Activation - Med El Synchrony

Ri Sol

Ri Sol

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I had CI activation today. I was expecting something not pleasant, after reading the reviews, but the real experience is worse than expectations.

What I "hear" in CI, I cannot name them as sounds, maybe sensations? When sounds are made, it feels like something kicking my brain + tinnitus. It is not painful, but irritating, and there are no sounds, I don't hear sounds as I used to hear in HA before.
I would say I don't hear a sound at all. Those kicks to the brain are not sounds, at least don't sound as sounds. Sorry for the sentence complications, poor vocabulary issue.

Audi says that it is normal, now I need to take time and patience, to start to hear in CI. Hope it won't take long to start to hear exactly sounds, but not sensations.

I have my residual hearing after the surgery, and right now I struggle with the wish to put my HA back. But I won't put them, I want to hear in CI.

I also have issue with keeping processor on the ear, the super strong magnet is not strong enough for me, falls down easily, and there is small space between my ear and head so behind the ear, so processor falls down, too, my audi recommends me put adhesive wig tape on the processor to stick it to my head :roll:

Med-El gave me a nice package with 2 Sonnet processors+Rondo, huge pack of batteries, UV dryer and vouchers for loop and rechargeable batteries.
 
It's good to hear a Med-El user share your experience. I hope you hear better day by day.
What's your hearing history? Can you hear sound before?

BTW, I know that Synchrony support EAS/Hybrid CI, which makes you can combine HA and CI in the meantime, have you asked your audi about this issue?
 
ymhon, thank you, I hope so, too.

I'm hard of hearing since early childhood, but audi thinks that I was already born HoH. So, she says that I missed some developing pathways in 1-3 years. I put my first HAs in 27 only, and used to live without HA, of course I had difficulties, but adapted to read lips and faces.

Now I should stop reading lips, and start to hear with CI, but right now I hear nothing, except those kicks to the brain, they don't look like sounds for me. Audi expects that my nerve will "wake-up" and brain will figure out what to do with sound information.

I refused from Hybrid CI, as I don't want to have anything plugged to my ear(annoyed with ear irritation and soreness inside caused by HA plugs). I would like to learn to hear sounds with CI and brain, but without amplification of the HA.
 
Did you hear anything at all during the setting of your comfort levels for any of the frequencies?

You probably haven't heard or never heard most high frequencies so your brain doesn't know what to do with them.
 
BleedingPurist, I didn't hear, I "felt" those beeps, and had to tell audi when these beeps are comfortable, and when are not.

Maybe I never heard high frequencies, but I don't hear them now, those "kicks" to the brain caused with low frequencies(These low frequencies "sound" very high now).

I don't hear even toilet flushing water.
I put HA on the left ear now, audi said 2-3 hours without HA on the left would be enough, and all other time, it OK to wear HA when I need.
 
Ri Sol said:
BleedingPurist, I didn't hear, I "felt" those beeps, and had to tell audi when these beeps are comfortable, and when are not.

Maybe I never heard high frequencies, but I don't hear them now, those "kicks" to the brain caused with low frequencies(These low frequencies "sound" very high now).

I don't hear even toilet flushing water.
I put HA on the left ear now, audi said 2-3 hours without HA on the left would be enough, and all other time, it OK to wear HA when I need.
Click to expand...

The more time you can give your CI work without your HA, the faster your brain will adapt. I would do the opposite, 2 or 3 hours with your HA and only if you REALLY need to use it.

Some audis simply turn you on at your first activation. They want you to just get some noise in that ear. As you progress through your appointments, they give you more and more volume so sounds and speech become more recognizable. Give it some time.
 
From who did you get the impression that you will hear perfectly on your first day?
Your brain has to learn the new hearing way, the electrodes simulate the sounds in the cochlea in a different way than normal hearing people. It's always like that to everyone's first activation day, and over the time it just gets better, you should do some rehab and keep using it. don't get disappointed, it might take a few weeks or even months but over the time it gets better and clear, with the help of mappings of course.
 
HOH-ME said:
The more time you can give your CI work without your HA, the faster your brain will adapt. I would do the opposite, 2 or 3 hours with your HA and only if you REALLY need to use it.

Some audis simply turn you on at your first activation. They want you to just get some noise in that ear. As you progress through your appointments, they give you more and more volume so sounds and speech become more recognizable. Give it some time.
Click to expand...
Yes, I use HA only when I go outside, and no HA at home.
 
Tomer said:
From who did you get the impression that you will hear perfectly on your first day?
Your brain has to learn the new hearing way, the electrodes simulate the sounds in the cochlea in a different way than normal hearing people. It's always like that to everyone's first activation day, and over the time it just gets better, you should do some rehab and keep using it. don't get disappointed, it might take a few weeks or even months but over the time it gets better and clear, with the help of mappings of course.
Click to expand...
Nobody said it will be perfect on the first day, but EVERYONE says they hear beeps, and some sounds, they can identify is it a water flushing, or door knocking.

I hear nothing, I get only irritating impulses to the head, and they don't look like sounds, beeps or anything. I cannot understand which impulse caused by toilet water flushing, or door knock. I can't hear any voices, my husband's and kids voices hit my brain with the same one impulse, and not sounds.

I have tinnitus, and these impulses make it even worse, I "hear" only tinnitus, and get irritating brain/nerve kicks from the CI. Imagine scratching the glass with metal, it is irritating, I get the same irritation from CI signals, but without a single sound.

I know that I have to wait, that is what I'm going, wearing CI without HA and exposing myself to sounds as much as possible.
 
