FDA sues Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant maker for 2.2 million in fines for manufac

R2D2 said:
How would someone be able to tell a signing deaf person visually? When not signing, they look exactly like hearing people. At least with a device on our ears, we look deaf on the outside. I've noticed sometimes that people change their behaviour when they see a HA or CI. For example making sure they face me and speak clearly.

Your post has actually highlighted an advantage of wearing a device!
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Yes, but it doesn't have to be a Coclear implant. This reminds me of my days as a hard of hearing person. Wearing a cubex body worn hearing aid. I once asked someone to repeat and they said "You would be able to hear if you turned that walkman off"

So much for recognising devices.
 
dreama said:
Yes, but it doesn't have to be a Coclear implant. This reminds me of my days as a hard of hearing person. Wearing a cubex body worn hearing aid. I once asked someone to repeat and they said "You would be able to hear if you turned that walkman off"

So much for recognising devices.
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In the context of the example you raised of dangerous situations, if you are wearing a CI, HA, MP3 player or even a "walkman" then chances are that a hearing person (even stupid ones that think that HAs are music players) is probably going to assume you will have trouble hearing and may try and attract your attention.

Most people know that if you have earplugs on, you have more difficulty hearing what is going on around you.
 
SouthFella said:
And I advise people to do their research and find out information as much as they possilble can about any device or services they use. I still am not comfortable with silicone in my body ( especially my head )so I chosed the ceramic internal device for safety and durablility and peace of mind. And yes the remote will come in handy in many many situations in everyday living. 3 AB users even told me they liked the remote they saw at the HLAA convention. (some Cochlear wearers even liked the remote feature too ) So, with that said BUYER BEWARE is always the best advice.
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I dismissed Med El on three facts - One - Higher failure rates, Two - Ceramic housing - Uhh, if You ever fall on the implant it will crack, and BOOM, you have to have another surgery to replace it. Titanum is much stronger and durable. I believe Mel El NOW has titanum housing for all their implants. Three - it is ugly

If you want to get into "which is better" then here's a fact - Freedom is better because you can use BOTH rechargable batteries AND 675s. Suppose you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, or on a camping trip..guess what, Just pack your regular 675 batteries (Although it is recommended to use the Powerful ones, I can still use the regular ones bought at the store) and you're good to go! I can go on and on...but I'm not.

All I am saying is knock it off. We all picked certain companies for different reasons. It's only going to get better. To me, there is NO reason why I need a "nifty remote" as I do not change the programs, only if I'm in a specific situation and that's pretty uncommon.

The only BIG plus I will say about Med El is they are MUCH better used for people/children who have ossification in their ears. Cochlear and AB is "long" due to a lot more electrodes. I have heard children and adults that use Med El for that specific reason, and it works well for them. Cochlear and AB (I believe), has a specific software to help that, but not hardware.


Basically what I'm trying to say is that to knock it off with "my brand is better". You like Med El, and if someone asked you for help with research, you will be the person I will tell them to go to. However, if they're swayed into it, then that's pressuring. I feel like I'm part of Console Wars all over again.
 
Wow! I didnt know that there was "my implant is better than yours" attitudes within the CI deaf community. Interesting..
 
dreama said:
First of all people with CI's are deaf too. This is something that seems to be overlooked rather a lot. Particularly by people outside deaf world.

Imagine sinario. Deaf person known to have CI is walking into a pertentially dangerous situation. Someone calls out to warn them. Deaf person doesn't respond because batteries are flat. So Deaf person doesn't know about the danger and gets killed just because someone assumed they could hear. If it had been a signing deaf person then they would have made more effort to make sure that person was aware by manual means not just by calling out. This is just an imaginery sinario. I wander if anything like this has happened. I'd be curious to know.
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Umm - I think anyone who wears Hearing aids or have CI will KNOW their batteries have died, and will acknowledge themselves if they were ever in a situation where the world is suddenly silenced and immediately search for batteries.

How can someone KNOW that I'm a signing deaf person when I speak English fluently? You'll be surprised how many hearing people didn't know that I am fluent in sign language. I can almost bet you that 9 out of 10 situations that if someone is shouting, and the person doesn't respond, they will immediately resort to gestures. The person could have iPod in their ears, and not hear, so hearing people will assume that, and resort to hand gestures. It has nothing to do with whether the deaf person can sign or not.

