Question about Music for CI Users

Hear Again

Hear Again

New Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2005
Messages
20,114
Reaction score
5
hi everyone,

while listening to music on youtube I noticed that some songs sound off pitch (i.e. one or two octaves above or below what the original note should be).

i'm wondering if this means i need a new map? i've never noticed this before. my last mapping was back in june.

i'm thinking about asking my audi if she can create a special map specifically for music because all of the maps i have on my processor aren't making some types of music sound like they should (or as i remember when i wore hearing aids).

comments, anyone?
 
I worn hearing aids all my life and when I got my implant certain music instruments sound differently specially strings that has a different quality of sound. As far as pitches goes I am hearing more of the high pitches but what really impress me was the far greater bass richness that I never hear before with hearing aids. I have to train myself to throw out what was normal for me and in with the new. I had at one time ask my audi to change the frequency allocation map and I noticed that the frequency range that was assign to the one electrode was not I was expecting.
 
john57 said:
I worn hearing aids all my life and when I got my implant certain music instruments sound differently specially strings that has a different quality of sound. As far as pitches goes I am hearing more of the high pitches but what really impress me was the far greater bass richness that I never hear before with hearing aids. I have to train myself to throw out what was normal for me and in with the new. I had at one time ask my audi to change the frequency allocation map and I noticed that the frequency range that was assign to the one electrode was not I was expecting.
Click to expand...

i'm not hearing as much bass with my ci's as i could with hearing aids.

in fact, i don't hear low frequencies as well as i do middle and high frequencies.
i don't know what needs to be done to be able to get music to sound more "normal" to me, but i think i'll discuss this with my audi.
 
Like you were saying never compare yourself on the results of the CI with others. There was a fair amount of risk that I had to take in order to receive my implant and my surgeon was not certain that he could even get a insertion of the array in my small cochlea that and I had additional factors not in my favor as well. As it turn out I was able to get a full insertion of the array and I feel that was a very big factor in my case to hear the very low bass.
I even had a private chamber music concert in a friend house the night before the surgery since I knew that music will not going to be the same. I will be “sliding” like the Sci-Fi TV program Sliders into a different sonic environment.
I t would be pointless for me to say all of this unless I have a few suggestions to offer.
I could ask my audi to increase the C levels not the T levels on electrode 22,21,20 bass electrodes, to see if that would help you. On your freedom you could also try to shift the frequency allocation of the entire array to a lower frequency band to see if that will change anything in your case. Last thing you can also try to see if increasing the DR (dynamic range) will help. In my case increasing the DR even after 1 year and half help me in hearing more of the richness of sound. Adjusting the speed to 1200 helped in my case as well, good luck.
 
john57 said:
Like you were saying never compare yourself on the results of the CI with others. There was a fair amount of risk that I had to take in order to receive my implant and my surgeon was not certain that he could even get a insertion of the array in my small cochlea that and I had additional factors not in my favor as well. As it turn out I was able to get a full insertion of the array and I feel that was a very big factor in my case to hear the very low bass.
I even had a private chamber music concert in a friend house the night before the surgery since I knew that music will not going to be the same. I will be “sliding” like the Sci-Fi TV program Sliders into a different sonic environment.
I t would be pointless for me to say all of this unless I have a few suggestions to offer.
I could ask my audi to increase the C levels not the T levels on electrode 22,21,20 bass electrodes, to see if that would help you. On your freedom you could also try to shift the frequency allocation of the entire array to a lower frequency band to see if that will change anything in your case. Last thing you can also try to see if increasing the DR (dynamic range) will help. In my case increasing the DR even after 1 year and half help me in hearing more of the richness of sound. Adjusting the speed to 1200 helped in my case as well, good luck.
Click to expand...

thanks for your reply.

i've already tried using the 1200 Hz speed (for 2 weeks), but couldn't make any sense of what i heard. everything sounded extremely high pitched and distorted, so i moved back down to 900 Hz.

with all due respect, i'm not comparing myself to anyone. i'm just curious to find out if other ci users have experienced the same problem i'm having with hearing the pitch and low frequencies of certain music. i've never experienced this before, so it seems odd that after having my first ci since december, 2004 and my second since february, 2006 i would be encountering this.

i'll discuss this further with my audi and give your suggestions a try.

thanks again. :)
 
I should have pointed out that the speed did not affect the amount of the bass but it did change the quality of the bass sound that sound more natural at 1200 than the 900 speed. I did try the 1800 map while it did seems to increase discrimination of speech in noise but I was losing the ability to sense the music in its own acoustical environment, the room reverberation was not natural at 1800. I later learn that Cochlear does a few things a bit different at speeds greater than 1200 in addition to the speed changes that appear not to be natural for me. I also found that part of the reason that I had better discrimination with speech in noise at the 1800 map was due to the increase DR (Dynamic range) that I could tolerate at 1800 vs. the 1200 map. However later when my discrimination was starting to decrease after 1 year and half I visit my audi all he had to do was increase my DR range on all the electrodes and that bring back my discrimination and the mid bass all came roaring back. I was very pleased with this change. At this point the difference between discrimination between the 1800 map and the 1200 are much less now meaning that there is less tradeoff staying at the 1200 speed which is my preferred speed. I know of a few friends that like the 1800 speed and one that like the 520 speed. I do not know of anyone that more or less stay at speeds greater than 1800 on a permanent bases.
For me, the cochlear implant is the bass fantastic and hearing all the deep bass that none of the hearing aids since I was 5 ever gave me the bass extension that the CI provided. The physiology of my cochlea might play a role along with my internal head anatomy could have played a role. There was at one time a hearing aid made by Fidelity 25 years ago that gave the deep bass extension but I did not buy that hearing aid because it inference with my discrimination with speech. The CI with the bass extension did not inference with my speech discrimination even in noise as much anymore. The strings instruments in the orchestra are much more vivid and carry at far better distances than any hearing aids that I have worn in the last 49 years. I enjoy a good community choir and with a good blend of 22 voices now sounds like over 100 voices are singing. The CI gave me the ability to hear and feel everything new again.
 
Hear Again,

Since giving up music around 20 years ago at 18, I cherish the sounds from the CI. I really have not paid attention to the quality of the bass or discrimation of sound at different speeds.

I do know that music sounds beyond anything I ever remember with hearing aids. I don't remember the rich sounds before. I do know that after a period of time, any sound goes down and I need new mapping. After mapping, everything sounds better.
 
hi vallee,

the more i think about it, the more i think i need a new map because everything sounds softer in my right ear than it does my left.
 
Back
Top