question for freedom users

Thank you! I'm not on any type of gov prgm so I'll have to defintely look into insurance. I remember my dh & I discussing that shortly before my surgery.
I can't wait for the activation & the hearing thru CI experience. I wonder if I'll get many "CI moments"? I mean, I have heard things all my life when using two bte hearing aids. My Audi tells me that there'll be plenty of sounds I missed out on, like the birds, that I'll be hearing with the CI. I can't wait to find out if she's right, and excatly what new stuff will I hear!!

I feel stupid for asking but what does 'hrtz' mean? :)

enjoy your hearing experience. The turn on is really something. I enjoyed it more 2 weeks later when I got to have 3 different speed programs to decide which I liked better. I seem to perfer 750 hrtz. 900 is ok to. but get much faster then that an there is way to much noise set off. (i keep wondering if some peoples static is what I call the sirens, lol)[/QUOTE]
 
deafmama78 said:
I feel stupid for asking but what does 'hrtz' mean? :)

)
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[/QUOTE]


Hertz is the speed at which the electrodes are firing? not really sure if that's exactly right. but my hearing nerve seems to prefer a slower speed. The higher ones just increase the amount of noise (in my case it was like adding a siren type sound onto amost every word, I keep wondering if that's what some call static. BUt to me static is more of a distorted crackly sound. :) )

oh well the echo effect left a few months back and I didn't even notice that it was gone. LOL
 
jag said:
Hertz is the speed at which the electrodes are firing? not really sure if that's exactly right. but my hearing nerve seems to prefer a slower speed. The higher ones just increase the amount of noise (in my case it was like adding a siren type sound onto amost every word, I keep wondering if that's what some call static. BUt to me static is more of a distorted crackly sound. :) )

oh well the echo effect left a few months back and I didn't even notice that it was gone. LOL
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I wasn't sure whether in your previous that you had a typo or intended to type a abbreviated word for hertz since the abbrev. word is Hz not hrtz :D
 
My Audiologist has never referred to the Freedom speed in the form of Hz but that makes a lot of sense. Number of electrical signals sent per second. I think I am running 1200 right now and I like it probably the best. I have other programs at 2400 and 3500. I use these when I'm trying to relearn some frequencies if I'm missing what people say. I normally listen to some old music that I know what it is suppose to sound like so I can try and retrain my brain to pick up on the sounds. I do this for maybe 6-12 hours on and off while really concentrating on the specific frequencies that I am having trouble with. Once I pick them up again, I go back to 1200 and can typically understand easier. Sounds odd but it works for me. The slower speeds also all the batteries to last about twice as long. I do notice that if I have the volume cranked to much, when I turn it back down, it can be harder to hear for a short time kind of similar to when I use to be able to hear a riding lawn mower for an hour then get off, it was harder to hear for a short time until the my nerves calmed down then I was pretty much back to normal. Funny, after riding the mower for an hour and my butt is numb, any car feels like a Cadillac even on the roughest of roads. Today, I just turn off the processor while mowing. Built in hearing protection kind of.

Just my experience.
Steve
 
Answering NEECY

I confirm we have the same trouble with the freedom CI of my son. We had ti replace the coil twice in the first 6 months.
Cochlear in France confims it's a well known trouble for a set of CI package.
 
Actually, Lotte is wearing that wire out as well, but it holds well. They have not broken (yet)
Mind you, Lotte is using the longest wire to go from the BTE on the shoulder to her coil-magnet.
When the CI drops off, she has to reach for it behind her back, pass it to the other hand and will have to put her arm through the "loop" in order to get it over her shoulder. (I have to make a picture of this.... something to remember for later..) There's quite some force on it. However, they never broke.

We do change them out after about 6 months when the wire get's twisted / spiralling, so perhaps that's we never had a problem.
By now, we have about 4 "twisted/spiralled" backups...
 
cloggy its not so much anything has broken, but the latex/rubber protective sheathing covering the wires tends to split, in my experience, revealing the wire bundles inside. When that happens I'm always afraid that moisture/sweat will cause the wires themselves to short out.
 
Here we go again -- the plastic sheathing on my replacement is now starting to split...at least it lasted almost 8 months this time....
 
deafmama78 said:
Ekkk. That makes me wonder how long is warrenty? I've probably been told but I don't remember by now. I don't even now what each of these parts are that you all are talking about. lol. I know my Audi showed me everything on the Freedom, as it is what she had with her when we went in a room to discuss my candidacy and the 2 brands of CI's to choose from since my hospital doesn't work with one of the CI companies at this time. I remember thinking "Wow, I can't believe she's showing me all this now just minutes after finding out that I'm for sure a candidate!" I knew I wasn't gonna remember everything of what's what yet. But I'm not worried, I know she'll be patient and explain what's what on my activation day and I'll ask about warrenty and batteries and so on. I think I'm getting like 300 batteries, or a year's worth? Is 300 a year's worth of batteries?

Can't wait to enjoy my Freedom in a few wks! :)



Both of my processors needed to have the bottom part (controller) replaced because they cracked, mine are brown. No problems since they were replaced. If you are out of warrenty the cost to replace a controller is in the thousands.....so if you are still in warrenty always take care of the problem right away.
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The Freedom implant has a 10 year warranty and the BTE and coil has a 3 year warranty.
 
Drew's coils have had to be replaced 3-4 times in just over 6 months (remember he has two CI's). The wires aren't exposed, but where I put my fingernail to help get the coil out of the BTE eventually peels back and needs to be replaced.

Cochlear ships the replacements at warp speed, but it may get annoying once we have to pay for them each time.
 
Wow. That was weird, reading my old posts, especially the one from the day before I had my 1st CI surgery. :)

Now - I've been activated for about 6.5 mos, it'll be 7 mos on Jan 21st. And I have yet to have any problems with the cord. My only problem was the battery & the battery charger, which I am going to call & get it replaced soon. I also have a small bit of where the paint chipped only on the bottom, where I hold to pull out the battery, which is a pain in the ass to do. heh. :)
 
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