Activation September 20

[Kara of Canada]

Great news @Jewel keep up the good work. 

[Jewel]

@Nikki

[Hila]

Wonderful update

I'm very happy you managed to beat the odds and i'm wishing you continued success!  

 

Cool picture with Joe as well

[Jewel]

Today I went for my third mapping. The audi was very impressed with my progress. I told her that the last program I was on was very loud so she adjusted it and so now I only have one program which I'm to use for a month. She said I'm at the volume she wants me to be at. 

I have only been given the Natural setting since activation. 

She showed me how to use the Roger Pen and I have made three phone calls with it and was impressed! However the maximum volume on the phone when using the Roger Pen is a bit too low for me. I hope she can adjust it when I return in November. 

She said that they don't normally do booth testing after three weeks. They normally do it at the three month mark. Given my progress she wanted to test me today. Unfortunately time ran out. I guess they are strict with time as I think i was with her for an hour. She did test me with sounds and blocking her mouth and I got most of the sounds correct. Only the last 4 were wrong. I think she tested about 16 sounds. 

I know you guys don't use the Natural setting so I'm guessing when I get the other settings I will love them even more. 

I had problems with the security screeners in Jamaica yesterday. My audi said I should have my processors handchecked and they shouldn't be put through a metal detector, body scanner or xray machine as I risk getting the programs wiped off. So I requested a hand check of the processors but they would not do it and proceeded to walk through the detectors with it. I thought they were disrespectful and I was not amused. They looked at the Med-El card. They said I need a letter from the doctor explicitly instructing hand checking of the processors. So my audi will write one. 

I hope I have a lot of progress ahead of me and I'm not gonna plateau soon. 

[Mary Beth]

Sounds like a great appt @Jewel.  Med-El recommends that all adults be activated in the natural setting I believe.  There are mixed feelings about the natural mic setting from people who had used omni previously.  For some it works well.  For others it doesn’t work well.  I think a lot has to do with how we learned to hear with our CIs.  If I had to guess, I would say people activated with natural will be fine with natural.  You are experiencing omni when you have the Roger 21 receiver on your Sonnet and the Roger Pen is active.  The Sonnets default to omni when using the Roger System.

Med-El recommends omni when using waterwear covers.

I like omni for music.....fuller bass tones.

Always adaptive is terrific in noisy places.

You can have the Easy Gain adjusted to a louder setting on your Roger 21 receiver.  This will impact all Roger sounds though, not just phone calls.

I have been implanted for over 3 years so far and still experience new WOW moments.

[Jewel]

Thanks very much @Mary Beth. I will compare the natural with that omni in the coming weeks.

I will definitely have to check out the Easy Gain. 

I just tried Telephone with Confidence with the regular Sonnet and I was able to make out a bit. I need to figure out how to call the 1-800 number from Jamaica as it's good practice. I won't be afraid when I get a phone call now! ? 

 

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

Did you try the phone with the Artone 3 MAX or with the BOSE QC35 BT headphones?

 

[Jewel]

No I haven't tried either. The audi didn't want me to use anything other than the CI but now that I'm using Roger Pen I will try the Artone when I return to Jamaica. 

My surgeon had said no headphones until he sees me in November. Idk if it is due to my asking whether I could use them on flights now. So I can't try the Bose until November. 

[Jewel]

I mentioned to the audi that a colleague whose voice I could hear and understand with no problem before surgery has a higher voice than what I was accustomed to hearing. The audi said that maybe the implant didn't cover my entire cochlea and so that's why I'm not getting my colleague's low voice in the correct tone. She made it sound that that is how it will be from now on. Anybody else has this problem? 

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

I have flex 28 on the left side and medium (24) on the right side.

voices are not high pitched to me.  Kind of hard to say if anyone’s voice is higher pitched than with my HA because by the time I was implanted I was really struggling to hear everyone.

 

Do you hear nice bass tones in music or are you feeling like everything has weak bass tones?

[Jewel]

@Mary Beth 

I haven't listened to a lot of music since activation. But the music I recognised didn't have much bass. 

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

If everything is seeming not to have enough bass, things may still change for you.  As your brain continues to learn to use the CI input, sound quality improves.  Also there are MAPping features that can be tried to see if you perceive better bass tones.   One MAP setting that treats bass frequencies differently is the processing strategy of FS4p.  I was activated in FS4 in my right CI and after things were stable I asked to try FS4p in one of my program slots.  It was way too bass heavy for me.  Smile.  I returned to FS4 and bass tones sound great.  

