Back :)

[kaztrekie]

Have nt been on for a while sorry ,let's see coming up to 6 months

Implanted and loving every day ,slightly annoyed at the moment as my right ear has started making a bell noise

Which is very annoying might e tinnitus no idea programming soon will ask then

Lets see fave things at the moment we to the cinema first time in for years

And loved it could hear everything with my t loop on ( saw les mis)

Went to the panto at Xmas brilliant still struggling with tv at times

And most music but getting there it's great to see so many new people on here.

Hope your surgery s activations etc all go great.

[Matt]

Hi Karen,

glad to hear you are loving your CI and I'm jealous that you had success at the cinema - my local cinema has ongoing issues with it's loop system and I haven't had a trouble free visit yet.

Keep us updated on the outcome of the bell sounds.

 

Matt

[weimar]

It seems that you're doing very well with the CI - keep it up and your problems with the TV will be a thing of the past.  I had problems too but it was mostly because I was having trouble focusing on the actual task of watching TV (I was getting a bit of information overload).  A few months later though, I happened to just realize that I was no longer having trouble.  Funny how your brain adapts!

[simekj]

Hi Karen, Matt and Chuckie

When you guys did your mappings, did you have lower thresholds lifted up as well?  I find with lower thresholds on low, background noise is less but the clarity is also less even though there is more fullness of sound.  On another program, the thresholds are lifted up to my level and everything is tinny but more clarity.  I can get words from tv on either of them but it is better on the one where the thresholds are lifted but the sound quality is not as good.  Do you know what I am talking about?  What techiques did your audiologist employ to get good mapping and sound quality?

Thanks

Karen

[weimar]

I honestly don't know what (if any) techniques my audiologist used for my mapping, we just kept adjusting and adjusting until I was happy with what I heard.  We took advantage of the fact that I could have multiple maps loaded onto the processor and I would explain what I liked about each map to the audiologist, who would then pretty much meld things together into other maps.  It took some doing and I'm quite pleased with the end result. Hope this helps - good luck!

[simekj]

Yes thanks Chuck.  I may have to get my audiologist to make more maps so I can get comparisons.  Sounds like you have been blessed with a good audiologist.  I know I have only been switched on for 3 weeks and can follow the radio in general terms, talk on the phone and follow some of the TV, but I know it can be better in terms of sound quality as some sounds like trucks passing by on the road hurt a bit and I know that can't be right.  Children are still tricky to follow if i am not lipreading them.

Thanks for commenting.

Cheers

K

[Adam]

Karen, thats amazing! you are WAAY ahead of where I was at the same time. I just had my 2 year map and actually still made some improvements. I just did not expect to still be gaining this late in the game.

I actually have not attempted to go to the movies yet. I imagine it would go fine but havent really felt compelled to go.

 

My audie pretty much did the same as Matt in that we would just tweak things until it sounded better. We also created a couple of programs for me to tell her which I liked better. from there that would give a good direction to go.

[simekj]

Thanks Adam.  Yes I have been blessed and yet am still determined to make the most of the time to sort it as well as I can since I start teaching in a few days.

 

I have just had a remap and got rid of the high tinny sounds that were making me cringe. They said that I was not used to it but I stood my ground and said no they are too loud.  It turns out my sensitivity to those freq had increased so the THR were dropped further.

 

I took into account what you and Matt suggested and got my audiologist to make more maps so I could experiment.  Very good advice thanks.

 

I asked for more bass to be added to the right ear.  There are less distortions now. From past experience with HA I know the bass tone below speech ie prob electrodes 3, 4 and 5 help to add tone to the speech and helps distinguish male and female voices and enhances musical timbre.  I also got my audiologist to increase the lower THR on the basses and drop the THR on the high freq a couple of notches (usually our audiologists keep the THR on the lowest 3 or 4 basses on 'off' and the highest 4 freq THR at the point at which you just can not hear them).  This means less background bass and more loud soft sounds.

 

They don't normally do what I requested so I am glad that she made the change as it makes a significant difference to the sound quality.  More normal and less synthesized and definitely less sharp intense sounds.  I still pick up enough eg a water feature running behind me and words in a song I know.  I kept the mid tones freq as they normally set them - ie just below hearing them.  This helps speech stand out more compared to the extremes - at least for me.

 

At the moment the midtones are balanced in the left ear but the higher and lower frequencies could be lifted in volume; the right has the opposite with extreme bass and high freq louder than the midtones.  At least I know what we need to change next time.  Together, the brain blends them and it is good.  Obviously there is some disharmony with music as the 'notes' are not the same sound for both ears.  But this should be fixed next time hopefully.  Some notes ring pure and sound great.

