Highlands's CI journey

jag said:
I use the Freedom.

Well at first the noise will kill you. :) even with the smart sounds. My expericnce will not be yours of course since we all react and learn to adapt to the new sounds in our own way and time.

The freedom does use 2 mics. and the different programs use those mics differently . Autosensitivity can cut out alot of noise, but then it makes it hard to hear the people speaking. But I loved that feature for months. Now I perfer the Adro, which does it's thing lowering some noises while keeping others louder, thus speech is still loud enough to hear, I do adjust sensitivity as needed to make any noises that are driving me nuts more endurable while not losing the speech sounds. As for hearing in noise, that depends on the noise, I can hear pretty well in the car but if you put me in a bar with all the noise, music and such I do have to rely alot on lip reading.

As for power requirements. With the freedom if my freedom is mapped at 1200 hertz I get fewer days from the batteries, mine is mapped at either 500 or 750 and I get around a week from the batteries before they decide to die.
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Noise is a pain for me even now so I guess I wouldn't be surprised much :)

Thanks for the explanations about Nucleus ..I think other manufacturers do have different programs under different names but it seems to me that they do try to do very smilar jobs.. I don't know much about sensitivity and hertz used in mappings but I'll learn them when necessary :D

I'm only in the beginning. I need to make insurance things clear. I need to learn if I could be a candidate under insurance conditions and if I need to spend money out of my pocket.. these are very important.. I need to consult the computer shop owner .. official processes are very difficult to handle with. I hope I can deal with the agony.
 
contradica said:
Highlands,

I am glad you are taking your time with this. When I was researching I wanted a clinic, surgeon and my audiologist to be familiar with all three brands. I didn't want to feel like I was going to buy a car and had to go to a specific place that only sold the cars I was interested in, ya know what I'm saying? :)

Although, I have AB and they have a omni-directional microphone on the processor and auxiliary microphone (T-Mic) that is detachable. Considering I haven't heard a darn thing out of this ear in 15 years, I am doing fairly well in quiet and in noise. You get three different programs for different acoustic situations. AB has what is called IDR (Input Dynamic Range) which is fancy schmancy talk for how far you want the microphone to be extended. With the noise program, the IDR is set low, usually 45 and it cuts out a lot of unnecessary sounds. I use this when I am driving and when I go out for dinner and fair well with it. I still have to lipread and I don't think I will ever be able to stop because that is a part of who I am. If the IDR was set higher, you get more sounds. For example yesterday, I have a "music" program with the IDR of 80. I was able to have a conversation with my neighbor that was about 20 feet away and hear what she was saying. They ability to adjust how much input comes from either microphones. It is pretty versatile. My batteries are rechargeable and I have no other option. One battery usually last me 24 hours. I pop one in around 7:30 in the morning and don't take it off until 10:30 at night. Put it back on the next morning at 7:30 and will last me the entire work day.

Pray tell, did you make an appointment with the clinic yet?
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Thanks and I don't have any appoinment yet :) I'm in the preparing stage right now :) collecting information and taking my time :)
 
do you find it comfortable to wear your speech processors ? As far as I see, they are a little bigger than hearing aids.. and since there is no any earmold , I wonder if anyone dropped his/her processor onto ground ?

Are speech processors much noticable to others ?

Does the outer magnet harm hair ?


thanks
 
highlands said:
do you find it comfortable to wear your speech processors ? As far as I see, they are a little bigger than hearing aids.. and since there is no any earmold , I wonder if anyone dropped his/her processor onto ground ?

Are speech processors much noticable to others ?

Does the outer magnet harm hair ?


thanks
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Its a bit larger than my HA's were, but I find that because I have smaller ears, I use the ear-hooks meant for children - they "hug" the curve of the ear better. I've never had my CI fall off, but I have had a funny incident occur a couple times when I leaned to get into/out of the car and my head was too close to the door and the magnet from my head snapped onto the metal door frame and pulled the CI away from my head!!! :giggle:

The processor (BTE) is as noticable as a HA would be - I've had mine for 2 years and have yet to have anybody say anything, usually I'm the one that brings up the fact I have the CI.

