Rondo 3 and very ennoying wind noise

[Arnaud]

Hello.

I was activated 2 weeks ago. The biggest problem with my rondo concerns the very sharp and very loud cracklings that I hear when rubbing on the top of the processor: pillow or the slightest breeze is enough to produce these very annoying sounds, which disappear if I protect with my hand. I tested and I get the same crackling if I intentionally rub the top of the processor with my finger. This is very painful for me and I no longer dare to go outside, nor open my windows at home, nor drive with the windows open. I hope there is a solution to this. 

Arnaud 

 

[Jimit]

Hi @Arnaud, I am not the implant user yet but will have it in my head by early next month. Have you talked to your audiologist. I think he can better help you with it. Hope you will find the answer soon. Following the topic now, as I am also interested in it.  

[Enegra]

Hey @Arnaud! I have Sonnet 2 processors, so a little different in terms of microphone placement. However they do have similar microphone sensitivity issues as you describe. For pillows I unfortunately don't have a solution other than not putting the processor on the pillow. When I sit in the bed I prop the pillow against my back and neck rather than the head. As for wind noise, I use beanies or headbands to mitigate it when it gets annoying. Covering the processor with cloth muffles the sound a little bit, but has actually pretty small impact on overall clarity.

Still it shouldn't be that bad if you are indoors. As you are just activated, perhaps it's the high pitched sounds being painful for you - maybe your audiologist can tone them down if the situation doesn't improve. Definitely bring up the issues to them. I've also found that lower levels of compression can help with tuning out a lot of noises, but that's something more advanced.

[Arnaud]

Tha is for your answers.

I would had that I've been 😩 ng hearing aids of different brands for 45 years now and never faced this issue. I'm a bit surprised it happens with processors, I guess it works more or less the same ;mics and electronic sound processing. 

[Enegra]

14 minutes ago, Arnaud said:

I'm a bit surprised it happens with processors, I guess it works more or less the same ;mics and electronic sound processing. 

There's one crucial difference; hearing aids can only limit input to the range of your remaining natural hearing. Cochlear implants can make use of the areas of the auditory nerve that haven't been stimulated for a long time. It can be quite the rude awakened for a while after activation. It does get better over time though!

[Mary Beth]

@Arnaud

The Rondo3 processors have a programming option for our audiologists called wind bock.  It can be set to off, mild or strong.

They also have a programming option for our audiologists called ambient noise reduction that also has setting options.

As well as adaptive intelligence programming options which let the processor switch between some of the settings automatically.

Definitely worth discussing with your audiologist.

If your hair is long enough, have you tried parting your hair and then placing the Rondo3 on underneath?

 

[Arnaud]

Thanks

I had a very bad experience with my audiologist. He was reading n discovering Rondo3 during the activation appointment, made me wear it upside down (!). I had the feeling to better know my processor than him, just having read the docs before on internet. 

Hope the next appointment will give me a better opinion of this person. 

However I'm glad to learn those options exist. 

Ps: I'm bold.. And very pleased to "show" my rondo to everybody 😉

Arnaud 

[Mary Beth]

@Arnaud

I am not familiar with how things proceed in France, but in the US Med-El has audiologists who help our audiologists.  Maybe there is a Med-El support like that in your area as well?

[Dianna]

Hi arnaud, sounds like you have an audi-in-training, i guess they have to start somewhere 💘 i have an audi who participated in research while attending classes for audiologists.  I have confidence but a little shakey as she is so experienced with cis from the experience and results for many folks, not just me, but i dont always get exactly what i want (looks like some folks average answer) so im not especially enamored with my audi, but wondering if i would be with anyone if i didnt get exactly what i want. I have read that the software used by them is fairly complicated, recently upgraded, even experienced audi's are not perfect! Good luck with your training!!!

[Jimit]

I am a software developer by profession and looking forward to teach my audi if he gets confused. They are the professional but I heard him saying, they are yet to activate their first Rondo 3 so I don't have much hope either 😂

[Dianna]

1 hour ago, Jimit said:

I am a software developer by profession and looking forward to teach my audi if he gets confused. They are the professional but I heard him saying, they are yet to activate their first Rondo 3 so I don't have much hope either 😂

Oh nooo! I certainly hope y'all learn together! 

[Arnaud]

Yes Med-El support can be contacted here too.

I don't really believe this was his first Rondo3 because they started ti implant it as soon as it got available. Howerver, even if it was really his first Rondo3, I think he could have took time to learn it before, and not read the manuals during the activation appointment. This appointment is very important and exciting and I was disappointed by this trial and error method  

[Arnaud]

3 hours ago, Jimit said:

I am a software developer by profession and looking forward to teach my audi if he gets confused. They are the professional but I heard him saying, they are yet to activate their first Rondo 3 so I don't have much hope either 😂

Same job for me, and 45 years of hearing aids experience. 

I have very good feeling and feedback sharing with the audiologist I work with for years for my aids, but here we can't choose our audiologist for CI, they are choosen  by the hospital where you are implanted, and they are even not allowed to work on CI outside the hospital, at their hown offices where they work in aids. 

