KSW Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 Hello Does anyone have experience of technical failures with the internal component of their childrens' implants? KW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 4, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 No but I am sorry if that is happening to your child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameeta Patil Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Hello, Yes my daughter had a left side reimplant because of electrodes switching off, cause is unknown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted October 22, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 On 21/10/2016 at 1:11 PM, Nameeta Patil said: Hello, Yes my daughter had a left side reimplant because of electrodes switching off, cause is unknown. Mmm... interesting - never heard for a case like yours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted January 24, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 kSW if you are asking about MEDEL implants. The instance of a hard failure for MEDEL implants is extremely low. Granted, implants are man made and any device can have a failure but MEDEL goes to great lengths to ensure this doesn't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tifany Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Our daughter suffered from meningitis and a few months later lost her hearing completely due to ossification. We implanted her left ear last march, then her right ear in may. Both ears were implanted with a split array due to the ossification. In July we went to audiology and half of her electrodes on the left side were not working. So we decided to reimplant her left side which we did in September. In January we went back to audiology and found out almost half of the electrodes are not working on the right side now. I have the same question. Everybody keeps saying it is so rare for even one implant to go bad but this poor 2 year has had two that have failed or is failing. Does anyone have experience with the split array? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted March 16, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 I am so sorry that has happened to your daughter. I do not have experience with the split array but it was one of the possible electrode arrays considered for my right ear so I had read up on it. When you say about half the electrodes......are those electrodes on the same array or split between both arrays? Is the reimplanted left side doing well? i am so sorry. Tifany 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MED-EL Moderator Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 10 hours ago, Tifany said: Our daughter suffered from meningitis and a few months later lost her hearing completely due to ossification. We implanted her left ear last march, then her right ear in may. Both ears were implanted with a split array due to the ossification. In July we went to audiology and half of her electrodes on the left side were not working. So we decided to reimplant her left side which we did in September. In January we went back to audiology and found out almost half of the electrodes are not working on the right side now. I have the same question. Everybody keeps saying it is so rare for even one implant to go bad but this poor 2 year has had two that have failed or is failing. Does anyone have experience with the split array? Hi @Tifany, thanks for reaching out to the HearPeers community about your daughter. I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing. I've sent you a private message to find out further information to assist. Kind regards, Leigh Tifany and Mary Beth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tifany Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 The split array has 5 electrodes on one array and 7 on the other. She has 1 working on the array with 5 and 6 working with the array of 7. Honestly this little girl has the worst luck. We just got out of an audiology appointment with our audiologists and our Med El Rep and got some good news about a possible custom split array a lot more durable that Med El is willing to possibly build for her. Which is above and beyond. I hate that this will be another surgery but hoping it will be her last. The reimplanted left side is doing good. It was crazy because after she got reimplanted we went to Audiology to turn it on and 2 electrodes were not working. We came back to audiology a month later and all the electrodes were working. Our med el rep thought maybe air bubbles or something from surgery. It has been a crazy experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted March 16, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 Tifany, I am thrilled to hear that Med-El may make a custom split array for your daughter! That is wonderful news. How long does something like that take? I see you are in the US. Which region are you in? I am in New York. I am glad that the new left electrode array is working and sure hope that it was just a temporary quirk at activation. Your daughter has had a tough journey. I hope this is the beginning of a terrific hearing journey for her, full of WOW moments and no more complications. Thanks so much for the update. I hope you keep us posted. We are rooting for her. Tifany 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted March 17, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 @Tifany, The split array is a great piece of technology. Due to the ossification it is difficult to get all 12 electrodes to work. Research has shown that speech understanding performance peaks at eight electrodes. Additional working electrodes can help with understanding music and hearing in noise. Since the right side has seven working electrodes I understand why MED-EL is considering designing a custom split array. A link to the genius whom will probably design it. http://blog.medel.com/meet-med-els-electrode-array-wizard-claude-jolly/ Kara of Canada and Mary Beth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted March 19, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 19, 2017 Tifany i am glad to hear that things seem to be headed in the right direction. I know you must be frustrated. Hopefully this latest news will give you some hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tifany Posted March 20, 2017 Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thank you all so much. It is very hard when it is your child and even harder when they are so young and don't understand. This is truly an amazing and helpful community. Mary Beth, they said it takes 6 to 8 weeks to make the new device. Pretty amazing. We live in Montana and travel to Salt Lake City in Utah for all of her surgeries and audiology appointments. I will gladly keep you posted. Hoping to do surgery in June sometime. Hadron, the spilt array is a brilliant piece of technology and we are so grateful that Med El still makes them. That is very encouraging to hear about the electrodes. I knew that in some places they were actually turning a few off here and there to help with the sound. Thank you for the link also I'm excited to read it. Thank you Adam. It has been such a long road. The funny thing is we stress so much about everything but this little girl is a pistol and she will honestly be fine know matter what happens, we just want to give her this option before it is to late. Thank you guys again for your info and kind words. Tif Cara Mia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted March 20, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 20, 2017 Thanks for the update Tifany. Sending good wishes your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted March 30, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Joining to my Band of Brothers - wishing you all best!Unfortunately, meningitis do that, so clinically - you need to act as fast as you can, within 6 months before a cochlea ossifies. After that, it is much tougher to insert the electrode without any damage. Like Hadron mentioned, a custom made electrodes make wonders. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted April 1, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 Tifany, i know nobody wants to see their child struggle and definitely not go through surgery. Sometimes no words can really be of any comfort at times as it is your child going through it and not the person talking to you. Our youngest son had to have a surgery when he was 9 months old that was a little complicated. I will be praying for your family. One way to look at it is that, although you don't want your daughter to have to endure another surgery, she in a way will have opened the door to be able to treat many many people with the same type of issues with their cochlea and give so many people some hope. You are right. We are so blessed to have a company that would go to such lengths in an effort to have your daughter hear. It makes me even more proud to be a MEDEL recipient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tifany Posted April 1, 2017 Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 Thank you Adam and everyone else. You are so right and regardless the journey, if in the end she can hear and talk then it all was totally worth it all. We will get there. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted April 1, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 1, 2017 Awesome attitude to have. Keep us in the loop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted June 9, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 9, 2017 @Tifany Did your daughter get implanted with the custom split array? Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 10, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 10, 2017 @Tifany How are things going for your daughter now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare_v Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 I am trying to find info on how "stable" the electrodes are within the cochlea? Lets assume a child faces head traume, but not directly in the position of the implant, somewhere else. Lets assume he/shel fall on the back. Can impact forces be so big that they "move" the position of the electrode within the cochlea? Everything I read on the internet is about direct trauma to the electrode casing, which can result failure. Nothing about what I am seeking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted June 14, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 Hi @dare_v. You can go to the FDA MAUDE database and review the submitted failures. A snapshot of one is below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare_v Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 Oh, this sounds awful, slipping even without trauma...I can only guess what happens to the electrodes if there is a head trauma. And only way to find this out is with a CT scan I guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted June 14, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 The surgeon did not insert the electrode array completely into the scala tympani. There were extra-cochlear electrodes. An x-ray can show if the electrode array is inside cochlea but can not tell you if any electrodes are outside the cochlea. You need a 3-D image. This is a rare occurrence. Electrode array repositioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare_v Posted June 14, 2018 Report Share Posted June 14, 2018 Ok, thanks, I am a bit more assured now. But what about my original question. Is it possible a minor head trauma, like a small child falling on his head when still learning to walk, can cause an electrode slipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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