The magnet doesn't harm hair at all, but I did notice that I "wear" my magnet easier with shorter hair. I used to have it long (and its thick) and it was harder to get the magnet to "stick" through the thick hair. Some women prefer to have the hair longer so to "hide" the coil - to me it doesn't matter if its visible - its something I'm very proud of.
 
lol .. guess I should take great care when I stepping out of home due to steel door :giggle:

I wouldn't give a darn if people notice my processor and magnet cuz hearing better is my first priority.

I do have short hair.. if I have long hair it gets messy when I wake up since it's curly :dizzy:

I don't need to hide anyone and I think it may be a better idea to let people know that I wear a device so they should not assume I have perfect hearing.


neecy said:
Its a bit larger than my HA's were, but I find that because I have smaller ears, I use the ear-hooks meant for children - they "hug" the curve of the ear better. I've never had my CI fall off, but I have had a funny incident occur a couple times when I leaned to get into/out of the car and my head was too close to the door and the magnet from my head snapped onto the metal door frame and pulled the CI away from my head!!! :giggle:

The processor (BTE) is as noticable as a HA would be - I've had mine for 2 years and have yet to have anybody say anything, usually I'm the one that brings up the fact I have the CI.

The magnet doesn't harm hair at all, but I did notice that I "wear" my magnet easier with shorter hair. I used to have it long (and its thick) and it was harder to get the magnet to "stick" through the thick hair. Some women prefer to have the hair longer so to "hide" the coil - to me it doesn't matter if its visible - its something I'm very proud of.
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neecy said:
Its a bit larger than my HA's were, but I find that because I have smaller ears, I use the ear-hooks meant for children - they "hug" the curve of the ear better. I've never had my CI fall off, but I have had a funny incident occur a couple times when I leaned to get into/out of the car and my head was too close to the door and the magnet from my head snapped onto the metal door frame and pulled the CI away from my head!!! :giggle:

The processor (BTE) is as noticable as a HA would be - I've had mine for 2 years and have yet to have anybody say anything, usually I'm the one that brings up the fact I have the CI.

The magnet doesn't harm hair at all, but I did notice that I "wear" my magnet easier with shorter hair. I used to have it long (and its thick) and it was harder to get the magnet to "stick" through the thick hair. Some women prefer to have the hair longer so to "hide" the coil - to me it doesn't matter if its visible - its something I'm very proud of.
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Like you, I have small ears so I use child sized hooks.

No one has commented on my implant other then my relatives and my Hearingloss meeting. Half of the were also Med-El implantees.

I even have my coil in a different color from my BTE. Its red while the BTE is gray. Who cares if anyone notices? I've never kept my deafness a secert thought I don't tell most strangers that I'm deaf. It's only when I get to know people that I'd tell them.
 
highlands said:
Thank you,Jillio and R2D2 :)






I prefer slow 'journey' as it will happen only once and irreversible after having done :D
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That is certainly a wise and pragmatic approach. And because you are preparing yourself so well, chances are your expectations will be realistic. And, that in turn, will guarantee the probability of more satisfaction.
 
Nods, getting implanted is not something to be taken lightly and it isn't risk free. It's best to come prepared.

I've never dropped my ci into the ground but once I did knock it off and it fell on the batheroom floor. :eek: Another time I didn't put the red cover on my coil securely and it fell off while I was driving. I had to pull over to look for the cover.
 
deafskeptic said:
Nods, getting implanted is not something to be taken lightly and it isn't risk free. It's best to come prepared.

I've never dropped my ci into the ground but once I did knock it off and it fell on the batheroom floor. :eek: Another time I didn't put the red cover on my coil securely and it fell off while I was driving. I had to pull over to look for the cover.
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Better on the bathroom floor than in the toilet!:giggle:
 
Ha, ha, yeah. Now I keep the lid down. I sure don't want to see it flying into the toliet!
 
highlands said:
do you find it comfortable to wear your speech processors ? As far as I see, they are a little bigger than hearing aids.. and since there is no any earmold , I wonder if anyone dropped his/her processor onto ground ?

