HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Whelp, we are officially done. I am officially spent. Still in Arizona, fly back to SC tomorrow. I will elaborate more, probably Monday. Great time and so glad I went. A good bit to share but I think I left my brain cells in the sound booths Adam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted February 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Relax and enjoy your weekend. Look forward to hearing about the study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Can't wait to hear your impressions of the different mic options! Thanks for participating Adam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elbras Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thanks for "exploring" for us, Adam. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Good that you are done with that your mission and back home. Waiting to hear the news from you. Thank you for sacrificing for all of us. Hope your brain cells have forgotten you already as they know that sometimes we have to go through suffering to reach for Triumph and Glory. Per aspera ad astra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 13, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Yeah - what are your impressions Adam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 14, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 will try to upload some pics after work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Can't wait to read what you thought of the mic options! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 14, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 I'm very interested in what you thought about dual mic compared with single. Also did you experience single sided? I know you said it was a bilateral study but wanted to know if you did one then two. Or how you liked adaptive vs. Omni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Ok so I am back from Arizona. I flew in Wednesday and they picked me up on Thursday morning at 9:00am. Got to the office and they went over, basically how things would go. 2 days in 3 different sound booths from 9:00 to 5:00 each day plus homework. The goal was to see if there was a benefit of 2 Mics over one both with one processor or two. I probably need to say in the beginning that my results don't seem to be typical than others they tested. More on that in a bit. They gave me the processors and explained that there were 3 programs. They did not however tell me which program was for what situation as they did not want to lead me or influence what I thought I was hearing. First test in the sound booth was a sound location test. This was a very large room completely padded with sound dampening foam. There was a chair in the center of the room as well as 13 speakers hanging from the ceiling every 15 degrees from my right shoulder to my left. I held a key pad in my hand. The audiologist in the other room would send a high or low frequency sound through one of the 13 speakers. I had to figure out which speaker the noise came from then key in the number and press enter, which would send the next sound. Each speaker is roughly 13 or 14 inches apart which made this test very tough. They told me ahead of time that they( all normal hearing) took the test and it was tough. It was a VERY hard test and I thought I blew it as they went from high frequency to low. This test was in omni with both Mics activated and full 360 degree hearing. So far in the study they have tested 6 bilateral patients. I scored right at what the normal hearing patients that took the test scored. I guess for a CI implantee these numbers are not normal. The senior research specialist and her mentor were pretty excited but I just figured they wanted me to feel good. They did say that none of the 6 implantee son came remotely close to my scores. The next test was the cocktail party test. I was in a different sound booth for this. I had a speaker at my right ear, left ear and one directly in front of me. This test was done with one processor then repeated with two. In the speakers on my left and right, there were 2 men having a conversation. The speaker in the center would be a woman. The Audi would start the two men which were having a conversation ( loudly) then the lady ( in front) would say a sentence. I would have to repeat the ladies sentence even with the men talking and background noise. This was tough as the SNR was -11 (speech to noise ratio) What this means is that the men talking in both ears was 11 dB higher than the ladies sentence. This should have crushed me but in one section I scored 86% which from what they tell me is unheard of. Usually this would be a challenge at -2 to -3. We also tested head-shadow. My scores for headshadow @ SNR -4 were omni 94% adaptive 96.4% natural 84.7% There were a number of other tests, but in the interest of not writing a book, I will condense it. Part of my "homework" was to talk to somebody on the phone, go to a loud restaurant, listen to a news anchor, listen to a tv program in all 3 programs. I did all of this and gave very detailed observations. After the 2 days of testing were done, they let me know that my results have not been near the other 6 people before me, but they figured it might not as in the last study I participated in, I scored well above the avg. They as,Ed me to come back again and I said that I would be more than happy to. My results prove( and they said this) that my study is a prime example that bilateral is more beneficial than unilateral. I really enjoyed the process as every time I go, I learn something new. I CANNOT WAIT until the FDA approves the 2nd mic. I even made the comment to Louise that new recipients will have a hard time appreciating the gift of 2 Mics since not having had only one. If you have 2, thank your lucky stars. Everybody else, hold on to your hat! It will be well worth the wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 How was one mic compared to two? Was the sound way better or similar? I wish I was bilteral with dual mics I can't say if it's better with the two mics or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Two overall much better. That being said, each of the 3 programs have their place. This of course is Resonal preference. Each person will prefer one over the other and not everybody will have the same results. Be thankful you have both Mics and try to make the most of it. That being said, I have had 5 years of implantation before trying the sonnet dual mic. This would have been overwhelming after just being activated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Yeah I am currently happy with the program I'm using. It's omni with loudness growth she called it. But the cap for loudness is steeper it's at 70 % instead of 80. So it will make loud sounds softer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Omni gives you surround sound so to speak. Adaptive is with the sound behind you "muted" so you can focus on the sounds in front. Standard I guess is a mix of both. Really depends on how each recipient perceives or likes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Yes. Very individual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 I'm kind of on the border with it. Not really sure where it would fit for me. Omni and adaptive work great. I guess it Willard some experimenting with me and everyone else when they get it. Each person is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Yup I've been back and fourth with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 It takes time. Especially as short as you have been implanted. Slow and steady wins the race. Your brain is confused as it is. Throwing 3 different programs at it could muddy the waters, so to speak. Follow our audis advice, first and foremost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Huh, I even felt tired a little bit while reading this. Can imagine how challenging it was in reality. Great result, great to know that Med El works on that. And that some day it will be available for all of us. Adam, has your second mic been left activated after you done with research? Hope so. Thank you for your story and your devotion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Cara, They gave me a set of "loner processors" that they downloaded my AP to. I used those for the whole time I was in Arizona. Once we were done, I had to give them back and put mine on. Trust me, reading other people's posts can be very overwhelming. Again, each person is different. Your audiologist will explain everything you need to know. Try not to get overwhelmed. Yes it is easier said than done. Trust your hearing professional. We are here to support, encourage and answer non medical questions. They should be referred to your surgeon and Audi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Cara, This gives me something to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Cara, They gave me a set of "loner processors" that they downloaded my AP to. I used those for the whole time I was in Arizona. Once we were done, I had to give them back and put mine on. Trust me, reading other people's posts can be very overwhelming. Again, each person is different. Your audiologist will explain everything you need to know. Try not to get overwhelmed. Yes it is easier said than done. Trust your hearing professional. We are here to support, encourage and answer non medical questions. They should be referred to your surgeon and Audi.Sorry, that you didn't get Sorry that you could not get the second mics this time. It's understandable - legal issues etc.... but it would be fair considering all that you went through I was overwhelmed not with your post itself. You put that long story pretty concise. But I got impression how taxing it was in reality, at least for me if I were at your place. At some reason I think of you as a military man who never complains even doing an arduous work. And I think you already deserved to get something you look forward to right away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Thanks Cara I knew going into this that it would be for research purposes only and I would not gain anything from it other than possibly contributing to helping in the long run. I am not, nor have not been in the military. I am a security officer aside from my full time job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Being a security officer also requires good self-control and stamina. Do you know, Adam, if Med El is going to use your outstanding showings in statistical analysis or they going to separate your results from general sampling to show the potential of the product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Cara I don't think you can pick and choose who you want in the study. I fit the criteria for the study being bilateral and have Sonnets. They definitely did not make it easy on me by any stretch of the imagination. After a few of the single ear testing, it was obvious I do better with 2 implants. I think there will be a total of 13 or so to participate. They should have accurate data for the project. I fit the criteria to participate so my guess is, my results won't be excluded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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