Problems with buzzing

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janetj1968

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I was implanted 2/26/2015 and activated 3/20/2015.

I am latent deafened so I am doing okay as far as being able to tell the difference in speech and noise.

But the biggest problem I'm having is that everything I hear is buzzing. It's like listening to a radio slightly off tune. Like everyone is possessed by a clock radio.

There isn't a single sound I hear that doesn't have buzzing behind it...and that's making it hard to understand speech. By using my left ear (that has 12% left at 95 Decibels), I can sometimes say "oh...that's what its saying"...but without it...I would be clueless.

Has anyone else had this buzzing all of the time? I also have the helium voices but that doesn't bother me like this buzzing does....

It sounds like people are talking through a snare drum.
 
It's a programming issue. You are still pretty new to all of this so it will get better with time. When do you go back for your next mapping?
 
Contact your audiologist and get some new programmings. Let him/her know about the buzzing you've been experiencing. Which implant did you get?

I've not once had a buzzing with either of my implants.
 
Yes sounds like programming. If you can describe the pitch too that will help them try and eliminate it.
 
I've had my original activation plus two additional mappings. I have another one coming up on the 24th.

It's doing it across all frequencies. :(

I've had it since activation so we've already had two maps since, trying to get it out.

My T-levels are at zero and my dynamic range is 80 already. It makes no sense. :(

I have AB with the Mid-Scala electrode.


If any of you had this problem...what exactly did you change in your mapping?
 
Not sure how AB does it but it could be an issue with how the ground side of the implant is activated. The ground carries across the entire implant, that's why I suggest this may be related. Assuming the AB has on staff Audiologist like Cochlear, I suggest you have your audiologist contact AB and arrange to have them on conference call during your next mapping
Also, where are you located?
 
Definitely couldn't hurt to have your audiologist ask for an AB rep to be available at your next appointment to try to help eliminate this buzzing sound. I have AB too and never had this problem.

Are you registered with http://www.hearingjourney.com/forum/ ? That is the AB sponsored forums, with many AB users posting. Perhaps someone on there might have had the same buzzing issue you're experiencing and might be able to give you some feedback. There is also an AB Users group on Facebook if you're a facebook user: https://www.facebook.com/groups/349059495171094/ Just another place for help/resource, if you'd like to check it out.

You wouldn't happen to have telecoil enabled on any of your programs, would you? I know telecoil can cause a buzzing/staticy sounds if it's turned on.

Helium sounds at this time is about normal (I had a tinny sound, kind of like Minnie Mouse for a while after activation with my right ear), and will work itself out and "normalize" over time. But the buzzing, that shouldn't be going on I don't think.
 
Do you know which sound processing strategy you are on, S vs P? Different people respond to strategies a little differently, most people seem to favor one over the other. It is helpful to know which sound processing strategy you are using for each program as well as the IDR, etc.

I personally knew I was an Optima-S person right off the bat, Optima-P gave me more interference sound. S was crisper and cleaner. But I tried P anyway in the beginning.

I agree with others that it could be to your benefit to have your audiologist request an AB audiologist. I am not assuming that the buzzing you are experiencing is an S or P issue, but I am merely pointing out that some programs might offer you better sound quality over other programming strategies. You have to try different ones to figure out what works best for you because everyones brains are different and respond differently to different ways of programming the CI.
 
I agree on S vs P. P can be very noisy while S is generally quiet and cleaner. Look into switching if you are programmed with P (which is the default setting with the programming software.)
 
janetj1968 said:
I've had my original activation plus two additional mappings. I have another one coming up on the 24th.

It's doing it across all frequencies. :(

I've had it since activation so we've already had two maps since, trying to get it out.

My T-levels are at zero and my dynamic range is 80 already. It makes no sense. :(

I have AB with the Mid-Scala electrode.


If any of you had this problem...what exactly did you change in your mapping?
Click to expand...

An IDR of 80 is going to be very noisy and could be the source of your buzz. Back that down to 75 and see if it helps. Also, when you go in for your next map, ask your audi to balance your electrodes. I had some issues with extraneous noise and brought down the M levels in the lowest frequencies and that really helped. We had been focusing on the mid and upper frequencies because that was the pitch I heard but those were not helping.
 
If the buzzing is being heard due to an 80 IDR, it is because there is an actual sound in the environment making it. It sounds as if the issue is internal, which rules out the 80 IDR.

A high IDR can be a challenge to a new implantee due to the amount of information being heard at once. It takes practice and time. I don't use anything lower than 80 and prefer it that way.

The "noise" with a P strategy is difficult to accurately describe. It's as if the ambient noise in a quiet room... the sound of air, is noisy compared to an S strategy. I believe the noise is channel interaction due to the use of 4 electrodes at a time. For some it poses no issue, for others it impedes their sound quality. I've used both strategies extensively.
 
