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Hi Everyone, I'm back here I'm not sure where I've left off here, but I got implanted 2 years ago on my right side and it is awesome. I got implanted with Cochlear and not Medel tho, so I can't really speak about my experience with Medel. Anyway it's really good. Much better than any hearing aid I ever used. I am hearing very well, almost normally. Would say above 90% for speech. Sometimes I can even hear lyrics to songs I listen for the first time, and also TV shows without closed captioning. Cinemas are still a little difficult tho. Maybe it's the surrounding. As for whethe

This is my first updated post since being activated on October 29th, I’ve been so busy working I haven’t had a chance until now. A little info about myself my name is Rick Horton, I’m 57 years old & I live in Everett, Washington. I have profound noise induced hearing loss in both ears. My left side was implanted with a Synchrony & the right side I use a hi power HA. I was activated about a week & a half ago using a Rondo2 processor ( waiting for a Sonnet2 as well) . All I can say so far is WOW!! This is the most amazing experience! I was surprised that I was able to unders

Just heard the rain 😀 although crackerly at the moment.

I went to the activation this afternoon and it went really well. The sound for the new side seems louder and more tinny than my old one but I understand that will improve. The plus is I am able to understand speech with just the new side. I am thrilled with that. Initially my Audi was going to keep the processor off the ear but the incision does not hurt at all so I am trying it on the ear for now. Thanks for all the well wishes. No to go through my new box of goodies.😀

I am thankful for this gift of hearing that is enabling me to hear hours and hours of remote meetings and instruction.

Direct..... yup direct....bilateral.....true stereo.....STREAMING for Sonnet 1 and Sonnet 2! I am sooooo excited! https://www.medel.com/hearing-solutions/accessories/connectivity/audiostream?fbclid=IwAR21qadWSv3tZmVt72AJ1k1VbIo7Dh1OHGHI4vs2t3SC4H3WB3pId9C5SJg

Ahhhh! I asked for this like 2 or 3 years ago when we did that video for the Med El employees to watch 😊 I specifically asked if they could do something like Bluetooth since it wouldn’t drain the battery too much. Omg I’m so excited we are getting this and that they listen to our requests!!!!

Sunday September 13 9:30 am New York time start time chat opens at 9:15 for socializing Google Meet with free live captioning All are welcome. Smile If you are interested in joining in, just reply here so you are included in the email invite.

Hi @PamR Sorry for the delayed response, haven't checked my notifications for a whole week while I was moving house! Anyway... I also became SSD suddenly, at age 38, following an ear infection. I also found it affected my orientation, not hearing people behind me (very off putting when surprised and hard for my kids who weren't heard unless they were face to face). And it affected my enjoyment of all noisy environments, which I started avoiding. I rescheduled all my catch ups to quiet coffees at home or at an outdoor cafe. Weddings and funerals were a hearing nightmare - too man

I made two YouTube videos showing how to use Google Meet (free, works on all devices) for video meetings with free live captioning. One video shows using Google Meet on computers. The other video shows using Google Meet on tablets. The videos are captioned. https://youtu.be/I5OhrkVlPzw https://youtu.be/b6MRH3irQI8

@Mary Beth @Mary Featherston Sorry that I was unable to join today. I woke up late and then I had a jam-packed day. We weren't affected by the hurricane. Just a lot of rain at times.

I've been cutting my own hair since March. First two times my wife helped, but now I have gotten used to it and do it myself. I've been so dissatisfied withe the stylists I've tried here in NoVA since moving last fall, these have turned out to be my best haircuts in a long time.

@Megan L. yes. I did have to take an attitude the first time that even if he dorked it up, the thing about hair is that it grows back. But he didn't do too badly. There were little bits sticking out that I had to fix with a small scissor in the bathroom but the second time was much better.

@Nikki, you're having in-person meetings? Wow. We don't, anymore. Everything's on MS Teams, which is GREAT for me because 1) it forced me to face my fear of the telephone, and 2) it sounds really clear with my neckloop. It's been far, far better than I expected.

