Short version I’m in a position that my ENT wants to put in a cochlear implant in my right ear when they go in to do some other work. I have had no hearing in my right ear in 20 years and have tinnitus in both for the last 25 years. Looking for someone else that has had hearing loss and received the implant. How long have you had it? Is it worth all the hassle and expenses? Does the garbling sounds ever disappear? How comfortable are they? How differently do people look at you for wearing it?
Your buddy sounds like an unsung hero! The difference between medical person treating you as a patient and caring for you is huge. Learning the technology and procedures that make all this work, truly a marvel of medical and engineering.
Tell him thank you for the work he does.