My AB Harmony implant has been activated for a week now, and it's been quite an experience. I'd like to share some of my observations and impressions
I had my surgery on Nov. 17th at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, and returned for activation on December 9th. The improvement in my ability to hear and understand speech is phenomenal. No, it's not perfect, but the difference is like night and day compared to where I was at before.
When I first heard my own voice through the processor, I couldn't stop laughing. I sounded like a duck, and so did the audiologist. My own voice was crisp and clear in a way it hadn't sounded for years. The audiologist's voice sounded smaller, weaker, more distant; yet I could make out a lot of her speech as well.
The audi set me up with two programs; one for normal use and one for reduced background noise. She suggested I acclimatize to this first before adding a t-coil progam for the phone. Fine with me. As with regular HA's, the processor picks up quite a bit of background noise. Out of doors, the wind, combined with the general din of traffic generates a grinding, gurgling sound. The second program does a good job of reducing the background noise, but voices sound a lot softer and quieter as well.
There's lots of background noise in the office too; shuffling feet, muffled conversations, doors squeaking when they open and close. Always the same dull grind; constant and somewhat annoying. I can hear the phones chirping and the keyboards clacking even from the adjacent quad. I can hear the sound my own mouse makes when I scroll up and down, for Christ's sake!
But peoples' voices are coming in loud and clear. Of course I don't catch everything, but I can hear and understand what is said provided the person is close-by and speaks firmly. Men (though they still sound like ducks!) generally have stronger voices and are easy to understand. Women sound like squeaky little mice; high-pitched and whiny. They tend to talk faster, and their voices have a trilling, tremolo-like ring that makes them harder to follow. I wonder if additional tweaking can help with this problem?
The televison has been somewhat of a disappointment. So far I'm only able to pick up bits and pieces of what is said on TV. Newscasters (especially the women!) talk way too fast to follow. Looks like I'll still be heavily reliant on closed captions and subtitles. Actors just don't sound the same anymore with their chipmunk voices. I certainly am not impressed with what the implant does to the sound of John Wayne's voice! Tragic ... The last few years I've mostly used an FM system with my hearing aids, and am anxious to try it out with the processor.
Music, hopefully, could be a different story. Had the chance to listen to the car radio, and was pleasantly surprised that I could hear melodies and even recognize individual instruments. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and looking foward to doing more experimenting, There isn't much music around the house right now, but music used to be a big part of my life and I loved rock, blues, country, jazz; all kinds. I was something of a musician way back when and it would be great to pick up a guitar again.
I haven't had much chance as yet to try the implant in a private, one-on-one sessions with anyone else. Most of my social interaction has been at work or out in public. Saturday night I was out to dinner with friends and could hear and understand maybe half of what was said above significant background noise in busy stores and crowded streets. I spoke with a few shopkeepers and sales clerks and heard them clearly no problem.
That's about it for now. So far so good. I'm not hearing everything, but significantly more than I hear before. Hopefully, additional tweaking can soften some of this background noise, and make women sound a little more natural. the audi did say this first mapping will be the worst my CI even sounds. I hope she's right but even if she's not and the implant never sounds any better than right now it is still be a big improvment that I'm quite happy with it. So tomorrow it's back to the audi for more mapping!
I had my surgery on Nov. 17th at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, and returned for activation on December 9th. The improvement in my ability to hear and understand speech is phenomenal. No, it's not perfect, but the difference is like night and day compared to where I was at before.
When I first heard my own voice through the processor, I couldn't stop laughing. I sounded like a duck, and so did the audiologist. My own voice was crisp and clear in a way it hadn't sounded for years. The audiologist's voice sounded smaller, weaker, more distant; yet I could make out a lot of her speech as well.
The audi set me up with two programs; one for normal use and one for reduced background noise. She suggested I acclimatize to this first before adding a t-coil progam for the phone. Fine with me. As with regular HA's, the processor picks up quite a bit of background noise. Out of doors, the wind, combined with the general din of traffic generates a grinding, gurgling sound. The second program does a good job of reducing the background noise, but voices sound a lot softer and quieter as well.
There's lots of background noise in the office too; shuffling feet, muffled conversations, doors squeaking when they open and close. Always the same dull grind; constant and somewhat annoying. I can hear the phones chirping and the keyboards clacking even from the adjacent quad. I can hear the sound my own mouse makes when I scroll up and down, for Christ's sake!
But peoples' voices are coming in loud and clear. Of course I don't catch everything, but I can hear and understand what is said provided the person is close-by and speaks firmly. Men (though they still sound like ducks!) generally have stronger voices and are easy to understand. Women sound like squeaky little mice; high-pitched and whiny. They tend to talk faster, and their voices have a trilling, tremolo-like ring that makes them harder to follow. I wonder if additional tweaking can help with this problem?
The televison has been somewhat of a disappointment. So far I'm only able to pick up bits and pieces of what is said on TV. Newscasters (especially the women!) talk way too fast to follow. Looks like I'll still be heavily reliant on closed captions and subtitles. Actors just don't sound the same anymore with their chipmunk voices. I certainly am not impressed with what the implant does to the sound of John Wayne's voice! Tragic ... The last few years I've mostly used an FM system with my hearing aids, and am anxious to try it out with the processor.
Music, hopefully, could be a different story. Had the chance to listen to the car radio, and was pleasantly surprised that I could hear melodies and even recognize individual instruments. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and looking foward to doing more experimenting, There isn't much music around the house right now, but music used to be a big part of my life and I loved rock, blues, country, jazz; all kinds. I was something of a musician way back when and it would be great to pick up a guitar again.
I haven't had much chance as yet to try the implant in a private, one-on-one sessions with anyone else. Most of my social interaction has been at work or out in public. Saturday night I was out to dinner with friends and could hear and understand maybe half of what was said above significant background noise in busy stores and crowded streets. I spoke with a few shopkeepers and sales clerks and heard them clearly no problem.
That's about it for now. So far so good. I'm not hearing everything, but significantly more than I hear before. Hopefully, additional tweaking can soften some of this background noise, and make women sound a little more natural. the audi did say this first mapping will be the worst my CI even sounds. I hope she's right but even if she's not and the implant never sounds any better than right now it is still be a big improvment that I'm quite happy with it. So tomorrow it's back to the audi for more mapping!
