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I enjoy meeting other Med-El users in person, especially new friends I have made through social media forums. Some ways I have been able to meet others so far..... -I traveled to NC for a Hands On Hearing workshop. We organized meeting up for dinner the night before. Great times! -I travel to NYC for my CI appts. We organized meeting up for dinner and a group of us from NY and NJ had a great meal together. -I live in a rural area but there have been a few Med-El Mingle events within a 3 hour radius. I have attended 2 so far. It’s great to meet other Med-El users. -One of the first Med-El users I met traveled a couple of hours from her home to meet up while I was on vacation in Florida. A fun afternoon on the beach. Some of these friendships have extended way past our shared CI experiences. We continue to get together as friends and share good times. Some dear friends and I are still awaiting our first in person meetings. I am looking forward to those. After spending 3 days at the Med-El Meetup last month, I am reminded of how powerful and meaningful these in person meetings can be for us. I encourage you to reach out to others (through HearPeers or other forums) and meet for coffee or dinner or a walk at a park. We have a lot to offer each other on our journeys. I hope you make some lifelong friendships this way too. And maybe post a picture to share. ?

Here's a pic of @Jdashielland me immediately following my activation appointment.

My father-in-law played clarinet prior to WWII. He is 93 now and started playing again at 50. He is an attorney ( Tax) and plays so very well. He got me started in the Jazz camp we go to every July. Amazing! my point is start again. Choose an instrument- it something you can due throughout your life and a great way to listen, improvising your audio skills and memory and brain training.

Day 3 - We began today with group photos outside Med-El headquarters near the Med-El sign. Then we focused on digital media all morning. Breakout groups focused on topics such as: -What digital media helped us at the beginning of our journeys? -What digital media may help others? -Med-El’s multiple digital media platforms, including a new Instagram presence! -Some of us participated in filmed interviews of each other in pairs. And then it happened. You could’ve heard a pin drop as everyone realized Inge Hochmair stopped by to visit with us. We were so in awe. Inge Hochmair, the creator of the modern cochlear implant and founder of Med-El, was standing right there! I met Inge and tried to express my deepest gratitude for her life’s work which has changed my life. I thought I would have this incredible experience for a minute or two since there were 15 of us. But after I finished trying to put into words how much my life has changed and how grateful I am, she asked me questions about my hearing journey. She was interested and took time to hear my experience. I could not believe I was standing there talking with Inge Hochmair! There are no words to describe my feelings. A dream come true. Everyone of us took turns doing the same. None of us could believe this was happening. And then Erwin Hochmair joined! We owe so much to the Hochmairs. Thank you for Med-El and for changing our lives! I had passed along thank you cards to be given to the Med-El employees who made each of my specific internal components on Day 2. Our serial numbers are able to identify the exact people who made them. It turned out that 3 of the team of people who made my right Concerto implant were there and they came down to meet me. Barbara from Med-El’s social media team translated for us. My eyes filled with tears as soon as I saw them. We talked for quite awhile. I told them how much I appreciate how carefully they made my implant and how their work took my ear which had not processed any sound for 24 years and turned it into an incredible listening ear. Thanks to Barbara’s translating not only was I able to share some of my right ear’s WOW moments but they were also able to ask me things they were curious about. Teary moments and laughter ......and another chance to say thank you so much for this gift of hearing! Ideas of ways to help people on their journeys were developing as we continued to learn from each other. We could feel the excitement at Med-El. More and more Med-El employees were coming down and discussing these ideas during coffee breaks. (Which is quite funny that those times were called coffee breaks because I was so excited to be meeting and talking with Med-El employees from all different departments that I never actually had any coffee!) We enjoyed lunch together with Med-El employees and then our time at Med-El headquarters was ending. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to all the wonderful Med-El employees. Smile. This first ever Med-El Meetup created a blended group of Med-El users and Med-El employees who are all highly motivated to work together to help others on their hearing journeys. It really is a beginning and I am excited. The afternoon was spent at Med-El’s interactive museum about hearing called AUDIOVERSUM. We screamed and then screamed in pairs to try to match the decibel level of an elephant. We tried our best but the elephant won. We saw a huge 3-D ear transmit sound. We chased birds using bilateral hearing, ran into walls in virtual reality 3-D sound mazes and played music with huge interactive cochlear hairs. Later we rode the cable car up Nordkette Mountain overlooking the beautiful town of Innsbruck and enjoyed dinner high up in the Austrian Alps. Saying goodbye to everyone was difficult. Our group bonded so easily that we are already special friends. I hope our paths cross in person again someday. We will stay connected via social media. We shared an amazing experience with Med-El. I see future travel plans to far off countries where we now have friends to visit. Smile. Med-El’s first ever Med-El Meetup was a huge success! Thank you Med-El for inviting me to participate in this incredible experience!