Miss Deaf Texas - I am actually really surprised at this because I can FEEL the train coming from far away. I *think* she was busy looking at her sidekick, and didn't realize how close to the tracks she was. She was too close that the cow catcher (which is wider than the train), killed her. At least this is what I was told, so, I dont' have all the facts, but it does make sense. I would think that ANY deaf person that is walking near the train tracks is to be aware of how close to the tracks they were.
 
shel90 said:
Wow! I didnt know that there was "my implant is better than yours" attitudes within the CI deaf community. Interesting..
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Isn't that Ironic? :) There wasn't much either until SouthFella came barging in telling people off that Med El is better, so I'm sick of it. All I care is that my CI works for me. His CI works for him. It has nothing to do with one is better than the other it has to do with personal preference.
 
LadySekhmet said:
Isn't that Ironic? :) There wasn't much either until SouthFella came barging in telling people off that Med El is better, so I'm sick of it. All I care is that my CI works for me. His CI works for him. It has nothing to do with one is better than the other it has to do with personal preference.
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Speaking of outside of AD...does that happen within the CI deaf community? Just curious.

I know that in the oral deaf community with my best friend who was oral deaf..we used to put each other down as having better speech skills. I wonder if children with CIs do that do each other?
 
ladysekhmet said:
isn't That Ironic? :) There Wasn't Much Either Until Southfella Came Barging In Telling People Off That Med El Is Better, So I'm Sick Of It. All I Care Is That My Ci Works For Me. His Ci Works For Him. It Has Nothing To Do With One Is Better Than The Other It Has To Do With Personal Preference.
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Qft

+1
 
shel90 said:
Wow! I didnt know that there was "my implant is better than yours" attitudes within the CI deaf community. Interesting..
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Yes, pathetic isn't it? I suppose the equivilent in the signing community would be those who think they are better than those from hearing families or oral backgrounds because they are from deaf families that go back many generations?

Human nature, LOL!
 
shel90 said:
Speaking of outside of AD...does that happen within the CI deaf community? Just curious.

I know that in the oral deaf community with my best friend who was oral deaf..we used to put each other down as having better speech skills. I wonder if children with CIs do that do each other?
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Hmm - kind of difficult to say that for my part. I probably have 7 or 8 friends that i know personally (not blogsphere) that have Nucleus CI system, but not all have Freedom. Only 2 has AB.

The only thing we kind of "taunt" each other is what programs we use, and which generation is better - 3G or Freedom.

I just firmly believe that ALL CI users are getting some to many benefits from have a CI regardless what brand. They all do the same thing...helps you hear. It's HOW you use your CI. If you slack on the training or mappings then you will do poorly. It's just that simple.

As for children - I'm not sure, but I am very curious though! I will ask a friend who teaches children and many have CI.
 
There was an article in Denver not long ago of a poor CI kids processor stolen by someone thinking it was a bluetooth head piece. I haven't for the life of me see how the two are similar in any form ( besides hanging off the ear ) .

As for being accussed of " brand wars " , that was never my intent to start with. Nor do I anticpate getting knocked on the side of my head where the ceramic implant is.

I am just making people aware of a company that didnt follow FDA guidelines more than once and got caught with their pants down. Not to mention trying to sweep it under the rug the past couple years. A person's health safety should be more important than the bottom line ( profit ). Wouldn't you agree ? One of the many reasons I waited as long as I could to get a CI, for technology to advance and the remote control feature made avaliable. MedEl can both be used as rechargable batteries ( I currently use ) or the disposable 675 batteries ( which I used the first week ). I will keep a tab how often I use the remote control once I get the Opus model within the next couple weeks or so ... Till then...
 
SouthFella said:
There was an article in Denver not long ago of a poor CI kids processor stolen by someone thinking it was a bluetooth head piece. I haven't for the life of me see how the two are similar in any form ( besides hanging off the ear ) .

As for being accussed of " brand wars " , that was never my intent to start with. Nor do I anticpate getting knocked on the side of my head where the ceramic implant is.