When my left ear was first activated, I didn't hear a thing. I felt the sounds in my head, but didn't hear. Took about a week before my brain started recognizing the Ci signals as "sound" and it took some time from there to make sense of what different sounds were. Took me a few months before I started recognizing my own name being said with my left CI, and even then it was a hit or miss. But then again, considering the history of my left ear, I knew it would take a long time and a lot of effort rehabbing the ear. Just keep at it, making noise/have your family make noise/etc. to see if you can hear those sounds. It will come eventually.
 
Thank you, I really hope it will work, and not mapping issue. My next mapping is on June 3. Have some hope on it.
Right now, these brain sensations make me ill and nauseated((( Anyway it won't stop me from practicing.
 
Can you wear it while sleeping? Put low music or talk radio/tv on in background at night. Then you can practice while asleep without the nausea and such
 
soutthpaw said:
Can you wear it while sleeping? Put low music or talk radio/tv on in background at night. Then you can practice while asleep without the nausea and such
Click to expand...

No, that will not work. The headpiece will come off when you are sleeping, plus, being conscious to understand the input is important.
 
HOH-ME said:
No, that will not work. The headpiece will come off when you are sleeping, plus, being conscious to understand the input is important.
Click to expand...
At her level no need to be conscious of the sound, she is just trying to awaken the auditory nerve stimuli and brain processing. Your brain is processing the sound even as you sleep. This why alarm clocks/fire alarms etc will wake hearing people.
 
Unfortunately both ear and hear pieces come off easily.
Magnet strength is #4, it is considered as the strongest, but not strong enough on my head(
 
I'm using program 4 now, getting used to the feeling I get from CI. I don't feel discomfort from sensations anymore.
Though I don't hear much, I started to hear very few sounds, and can hear button clicking.
I still don't hear low frequencies. Also I have really loud tinnitus, which really impedes my sound recognition.

Tomorrow is another mapping, can't wait!
 
Ri Sol said:
I'm using program 4 now, getting used to the feeling I get from CI. I don't feel discomfort from sensations anymore.
Though I don't hear much, I started to hear very few sounds, and can hear button clicking.
I still don't hear low frequencies. Also I have really loud tinnitus, which really impedes my sound recognition.

Tomorrow is another mapping, can't wait!
Click to expand...

Please keep us updated, I though tinnitus was supposed to go away with CIs since the remove the hairs in the process.
 
sappstter said:
Please keep us updated, I though tinnitus was supposed to go away with CIs since the remove the hairs in the process.
Click to expand...
It doesn't remove hair cells, it just rests against them so they cannot vibrate. Tinnitus is usually worse after surgery. Then gradually decreases as everything heals and the brain gets used to the stimulation
 
The CI is a totally different way of hearing. Whether or not one has prior auditory stimulation, it's an electric current thats being sent, and you're going to feel like certain things are just jolting to you, in some form, in auditory and in tactile sensations.

You just have to give it a lot of time, time, time, and patience, patience, patience. Plus wear it as often as possible.

I just got a totally dead ear that hasn't heard for at least 30 years implanted. By dead, I mean dead- no useable hearing in it whatsoever since I was diagnosed at almost 3. Yes, I've accepted to live with a much lower quality of sound and a constant special effects audio studio in my head when I'm not wearing my other one. And I'm damn glad I got my better, useable ear implanted first. It's essentially still a very profound hearing loss on one side of my brain, used alone. But, you have to take it for what it is- no matter your history, you're getting your brain used to the CI and used to sound and the more you wear it the better things will sound to you than they did on activation day.

Both of my activations were very different based on my ears two very different hearing histories. They couldn't be more different than day and night. My bad ear, I was feeling sound, then hearing it, and then feeling and hearing sound. I was able to differentiate some sounds that were close to me, yet they all sounded more muffled than crisp. There are some sounds that I still believe I am feeling more than hearing, and it doesn't come close to the crispness that I knew with my hearing aid and my other CI that my other ear has knows/has known. Hearing with my left CI triggered tinnitus in my good ear when I initially had my left on only, and I had no idea if the beeps I was hearing, probably for mid & high frequencies, was tinnitus in my good ear that also has a CI, or...and then after almost a week, the tinnitus in my good ear got much quieter and I knew it was my left ear was the one hearing all those beeps on top of what sounds were making sense to me.

Now after almost a week, I can hear a car drive by me, and I no longer have to put my ear to the faucet to hear the water running. It sounds more like a car than not with the window open, even though it doesn't exactly resemble how my other ear hears it. I hear a computer keyboard in a lower pitch in this ear, but now it sounds more like the real keyboard that I know than a muffled keyboard clacking.

Just wear it as much as you can, relax, roll with it, let the sounds come, and your progress relative to your hearing history in that ear will unfold.
 
everlastingstorm said:
The CI is a totally different way of hearing. Whether or not one has prior auditory stimulation, it's an electric current thats being sent, and you're going to feel like certain things are just jolting to you, in some form, in auditory and in tactile sensations.
Click to expand...
Yay! Glad to see somebody from Bay Area. Thank you for your input!

My second mapping went well, I still in a start of the way, but feel much better. I don't hear well yet, but definitely started to "hear" instead of "feel".
Still can't recognize sounds and etc, but I don't worry now, I don't mind waiting and practicing extra time to learn hear with CI.

Also, I made some adjustment to my hearing aid program, so I can use them along with CI when I need to talk to somebody.

The only issue is weak magnet (((
The strongest available magnet(for Med-El it is #4) is not holding well, drops all the time...
Any tips?
 
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