Another MAPping strategy that may change your bass perception is to have your thresholds tested and set that way instead of using the default threshold setting of 10% of MCL or thresholds at zero.  The default setting works for the majority of people and it worked on my right CI.  But my left CI was different.  When we tested thresholds on my left side, we discovered that they are quite interesting.  Smile.  Setting thresholds by testing, instead of using default settings, resulted in a much much better MAP on the left side. We tested thresholds on my right too just out of curiosity.  My right thresholds are typical.  We created a MAP using the tested thresholds and there was a slight improvement in sound quality on the right side. 

Another MAPping strategy is to slightly increase your bass tones.

Another option is to see if you perceive deeper bass tones in a different mic setting.....like omni.  I find the omni mic setting on the Sonnets to provide the deepest bass tones for me.

And there are many more possibilities too.  

I encourage you to discuss the bass tones with your audiologist and ask for MAPs to be created that may let you perceive deeper bass tones.  We have 4 MAP slots so we can have a variety of MAPs to experiment with in our real lives.

Your audiologist may be willing to do this soon or may prefer to wait.  She is the expert.  What worked for me, may or may not work for others. We are all unique.

I find the BOSE QC35 BT headphones to have great bass tones.

[Jewel]

Thanks so much for that @Mary Beth. I will discuss with my audi. She didn't make it sound like I had any options to get more bass.

I watched some TV last night. First I wore the regular battery cover and I later changed to the Roger receiver battery cover. For some reason the sound with the Roger receiver was muffled. I believe you said that once I'm using the Roger battery cover I'm in omni even if I'm not using the Roger Pen. 

I then just held up the Roger Pen to the TV speaker and the sound was very clear. I know that I can connect the Pen to the TV. So I see the benefit of using the Pen for that. I must try the cable to connect the Pen to the TV. 

I just don't understand why if I'm not using the pen the Roger receiver sounds are muffled.

[Mary Featherston]

15 hours ago, Jewel said:

I mentioned to the audi that a colleague whose voice I could hear and understand with no problem before surgery has a higher voice than what I was accustomed to hearing. The audi said that maybe the implant didn't cover my entire cochlea and so that's why I'm not getting my colleague's low voice in the correct tone. She made it sound that that is how it will be from now on. Anybody else has this problem? 

@Jewel - one of the things I've wondered is whether what I heard before with my hearing aids is what people really sound like.  The high frequencies were the first to go, so I'm thinking that perhaps with the CIs things are supposed to sound a but higher in pitch?  I am not noticing huge differences, but I was thinking about whether I know what normal sounds like.

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

Sorry if I wasn’t clear about what happens with the Roger Pen, Roger 21 receiver and Sonnets.  Only when the Roger receiver is actually connected to the Pen (not in sleep mode or the Pen is off etc) does the Sonnet default to omni.  Maybe think of it like this.... when you are receiving Roger input, the Sonnet is in 50/50 mix mode (half from Roger Pen and half from Sonnet mic) and that is when the Sonnet defaults to omni mic setting.  So I don’t think you can truly experience omni mic setting without having an omni program designed by your audiologist since right now you can only be in omni while using Roger and the Sonnet will be also receiving Roger input.  Does that make sense?

 

I am not sure why things sound muffled when you switched battery covers.  I have used Roger 21 battery covers with my Sonnet at Med-El events and I did not experience a muffled sound but the Roger transmitter was active at the time.  I did not just put on the Roger 21 and keep the Roger Pen off.  @Nikki do you notice what @Jewel is describing when you wear the Roger 21 without the Roger Pen being active?

 

@Mary Featherston  Your post made me smile.  Everyone’s voices have been changing for decades due to my hearing loss and various hearing aids. Smile.  It’s quite refreshing having stable hearing now!

[Hila]

Hi @Jewel @Mary Beth

Was it maybe muffled because the pen was with microphones blocked by something?  I hear the same with either cover before the pen is connected.  Oftentimes needed to remind myself to swap back so I don't end up misplacing the roger door. I always keep it with the pen. So no difference detected here. 

Try to swap between them when pen is off.  Tell me if you still experience the same

[Mary Beth]

Thanks @Nikki

 

@Jewel, This link explains it much better than my attempt.

https://blog.medel.com/roger-21-from-phonak-frequently-asked-questions/

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

I found this article very interesting.  It was published in 2014.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3932199/

[Jewel]

@Nikki

I just switched to the Roger cover and it doesn't sound muffled. Maybe it was muffled when I connected it to the Pen. Idk. 

@Mary Beth

Thanks for the links. After reading the one on the Med-El site I scrolled down to see a familiar face, namely @Kara of Canadaso I read her review! 

The other article in respect of the 4 brands was very informative. Idk why my audi just gave me one program to use for the entire month. On Thursday she told me to tell her when the sound was too loud but even before I stopped her she moved on to another sound. Oh well. 

