first implant, I was 19. Second implant, I was 20, almost 21. It can work well for certain people, but it varies from person to person. But in my early years, I had normal hearing, but that soon degenerated. Thus, I had the concept of words and sounds in my head, but the door was closing rapidly. But now with these implants, the door is opening back up again and thrust open. I listen to a lot of classical music to give me a better sense of sound. I also listen to a lot of the Beatles and follow along with the lyrics and that reallly helps me understand spoken word better.