 

Young children are still tinny.  I struggle to hear them on the telephone compared to adults.  I still had to lipread my great nephew but I noticed that I picked up a lot of words/sounds when he turned away as kids do when talking.  So I am still encouraged esp as hearing people struggle to pick up what they say at times.  I still cringe a bit when they get excited and squeal.  Normal hearing people do too so I figured if that is normal keep it like that so I know what to manage (kids or me).

 

I heard my niece (21yrs) talking to me from the back seat of a car without lipreading which for me was amazing since I have never been able to do that before.  However, I struggled to completely follow a man who was talking from the front seat to someone else in the other front seat.  I was in the backseat.  Apparently this is kind of normal so I am okay with that.  I think the future changes will help.

 

I know that we are supposed to keep things the 'same loudness' but that is a challenging task so we sometimes do that and then modify based on real life scenarios.  eg we went for a walk outside to check with my audiologist etc.  It is important to ask questions eg 'say is the high frequency of the road tyres louder or quieter than the low sound of the engine' because mine were the other way around to what hearing people heard with my first map which is why everything was so mickey mouse and shrill.

 

I know this sounds like a lot of information and I'm not an 'expert' but I also know from 39 years of experience that some audiologists rely on their procedures and technology rather than listening to the clients.  It can be hard to explain what is being heard too. I have been blessed with a couple of fantastic audiologists over the years who have taught me some things. I also appreciated the tips you gave and some others gave on this forum.  So if by writing this it can help somebody improve their mappings and hence listening experience, then it is worth it. Of course there are individual variations and other factors to consider.

 

I also found listening to ESL (English second language) websites - audio recordings very helpful to train myself to recognise and differentiate between consonants eg B and V; it is American but accents are on the vowels not the consonants so it should be fine regardless of nationality.

 

I can't remember the websites but it could be: http://www.manythings.org/pp/   and also http://www.esl-lab.com/

 

Cheers

Karen

[Adam]

Karen,

Lots of great infomration. I know it will be helpful to many. I know your audi must be happy to have you as I'm sure they dont have to explain too much. Your descriptions are such that it probably doesnt take any time at all to map.

 

Have a great weekend

[drobinson]

Well, I got activated May 1st and another checkup on May 2nd.  Its amazes my at what I have been missing.  Working with 4 programs, one every couple of days, just adjusting volume right now.  Things seem awful loud right now. I know I have a long ways to go.  I'll get fined tuned on the 23rd.  So far so good and my audiologist said I am way ahead of the game and adjusting nicely.

 

My only disappointment is I am not getting my next implant unlit August.  I feel I am ready now since I can hear better out of the implant than the hearing aid ear.  My doctor is going out of the country in June, so It will be late July before I can see him.  OH well.

 

And the journey begins....

[jpl2ci]

Donald, congratulations on your progress. When I went bilateral after 5 months my comprehension jumped tremendously.  Something for you to look forward to!  and so it goes....

[Adam]

Donald, That is awesome news!! I'm glad to hear things are going well. Now you get to develope that patience again. The next surgery will get here before you know it. At least you have something to concentrate on as far as practicing with the one bionic ear that you have. You are gonna be blown away once the 2nd is activated.

[kaztrekie]

The cinema was a chance I was nt planning to go but mum in law had a spare ticket so it was last minute attempt I did nt expect to ear it well I was very happy

The bell noise stopped after a few days may of been tired no idea back to Addenbrokes on the 24 th for another programming and rehab.

I seem to be missing some quieter noises but picking up louder ones hopefully will get sorted I think I need my last electrode

Accitivated.

[Adam]

Karen, take plenty of notes. the more information your audi has to work with the easier the mapping will go. good luck and let us know how it goes.

[simekj]

Karen did you listen to the cinema on normal mode or did you use the T function?

K

[Adam]

You can use the telecoil to watch a movie???

[simekj]

Hi Adam.  Yes in SOME theatres you can use T coil to watch a movie IF they have a T loop system.  Some cinemas have a blue tooth system so then you will need to use their headphones instead.  If you use T in the movies you may need to move about to find the best seat as some theatres have better designs than others.  eg i heard another movie when watching something different.  Had to move away from the wall.  Others only have a handful of seats where it works.  Hope this is helpful.  K

[Adam]

Karen that is too cool! I had no idea that was an option. Thanks for the info.

[Matt]

 

Karen that is too cool! I had no idea that was an option. Thanks for the info.

We're in the 21st century down here Adam.

 

[Adam]

Cute Matt! I guess it is all that ausie ingenuity at work. )

 

i will have to touch base with my local theater and see what they have.

[Matt]

Thanks Adam - haven't been called cute for a long time. 

My local cinema has a loop system but every time I've been there is some sort of problem - not working at all, hearing two movies at the same time. Tell them you want to try it out with a money back guarantee.

[Adam]

Matt, i aim to please.

 

2 movies for the price of one, whats wrong with that?