Are you an adult CI user with Sonnet, Sonnet 2 or Rondo 3 processors? Think about asking for a program using omni mic setting

[Mary Beth]

Recently I have had several conversations with Med-El CI users who use Sonnet, Sonnet 2 and Rondo 3 processors.  Some of us had been implanted prior to Med-El introducing ASM 2 in the Sonnet firmware update which was introduced in the US in 2017 so we were activated using omni mic setting.  Others have been more recently implanted so they were activated using the natural mic setting.

Here is what’s interesting to me.

Some users who were activated using natural mic setting who then later asked their audiologists for a program using omni mic setting (and made sure that program was not too loud before they left the appt), actually prefer omni mic setting.  We have some users like that here too.

So I encourage users of Sonnet, Sonnet 2 and Rondo 3 to ask their audiologists to create a program in omni mic setting (make sure it is not too loud while you are at the appt) and then try it out in their real lives. 

Why do I like omni mic setting so much?

- access to sounds from all around me which really helps at home and in the car and when interacting with busy children

- much improved sound quality for music

 

You may find you also like omni mic setting or you like it for music.  I use it always.

It’s worth testing out but oftentimes adults will not ever be given an omni mic program if they don’t specifically ask for one.  I think this is unfortunate and wish the recommendation was to offer an omni mic program to adults after they reach a stable MAP.  Then everyone could decide for themselves  which program works best for them in their real lives.

 

Rondo 2, Rondo 1 and OPUS 2 always use omni mic programs.

 

If you have Sonnet, Sonnet 2 or Rondo 3 and have a program using omni mic setting, let us know about your experiences.

@Lauren

@Dianna

[Dianna]

Hi!

Sonnet2eas, I have an omni mic setting with all AI turned off. I did not request this right away as my mapping was pretty well the "norm" .

Being an avid rehabber, most of my training was in apps and programs, concentrating on what i did not hear. After a year, and three mappings, i felt as though my settings were holding things out, or my processor training was at stand-still.

I streamed music as often as i could, improving slowly, and my favorite thing in the world was watching and hearing birds. First day home after activation, i heard electric hummingbirds!

With further mapping the petite sounds of the birds chirping eased up and went near silent. Music was still partial.

As suggested, i requested a map with omni mike and no AI. The volume has to start out low, because i get everything! Or at least more of what AI buffers according to settings.

I can now hear birds wings and sharp tiny chirps!! And music is so much better!

Also had a medel rep along at a mapping and had timing adjustment for a new hearing aid!!

Im now 6 months with my special map, average use is about 15%, sometimes i forget to change maps and its a day or so, so i practice human voices with it 😃 

At times i think its as if once our arrays are tuned and brain works, in some circumstances we dont need blockers. Its nice to have them though!

I have 4 maps, 1 omni no AI, 2 is AI MILD, 3 IS AI MILD plus 6% and my 4th map is AI STRONG.

I call map 1 my music map.

[Lauren]

Sonnet 2/Rondo 3. 

I actually started out with ASM 2 and about three months after activation my processors were upgraded to ASM 3. However I was using the Natural directionality for close to a year at my audiologist’s recommendation. 

I asked about Omni a few times prior to begging and saying assertively I’d at least try it. That was about 8/9 months after activation. 

It was a complete game changer. At mappings I’d been asking for sounds to be brighter, crisper, louder, but we never really got there. After a short time on Omni I exclaimed that’s what I was hoping for. My audiologist stuck me in the booth to get concrete data and my scores improved. Some things I struggled with before improved. 

Being in Omni and finally knowing the capabilities/possibilities of the CI after struggling for a year was a contributing factor in my decision to go bilateral. 

At my second activation my audiologist asked if I even wanted to bother with Natural, which got a screwed-up yuck face and a “heck no” from me. Omni all the way and Omni ever since. 

I have two programs that I switch between. Program 1 is Omni. Program 2 is AI Strong. 

I appreciate the convenience of Sonnet 2 and Rondo 3 having the same chips/capabilities as we only have to adjust the maps once and both processors can be updated with the same settings. I still test both as the processors sound different due to microphone placement. And for whatever reason, music sounds better with the Sonnet 2 (and even better when streaming via AudioStream). 