[Jimit]

That's right @Arnaud, sometimes we just get stuck. Glad to know we share same profession. Hope your audiologist learns quickly and deliver the accurate mapping. 

[Dianna]

23 hours ago, Jimit said:

That's right @Arnaud, sometimes we just get stuck. Glad to know we share same profession. Hope your audiologist learns quickly and deliver the accurate mapping. 

Me tooo!

[Dianna]

On 7/19/2022 at 9:16 AM, Arnaud said:

Yes Med-El support can be contacted here too.

I don't really believe this was his first Rondo3 because they started ti implant it as soon as it got available. Howerver, even if it was really his first Rondo3, I think he could have took time to learn it before, and not read the manuals during the activation appointment. This appointment is very important and exciting and I was disappointed by this trial and error method  

Im wondering if possible they have been doing sonnets and rondo2? Sonnets may be more popular. Im not familiar with rondo as i have sonnet 2 eas. I believe mary beth uses both....perhaps the programming similar or same. Is the software maestro?

[Arnaud]

Hello

So, my audiologist set "wind block" to max value, and it has barely no effect. Still those very loud hissing.  It is not the wind noise itself (I know what it sounds like) but the friction of the wind on the rondo cover of mics. It disappears if I protect my rondo from wind with my hand. 

I can't believe I'm the only one to face this issue.

I can't believe Med-El did not notice it during their tests.

I even can't believe they did but then said this would be acceptable by the recipients. 

Wearing a cap all year long each time I need to go out is not a decent solution

[Mary Beth]

@Arnaud

We have many Rondo3 users here and I have not read posts about wind noise.  Let’s tag a few and see what their experiences are with wind noise.

@Mike G

@MarkRichards

@Jdashiell

@Lauren

@Andrew42

@Tomas

@Jason77

 

[Mike G]

Wind noise.  Yes it is there even when just walking fast.  I am learning to tune it out or to turn my head the right was to reduce it.  It does not usually cover the speach I am trying to listen to.  On a windy day forget trying to avoid it but had the same with my behind the ear hearing aids.  Audi told me there are options to help some but not recommended this early on  ( activated july 4 22). because it causes distortion in speach.  

[Mary Beth]

@Mike G

I hope your journey is starting off well!

The Sonnet is susceptible to wind noise as well.  It’s because the mics are no longer protected by the earhook like the single mic is on the previous processor (OPUS2).

 

[Mike G]

@Mary Beth

i remeber about 30 years ago with an analogue aid there were little wind caps over the microphone that they used to reduce wind noise.  Don’t remember if it helped or not.  Wondering if there is something that will help with a new microphone cover design.  

[Mary Beth]

@Mike G

The original Rondo has that exact kind of wind protection over its single mic.

I think the problem we are facing is now the processors have directional mics that need to recognize if the sound is from in front, the side or behind us.  This keeps the mics very exposed which presents a problem with air flow over the mics.

In my experience, wind block does not help and it negatively impacts other sounds so I have wind block turned off.  
 

I hope the engineers and processor designers address the air flow over mics issue in the next processor design.

[Enegra]

I get slight wind noises even with a BTE (Sonnet 2), and well... the mics are just very sensitive. I don't have any solutions other than the ones I already listed, but the annoying sounds do get better over time. I remember getting fairly upset at "woosh woosh" surrounding me, but I barely notice nowadays, unless I am out in some sort of crazy wind.

Does lowering the sensitivity in the settings help at all? I tried to tinker with it a bit when I was experiencing peaking. Lower was slightly less likely to trigger it, but my issue was different.

I had a problem with background or ambient noises being too loud and changing the compression settings helped me a lot. But I've also read that this isn't exactly something done for new users, as they often want the soft sounds to be boosted early on.

[MarkRichards]

Good morning - yes I do hear wind noise with the rondo3 in various situations.   When walking, if the wind hits the rondo just right, err wrong, the wind sound can be noticeable.   As MikeG wrote, I just turn my head a bit.   When driving, my rondo is on the window side, and if the window is open it can be quite loud - I consider this to be a challenging environment for the rondo as open window  wind noise simply is loud.  I can tell that the Rondo, after a bit of lag, tries to suppress this sound but it can only do so much.  My solution is to either adjust the window up a bit or simply take the Rondo off 🙂 and rely on my hearing aid on the inside side of the car to hear what is going on while still enjoying the  air from the open window.   Guess that solution is unique to my situation.   

[Mary Beth]

This suggestion is not practical for everyday use but in some situations it may be helpful.  For example, during a beach walk (not in the water) or possibly in the car with open windows like @MarkRichards describes above.

Put on a waterwear cover BUT do not use the adhesive seal.  Since the goal is wind block and we are not going to get the Rondo3 wet.  That cover could be used over and over.  And it may cut down on wind noise a lot.  If you try it, let us know how it works for you.

I know my Rondos in waterwear do great with blocking wind noise on the beach.  So I am wondering if Rondo3 may benefit as well.