How accurate is this?
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Hear Again
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I couldn't get the file to execute, but even so, CI simulations are poor indicators of how sound is perceived by implant users. Besides, no 2 CI users hear exactly alike. One person may hear voices and environmental sounds as clearly as someone who has "normal" hearing while another person may not. Results are highly variable and cannot be generalized on a broad level.
LadySekhmet
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I agree. If you really want to excute it, you need to download the help file as well, then it will work. I haven't played around with it yet, but I think you need to have a .wav file then it will "change" it somehow.
Thats why I am surprised if anyone with more than very little residual hearing is considering a CI. No one, not even me would have any idea what a CI is like and how well they hear with one till they actually get one. How well you hear with a CI is subjective. The only objective measures I can look is that the average adult hears around 40db aided with CIs. Some hear better, even down to 20db while others may only hear 60db(completely outside the speech banana)
Would it be logical that if you are already getting aided scores in the 40db range with HA's, theres a chance CI may not be any better or even worse if you are unlucky? Of course in your case it was drastically better since your aided score was 60db and "NR" at 1000Hz and above. But for others, if they can hear from 250Hz to 6KHz with hearing aids and have aided scores of around 40db, isn't that a great score?
etalton
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That term "residual hearing" is so subjective. I had residual hearing in my right ear. I could hear, aided, doors, cars, horns, paper tearing, and voices. I just could not comprehend what the voices were saying. I was no longer able to do more than guess one or two words out of a sentance, aided, with the person looking right at me. I had the surgery in my left ear, which has not understood speech since the beginning of my hearing loss, and I am so glad that I did. Sure, people sound like chipmunks, but I can understand them now. I often don't even need to look at them when they speak to me to understand what they are saying. So, they don't sound human. So what? I can hear them, understand them, and I am very happy with my choice. My hearing in my right ear has quickly deteriorated and I can barely hear environmental sounds now. My life would be miserable, for me, had I not made that choice.
etalton, in your case if your HL was 90+ db and sloped down from there then youd be a good candidate. It's those with less than a 90db profound hearing loss that are borderline or not a candidate. That's because HAs would be just as good.
etalton
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You miss my point. What good is a hearing aid if what you hear you can't make sense of? If the speech is so garbled that you can't comprehend what is being said? At that point, does it really matter that you can hear a door close or paper tear? When those lovely little hairs that transmit sound start to die off, or there is ossification in the cochlea volume is not the answer. Bypassing the problem is, and that is why the CI is then the answer.
Hear Again
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It depends. Being able to hear at 30 or 40 dB aided doesn't necessarily give a person the ability to understand speech clearly. CIs bypass the middle ear. They do not amplify sounds like hearing aids. Part of the reason why people experience distortion with aids is because they amplify sound. CIs do not which is why so many people are able to hear so much better with implants compared to hearing aids.
It appears that speech comphrension is the biggest reason for CI. However environmental sounds and music matter as well. Volume lets me hear some faint environmental sounds I never heard before with the old HAs. I do feel that some people might not know enough about CIs or the compromises/tradeoffs to make a fully informed decision. Even I am still learning and I made a thread with over a dozen questions so far.
One thing that really concerns me from what I read is that CIs currently don't work below 250Hz since the electrodes can't go 100% of the way into the bottom of the cochlea. I did hear that engineers are working on a new CI electrode array that extends the range from 125Hz to 8.5KHz and one even claims up to 12KHz! There's lots of environmental sounds and bass music below 250Hz. CI is still the answer for some, those with near total hearing losses in particular.
In my case, speech sounds louder but the clarity isn't increased much. My audie and others told me this is because my hearing loss is so great above 500Hz. I don't hear alot of letters and many rhyming or similar words sound the same to me. Well lip reading sure comes in handy(for most people)
If CIs don't amplify, does all sounds at or above minimum treshold sound the same as long as they don't exceed comfort levels? How would one judge how loud a sound source is then? This is another thing id like to learn
Hear Again
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A person would judge how loud a sound is based on what they hear. CIs don't amplify sound. If they did, this would cause distortion thereby defeating the purpose of an implant (to achieve greater clarity).
I used the software, and IMO, it resembles the performance of earlier CIs. In this example, a certain frequency can be manipulated, very monotonal. Today's CIs, such as the one I use now are more realistic sounding which uses technology to simulate the performance of a group of similar frequencies rather than just one. But like Hear Again mentioned, it will vary from person to person, so the above description is based on what I hear.