[Lauren]

Feel like I should add if I’d started out with Omni I probably would have gone bilateral a lot sooner than I did (approx. 17 months). 

[Mary Beth]

@Juan P

scroll up to read the first post 

[Juan P]

I see thanks.  My audiologist never mentioned the omni setting.  Mmm pardon my ignorance, but what does AI mild or AI strong mean?  I am not familiar with the terms described by the two users. 

[Mary Beth]

@Juan P

Do you have a Sonnet 1 or a Sonnet 2 processor?  The sonnet 2 looks like a Sonnet 1 but it has two dots on it.

[Mary Beth]

@Juan P

AI adaptive intelligence and it is only available at the moment for Sonnet 2 and Rondo 3.  Follow this link 

 

[Juan P]

Mine has 2 dots: one a bit bigger than the other.  Neither my audiologist nor Med-el rep has ever mentioned AI or the omni settings.  I hope my audiologist knows about this.  Thanks again, and I will follow the link.

[Juan P]

I just checked my audiology records and I have the Sonnet 2 EAS: 044762

[Mary Beth]

@Juan P

Maybe ask your audiologist to print out your programming report.  It will tell you the settings and mic directionality for each program.

Everyone’s preferences vary on this.

My preference is….

1) MAP in omni mic setting with windblock/ambient noise reduction/transient noise reduction turned off

2) MAP in adaptive mic setting with AI off and windblock/ambient noise reduction/transient noise reduction turned off

3) MAP in omni mic setting with windblock/ambient noise reduction/transient noise reduction turned off AND sensitivity set to zero and volume set to 70-100% (with a default of 75% which means it starts off at 75% and gives me a little more room for lowering volume and a lot more room for increasing volume) FOR AUDIOSTREAM use 

4) either my previous MAP in case I don’t care for the new MAP or a slightly louder MAP than the one in program slot 1 in case I need a bit more volume before I return

 

BUT other possibilities are good too like….

MAP in AI mild (to experiment with)

MAP in AI strong (to experiment with)

MAP with AI off in (natural or adaptive mic setting) with windblock/ambient noise reduction/transient noise reduction all set to mild

and there are others 

NOTE:  It is VERY important to check volume level of an omni MAP while you are at the appt to ensure it is not too loud.

Remember the AI mild and AI strong programs SWITCH between these settings automatically depending on the sound environment.  If you like that, keep AI turned on. If you don’t like the automatic switching, turn AI off.

[Juan P]

The last report was 6 months after activation.  All I can see is below.   I will check with my audi and explore the ommni and AI programming suggested in your message.  Thanks.

 THR were measured successfully on E1 - 11. In live mode, patient confirmed loud but comfortable volume and reported an improvement in clarity as compared to before programming adjustments. In live mode, a phoneme perception task was completed in absence of visual cues and patient scored 100% correct. This was saved as MAP 9. A strong noise reduction program was created with adaptive microphone directionality, and settings for ambient noise reduction, transient noise reduction and wind noise reduction set to "strong". MAPs were saved to patient's processors and he went to the street to listen to external sounds, and reported an improvement in noise reduction with use of P2.

 

Sonnet 2 main and backup processors are programmed as follows:

	LEFT Sonnet 2 EAS (EAS disabled)
Processing Strategy	FS4-P, Maplaw at 500
Program 1	MAP 9 (default noise reduction; automatic directionality)
Program 2	MAP 9 (strong noise reduction; adaptive directionality)
Program 3	EMPTY
Program 4	EMPTY

Private alerts enabled. DL Coil autopower off; indicator lights disabled. FineTuner Echo enabled. Volume is set at 100% in each program, with a range of 80 - 100%. 

[Mary Beth]

@Juan P

program 1 says it is in an automatic mic setting so this is most likely one of the adaptive intelligence options (mild would be my guess)

program 2 is always in adaptive mic setting (which differs from adaptive intelligence) and has ambient noise reduction / transient noise reduction / windblock always set to strong

 

since you have 2 empty program slots you can definitely choose to try two other types of programs if you wish

[Juan P]

Thank you again for taking a look at what I have.   Both @Lauren and @Dianna's posts are giving me additional hope that there are options to maximize my CI capabilities.  I will do my best to persuade audi to explore other programs in the empty slots as you suggested.  Best, Juan

[Ricky]

 I use omni on my Sonnet 1; I’m onto my fourth processor, first broke due to link between microphone section beneath cover and the electronic section (no idea how to explain it better). The pin that hold the plastic link, link is too thin. 2nd stopped working right same as 3rd as well and I think from sweating. I stopped wearing hat during summer.

