flipside Q about the CI!

Exactly. People at work have noticed that I say "huh?" or "excuse me?" less...I am hearing them! What a wonderful gift! True, in noise not so good..but, I think some of that will get better too, in time. Who cares about a little numbness?
 
ncff07 said:
im scheduled to have the surgery in less than 3 weeks so ill be watching this thread too..

as far as the magnet my audiologist told me if i did ever need to have an mri the magnet could be removed by making a very small incision to take it out then after the mri a new, sterile magnet would just be put back in its place and closed up.
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And you may have to pay for the surgery to remove the magnet and for the new magnet . They wont reinsert the old magnet.

Just be aware of that if and when it happens.
 
This is the reason why I chose the MEdEl Opus model. I had more choices of what type of internal device to choose. I decided on the ceramic model for more durabliity( no dissolving silicone to worry about in my head ). And I look forward to getting the nifty remote control for the Opus 2 model anytime now.
 
SouthFella said:
This is the reason why I chose the MEdEl Opus model. I had more choices of what type of internal device to choose. I decided on the ceramic model for more durabliity( no dissolving silicone to worry about in my head ). And I look forward to getting the nifty remote control for the Opus 2 model anytime now.
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the freedom is made from titanium and platinum which is less likely to shatter upon impact.
 
Well silicone dissolved in the breast enlargements lol. Not too far from the head but too close to the brain !!
 
Hear Again said:
the freedom is made from titanium and platinum which is less likely to shatter upon impact.
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really? i wasnt told that. the processor and controller itself? or the internal parts? no wonder my audiologist said it cost over $6000 alone!
 
ncff07 said:
really? i wasnt told that. the processor and controller itself? or the internal parts? no wonder my audiologist said it cost over $6000 alone!
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i'm sorry. i was referring to the internal implant. the external processor is made out of gortex.
 
SouthFella said:
Well silicone dissolved in the breast enlargements lol. Not too far from the head but too close to the brain !!
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what you're referring to is a soft kind of silicone. ci's aren't made out of that kind of material for obvious reasons -- migration being one of them.
 
Plus, ceramic can shatter depending on the force of impact, have you ever dropped a cup? Titanium won't. It probably would "bend", even I doubt it will get beyond that point. Everyone with CI is more cautious of what activities they're going to take. You're not going to see a CI user do some BMXing without a sturdy helmet, or maybe not do any extreme sports at all.

There will be almost (I don't want to say absolute or I'll be yelled at) no chance of migration because the surgeon anchors the implant to muscle/skin with permanent sutures, which is are nylons. All other sutures are absorbed by the body.

I'm not trying to say that Freedom is better than MedEl. It all depends on the users preference and availability. I lived in NJ and now living in Vegas. There is NO clinic that does Med-El in the State of Nevada or the State of NJ, and no way I'm driving all the way up to SLC just for mapping. It's very hard to find a clinic that does mappings for MedEl, hence why I chose Cochlear. If I was living in Europe, where Med-El has much more clinic availabilities then I would consider it.

I just don't find one implant better over the others.

Also, you kept insisting us that you're getting the "niffy remote"...why haven't you gotten it yet? :)
 
LadySekhmet said:
Also, you kept insisting us that you're getting the "niffy remote"...why haven't you gotten it yet? :)
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i'm wondering the same thing.

aside from that, i don't need a remote that can easiy be lost or misplaced. it's just as simple for me to take my fingers and press a button on my freedom if/when i need to change programs. no big deal.
 
Hear Again said:
i'm wondering the same thing.

aside from that, i don't need a remote that can easiy be lost or misplaced. it's just as simple for me to take my fingers and press a button on my freedom if/when i need to change programs. no big deal.
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Yeah , that was my decision too..Med - el is more accessed and used here.But I chose Freedom for obvious reasons.
 
vivie,

it's interesting because when i was in the process of choosing a ci brand, my former ci audi (who has since left the field) immediatey ruled out med-el based on the fact that their processor was not accessible to me as a totally blind person. the only 2 other options i had were cochlear and advanced bionics. i was leaning towards ab, but changed my mind after having difficulty with their battery charger (not through a fault of product design but due to my blindness). another challenge i would have was the fact that i don't have anyone here who can take a look at the indicator light to tell me whether or not it is lit so that i can troubleshoot problems. ab had a really nice processor when it came to the auria, but the battery charger was one of my main reasons for selecting cochlear instead (among other reasons).
 
I had the surgery before Opus 2 was approved by the FDA. So once the Opus 2 was approved, MedEl started swapping out the Opus 1 to Opus 2 and providing Opus 2 for the recent implants. I didnt mind the wait since the company was honest and offered me an extended warranty for my patience. I should be getting it anytime now. HearAgain true you picked what was best at the choices you had at the time. The remote will probably be easier for you to see and control the CI if you had it . I myself have a moderate vision lost so I can relate to no able to see the lil window on the Cochlear Americas model. The Advanced Bionics model was not much better, so I chose MedEd for several reasonable reasons.
 
actually, i don't have any problems knowing what program i'm on with the freedom. i don't have to read the LCD window nor does any other freedom user because each program has a series of beeps which indicate which program you are on. (for example, one beep represents program 1, two beeps represent program 2, three beeps indicate program 3, four beeps indicate program 4 and one beep indicates on or off) cochlear definitely did their homework when it came to making the freedom accessible to the deafblind and visually impaired.
 
i'm also in physical therapy for my cts which is helping me to develop some strength in my hands. having said that, this thread isn't about my cts. it's about ci's. :mad2:
 
Hear Again said:
i'm wondering the same thing.

aside from that, i don't need a remote that can easly be lost or misplaced. it's just as simple for me to take my fingers and press a button on my freedom if/when i need to change programs. no big deal.
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Speaking of remotes, I'd much rather have a T-coil be built into my speech processor than have one on a remote control. The reason is simple, I tend to lose things and I lost my t-coil wire last year. This year I'm up for an upgrade and my upgrade will come with a t coil remote control. I will have to ask Marcia Clark, my audi, about how to get replacements if I were to lose it.

My only other complaint about my speech processor is that it isn't water proof.

A few weeks ago when walking around still caused a great deal of pain for me because I had just undergone heart bypass surgery, I got into an agurement over my parents about wearing my CI. I told my parents I was about to take a shower and I did not want to risk losing my speech processor while taking a shower so I wasn't wearing it when I went downstairs to take a shower. Nor did I want my CI to get wet.

My dad didn't want to write notes to me and I didn't want to walk all the the way back to get my CI so my mother got mad and said from now on she would not write me any notes because I was being a big baby. I told my parents I felt like I had to wear it at all times to make them happy and that it's not water proof and not nearly as easy to replace as my hearing aid. My mother suggested wearing a shower cap over it. I was like ABSOULTELY NOT. What if it has a hole? Then she said she would not write anymore notes so I told her if i spoke to her, I would not use my voice. Gotta love the hearing sometimes. I'll be glad when I move back to my apt.
 
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