Recruitment Condition

[SCBassist]

Those of you who experienced a recruitment condition from a sensorineural hearing loss and are currently using a CI, would you assume the CI can correct this condition (note it replaces the functions of hair cells), or do you feel it is destined to be a permanent condition? As it pertains mostly to sound sensitivity, I am referring instead to how well a CI can help discriminate clear speech from meaningless noise.

 

[deafdyke]

I thought that recruitment was helped by CIs....like in some of the cases where has work, but not optimily, most of those cases have recruitment?

 

[vallee]

question?

I'm not sure it this is recruitment, but I have developed a problem with the television. I put it at a normal level. The same as my family listens, but it is too loud for me. I can't handle the sounds, not that it hurts. Is that recruitment? It happens with radio and ipod. May be time to get a new mapping.

 

[SCBassist]

I'm not sure it this is recruitment, but I have developed a problem with the television. I put it at a normal level. The same as my family listens, but it is too loud for me. I can't handle the sounds, not that it hurts. Is that recruitment? It happens with radio and ipod. May be time to get a new mapping.

Symptoms of recruitment are said to include perceiving normal sounds as a bit louder and the inability to discriminate speech, perceived as gibberish sometimes. This condition happens when hair cells within a certain frequency band take up sound signals from other hair cells that are part of another frequency band which have died. The additional signals are perceived as loud and since other frequency bands are translating the wrong sound, but the brain needs to "make do" with what its got. Kind of like a piano without several white keys, it will sound differently if one has to compensate using the next key with a higher or lower octave. My situation has always been trying to discriminate (or make "sharper") speech while using HAs during my early life, though the CI has improved on this...A BIT, and I am wondering if a CI can undo this recruitment so as to hear normally as possible? The weird thing is that I hear sounds (or I perceive them to) normally, especially from my bass rig, but speech is sometimes a I've seen a speech therapist, but that only goes so far since I passed everything they've thrown at me, but... what? Why didn't I hear.......? Looks like I hit a plateu, or improvement is SOOOO slow, one wouldn't know it. The kicker is that I began with what you had, since being activated in the first year, any small high pitched sound would give me the cat nerves. Thats gone since, probably because of the music setting I'm often in. Just wondered if anyone has noticed improvements within themselves and if tthey experienced a reversal of the recruitment condition. Darn I said too much!

 

[kc]

Symptoms of recruitment are said to include perceiving normal sounds as a bit louder and the inability to discriminate speech, perceived as gibberish sometimes. This condition happens when hair cells within a certain frequency band take up sound signals from other hair cells that are part of another frequency band which have died. The additional signals are perceived as loud and since other frequency bands are translating the wrong sound, but the brain needs to "make do" with what its got. Kind of like a piano without several white keys, it will sound differently if one has to compensate using the next key with a higher or lower octave. My situation has always been trying to discriminate (or make "sharper") speech while using HAs during my early life, though the CI has improved on this...A BIT, and I am wondering if a CI can undo this recruitment so as to hear normally as possible? The weird thing is that I hear sounds (or I perceive them to) normally, especially from my bass rig, but speech is sometimes a I've seen a speech therapist, but that only goes so far since I passed everything they've thrown at me, but... what? Why didn't I hear.......? Looks like I hit a plateu, or improvement is SOOOO slow, one wouldn't know it. The kicker is that I began with what you had, since being activated in the first year, any small high pitched sound would give me the cat nerves. Thats gone since, probably because of the music setting I'm often in. Just wondered if anyone has noticed improvements within themselves and if tthey experienced a reversal of the recruitment condition. Darn I said too much!

May of said too much- but said it well,enjoyed your post.

 

[sr171soars]

Given how a CI works, it was my understanding that one couldn't have recruitment. I base my argument on the fact that the electrode directly stimulates the cochlear nerve. It totally bypasses the cochlear hairs of which you explain how recruitment works so admirably earlier.

I can believe aside from that that one could take a while to get a handle on speech discrimination. It just depends on the person and what ability they had prior to the CI. Even people who had similar situations can have difference outcomes. As I said in another thread, speech discrimination is a whole different ballgame. There are a lot of variables that come into play with that issue. There are some that start off with a "bang" and can understand speech from day one (of which I'm one). Why? I suspect some people are geared to taking whatever input they get and can run with it especially in terms of speech discrimination. Of course, these people have to have develop that ability from a young age due to brain development issues.

I didn't have recruitment myself but I did have some days that I "heard" better than other days. What is funny, there are times now with my CI I feel my hearing is super sharp like after listening to music all day at work. I suspect that during those cases that I'm exercising my cochlear and it is primed and ready for more When I'm tired, I don't "hear" quite as well and that would be understandable as it takes energy to hear.

In your case, it may be that it just takes practice, practice, and practice plus lots of patience.