[Jewel]

So saw my surgeon and audi this week. The audi tested my hearing briefly. I have gone from 1% word recognition score to 71%! I still have a lot to do, working on hearing in noise, which I think will be tested next month. 

I told the audi that volume with Roger Pen seems low but she didn't adjust. 

I also told her all the problems I'm having. She gave me a new map which seemed fine in her office but now my voice sounds very robotic and the CI seems to pick up slight sounds as being very loud. Idk why we can't get these mappings right. 

I asked her to give me adaptive and omni. So I have them now. She said I have been in Natural since activation. 

I hope I can get by this month. 

My surgeon told me to make sure I don't hit my head. And sure enough as I was getting into a car that evening I hit the implanted side! Ugh! But CI is still working so I guess I'm OK. 

I am now on a 4+ magnet. I no longer feel blood rushing to my head thank goodness. 

On another note I tried the Artone and love it. I also put the CI on T and used my landline but it sounded so weird not being able to hear my own voice so I don't think phone calls in T are for me. 

 

[Kara of Canada]

Well @Jewel you are doing amazing and making great progress! I had the same issue with the landline in T. So I don’t use T for phones of any kind. I am also training in noise here days. Not as fun but worthwhile not the less. Have you tried on I and adaptive yet? 

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

Great update.  So glad about your magnet strength and your ability to test out omni and adaptive.

 

For landlines, MT may work for you.

 

I am glad you like the Artone!

 

It takes a bit to reach a favorite MAP.  Hang in there.  In the early days, new MAPs set me back and then moved me forward.  I trained each new MAP and found that most times things improved noticeably after 2 weeks with the MAP.  If not, I knew the MAP wasn’t a good fit for me.  It is a bit of trial and error. Aural rehab training helped me and enabled me to give my audiologist detailed info on phoneme confusions.

This is definitely a journey.  You will reach a favorite MAP and things will stabilize in time.

How many more monthly appts do you have?

[Jewel]

Hi @Kara of Canada

Because of your question I am experimenting this weekend! Today I am in adaptive. My voice sounds less robotic. I noticed that omni is much louder than the other programs. I know you love omni. I have a meeting this evening and plan to switch the programs during the meeting to see which one is better. 

@Mary Beth

Thanks for the encouragement. I will see how long it takes for me to like this map. 

I have three more mapping appointments. I am hoping to get the Rondo2 at one of them. 

I'm also hoping that I will be able to attend a Med-El Meetup or Hands on Hearing workshop in Florida. Still looking for one. I'm eager to try out the Roger Select. 

By the way do you ask if you can pre-board when flying? I did that on my flight from Miami and they said I can and I wad the very first passenger to board the plane. All I did was say I'm deaf and showed them my CI. Being deaf has its perks! I also went through the scanner wearing my CI and had the backup processor in my backpack. No issues. 

Interestingly I was able to carry a conversation for most of the flight as I was sitting beside a chatty passenger! When he stopped chatting the plane noise was so loud so I guess once there is speech the background noise faded. 

 

[Mary Featherston]

3 minutes ago, Jewel said:

Hi @Kara of Canada

Because of your question I am experimenting this weekend! Today I am in adaptive. My voice sounds less robotic. I noticed that omni is much louder than the other programs. I know you love omni. I have a meeting this evening and plan to switch the programs during the meeting to see which one is better. 

@Mary Beth

Thanks for the encouragement. I will see how long it takes for me to like this map. 

I have three more mapping appointments. I am hoping to get the Rondo2 at one of them. 

I'm also hoping that I will be able to attend a Med-El Meetup or Hands on Hearing workshop in Florida. Still looking for one. I'm eager to try out the Roger Select. 

By the way do you ask if you can pre-board when flying? I did that on my flight from Miami and they said I can and I wad the very first passenger to board the plane. All I did was say I'm deaf and showed them my CI. Being deaf has its perks! I also went through the scanner wearing my CI and had the backup processor in my backpack. No issues. 

Interestingly I was able to carry a conversation for most of the flight as I was sitting beside a chatty passenger! When he stopped chatting the plane noise was so loud so I guess once there is speech the background noise faded. 

 

@Jewel - that's one of the things that the guy at the Med-El meetup yesterday said, that deafness is a disability that the airlines will permit you early boarding for.

I usually wait till the last minute to board.  Planes aren't comfortable enough that I want to extend the experience.

[Mary Beth]

@Jewel

I don’t preboard but we can.

Experimenting with your mic settings will be interesting.

natural is mostly fixed focus front

adaptive is beam forming and moves its focus to the direction of speech 

omni is equal focus from all directions 

Let us know what you think.