Are speech processors much noticable to others ?

Does the outer magnet harm hair ?


thanks
Click to expand...

Since I have worn hearing aids all my life, adjusting to the speech processor was not a big deal. They are considerably bigger then my hearing aid but once I got use to it, it was no big deal. I had to relearn how to hug people to avoid knocking it off. The same way with hearing aids, you cock your head to the side to avoid the whistling. I thought I was going to need to put earmuffs on to hug people :) No one has really noticed my processor but then again my hair is always down. If they don't notice, I show them anyway :) I'm proud to be a a bionic woman :)

Eventually, you find a certain way of wearing the processor that feels comfortable. For those that are a big klutz, my clinic provides an ear mold if you are one of those. I've dropped mine in my bedroom floor and no harm done. I've almost had it fall into the sink while I was washing my hands. Thank goodness I caught it :)

At the time of activation, the audiologist will determine the minimal magnet strength needed to keep it on your head. If you have a magnet strength that is not strong enough, then you are prone to having it come off your head a lot. If your magnet strength is too strong, the skin can break down underneath the magnet and causes all sorts of problems. We don't want that happening.
 
highlands said:
do you find it comfortable to wear your speech processors ? As far as I see, they are a little bigger than hearing aids.. and since there is no any earmold , I wonder if anyone dropped his/her processor onto ground ?

Are speech processors much noticable to others ?

Does the outer magnet harm hair ?


thanks
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Not really, if you choose a color that is close to or matches your hair color. I chose black for 2 reasons - 1) It goes with everything and 2) my hair is black. I don't mind if people notice my CI. I have a cute little pink star sticker on my CI coil.

And, the outer magnet does not harm your hair at all in any way, it doesn't hurt mine. :)
 
neecy said:
Its a bit larger than my HA's were, but I find that because I have smaller ears, I use the ear-hooks meant for children - they "hug" the curve of the ear better. I've never had my CI fall off, but I have had a funny incident occur a couple times when I leaned to get into/out of the car and my head was too close to the door and the magnet from my head snapped onto the metal door frame and pulled the CI away from my head!!! :giggle:
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I use the child-sized ear hooks too, my ears are pretty small as I am very petite.
 
Maria said:
...

I wonder what would it be like to wear CI at the age of 80 ? Will it work or will it affect agin' nerves to cause health problem or .... ? I am just curious, because I've never seen one elder person that is wearin' CI. :hmm:
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I have heard it often said hearing is the last sense to go when one is dying. Makes a lot of sense too! Given that, I suspect that age doesn't impact hearing so much as abuse does (i.e., hearing many loud sounds over the years). They have observed the older bushman (60+ years old) of South Africa can often still hear like that of 20 year olds! Basically, it is because they don't hear all these loud noises as those in civilization.

I have mentioned to the hearing that while their hearing will diminish some as they get older, I will still be hearing as I hear now. Nothing could be finer...:D
 
sr171soars said:
I have mentioned to the hearing that while their hearing will diminish some as they get older, I will still be hearing as I hear now. Nothing could be finer...:D
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That's definely one pro of having a CI. :D
 
sr171soars said:
I have heard it often said hearing is the last sense to go when one is dying. Makes a lot of sense too! Given that, I suspect that age doesn't impact hearing so much as abuse does (i.e., hearing many loud sounds over the years). They have observed the older bushman (60+ years old) of South Africa can often still hear like that of 20 year olds! Basically, it is because they don't hear all these loud noises as those in civilization.

I have mentioned to the hearing that while their hearing will diminish some as they get older, I will still be hearing as I hear now. Nothing could be finer...:D
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BTW, what would the lifetime of an implant itself be ? I read somewhere ,it may be 70 years ?
 
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