PROBLEMS???

[KENSEI]

Hi all, I am new here, call me KENSEI. I've HAD 4 IMPLANTS...Advanced Bionics (1), COCHLEAR AMERICA (3), ALL of which failed. I had the CA 1500 series, which was recalled after 1 1/2 yrs. The replacement was the FREEDOM NUCLEUS, which actually fell apart in my head, exposing an electrode thru my skin. For 7 months, I experienced extreme pain & nerve damage. Hesitantly, I am going to try 1 more implant, the MAESTRO, because of what I've read about it. My question is: has anybody experienced any problems such as unclear noisy sound, trouble hearing music, phone, TV, etc? Also, does ANYBODY know a GOOD attorney that represents cochlear implant failures? I've called over 3 dozen law firms & cannot find an atty to represent me. I am deathly afraid to try another implant, but I am a professional musician & suddenly going deaf was like my life was over. Does anyone have any suggestions? How good is MED-AL? Are they a good, reliable company? PLEASE...I REALLY NEED HELP. Thank You.

ARIGATO,

KENSEI

 

PS: FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME AT:  kensei-san@hotmail.com

[violinmemories]

Walter:

Welcome to Med-El site. I am so sorry that you are having such a difficult time with the implants and I don't blame you for being terrified and scared about getting a Med-El. I was just implanted with a Med-El March 5th and I will be activated March 27th (Wednesday). I'm not a musician but my late father was a professional violinist for over 50 years!

I grew up listening to classical music, going to his concerts and hearing his students on Monday nights as well as the quartets that would gather at our house, I loved nothing more than music and when my own hearing started failing I felt fortunate enough to still be able to hear the violins. Now I can't hear them or classical music and I'm counting down the days and months until I can hear them again. Ironically, my hearing go worse around the time that my dad passed away from Esophageal Cancer 7 years ago.

I miss hearing any violin playing and I miss hearing classical music (because it is the music I grew up with). But I am looking forward to hearing music again someday!

I hope you are able to find someone to take your case and make others aware of what happened. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

Meredith

[simekj]

Wow! Sorry to hear about your bad run of events with implants Walter.  I had people praying for me that mine would go well. Maybe you could do that before your next op? Are you implanting the same ear?  Is the other ear okay or can that be implanted?  I chose Med-El based on research, prayer and subjective information from bilateral implantees with a combo of different implants.  The Med-El has a slightly bigger frequency range which will enhance the sound quality which is crucial for music appreciation and differentiation.  The word and sentence recognition scores were the same for each different implant for the same individual.  There are always variations between individuals which is why I wanted to compare results between different brands within the same individual.  One thing to note though, I have two Med-El implants and the sound quality in each ear at the moment is different.  However, the brain does merge them somewhat.  Overtime, they may come to be the same as it is early days for me. I can use the phone and can recognise some songs and words.  I am only three weeks post switch on.  There's another forum discussion that talks about music and another musician has written there about mapping for music.  You could try talking to them too.  Some have gotten to the point where music is great, others not so great.  Med-El has a very good support network and you can ask them directly for support if you want. They can come to you too depending upon where you are and what the request is for.  Sorry I can't help you re attorney but if you ask a health practitioner or board, they may have suggestions.

Hope it works out for you.

K