Mary Anne Cormack Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 It's been 2 weeks since my CI surgery. Still hurting a bit and apprehensive about what to expect next. Guess this is not the instant miracle I'd hoped for. Had to quit the choir, and have left my little orchestra and hung up my violas, but sure hope to be able to use them again! So confused after reading many of your posts as to what happens next. You speak of coaches and training -- are there sources for those that I should be investigating. This hearing problem runs in my family. My sister had her implant done about 6 months ago, and she's still struggling. I'd love to be able to speed up the process and have the time (I'm retired) to do it. Sure would appreciate any suggestions. Besides my music, I'm hoping to be able to understand dinner conversations and talk with my young grandsons. I manage to cope -- living along widow -- with the help of my "hearing ear dog". Rommel is my best buddy, protector, and let's me know anytime there's the slightest new sound. He's had to work overtime this last two weeks as the implanted ear is basically deaf, and the other has very limited comprehension. My turn-on appointment is next week and I'd like to be prepared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hi @Mary Anne Cormack and welcome! My CIs have been life changing and returned music to my life. Check out our topic on rehab. It is full of terrific suggestions for aural rehab for speech and music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hello and welcome!! Yes this game is not a quick fix. But it’s a game changer for sure!! Aural rehab will help you to get the best results for sure. I’m two years in and and still gaining or improving. My second implant-aversary was a few days ago. Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hi @Mary Anne Cormack sounds like you are doing pretty good. You need about 4 weeks to heal from surgery and understand how this can be frustrating. It is a great idea to be prepared for activation. Below is a link to a MED-EL blog entry about how to prepare for activation! Great advice. At activation please ask your audiologist about setting up a aural rehab training program for you. You also have access to MED-EL Consumer Outreach Manager (COM) and Clinical Account Manager (CAM) for your region. The COM can help you set up an aural rehab program too. The CAM is a highly trained MED-EL audiologist. They can attend your mapping sessions and assist your audiologist with any issues which might arise. You must make a request to your audiologist if you would like the CAM to be present at activation or a mapping appointment. I am sorry to hear your sister is having difficulties. Does she have a MED-EL CI? https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.medel.com/need-know-first-fitting/amp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Anne Cormack Posted November 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Thanks for the advice. Do want to be ready for that appointment next Monday! Yes, my sister has the Med-al implant, too. She's the research nut in the family, so I just relied on her work. Also was told by my anesthesiologist daughter in law that this is the only one that would allow you to have an MRI without having to have in the implant removed and makes it the "Only" smart choice for a senior citizen. Think part of her problem is that she lives in Italy -- has for 50 years now -- and their medical programs are quite different from those here in Florida. Distance from the surgeon, travel time, etc. complicate things and she doesn't have access to special aids like the closed caption telephone that I rely on. Calling Med-al was a disaster, and at one point they actually hung up on her. Find reading through the information on this web page is interesting. Is there a place where you get those extras on line, or is that something you order through your audiologist? I was worried about it falling off on the tennis court, and saw a headband designed to keep it in place. And the travel kit would be super when I make my annual pilgrimage to Florence to visit my sister! Thanks for the input, and will let you know how things work out next Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Since your in the US all your parts or spares can be ordered through the local Med El reps. Find out from your medical team which one is local to you. Or you can drop a line to Leigh F. our admin, and she can gladly help you with that. @leighf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes hadron Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hi @Mary Anne Cormack You can order any accessory like the headband or travel kit from your MED-EL Customer Service Rep (CSR) by email or phone. I believe the Florida rep is Roger Konergay. If you don't have his contact info it can be provided to you. I am sorry to hear about your sister's problems contacting MED-EL. It is great she likes to research. As @Kara of Canadastated our admin @leighf of MED-EL can certainly help both of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 6, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 @Mary Anne Cormack, You may want to wait to see what is included with your activation kit. And then you can order Med-El accessories as hadron said through your CSR if desired. There are some items that I find very helpful that are not Med-El items and they can be purchased independently online. Some of my favorites include: -ear gear bilateral Rondo covers with tether and clip for swimming with waterwear covers -nammucap for swimming in the ocean with waterwear covers -Energizer 357 silver oxide batteries for Rondo waterwear use -BOSE QC35 BlueTooth headphones -CozyPhones Lycra headband headphones -Artone 3 MAX BlueTooth neckloop -Fit Bit Alta for private vibrating alerts to phone calls, alarm clock -vibrating smoke detector -vibrating alarm clock -storage container for all of my spare parts -skinit covers hadron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renachelw Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 I hope all goes well for you @Mary Anne Cormack! ! I'm dying to know how the violas sound like after the implant. I used to play the violin but after I lost my hearing, I stopped because all the notes sounded the same. I would be going for an implant soon, but would love to know if i'd be able to hear the violin clearly again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Anne Cormack Posted November 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 Will let you all know how the violas sound after they turn the implant on. Have been pretty fortunate and been able to play until just before I had the implant. Could hear the viola but not the conductor -- as long as I used the hearing aid program that did not have the sound recovery. The techs at Phonak worked hard to create a program that had everything but the sound recovery. Wasn't too popular with the conductor when everyone was playing E, but I was hearing E flat. Look into it with whatever aids you are using and you may be playing again sooner than you'd think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 7, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 @Mary Anne Cormack Music didn’t start sounding good to me for several months so don’t be discouraged if music doesn’t sound good right away. Music sounds great to me now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted November 7, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 Yes it’s was difficult at first for the first few months. So be patient. There is a blog post by a Musician/singer on the Med el blog page. She has SSD and works for Med El. So don’t be discouraged. https://blog.medel.com/a-singer-with-single-sided-deafness-losing-music/ Here’s her blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Anne Cormack Posted November 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2017 Guess I'm lucky, Went to hear a a friend who's first cello in the JAX Symphony play Bach Concertos in concert last night. Ear that didn't get operated on did just great with the music -- but I couldn't understand a thing Alexei said. Operated ear still not turned on, but if it helps with speech and the other continues to hear music well -- even though monoral instead of stereo -- I'll consider it a victory. Everyone's advice is to get out and make the ears work, so tomorrow I'm heading back to choir rehearsal. Will be happy if I can just sing and hope that next week after turn on I can start hearing the conductor too. Funny how some things I can hear so well, and others are just noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MED-EL Moderator Posted November 9, 2017 Report Share Posted November 9, 2017 8 hours ago, Mary Anne Cormack said: Guess I'm lucky, Went to hear a a friend who's first cello in the JAX Symphony play Bach Concertos in concert last night. Ear that didn't get operated on did just great with the music -- but I couldn't understand a thing Alexei said. Operated ear still not turned on, but if it helps with speech and the other continues to hear music well -- even though monoral instead of stereo -- I'll consider it a victory. Everyone's advice is to get out and make the ears work, so tomorrow I'm heading back to choir rehearsal. Will be happy if I can just sing and hope that next week after turn on I can start hearing the conductor too. Funny how some things I can hear so well, and others are just noise. On 11/7/2017 at 8:29 AM, Renachelw said: I hope all goes well for you @Mary Anne Cormack! ! I'm dying to know how the violas sound like after the implant. I used to play the violin but after I lost my hearing, I stopped because all the notes sounded the same. I would be going for an implant soon, but would love to know if i'd be able to hear the violin clearly again Hi Mary Anne, Thanks for reaching out to the community! As the others mentioned, it can take time to be able to enjoy music with your implant. For some, they can enjoy music again straight away after activation, while for others, they may need to do rehabilitation at home and with a rehab specialist to get the most out of their device. I would like to put you in contact with two people who I think will be able to offer some great support to you: - our in-house "musicologist" called Johanna Pätzhold who is actually a singer and a MED-EL CI user. - one of our Headquarters rehabilitation specialists, Natalie, who can give you some rehab tips and put you in touch with the right specialists in your area who can help support you. I'll send through their contact details in a private message. There are many MED-EL CI recipients who have been able to once again appreciate music, or even play instruments and sing, with their hearing implant. You can read all different journeys over on the MED-EL Blog. Here are some tips for music appreciation from a bilateral CI user and singer called Keri: https://blog.medel.com/10-tips-for-music-appreciation-with-a-cochlear-implant/ Hope this info helps you! Wishing you all the best on your journey, and I hope to read about all your special hearing moments along the way. Kind regards, Leigh Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted November 9, 2017 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 9, 2017 Hi Mary Anne, at the end, I wish you a pleasant journey - follow your dream and do not ever be discouraged by making you your own limits. Instead of that - go beyond it as further you can. All experiences here are unique, so if you have any question or possibly obstacle - there is an answer. Practice, Be Patient and - persevere. :) Mary Beth and Kara of Canada 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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