dsmerritt Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Well finally, after a lot of stuffed up appointments, it has been switched on! Wow wow wow. It is absolutely bizarre. I don't go back to my audiologist for a few weeks, but I was hoping that someone here may be able to answer my question. While I can now hear on my left side, when I am on program 1 I feel like all sound is channelled through that side, and its almost like my good ear has cotton wool stuffed in it. Is this a normal feeling and will subside as I get used to it? I find 'meeting' program so much better as I don't have the constant 'white noise' and that also helps the whole cotton wool in the ear feeling. Is this all normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan S. Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 What type of hearing loss do you have? Knowing this will help us answer your question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Dsmerritt Congratulations on your activation. I have a few suggestions but recommend that you save your question for your surgeon and audiologist as they know your hearing history as well as your medical history the best. Please let us know how things are going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmerritt Posted February 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 I have microtia and altresia in the left ear, so have never had hearing on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesidae Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 First, a trip to your audiologist will be the best way to get this resolved. My hearing (opposite ears) is the same as you. How is your hearing with the other 4 programs? Also, does it help if your turn down the volume? Your hearing will need to adjust and I believe (not positive) that the processor has a "self-adjusting" mechanism. After a period of time things "even out". Your are making a huge transition, so patience is key! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Congratulations, Dsmerritt. Keep us updated on your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Well finally, after a lot of stuffed up appointments, it has been switched on! Wow wow wow. It is absolutely bizarre. I don't go back to my audiologist for a few weeks, but I was hoping that someone here may be able to answer my question. While I can now hear on my left side, when I am on program 1 I feel like all sound is channelled through that side, and its almost like my good ear has cotton wool stuffed in it. Is this a normal feeling and will subside as I get used to it? I find 'meeting' program so much better as I don't have the constant 'white noise' and that also helps the whole cotton wool in the ear feeling. Is this all normal? You mean - sound is muffled? Pardon me, as I am bilateral microtia I am not familiar with THE normal state but I would bet that this issue would be resolved if you and your audiologist play with your map. Although you have never heard at that side directly, the quality of what you hear shouldn't be altered. It just should be adjusted little bit. What can change is speech inteligibility but in a way that it deteriorates little bit with time; for instance, in a month or two than you would need readjustment. If I haven't understood you well, please - give us more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 15, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Also, program nr. 1 is not same to all people. If your audiologist didn't explain you, ask at next appointment about mic positions because each program has different adaptation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 16, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Glad to hear you have reached the golden milestone!! Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole R Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Congrats!! I too have only been switched on for about 3 weeks now..and wowow.. Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmerritt Posted February 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi Ivana Yes the sound is muffled in my good ear. I also feel like I am in a bubble. It is really weird to explain. I am looking forward to going back to the audiologist to play around with the programs. At this stage I only have the Amade as the Samba is not available in Australia yet. I do get to upgrade when it is okayed by the government though which is exciting. With the Amade I only have the 3 settings. The 'meeting' setting is really good and I tend to use that the most as I don't have all the white noise in the background. I haven't figured out what the 'music' setting does for me just yet - perhaps amplify the sound a bit more. It is very exciting but I find I get super overwhelmed with noise and have to take it off. Especially in the morning on the way to work with so many sounds, people, screeching tyres etc. I didn't expect miracles and so far it is what I expected but I look forward to when it becomes a bit more 'normal' for me - both sound wise and routine wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 17, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 17, 2016 Hi Ivana Yes the sound is muffled in my good ear. I also feel like I am in a bubble. It is really weird to explain. I am looking forward to going back to the audiologist to play around with the programs. At this stage I only have the Amade as the Samba is not available in Australia yet. I do get to upgrade when it is okayed by the government though which is exciting. With the Amade I only have the 3 settings. The 'meeting' setting is really good and I tend to use that the most as I don't have all the white noise in the background. I haven't figured out what the 'music' setting does for me just yet - perhaps amplify the sound a bit more. It is very exciting but I find I get super overwhelmed with noise and have to take it off. Especially in the morning on the way to work with so many sounds, people, screeching tyres etc. I didn't expect miracles and so far it is what I expected but I look forward to when it becomes a bit more 'normal' for me - both sound wise and routine wise. Hi Well... in that case, you need to play little bit with your audiologist regarding the settings. I am in Europe and now I have Samba but started with Amade so I am pretty familiar with that model. Once you get Samba you`ll see a clear difference because Samba has more abilities, for instance automatic noise adaptation, mics, more programs. But, I had music program at the Amade also and you`re right - it is more intensive so you can properly hear all melody lines. Regarding your observation of loudness, at the beginning it is loud but as time passes by you adapt and it starts to muffle then you need to raise the volume because the speech intelligibility starts to deteriorate. If it is too loud for you to wear it all the time you may ask your audiologist to lower little bit the volume but, on the other hand it can be to quiet for hearing speech. The good news is that all programs can be adapted. Lastly, if you hear yourself with echo all the time I guess that lower frequencies are too high. During my session I used to ask to grab and crush the paper and assess the quality of what I hear or clap my hands so I feel whether some frequencies are less represented. Also, I usually ask if I can hear certain music where I can hear whether I hear well all tones like Pictures from the exhibition for lower frequencies. When I set my map according to these inputs I know that I hear well and there will be no problem to understand speech. Your final solution is the moment you get your Samba - it is evolved model and you will see the difference immediately. My Amade is now just a back-up although I thought I will never ever give it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.