I am just making people aware of a company that didnt follow FDA guidelines more than once and got caught with their pants down. Not to mention trying to sweep it under the rug the past couple years. A person's health safety should be more important than the bottom line ( profit ). Wouldn't you agree ? One of the many reasons I waited as long as I could to get a CI, for technology to advance and the remote control feature made avaliable. MedEl can both be used as rechargable batteries ( I currently use ) or the disposable 675 batteries ( which I used the first week ). I will keep a tab how often I use the remote control once I get the Opus model within the next couple weeks or so ... Till then...
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True - that's exactly what you should say...what you shouldn't have added was somewhere along the lines such as "Med El never had FDA issue. I'm getting the one with the remote!" stuff like that. That's what turned me off. I'm just making a point with the batteries because that's how it sounded like coming from you with stuff from Med El. Make sense? :-D Med El users are very few in these forums, so I learn from you guys then if someone ever asks me what's up with Med El (again, the big reason why is it's not readily available in US), I can give them the proper information instead of saying "no clue".

You said it perfectly when a person's health comes first before profit...that sort of applies for many various devices. I just brush it aside and focus on me. I personally think it all comes down to the audiologist, the surgeon (which is the BIGGEST), and yourself. If you don't take care of your CI or the Surgeon screwed up with the implant site or whatever, or the audiologist is not experienced enough...then there's the downfall.

I think the issue with the FDA and AB is all business aspect. They stepped over the line and didn't do the proper procedure. It had nothing to do with the device itself. AB was really quick and smart enough to change the device so it can meet their highest standards. They just made a mistake in the proper procedure. If I'm wrong, sue me. :giggle:

I'm looking forward to hear about your remote though!
 
LadySekhmet said:
Hmm - kind of difficult to say that for my part. I probably have 7 or 8 friends that i know personally (not blogsphere) that have Nucleus CI system, but not all have Freedom. Only 2 has AB.

The only thing we kind of "taunt" each other is what programs we use, and which generation is better - 3G or Freedom.

I just firmly believe that ALL CI users are getting some to many benefits from have a CI regardless what brand. They all do the same thing...helps you hear. It's HOW you use your CI. If you slack on the training or mappings then you will do poorly. It's just that simple.

As for children - I'm not sure, but I am very curious though! I will ask a friend who teaches children and many have CI.
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LadySekhmet,

My experience regarding children has been that the choice of implant was not as important as the involvement of at least one parent in the child's language development as well as that same level of involvement in the child's social, emotional and educational development. Also of great importance is that the child receive oral/auditory therapy post implant from someone competent in the field.
Rick
 
rick48 said:
LadySekhmet,

My experience regarding children has been that the choice of implant was not as important as the involvement of at least one parent in the child's language development as well as that same level of involvement in the child's social, emotional and educational development. Also of great importance is that the child receive oral/auditory therapy post implant from someone competent in the field.
Rick
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:topic:
 
Rick - you misunderstood my post - hence why jillio said, "off topic". :)

What I was referring to was whether Children with different CI brands ever go into Brand wars. :)
 
LadySekhmet said:
Rick - you misunderstood my post - hence why jillio said, "off topic". :)

What I was referring to was whether Children with different CI brands ever go into Brand wars. :)
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Glad you picked up on that, Lady. Intention was not to offend you.:wave:
 
LadySekhmet said:
Rick - you misunderstood my post - hence why jillio said, "off topic". :)

What I was referring to was whether Children with different CI brands ever go into Brand wars. :)
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I did think you were referring to performance with the various brands. No, I have never experienced children getting into brand wars but have experienced parents doing so.

As for jill's continuing obsession to respond to my posts even though they have nothing to do with her, there is no need for you to bring them to my attention as its just further demonstrates the fact that anything she writes is of no importance or consequence to me.
Rick
 
R2D2 said:
Yes, pathetic isn't it? I suppose the equivilent in the signing community would be those who think they are better than those from hearing families or oral backgrounds because they are from deaf families that go back many generations?

Human nature, LOL!
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This may be offtopic...

In the Deaf community, sometimes there is competition on who is Deaf enough, who is from Deaf families, and who is extremely fluent in ASL.

In the oral deaf community (with my best friend, a few others, and I), it was about who can understnad talking on the phone well enough, who has the better speech skills, and who is fully accepted by hearing peers.

Now, i am seeing that it may be a possiblity in the CI community..which CI brand is better.

Human nature is FUNNY!!!!! :laugh2:
 
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