Yesterday I was able to use my new superpower for real: we had an 8.5 hour flight and a toddler two rows ahead screamed for at least three of those hours (intermittently throughout the flight). I just popped the magnets off my implants. 🙂

@JewelHi everyone!! I've been implanted for 7 months. Boy did you CI vets hit it on the head when you said after implantation would be super super busy.

Our cat, Madison, joining in the fun.

@Mary Beth @Jewel @Jenni M @Daniel the Stranger @Kara of Canada @Marion nancy @Nikki hello gang and anyone I didn't tag. Congratulations on activation and or CI surgery!! It's an awesome journey. I've been busy with rehabilitation and juggling appointments. I am loving the adventure. I hope one day I may be able to go bilateral ?. Happy Sunday to all.

I had my interview yesterday. Spent an hour walking around the plant with the hiring manager - this is a noisy plant, it's where they make all the Scotch tape and masking tape (among other things). But I could hear Bob throughout! I put my CIs on adaptive and turned down sensitivity a bit and it worked really well. After that we had another hour in a conference room with Bob and two other guys and that went really well too. AND we went to lunch at a noisy restaurant and I even heard them then. I won't find out whether I got the job till a week from Monday, but the interview already made me really happy from the standpoint of my CIs' performance.

Well, there you go. @Jewel covered pretty much everything. 🙂 Probably the biggest thing is the impact on just normal interaction at home with my husband. I hadn't realized till I got my CIs how much I was withdrawing and just not communicating. We talk again, and do more together again.

While we were at Med-El Innsbruck, Med-El filmed videos of our CI journeys. Here is a link to my video if you are interested ...

Fantastic, he is all play all the time he is up. Now that we are talking about him, I realised that I can hear him breathing through his mouth when he is sleeping. He sleeps on top of the pantry next to the fridge not too far from the couch but still. Next to where he is sitting is the dinning table and next to the dinning table is the couch. I could hear him breathing through his mouth just recently because my new processor is facing his bed which is next to the fridge on top of the pantry. He is growing fast, he is now 6 months old.

It was incredible - like you dream something and than puf! It happens! To meet a person in live with whom you’ve exchanged so many HP and PM messages and - you’ve never seen each other... - Just imagine.... it was my privilege and honour to meet you, Mary Beth!

It’s been a while since I had a WOW moment but tonight I had one! We have a shuttle at work that drops us off and picks us up and drives us back to NJ. Tonight when we were driving through Times Square, I kept hearing this repeated noise - it wasn’t a honk and it wasn’t quite a screech, it was something in between. I looked out the window to see a cop directing traffic and he was repeatedly blowing his whistle! It made me smile and of course realize once again how amazing this CI is even after almost 2 years ?

My kittypurr extra loud to get warm To get warm is my theory but I did hear him raving up that little motor for sure

I had my second surgery on my left ear on October 10. Surgery started about 11 am and by 3 pm I was awake. This second time has been a breeze for me, I'm not feeling pain, and I didn't have to take painkillers at the hospital since I have been awake. My ear feels a lot less sore than the first time and I also don't feel the swelling like the first time.I just got home the next day about noon as I had to wait for the X Ray to confirm that the electrodes were in place and in fact, they were. This time I didn't get the copy of the X Ray as my doctor was in another part of the hospital, he just gave the order for discharge. I did see the doctor this morning about 10 am and he was pleased with the surgery.Doctor was very neat as usual, bandage was very well fit into my head and stitches also look good. Here a look at the result after bandage off: One thing I could notice is that it seems I got my residual hearing in this side. When I remove my right processor I can hear my voice in my newly implanted ear but not in the first implanted ear. It sounded cool. I can't believe how well I'm feeling to be honest, I took a week off but I'm thinking seriously on coming back to work next Monday. I don't have any balance issues and I already drove my car. Now the wait begins for activation in 2 weeks time.

I’m surprised at the number of people who approach me out of curiosity or to tell me their own experiences with implants among friends and family.

Yesterday I went to the Arboretum and walked and looked at the trees and flowers. And the bees. And listened to birds! My walk took me through the woods at some places and the birds were just chirping away. And I was so glad to have my Rondo2s because it was warm and I was sweating pretty profusely.

