Vibrant Soundbridge

[מרים אביבי]

Hello everyone,
About 5 months ago, my mother get a Vibrant Soundbridge  in the right ear due to hearing loss and incompatibility with other hearing aids,
A month after the operation, they operated the implant and began to adjust it.
My mother hearing is worse than ever

the hearing is always accompanied by background noise
A kind of robotic noises that make her prefer to be without the instrument and not hear at all.
Is there anyone who knows or heard of a similar case?
Thank you!

[Ivana Marinac]

Hello,

Sorry your mother feels worse, but did she ever went for refitting her device?

Which sound processor she use - Amade or Samba?

And last but not last - what kind of hearing loss and up to which hearing threshold is your mother's loss?

Problem of digital HAs and same with implant technologies that usually people are not explained how important re-fittings are in our hearing lives. I had so many fittings that I can't even remember, simply because my hearing situation has changed a lot and often.

[hetty avivi]

Thanks Ivana for answering my daughters post.

They all care about me :-)  i got my sound bridge in april  this year.on the right ear.my problem of both ears is  the ear canal.they are very narrow.no option to other hearing aid.so that's why I got the vibrant sound bridge.I have mixed hearing lost in my right ear.

The left ear is "playing" with me .when I have a cold I hear less,wheather changing,my ear is locking himself.

So got the sound bridge and outside the amade.so far,so good!then I had my first fitting .I did not had really a wow,but OK I could hear sounds and other noises.I had to got use to the new situation and came back for refitting after one month. this time they could reduce almost all the back noise and this was for me much better,because all the back noise made me feel unresty..........after three days I change the battery and suddenly also the noises came back!! Strange....I called my audiologist and they did a new hearing test, result I don't hear almost nothing anymore on the inplanted side.!

 Now last week they change the amade for amade hi. So I feel like I start again from the beginning,I do hear sounds,noises(too much)a lot of high tunes,but not really understand speaking.....inside the house I can handle,but outside the noises are to much......OKk this is about until now my story  on my hearing journey.

 WhenI am on fitting consult,its difficult for me to explain what I really "hear" and what to expect.... that's why I like to discuss with people who pass the same procedure .my mother language is Dutch,so if there is somebody on this forum who speak such,it will be more easy for me ,many!,

Thanks for "listening" 

Hetty avivi

[Ivana Marinac]

Hi, Hetty,

I guess that your mother has a normal hearing threshold on the left side then but having some "glue ear" episodes if her hearing gets worse having a cold?

I am really not familiar with the existence of the different model of Amade otherwise than the regular one which is swapped in Europe for Samba model. 

This explanation with a battery sound really interesting because I am not sure how it is possible - did they test the position of the implanted part (the FMT part)? 

On the other side, Samba has more power, so the higher value of intensity is possible to achieve. 

Having a mixed hearing loss is a problem a bit because it's partially the loss of the inner ear too. It depends on how it is affected - to what extent. 

Did you get only one program or there are also different programs? When I had Amade, I had 3 different programs and one was for the situations when I am in a situation of a loud background noise - then that program actually lowered it and I could function pretty normal because voices actually came up on the surface burying the unwanted noises in a cellar, figuratively spoken. 

Unfortunately, I am not aware of anyone who would know a Dutch here, on the forum. But hey, I am from Croatia - so just being here I practice a bit of my knowledge of English language. For the rest - there is Google translate  

[MED-EL Moderator]

On 9/21/2017 at 11:33 AM, hetty avivi said:

Thanks Ivana for answering my daughters post.

They all care about me :-)  i got my sound bridge in april  this year.on the right ear.my problem of both ears is  the ear canal.they are very narrow.no option to other hearing aid.so that's why I got the vibrant sound bridge.I have mixed hearing lost in my right ear.

The left ear is "playing" with me .when I have a cold I hear less,wheather changing,my ear is locking himself.

So got the sound bridge and outside the amade.so far,so good!then I had my first fitting .I did not had really a wow,but OK I could hear sounds and other noises.I had to got use to the new situation and came back for refitting after one month. this time they could reduce almost all the back noise and this was for me much better,because all the back noise made me feel unresty..........after three days I change the battery and suddenly also the noises came back!! Strange....I called my audiologist and they did a new hearing test, result I don't hear almost nothing anymore on the inplanted side.!

 Now last week they change the amade for amade hi. So I feel like I start again from the beginning,I do hear sounds,noises(too much)a lot of high tunes,but not really understand speaking.....inside the house I can handle,but outside the noises are to much......OKk this is about until now my story  on my hearing journey.

 WhenI am on fitting consult,its difficult for me to explain what I really "hear" and what to expect.... that's why I like to discuss with people who pass the same procedure .my mother language is Dutch,so if there is somebody on this forum who speak such,it will be more easy for me ,many!,

Thanks for "listening" 

Hetty avivi

Hi Hetty,

Firstly, thank you for reaching out to the HearPeers Community. It can take time to learn to hear with a hearing implant, and rehabilitation is key to getting used to all the new sound input and hearing your best with your device. Everyone's hearing journey is unique, but getting tips from others on what rehabilitation activities they did can be really helpful. I recommend to stay in close contact with your hearing professional and rehabilitation specialist throughout this journey. If you need any further support, our MED-EL Representative can also help you. If you're experiencing any issues with your device I strongly recommend to get in contact with your specialist and your MED-EL Representative ASAP. If you can let me know what country you are from, I can send their details through - I've also sent you a private message with more information.

Kind regards,

Leigh 

HearPeers Support Team