Updates from Rondo 2 users

[Mary Beth]

Med-El changed the instructions and now says do NOT place disposable batteries in dry kits.

[Ron L Sinclair]

One last question I forgot to ask Mary Beth. You tried your Maplaw at 1000 and the nn went back to 500. Was there a downside for you with the 1000 setting?

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

yes.  Smile.  MAPLAW 500 is a perfect fit for me.

 

MAPLAW 1000 made quiet sounds...like air conditioning from the next room, etc too loud ....and did nothing to help with understanding speech for me.

 

Now, testing and setting the threshold on each electrode....that made a big difference.

But everyone is unique and Med-El would not give our audiologists various MAPLAW setting options if they did not help different users.

 

Part of this journey is trial and error.  Make one change at a time.  See if it helps.  Continue.  

[Ron L Sinclair]

Thanks again Mary Beth. Glad I asked the "compared to what" question. I have found the issue of house furnace fan noise in particular to be a irritant when otherwise the house is quiet. I already have had a program set up to help deal with this with lower sensitivity and volume that I can quickly switch to. So it makes no sense now to switch to a Maplaw of 1000 and make it worse again on all programs. Thanks for identifying all the considerations.

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

Which mic setting do you use with your Sonnet?

natural

adaptive

omni

 

 

[Ron L Sinclair]

I use Natural as my basic setting and the straight Adaptive in various flavors for the other three. Since hearing in noise is still a fair problem with CI's I stay away from Omni.  I also use Roger equipment extensively for lectures, meetings  and connect direct  to both ears. 

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

With your relative who drops his volume at the end of sentences, Natural mic setting may work best if you position your head so that relative is right in front of you.  Natural is fixed forward focus for low frequencies and omni for high frequencies.

Have you ever tried using adaptive when listening to this relative in quiet?

Do you have Roger Pen or Roger Select?

[Ron L Sinclair]

Ah- thanks for those tips. Perhaps then I should have one program in Omni so I can do better with 2 and 3 year olds. Didn't realize it was better with hi freqs. Yes I have used the pen with my son but everything is optimized for in-noise in that the Sonnet goes 50/50 and my Naida HA is also similarly configured, so when the  soft spoke person beside you speaks the mics don't work well enough. (although I can flip the HA out of Roger mode with my finger if I remember) In meetings, I use where possible a lanyard pen for the main speaker, who likely likes to walk around, a table mic for the podium which seems to have a better range than the pen and doesn't roll around on the sloped top and the prime pen with me so that if my soft spoken friend beside me wants to say something I can understand him. ( I only had the table mic a few weeks when the Select came out)  I have been quite pleased with the Table mic. 

I will definitely try switching between the Natural and Adaptive next time I am with my son and see which one works better with him.

Thanks again

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

Experiment with adaptive and see what happens for you.

 

I may not have been clear about natural.  It already treats high frequencies as omni (since high frequency sounds do not wrap around our heads as well as low frequency sounds).  It treats mid and low frequency sounds as fixed forward focus.  

 

Whenever we use Roger, it adds a perceived volume boost to voices being picked up through the Roger transmitters.  This can make it harder for us to hear those next to us being picked up through our Sonnet mics.  Lots of people have their audiologists create a specific program for when using Roger to boost volume a bit.  Med-El says when Roger is in use, our Sonnet mics are dampened 6 dB.  So having a program created that restores those 6 dB has helped many people.

 

 

[Hearing Again]

Hello everybody, this is @hearingagain. I’ve been off the grid for a bit will cell phone problems, but still hearing better every day. Anybody know what a Roger  Select is?  Is that what is needed to hear my Roger pen out of my rondo 2? Did I see someone on here say the Roger select cane with their free Rondo2?

[Mary Beth]

Hi @Hearing Again

I am glad things continue to go well for you.

Activation kits in the US have been offering a Roger transmitter and receiver option for awhile now.  More recently, the transmitter option of Roger Select was added.  Both Roger Pen and Roger Select are transmitters which send the Roger sound signal to Roger receivers.

Rondo 2 can easily use the Roger MyLink neckloop receiver and we switch to MT or T with our Fine Tuner.

Sonnet has an integrated Roger receiver in the Roger 21 battery door.  It can also use a Roger X (02) receiver plugged into the FM battery cover.  It can use the Roger MyLink neckloop receiver too.

 

Did you receive your Rondo 2 under the plus Rondo 2 promotion?  Was a Sonnet in your activation kit?  If so, you may have the Roger 21 Sonnet Roger receiver in your kit.

[Jdashiell]

I’ve been wearing the Rondo2 with my Rondo(1) and really enjoy the freedom of extended battery life.. 

since I take the processors off every night any way, I charge the Rondo2 then. The Rondo 1 I get 3 days of life with disposables..

when I wear the sonnets with rechargeable batteries I change every day at 4:30-5:00pm, then again at bedtime 11pm ish.

if I used disposable batteries I’d get 3 days, but I prefer to keep the environment clean

[Emily C.]

Hey again guys!
So, yeah... I totally have had my Rondo for a month now, too!  ;D
Very cool!  Instant fan of how it's less in the way (I know, I know, minor inconvenience with my glasses and hair that have nothing to do with performance, ha!), and the super long charge!  But as far as the sound goes, I can't quite put a finger on it!  I think it sounds about the same/better in some ways, but in some ways (like others have already said), the directional mics really help, so there's that.  It's fascinating how the adaptive sound works - for example, idly singing a song when I turn my bathroom faucet on full blast.  Sonnet: my voice sounds the same.  Rondo: instant drop in volume of my voice, the water drowning it out!  Plus when switching between the two, it almost sounds 'tinnier' (again, I think... it's so subtle) than my Sonnet, which doesn't make sense since same kind of auditory software and map, but maybe my brain just 'switching' between the sound quality?  I see a couple people also mentioned that.  My Sonnet sounds louder and not as tinny (for lack of better word...) ... it's a bit of a change trying out the Rondo the next day, and it still sounds great, but people's voices not as clear and I don't think as loud... I think... again, it's so subtle (and even worse on the phone!).  😜
Also, yes, I agree with others that my hair rustling isn't as annoying with the Rondo.  Wind is still awfully sharp, though.  Haven't tried the tether, just yet, because I'm not super 'active' and it seemed to grab on pretty strongly.