@Kylie, that's wonderful, I'm glad it's going so well for you. I referred to myself as a CI-borg in a meeting last week. I'm trying to get my new co-workers as used to this as my old ones were - though my friends at my old site were with me last year while I was being implanted, so it's a bit different. Our site IT manager has a toddler son who was born without external ears and uses AdHear from the sound of it - I haven't spoken to Keith about it yet, I've not got to know him that well yet. But the way others have described the child's devices there's not much else it could be.

@thomseabrook Thanks for the last email Thom. That is very clever. By looping at the hinge of rubber port there's little tension on the port cover. Thanks a whole bunch. C T Lex cc: @Mary Beth

I am a huge fan of aural rehab as many of you know. It helped me take my brain from static/beeps to awesome listening. We have shared many apps and online sites here in our rehab topic. It is also important to practice listening with live voices. Here is a sequence of sheets to use with a family member/friend. I trained with these sheets too. Enjoy!

Um, no. It's farther from home, BUT - we are looking to move when I retire (in about 5 years or so) and if I get the job in Hutch we'll move earlier. In fact possibly this year. Tomorrow we're going to look at a house that's in the same town as the plant where I'm applying. Well, it's just outside of town - isolated and on a lake. The property actually includes a small island in the lake. So we'll see. It would be serendipitous if we bought the house and I get the job.

I heard someone knock on my door not using the buzzer. Began using the phone and Cel phone without any assistance devices. Can watch tv without Rogers pen but upped th sound. Can understand words in songs that I had not heard before. Told I speak much quieter and clearer. I am sure the high pitch sounds will soon come.

Well I still have difficulty hearing on the the phone, 😞 working on that. However, I have music back in my life I am able to play guitar and Bass and listen to all kinds of music!!

@Mary Featherston It’s a great feeling being able to understand everybody you talk to (for the most part)!!

Love that I forget the sad part that in fact, once upon a time, I completely lost my hearing, and with it a big chunk of things I cared about in life. It was not really long ago but now feels like a different lifetime. From the moment I have my CIs on till the time they go to the dry box at night, I have my life, my music, regular communication, lots of sounds as well as birds song - back. At the end of the day I feel I can accomplish anything. Improved mental health definitely a huge plus. I love my CIs for giving me a reason to love life again. I also love that my CIs made it possible for me play music . Something I haven't done for over 2 decades.

Hi all,I'm Granipeggy from NC( Peggy) I joined a few weeks back.I had my CI done Tuesday past and came home yesterday! It was amazing! I've had NO PAIN except a slight headache that comes and goes,and my usual chronic back pain.I can't believe there's so little pain! I return to Dr.Pillsbury at UNC hosp.in Chapel Hill,NC.on Jan 28th,for post-op check,and to have the processor turned on.Im very optimistic,and excited. I'm wishing you all the best as you go through your own journeys.

The choise FOR me is made: Sonnet. Cant get a Rondo at this moment. Maybe later when the adjustment of my brain is made with the Sonnet...

I believe this is the right spot - Mary Beth! This forum is new but my name is Nicole and I am an Adhear user - I just did my one month follow up

Hi @Julie72 - let me start by wishing you and especially your daughter all the best for her haring journey! 😊 Like @Mary Beth said I am ssd and use a concerto/opus 2 by Medel for my deaf ear!my opus 2 came with a connection cable that lets you directly connect the processor with things like an iPod/smartphone/laptop and found that helpful for training, as otherwise, when training, you always hear with your hearing ear as well (note: I was told not to use that cable when devices are being charged).so I would listen to music/audio books I like with that cable to train just the hearing through the processor!However I am sorry - I don't know of any specific child-friendly training apps and, as I don't use a Roger pen I can't say anything about the specifics of how that gets along with ssd!if there's anything you'd like to know about ssd and things like going to school, tips for noisy environments, etc. just let me know and I am happy to help! 😊

if all goes well.. be there

It’s going to be fun to use! @Megan L.

It’s now midday for wearing a Sonnet with recharging batteries on the right and the Rondo2 on the left. I was just signaled to change batteries on the right which will carry my thru to bedtime. The Rondo2 will last well beyond that but I will set it on the charging base tonight and have recharged batteries in the am for Sonnet and Rondo2 will be ready to go all day.