Got report along processor replacement, it shows FSA 12(4) Logarithmic FS: 70-8500 with V 100 (70-100). Program one is natural I think it’s called, #2 is omni which I use most often, #3 is directional I rarely use but it did come in handy a few times, #4 is the higher volume I use a few times when I have harder time hearing a lady’s voice. 
 

I’m not sure what the report means but I have an appointment in August so I’m going to chat with audi and find out more about improving omni. I like omni, I test #1 and #2 with music and hear difference between both. 3 years straight of replacing processors is not what I like. Last 2 happened on same month both years tell me sweat may have something to do with distortion then stopped working. I move a lot: walking, biking etc. 

I'm liking Mary’s idea with her programs but I’m not which processor she’s using. Going out into wind, I often have to turn down volume. Wind blocker doesn’t work for me. Sometimes I get the feeling of not getting enough like I felt with Phonak Naida; my high frequency I was nearly deaf at the time before implantation. 4 years now I got used to high frequencies for the most cases, that was a lot to deal with. Hearing birds was amazing as I never heard birds before. Vehicles, tho, were highly annoying for long time but I got used to them now. No wonder people lose their hearing as they age, vehicles are very loud. Maybe these noises give some ideas of my hearing level with cochlear implant.

[Juan P]

Hi Ricky!  I am sorry for your troubles with the devices.  It can be very frustrating.   I hope someone is able to help you.  Thank you for your feedback on using Omni, which I hope I can get in my Sonnet when I see my Audi.   Thanks!

[Jared Charney]

hi @Mary Bethso I would go to my Audiologist and ask for this change? I feel like I need to try new things as lately I feel like I'm struggling a little more w/background noise and in general have completely plateaued and part of that beings so distracted from work, kids, etc. 

[Mary Beth]

@Jared Charney

If you are struggling with background noise you probably will not like omni mic setting.

You may want to explore other settings which are aimed at dampening background noise.

[Mary Featherston]

I'm with @Mary Beth - my default map is omni.  I only choose adaptive when I want to eliminate background noise.

My audiologist started me with it, and I'm glad she did.

[Mary Beth]

@Mary Featherston

Your audiologist is the only audiologist I know of who starts adults in omni even now that Med-El recommends starting adults in a different mic setting.  I think you are very lucky.

[Mary Featherston]

8 minutes ago, Mary Beth said:

@Mary Featherston

Your audiologist is the only audiologist I know of who starts adults in omni even now that Med-El recommends starting adults in a different mic setting.  I think you are very lucky.

I didn't realize that MedEl is recommending something else now - I wonder if Kirsten is still recommending Omni?  I was recently reminded that my activation was FIVE YEARS AGO.

I can no longer imagine not having my CIs.

[Mary Beth]

@Mary Featherston

My understanding is for adults the recommendations went like this…..

prior to ASM 2 being available in the US (spring 2017) everyone was activated in omni mic setting because that was the only mic setting available in the US

Once ASM 2 was available in the US (spring 2017) the recommendation was to activate adults in the natural mic setting (Sonnet/Sonnet2/Rondo3)

Once ASM 3 was available in the US (summer 2021) the recommendation was to activate adults in adaptive intelligence mild setting (Sonnet 2/Rondo3)

 

 

[Mary Featherston]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:41 PM, Mary Beth said:

@Mary Featherston

My understanding is for adults the recommendations went like this…..

prior to ASM 2 being available in the US (spring 2017) everyone was activated in omni mic setting because that was the only mic setting available in the US

Once ASM 2 was available in the US (spring 2017) the recommendation was to activate adults in the natural mic setting (Sonnet/Sonnet2/Rondo3)

Once ASM 3 was available in the US (summer 2021) the recommendation was to activate adults in adaptive intelligence mild setting (Sonnet 2/Rondo3)

 

 

Thanks, @Mary Beth.  Interesting, I don't know why she didn't switch over, but I'm glad she didn't.  (My first activation was in May 2018)