Can rehab eliminate distortion?

[Rickymark]

I could not find a discussion with this same problem. I am single sided. Since my first visit after activation, words and (especially) music are almost impossibly tinny, like sound from a cheap, broken speaker with a hissing snake. The same, with or without streaming. I've listened for many hours in various ways with no noticeable improvement. I can't imagine my brain learning to ignore it. I'm glad I have a good ear.

My question is whether an audi can deal with this so that I am one of the 9 out of 10 who enjoy music with med el.

Thanks!

P.s. I'll be getting a CT to set up Otoplan next month, if that matters.

[Tim]

@Rickymark How far along are you into rehab? 

I find audiobooks and podcasts more "enjoyable" than music.  Music is okay for me but I use it more for "rehab" than for enjoyment right now. 

The ABF felt like it put me back from the 6 month mark to about the 6 week mark in terms of rehab. Hoping that my first post-ABF re-MAP session on Tuesday helps. Things have been slowly improving with a month of ABF. 

The shift towards higher frequencies for my ABF (everyone's will be different) meant that I was able to recognize some higher frequency subtleties in the music that I liked.   I'm hoping the Tuesday appointment cleans things up some. 

When I really want to enjoy the music more in rehab, I'll use headphones with unbalanced audio favoring the CI on top of my Sonnet or use an ear plug/construction ear muffs to partially handicap my good ear and then listen to stuff over the air.  I have a theory that this can help give the brain a clue as to what the sounds from the CI side is supposed to sound like and could help in the brain's neuroplasticity response.

 

[Rickymark]

Was activated 5 weeks ago, first "tweaking" 2 weeks ago. 

Voices sound natural, which is great. I'm working with Hearoes and YouTube videos to distinguish similar words, understand speech with and without captions, etc.  It all sounds like its being played through a cheap flip phone speaker. Or worse.

Other folks have mentioned something similar, but did not say if rehab helped or not. And I don't know if using otoplan will make a difference, but I will find out, in the next few months. Then I can post the answer that I wish I had now....

[Mary Beth]

@Rickymark

Rehab can speed up the process but time is required as well.

[Dianna]

Ive heard an interesting theory that if rehabbing with tv shows that the not so good sounds from broadcast through bluetooth, the brain might "remember" crappy sounds so i did lots of rehab throu hearoes and others may help. So try some rehab and see if the sounds improve.

I rehabbed relentlessly (retired had lots of time) for six months! Now im hearing better sharpness, im thinking a grueling 20 minutes a day on consonents and vowels might improve sharpness!!!

[Rickymark]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:10 AM, Andrew42 said:

I am, suddenly, unable to stream from either my iPhone or my iPad to my Rondo 3 and would appreciate your help.

I may well be doing something stupid so please be understanding.

Since this occurred recently I have done the following: none of which has had any effect.

1.       Soft reboot of both iPhone and iPad

2.       Re-paired Audiolink 2 to iPhone and iPad

What happens is as follows:

1.       I activate Audiolink and make sure it is connected either to my iPhone or my Ipad

2.       Using the device connected I open a recorded TV programme and run it.

3.       First I select language

4.       Second I try to select  how the sound is broadcast:

a.       I only have two options

                                                               i.      Airplay

                                                             ii.      iPad or iPhone depending on which I am using.

5.       No option to choose anything else

It never used to be this way, I used to be able to choose whatever it said to connect to my Rondo.

Questions:

1.       What steps have I forgotten to take?

2.       What may I be doing wrong)

3.       Is there an Audiolink problem as I have the same issue of both iPhone and iPad

4.       Thoughts?

Thank you.

 

On 9/16/2023 at 2:51 PM, Tim said:

@Rickymark How far along are you into rehab? 

I find audiobooks and podcasts more "enjoyable" than music.  Music is okay for me but I use it more for "rehab" than for enjoyment right now. 

The ABF felt like it put me back from the 6 month mark to about the 6 week mark in terms of rehab. Hoping that my first post-ABF re-MAP session on Tuesday helps. Things have been slowly improving with a month of ABF. 

The shift towards higher frequencies for my ABF (everyone's will be different) meant that I was able to recognize some higher frequency subtleties in the music that I liked.   I'm hoping the Tuesday appointment cleans things up some. 

When I really want to enjoy the music more in rehab, I'll use headphones with unbalanced audio favoring the CI on top of my Sonnet or use an ear plug/construction ear muffs to partially handicap my good ear and then listen to stuff over the air.  I have a theory that this can help give the brain a clue as to what the sounds from the CI side is supposed to sound like and could help in the brain's neuroplasticity response.

 

 

6 hours ago, Dianna said:

Ive heard an interesting theory that if rehabbing with tv shows that the not so good sounds from broadcast through bluetooth, the brain might "remember" crappy sounds so i did lots of rehab throu hearoes and others may help. So try some rehab and see if the sounds improve.

I rehabbed relentlessly (retired had lots of time) for six months! Now im hearing better sharpness, im thinking a grueling 20 minutes a day on consonents and vowels might improve sharpness!!!

I'm also retired and spend a good deal of time doing activities to bombard my implant with speech and music. I use Hearoes and Sound Success from AB.  Six months seems like forever, and i prefer knowing as much as possible so I can focus on doing the best things, rather than being so haphazard....

[Rickymark]

9 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

@Rickymark

Rehab can speed up the process but time is required as well.

I bought the Bluetooth headband mary beth mentioned (Cozies )and it's absolutely great for working on the CI side with adjustable help on the good side. Like streaming, but better, and more tolerable.

I don't know how other people find out about these things, except pure luck.

[Tim]

@Rickymark For music, I built a spotify playlist of all my old CDs and then liked the music that "made sense" to me on my CI. Out of about 2000 songs, only about 20 or so were intelligible about a month after activation. I play the list pretty regularly and try other stuff too. That list has grown to about 80 now. 

Yes, the quality is still off for music and voice but it keeps getting better. 

The CI has had big benefits for me in life even though the quality will never be match for my good ear. 

[pdk]

On 9/18/2023 at 7:34 AM, Tim said:

@Rickymark For music, I built a spotify playlist of all my old CDs and then liked the music that "made sense" to me on my CI. Out of about 2000 songs, only about 20 or so were intelligible about a month after activation. I play the list pretty regularly and try other stuff too. That list has grown to about 80 now. 

Yes, the quality is still off for music and voice but it keeps getting better. 

The CI has had big benefits for me in life even though the quality will never be match for my good ear. 

It took at least 3 months before voices stopped sounding gravelly with my left ear and it still happens sometimes. No question,  lots of audio books pays off. Music is a different story. Keep trying different types of music and slowly there will be improvement. Reading the forums music is different for all of us. My ability to enjoy different genre keeps growing. However I have to think there are definitely limits. After 4 years my classical guitar still sounds bad. However I will keep trying. Hoping upgrades with faster processors will allow different programming techniques.