@phobos512 Happy that all went well. Rest up and enjoy your final weeks of silence. Lots of sounds await you on activation! Hope you will find the journey amazing as many of us did.

Hi everyone. I just got done with my post surgical follow-up appointment. Everything is looking good. Stitches are about 75% dissolved my doctor told me. Plenty of fluid in my middle ear space, which I knew already, and should go away over the coming weeks. Activation two weeks from today. Dizziness is mostly gone aside from when I am lying in bed and I switch sides I can get a little bit. Never had any nausea, never needed to take so much as a Tylenol since the surgery. He told me the surgery was really easy, my anatomy made things very straightforward, and that bodes well for the other

Hey everyone! Back at home just now. Little bit of dizziness but nothing too bad. Raging tinnitus in right ear but I know that's to be expected. I am sure I am still feeling after effects of anesthesia some but very limited pain so far, mild discomfort I would say. Hospital staff were amazing, so great and nice to us and accommodating. Since end of January I have been drinking only water so wow was the apple juice they had for me a sugar bomb. Woo... Dry mouth but throat is not too sore. Anyway, that's about it for now. Going to rest a bit.

I lost most of my acoustic hearing when I was a baby. Since I grew up with it, I didn't really have a mourning since I didn't really experience hearing beyond hearing aids. Even still, with hearing aids, it was ok but not great. I'm pretty much a deaf person in a hearing world, which means I've been extremely reliant on hearing aids and have relied heavily on sign language interpreters (they're amazing rock stars) in my education. Life will raise challenges that hearing people do not usually have to contend with. It's the attitude that I take on that will allow me to rise above the challe

Hi Mary Beth. Thanks for this. Yeah, I sorta thought that programming was a lot more systematic than seems to be the case. “Guess-and-check approach based on subjective patient feedback”!??? Yikes. “Guess” is not a word that you want to hear (no pun intended) when you are talking about medical care. Well, good luck to the Vanderbilt team... By the way, I took your advice and asked to see a different team of audiologists here in Tokyo. The new team seemed to think my most recent mapping was a disaster, so they recommended that we start over from the beginning and re-set everything t

It is free but we need to register. It will be captioned. I registered. Here is the info: You are invited to a virtual HEARPEERS meeting. During this hour long webinar our MEDEL experts will be discussing listening practice and strategies to help during this time of facial coverings and masks. Many cochlear implant recipients rely on lip reading to help them understand speech and therefore may feel discouraged with their speech understanding during this time. However, there are programs and strategies that you can use to help you and I hope you are able to attend the vi

I am SO excited to meet all of your amazing people!

Today two friends stopped by for a short socially distanced visit in our backyard. Four people all wearing masks, sitting in chairs set up at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 & 9:00 around a 12 foot circle. Seems like some crazy CI research experiment. I heard very well. It blows my mind that before getting CIs, I couldn’t follow a conversation involving 4 people even if we were sitting around a small table. I am very thankful for this gift of hearing from my bilateral CIs.

Somewhat similar to this. I have a coworker that I work closely with. I tend to try to start conversations, when we're in our respective offices, with skype. You know, I type, he types. But Brian is a slow typist and he doesn't really like it. Yesterday he called my office phone, and I knew it was him because we have caller ID. So I answered and said, Brian, you KNOW I'm not that comfortable on the phone! I never know if I will hear. His response? You CAN hear. I mean, sometimes he's wrong, but you know, mostly he's right.

UPDATED Date for July!!!!!! Sunday July 5 !!!!!!!! 9:30 New York time We welcome more HP members! Anyone else want to join in? @Mary Beth YES @Jewel YES @Dave in Pittsburgh YES @Kirk S. YES @Tracey_66 YES @Kylie YES @Mary Featherston YES @Valentin YES @Joan YES @Nikki YES @Megan L. YES @Watersail MAYBE @phobos512 YES Google Meet is a free app. Download

@Jewel @Mary Beth Was reading this thread and I pretty much meet the conditions in my left ear for what you were discussing ("...born with normal hearing, then hearing loss in teens or early adulthood, then profoundly deaf for 40 years, then CI") . So I figure I'll share my experience... The only thing I'm uncertain about is whether I was born deaf in my left ear or whether it progressed rapidly during early childhood (my parents have said there was no mention of hearing problems at my birth). However, I do know with certainty that I was already profoundly deaf in that ear by early

@Tracey_66 Sorry you missed out on this time. We may be deaf but we are all chatterboxes! 😂😂😂😂 Next time you will see.