Dear HearPeers Community, All of us in the MED-EL Social Media Team would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very happy start to 2019! We will be monitoring this forum on a limited basis over the holiday period (now until the 2nd January). Please do continue to tag @MED-EL Moderator if you have any technical issues or questions, but please bear in mind that it might take us longer to respond. Thanks for making 2018 a wonderful year on the HearPeers Forum! Kind regards, Barbara, Mary and Verena

This is our little village so far. We add a new building each year - we have a large table to cover so it's a tradition that will last years! So far we have a train, fire station, ski chalet, ice rink, train station, toy shop and lots of little minifigs doing cute things like carolling or skiing.

Hello Jewel. Yes I do. Sound feels much better to me when I have both sides in play, even if the hearing aid side is very, very deaf! It also means I have quite reasonable directional hearing. Not for birds (too high pitched - that only comes in via the implant) but for speech I can usually tell what side sound is coming from. Vera.

Welcome to HP this is a very informative site.We are Hear to help. I am a MEDEL CI patient in fact I am bilateral.I had mt first surgery a year a go and second surgery in March of 2018 .MEDEL customer service dept is tops very responsive toyour needs.It was a wise decision that I made. I have the the Roger 21 and love it. I have the Sonnet In fact our group is meating on Sat Sept 7 in Niagra Fall you can see it on HP heading reads MEDEL NORTH MEET UP we are planning to arrive on Fri evening September 6 leave Sun. We all have CI and on Sat evening 430-730 we are having a MEDEL REP in for show and tellThis is self pay you and yours are most welcome.Any question lets hear it I am Dave in Pittsburgh

Nope Sadly the condition seem hereditary

This is my kind of rehab! ? In fact I'm headed to lunch with some coworkers shortly!

Yay for @Nikki Can't wait for your chronicles @Daniel the Stranger. I always enjoy them. Next up @Mary Featherstonand @Marion nancy. Woo hoo! Will you be recording your activations? Looking forward to hearing how your activations go.

That really is amazing after 18 years!

Hi @Loresh and a warm welcome to HearPeers. I started losing my hearing as a young adult. My mom was so devastated when I told her that I was losing my hearing. Even when my ears had gotten so bad that I qualified for 2 CIs, she was against that route since it would require an operation. Even in the days leading up to the surgery it was like she was overwhelmed and I'm an adult! Moms will be moms and so it is totally understandable that you're being flooded with emotions. You want the best for your son and you don't want him to be harmed. Fast forward to almost 2 months after surgery, my mom is so happy that I went ahead with the surgery. I'm hearing better than I have in almost 20 years and my true personality is blossoming once again. So take your time. Do your research. See if you can trial the device as Mary Beth suggested. Be assured that you're not a bad mum. You just want to make sure you're making the best decision for Daniel. Take your time.

Thanks, @Kara of Canada - I don't actually feel bad now. No pain, and just a bit of increased tinnitus in the newly implanted ear. I'll have to be careful sleeping, but it's kind of amazing how much better I feel now than after the first one. This seems to be a pattern, didn't you experience the same thing? And @Daniel the Stranger too, I think.

I remember the first time I realized that you can actually hear each goose’s distinctive voice as they fly overhead. Crazy wild.

Oh, heh. Well, it's something of a joke, but I'm sure I'll wear it at some point. Since I've been going around calling myself a CI borg, my husband suggested that if I had a skinit for my magnet that looks like a PC board, I would look like Commander Data with his head open, being repaired. So I bought a set that's just a picture of a PC board. I also bought the Skinit-designed ones with the Great Wave of Kanagawa, which is actually really nice.

My new skinit design

This thread made ma laugh lol. Some times we don't stop being kids do we?

Great photo, @Jdashiell and @Jewel! You are two good-looking CIborgs. I have enjoyed having conversations with other CI users while I wait for audiology appointments - it's happened twice now. But never anyone from the forum.

I'm far from a native speaker, I studied Spanish in high school and at university, but learned most of it from being there for a long time. So the different dialects were harder for me. And it was a very long time ago, and I don't remember much. I used to go visit a manufacturing plant in Mexico where we were making one of our products and every once in a while I'd try speaking to the people on the production line and they almost always looked to Alma (the production manager) for a translation. It was crushing, I tell you. ?

Today my family made me laugh out loud! I was doing chores around the house while happily listening to an audiobook with the Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop. My Sonnets were set on T so I only heard the audiobook. I can move all around our home and keep the signal even with my iPhone on the main floor. All of a a sudden my audiobook stopped. Hmm.... odd. So I returned to the living room and found my family holding my iPhone and smiling. They had hit pause! That got my attention right away. Smile.