Speaking of which - Other point of note that is my only frustration so far, kind of 'ack' and definitely need to bring it up at my next appointment which unfortunately isn't until next week.  After happily wearing nothing but the Rondo for a while, I eventually had to switch back for the most annoying reason - the magnet must be stronger than my Sonnet (which makes sense they'd want to be carefully secure), but I think it's so strong (the 3-triangle level) that at the end of the day, that side of my head hurt, the nerves very sensitive to the point of giving me a headache!  When I was stuck at work, it helped to take it off during my break, and the rest of the night would usually be ok, but geez, it was sore!  Anyone else deal with that?

 

[Mary Beth]

@Emily C.

Definitely contact your audiologist so a weaker Rondo 2 magnet will be available at your appointment.  Magnets that are too strong can cause big problems.

There are pros and cons with each processor.  Eventually we seem to settle into the one that fits our lifestyle the best.

[Mary Beth]

@Jdashiell

I agree about the ease of switching Rondo 1 batteries every 3 days.

 

We really need Sonnet rechargeable batteries that can last 20+ hours so they last a full listening day even if we use Roger tech.

[Hearing Again]

Thanks for your response Mary Beth. A Sonnett was included in my Rondo I kit. I did not get the plus Kit, just the Rondo two and charging station. The truth is, I like the Rondo2 so much, I will probably never want to use my Sonnett again. 

[Mary Beth]

@Hearing Again

That is so cool!  I have been hearing that a lot.  People are falling in love with Rondo 2!  It makes me so excited. I hope to be able to get Rondo 2 processors eventually.

Connevans in the UK and ships internationally has had the lowest price I have seen for Roger MyLink neckloop receivers.  I believe @Jdashiell recently purchased one.  Maybe Joe can give you more info.

[Hearing Again]

Hey Mary Beth, thanks for the info. Hope all is well. And yes, the Rondo 2 is sooooo simple. 

[Mary Beth]

@Jdashiell

How is your Roger MyLink working out for you?  Did you end up ordering a type 2 or type 3 ?  Was ordering through Connevans easy?

[Ron L Sinclair]

Hi Mary Beth. I did learn how to configure an adaptive program on my Sonnet to help understand hearing in noise. Like someone across the table in a restaurant or hearing the cashier at the grocery store checkout line. Turns out to be helpful when a Roger startup  is not convenient. And that was to start with a clean adaptive setup where the reset button was pressed so essentially it is in the midpoint of the sensitivity range. Then press the lower sensitivity button 6 times, (out of an available 8 possible down clicks.) Also lowered the volume a  number of clicks. In essence this means your mic range just reaches across the table and not out to where there is more noise and also the back mic is essentially out of the picture. Then of course look directly at the person you are speaking with.

Seems to work. Did my first restaurant visit where I coped without firing up Roger and coped. The checkout line cashier situation was also improved. I have this set as program 4 so can quickly switch into it when I need to.

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

I am glad you found a way to make your adaptive program useful.  If you tell your audiologist the adjustments you are making both in volume and sensitivity, she may be able to make those changes to your adaptive program so then you would just need to switch to adaptive and not also make the volume and sensitivity changes.

 

Adaptive uses two mics with beam forming to knock out sounds from behind us and focus in (kind of zoom in) on speech.  I find it quite impressive when I remember to switch to it in noise.  Smile.

[Ron L Sinclair]

How do you configure your adaptive Mary Beth? What works best for you?

[Mary Beth]

@Ron L Sinclair

On my Sonnets my mic directionality of choice is omni (1 mic).  So I use that almost always.  

I tried natural mic setting but found it too restrictive.  I like access to sounds all around me.

 

So we created a program that sounds great to me in omni mic setting.  That is in program slot 1.

Then we saved the same program in adaptive mic setting in program slot 2.

When I am in very noisy places I can use the Fine Tuner to switch quickly to program 2 and I am all set.  It works very well for me.

[DarlaHS]

I received my Rondo 2 bilaterally this past Friday. I do find the volume a bit loud otherwise until today I really liked them. 

Today I wore them out to a doctor appointment. I found myself in a predicament that I urgently needed to use my phone (iPhone) and I could not. 

What am I supposed to do? If they cannot be an asset in a emergency situation, not good.

[Mary Beth]

@DarlaHS

I am sorry you had trouble with your phone.  Here are some ways I use my cell phone with Rondo processors:

-I hold the small area of the cell phone that sends sound out during calls over the Rondo mic

-I use Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop with Rondo on MT

You can also....

-put the phone on speakerphone 

-call through the free InnoCaption+ app/service for real time captions

-put the Rondo on MT and hold the phone near the 6:00 position on the Rondo (opposite the mic)

-plug CozyPhones into your phone like headphones 

-Connect your phone via BT to Roger Select/Roger Pen and use the Roger MyLink neckloop receiver with Rondo on MT

 

I am listing various options that work for people so hopefully you find one that works for you.

When I am testing out ways to hear on the phone, I call Telephone With Confidence to listen to recorded messages.  It is a stress free way to experiment with listening on the phone.

I am sorry you had an unpleasant experience.  That is no fun at all.