Both dates are fine for me. @Kirk S. we had the first meeting at 8:30 Central time, which was also 8:30 for Jewel in Jamaica, it was 9:30 for Mary Beth, and it was 8:30 (I think) PM for Kylie in Australia. So we can make it work, we don't have to make you get up at 4:00 am!

My latest “Wow” moment is the other day I had a phone interview for a job! It went pretty well. I lost the ability to talk on the phone years ago and still shy away from using one but to actually be able to accomplish this was great! To actually consider my hearing has recovered enough to return to work was also unthinkable before the implant. So I guess a couple of “Wow” moments.

Dear HearPeers, As the situation around the world develops due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), we just wanted to let you know that MED-EL is here for you. Our local teams continue to offer customer support in whatever way country restrictions allow them to. You can find the contact for your nearest MED-EL office here: https://www.medel.com/about-medel/med-el-offices-worldwide We are still moderating this forum during the week (Monday to Friday) so if you have any other questions you are always welcome to tag or message us. All the best, The HearPeers Support Team

My department is working from home. We connect via Microsoft Teams every work day. There is video and audio. I'm amazed that I can hear what my colleagues are saying when I have minimised the window and I'm working in another app. This would not have been possible without my CI. I've been wearing only Rondo2 since last week when I started to work from home. I've also been doing a lot of Zoom meetings and hear well with just Rondo2. Artone is still my goto ALD if I'm in office and have a webinar though. Also great for listening to music!

We just got about six inches of snow, as as my husband is two counties away, I went out to clear the driveway. I don't use the snowblower much and don't recall much about using it, so I just shoveled, the snow is light and fluffy. But I put a hat on - I'd never worn a hat over the Rondo2s before. Worked really nicely, though. Two of my neighbors walked over for a chat (nothing like everyone being out clearing their driveways to forge a bond) and we talked for a bit and shoveled for a bit. I've never been used to wearing hats because they made my hearing aids beep. It's nice to know t

I have Rondo 1 and a Rondo 2 as well as Sonnets - which I tend to use more often - due to the 2 microphones and all that offers. I use the Rondos as back up processors. I really like the Rondo 2 simply from the recharge once over night - while I sleep. Then its useable ALL day long. The Rondo1 takes disposable batteries that only last a few days AND it takes 3 batteries. I use disposable battiest in my Sonnets too because I had an issue with the rechargeable battery frame on 1 Sonnet. Despite trials and tribulations, I LOVE MY MEDEL processors and implants because they allow m

Thank you Joan, I continue with Rondo, reading a lot of the experiences of other users with new one... Perhaps when it's time to upgrade, It could be Rondo 3 🙂

Well I am pleased to say the activation is going great! The Audi, Louse at Attune Mt Barker, seems pretty pleased with the progress - I've had two mappings and I have started the online rehab, really pleased to say I can understand words, well most of them anyway! Still have lots of odd and unusual noises but I worked out that if I turn the volume down a little, it is a little clearer. I had a bit of a problem with excessive nasal fluid and blood nose, Doc suggests that's the tubes clearing out after the op. Seems to be pretty good now. Overall I seem to be adjusting quite well, a little

@MED-EL Moderator May we have a Rondo 3 folder please? Rondo 3 two mics uses ASM 3 like the Sonnet 2 with adaptive intelligence up to 24 hours of battery life AND a way to charge on the go while still using it (thank you Med-El !) streams through AudioLink Med-El - Does Rondo 3 still have a telecoil? EXCITING DAY! https://www.medel.com/hearing-solutions/cochlear-implants/rondo3?sf_cntrl_id=ctl00%24contentPlaceholder%24C085

