Going to spend time in windy conditions or be active with air flowing over the mics?

[Mary Beth]

Think outside of the box and use a waterwear cover on your Rondo processors without the seal.  The seal is needed for waterproof protection but not needed for blocking wind.

It makes a huge difference for me.  

[Anthony Canada]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds the windblock to not be very effective. In the winter I use a toque to do that. I might get some form of a headband to do the same in the summer. 

[Amy Leach]

Thank you for the tips Mary Beth.  I will be on a cruise and expect wind noise in late July.  I will be 3 months from activation when we depart.

[Mary Beth]

Fun!  I have done well on cruises without wind issues but always good to be prepared.  Enjoy! @Amy Leach

[Amy Leach]

Mary Beth, can you tell me what “ABF” is?

Also, will a hat over the processor squeal like a HA would?

 

[Tim]

@Amy Leach 

ABF = Anatomy Based Fitting.  It requires a post-op imaging to see where exactly the electrodes are positioned in cochlea to calculate the frequency that they are placed.  There is a lot of discussion elsewhere in Hearpeers about it.  It is a good topic to investigate, particularly early after or before activation.

In windy settings, I often change to AI Strong for a program from my Audiokey2 app. I keep one of my 4 slots available for this.

One of the benefits of a CI is it doesn't get the hearing aid squeal since it doesn't transmit sound, it transmits electronically to the cochlea. This means that it doesn't get the audio feedback loop that causes the squeal.

 

[Mary Beth]

@Amy Leach

One cool thing about CIs is that we never have to worry about squealing (feedback).  Some Sonnet 2 users are actually using a hybrid system called EAS (electric-acoustic) and those Sonnet EAS users have an attached earmold since their low frequencies are being handled by the built in hearing aid component of the Sonnet EAS.  They may encounter feedback if sound leaks from their mold.  But Sonnet 2 CI users will never encounter feedback.  We can even wear around the ear headphones and not have to worry about squealing.  My favorite is BOSE QC35.  I use them every time I fly.

 

ABF stands for Anatomy Based Fitting.  It is an option for our CI teams with Med-El users.  An image is taken AFTER surgery and sent to Med-El.  Med-El uses that image to determine the exact location of each of our electrodes in our cochleas.  Then Med-El uses their software to determine the frequencies (pitches) typically handled by those electrode positions and creates an individualized frequency distribution for us.  So instead of electrode 1 handling the default frequencies (pitches), electrode 1 would be assigned frequencies that work best for our specific location of electrode 1 after surgery.  This is done for all the electrodes.

Our audiologists then just click a button in the fitting software and these individualized frequency distributions are applied to the program (MAP) they create.

It is part of Med-El’s approach to individualized CIs.