BleedingPurist said:
If the buzzing is being heard due to an 80 IDR, it is because there is an actual sound in the environment making it. It sounds as if the issue is internal, which rules out the 80 IDR.

A high IDR can be a challenge to a new implantee due to the amount of information being heard at once. It takes practice and time. I don't use anything lower than 80 and prefer it that way.

The "noise" with a P strategy is difficult to accurately describe. It's as if the ambient noise in a quiet room... the sound of air, is noisy compared to an S strategy. I believe the noise is channel interaction due to the use of 4 electrodes at a time. For some it poses no issue, for others it impedes their sound quality. I've used both strategies extensively.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiousity, do you use an Ultrazoom program and if so, do you use 80 IDR on that, too?

I too prefer an IDR of 80 in general and have that on all of my programs except UZ. I believe my audiologist is correct in that having 80 IDR on UZ is more unecessary than not, but I am curious what a higher IDR would sound like on UZ in the places that I use my UZ program (just to have an idea). I currently use an IDR of 65 on my UZ program.
 
everlastingstorm said:
Just out of curiousity, do you use an Ultrazoom program and if so, do you use 80 IDR on that, too?

I too prefer an IDR of 80 in general and have that on all of my programs except UZ. I believe my audiologist is correct in that having 80 IDR on UZ is more unecessary than not, but I am curious what a higher IDR would sound like on UZ in the places that I use my UZ program (just to have an idea). I currently use an IDR of 65 on my UZ program.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just keep an 80 IDR. I found that anything less just feels too closed in. UZ is my go-to program for noise, without CV. CV comes in if the noise level is ridiculous. Switching IDRs just confuses the brain in my case.
 
Thank you guys for all of the kind replies....and I want to let you know that I appreciate your advice. It's all pretty great.

I have been working..and have to work the next two days.... so things are a little crazy. But I want to tell you that I appreciate you...even if I haven't had sufficient time to respond adequately yet.

I'm still having vertigo issues and working..and to be honest its all I can do at the end of the day to come in and crawl in bed.

I was born hearing, so the 80 IDR doesn't really bother me.... I can tell background noise from voices...and even loud background noises my brain is filtering to where they need to go. I am on the program that does single fires instead of simultaneous... I am in Virginia.

The grounding issue...that's something to think about. I did get them to double check the telecoil...and it wasn't activated. I have one slot with dedicated telecoil.

I'm not sure if I should ask for AB's help this soon into it or if I should wait. It doesn't seem like a normal mapping problem. I don't want to miss my window of learning... I go back and forth :( But I want it fixed...

Thank you again for your kind replies and I'll do my best to touch on each of your responses if I haven't hit them yet asap.

I am also noticing that sound is doing weird things today... it will sound more normal (but still with buzzing) and then switch to tinny and then helium and then back to close to normal. It's insane. Sound is also fading in and out at times with no change in environment.
 
Janet do you hear the buzzing with the processor off,? I am ok then later a buzzing starts like you said and it remains even after the processor is removed.
 
sonocativo said:
Janet do you hear the buzzing with the processor off,? I am ok then later a buzzing starts like you said and it remains even after the processor is removed.
Click to expand...

This is tinnitus and I've had similar "buzzing" in the past. It's certainly a different kind of tinnitus, but that is what it is. It should die down in time.
 
BleedingPurist said:
Yes, I just keep an 80 IDR. I found that anything less just feels too closed in. UZ is my go-to program for noise, without CV. CV comes in if the noise level is ridiculous. Switching IDRs just confuses the brain in my case.
Click to expand...
Can you explain "closed in" I'm getting mapping done tomorrow and have several things I want to try. But I think it will be quite a jump from my freedom processor that was IDR of 45 or something and the IDR 75 of the N6.

I have often felt all the frequencies are too squished together, like listening to music over an old landline telephone. but if I understand right, IDR is only a volume issue.
 
soutthpaw said:
Can you explain "closed in" I'm getting mapping done tomorrow and have several things I want to try. But I think it will be quite a jump from my freedom processor that was IDR of 45 or something and the IDR 75 of the N6.

I have often felt all the frequencies are too squished together, like listening to music over an old landline telephone. but if I understand right, IDR is only a volume issue.
Click to expand...

IDR is the sound window, not the volume. It is the range of sound you can hear from loudest to softest at the same time. That is precisely why you experience "landline telephone" sound. When you use a 45 IIDR, you are hearing a 45 db range that will be established by the loudest sound at the moment. So if you are hearing something that is at 80 db, you can hear down to 35 db at quietest. With music you want that as wide as possible so that quieter instruments/passages are not being cut out. A 45 IIDR is considered optimal for speech by Cochlear.

There isn't much information put out by Cochlear on that topic, the best I could find was in the book "Programming Cochlear Implants." They regard exceeding 45 as possibly detrimental to your listening experience; resulting in distortion. It doesn't appear that the programming software offers an option to exceed this.
 
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