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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. ?

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.

Hi everyone i just wanted to thank everyone for sharing your experiences & advice! It really helped me to make an informed decision! I had my pre-op appointment with my surgeon & audiologists yesterday. In 2 weeks from today I’ll start my new journey & be implanted with a Med-el Synchrony with Sonnet2/Rondo2 processors! Yeah!!😀 getting nervous but I’m sure it is going to be great! thanks again Rick H

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

Hi @imran khan, we've sent you a private message for more information Best regards, Verena

Just submitted my request to upgrade to Rondo2s. If all goes well, they’ll be activated October 23rd. Can’t wait!😊

I also found that my tinnitus, which was very loud, is not at all noticeable when wearing my processor. I can still sense it when I go to bed but it's fading, I forget it's there some nights.

@Evren post CI surgery tinnitus is quite common. It is also common to experience strange tinnitus in the beginning when you remove your processors for the night. My tinnitus is so much better with CIs.

Thanks @Mary Beth. I was able to access the app via the website. Strange that it wouldn't show up in the App Store otherwise.

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.

I'm using this one for my Rondo. it's more than enough in weight and size. I'm sure I'll have line for a few years 🙂 I don't wait to the line broke itself, I change it every 6 months.

@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

Me too @Mary Beth. Glad I took a leap of faith and got the CI.

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.

Nice wishlist

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

Hi Mary Beth, That is a useful bit of feedback, thank you! I will pass it on to our Product teams here in HQ. Kind regards, Mary

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

Question for you all, and a kind of WOWish moment. Yesterday I noticed that there was an apparently sudden increase in volume in my new CI, and with it a significant increase in clarity too. I don't recall that happening with the first - anyone heard of it before? It was amazing, last night when I was on the treadmill I had to turn down the volume on the TV. I mean, honestly, before this, I can't recall when I turned the volume down. From me you wouldn't have known that the volume controls GO down.

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

Mary Beth, it’s getting better as I try to practise for an hour or so every weekday. Sometimes the noise gets too much and I revert to the T setting but less and less these days. I’m still not to the point where I can eavesdrop on others conversations as word recognition was nil when I started. ?

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.

@MallaRuth - nice to "meet" you! I've had people ask me if I'm going to grow my hair and hide my processors. Nope, nope, nope. ?

That really is amazing after 18 years!