implant in 2013.

BONEBRIDGE hearing implant and SAMBA audio processor.

Want to meet some HearPeers members yourself? Simply head here and click on the green “Sign Up” button in the top right corner. All members of the forum are able to create new posts, reply to questions or comments, and have private direct message conversations with other forum users.

Unsure if you want to sign up to HearPeers just yet? You can first browse HearPeers chat threads as a guest—no sign-in required. If you find some topics that interest you, simply click on sign-up to get involved in the conversation too!

Some of the current popular chat threads are:

MED-EL