HI @Valentin I heard back from our implant experts here at HQ. In principle, they do not see why using the scale would interfere with our implant systems, since the scale is not used close to your head and should confirm with electric safety and electromagnetic compatibility standards. However, Mi Body Composition Scale has not been specifically tested with our implants. Our experts cannot say whether the implant could interfere with the Mi Body Composition Scale system, and would recommend you follow the user manuals and guidelines provided by Mi Body Composition Scale. Kind regards,

@Mary Beth thanks for tagging us! @Mohammad welcome to the HearPeers forum. Sorry to read about your experiences. We'd liketo get you in touch with a MED-EL representative in Iran. They can provide more information about BONEBRIDGE and answer all your questions. I will send you a private message with more details. Best regards, Verena

I saw that, Rondo 3 - looks great! But I'm three years from an upgrade and I'm sure by then there will be other options.

Over the course of my progressive hearing loss, I went through many different levels of acceptance of the hearing loss and self-advocacy skills. I had decades of practice. My recommendation is to be as specific as you can. List things people can do that help you. Communication is a two way street. We can learn skills and use assistive tech to help us hear better in difficult listening situations. Others can learn behaviors that help us too. Things to consider for your list.... - meetings held in quiet locations - use of remote mics (Roger Select, Roger Pen, A

@Mary Beth I completely agree!! You definitely have to be in the right mindset to get the CI. It’s definitely hard work and I don’t think most people realize that when they firsts start considering a CI. Having a positive, optimistic, patient as well as dedicated personality helps a lot with everything after the surgery, in my opinion. When my parents meet someone who is considering a CI and they want to chat - I always tell them you have to be in the right mindset and commit to it for the desired results. The mindset portion is probably why I haven’t gotten the other ear done 🤷‍♀️ One day ins

@Leila Riley I was a little girl (2-8 years old) when I lost a good chunk of hearing first from chicken pox and then from 2 fistula operations. In a way I think it was easier to accept because I didn’t know better. I didn’t really spend time questioning it or being angry probably because I was so young. I made my peace with it by telling myself that another kid who couldn’t hear anything needed to borrow some of mine so that together - we’d both hear something. Telling myself that at such a young age allowed me to accept myself and my hearing loss. Because of that I never wished for all m

I am going to tag some more HP members to see if they want to join in. Maybe you can tag members too? @Joan @Megan L. @Nikki @Angie @Jdashiell

I am always thankful for free rehab guides from Med-El . Thank you @MED-EL Moderator https://www.medel.com/support/rehab/rehabilitation-downloads

Thank you @Mary Beth my wife and I are on self imposed lock down in our house. We are not sick but at almost eighty years of age we do not want to take a chance. Everyone please be careful out there.

Today I was listening to music while driving home from work. My car has a USB port in the console so I can load it up with lots of mp3 tracks and run it on random. Today I got a track that I haven't heard in a while - Hugh Laurie playing piano and singing "St. James Infirmary". The piano sounded great - such depth to the tones.

Hi Melissa Your husband has a legitimate concern however when it comes to medical devices I would always go with the one that you feel is the best possible product that will give your son the best outcome. That is what is really important. That being said it really is difficult to say with any absolute answer as to who makes the best implant. Sometimes the company selling the most doesn’t necessarily mean your getting the best. I did a lot of research before making my final decision & the one thing I can tell you is that all the recipients from all 3 companies seem to be very ha

Hi @Mary Beth, Unfortunately we can't work out why some people can see this and others can't. I will investigate more, but in the meantime I have taken a screenshot of the pdf so everyone can view it. Thanks, Mary

I am getting the Sonnet and the Rondo 2. I am curious as to how the sound will differ between them both, and also how/if they operate with Bluetooth - but I guess that is one of the many questions that will be answered next week - I have a 2 hr appointment Monday and 2 hr appointment Tuesday. Feeling excited and apprehensive at the same time.

It was funny - we met in a tennis class and found out that we live 2 suburbs apart!