Marlene Posted October 13, 2019 Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 My name is Marlene Huxter . I am 74 years of age , I have been deaf in my left ear for about 25 years , I had a brain tumour and my hearing was unable to be saved. About 18 years ago I started wearing a hearing aid in my right ear, for a few years it worked ok but not great, it was changed numerous times. On the 5th of January 2017 I awoke to no sound. I must admit I was devastated. I was fitted with a very powerful hearing aid but it helped little. So I received a Synchrony implant this past July 16, my activation was on August 6th. So far I think I’m doing ok and my Audi is very pleased. Things are not always easy to hear and I do not understand music and song anymore, but it’s early days. I will take what I can get I have much to learn about everything but I am a very patient person and I look forward to meeting all of you with whatever help you can offer. Thank you for being here Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 13, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 Hi @Marlene and welcome to HearPeers! Congratulations on getting your CI. Are you using Sonnet or Rondo 2 as your processor? A lot changes during the first year. How are things sounding to you now? It’s still early days for you. I will tag you in a topic of the practice activities that helped me. Glad to have you here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted October 13, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 Hi, @Marlene and welcome! A lot will change in the first year - it's exciting! I'm glad you're regaining the ability to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlene Posted October 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 Not sure how to find my way around here yet , hope I’m answering in the right place. I have the Sonnet and Rondo 2 , love both, but the rondo 2 gives my ear the well needed break as I wear eyeglasses . Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 13, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 Many people who have the Rondo 2 absolutely love it! @Marlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted October 13, 2019 Report Share Posted October 13, 2019 Marlene welcome. You will find a lot of interesting and useful information as you scroll through the various topics on the forum. I was activated about 3 months before you. The best advice I can give you is to dedicate yourself to aural rehab. It can be boring and frustrating but, in my view, is very important. I’m not where I want to be after 6 months but I am better than I else’s at 3 months - so keep your chin up! Mary Beth and Mary Featherston 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted October 16, 2019 Report Share Posted October 16, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 5:05 PM, JohnL said: Marlene welcome. You will find a lot of interesting and useful information as you scroll through the various topics on the forum. I was activated about 3 months before you. The best advice I can give you is to dedicate yourself to aural rehab. It can be boring and frustrating but, in my view, is very important. I’m not where I want to be after 6 months but I am better than I else’s at 3 months - so keep your chin up! Good luck Marlene. Hi johnl. When I listen to Pavarotti it's frustrating not boring, laughable, will he ever come right? Go for the sounds that are nearly right and soon they will be exciting. Keep going it will improve. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted October 17, 2019 Report Share Posted October 17, 2019 Peter Thanks for checking in. I’m trying to focus on getting speech understanding at a good level. Although I do try to listen to my iPod in the car with music I recognize to try to understand it better. Now I can pick up the words but not really the melody. Of course, it’s not Pavarotti! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted October 18, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 18, 2019 @pdk Peter, in my experience it takes a long, long time for your brain to sort music out. I'm starting to hear music better (On November 1st it will be the first anniversary of my second activation). I have had a long commute since June - about 45 minutes in each direction and I listen to music the whole time. It seems to be helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Hi Mary F Yes music is slowly improving for me. Harry Belafonte sounds good for me now. Susan Boyle Wild Horses still a long way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 I'd like to add how important practice is. I would like to suggest something which may stir the pot. I don't think Audiologists in general provide enough info on training especially Computer backed training. I think we should go one level higher and ask the manufacturers to jack up their support and start providing references especially for all the new comers. How many of you out there feel supported apart from the usual mapping updates? Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShannonB Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 It is valuable to have a listening partner/coach and take notes in the beginning months. I have a great audiologist but an an audiologist is not going to be able to get the full picture of strengths and weaknesses through a 25-word list in a hearing booth. During the initial months of having a CI, I had done an online search for word lists used for hearing tests as well as sentence matrixes. My listening coach would track which words I got incorrect and if there was a pattern of missed consonants and vowels that I could report on at my next mapping appointment. Those frequencies that the consonants and vowels can be adjusted. Music took time, and I understood male vocalists before women vocalists. Now, I'm picking out the words that I've had wrong in songs after decades of wearing hearing aids. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 20, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 @ShannonB I agree. Tracking my errors by phonemes (Ex I heard “pat” but the word was “pack”) was very useful info during my MAPping appointments. My audiologist is very skilled at making small changes to programs or explaining why a specific phoneme confusion just needs more time and practice (Ex. Those phonemes share almost identical formants.) Med-El is releasing aural rehab activities for adults. They announced this recently. I think that will be so helpful! Med-El has already released many aural rehab units for parents/therapists to use with children. The need for guidance on training our brains to get the most from our CIs is why I am passionate about the REHAB topics on HearPeers. Especially as more older individuals receive CIs. Support is needed. It’s a wonderful journey but it is not an easy one. I can’t wait to see the new adult aural rehab materials from Med-El ! @MED-EL Moderator MED-EL Moderator 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 I wish I had thought about the tracking of phonemes- or at least vowels and consonants - before. I can understand how that would be so helpful to an audiologist in an attempt to improve speech understanding. My audiologists are great but they give me a “booth” test with a list of words and score on both words and phonemes but they seem to reprogram/map based on tones that they play thru the CI. The idea of testing consonants/vowels during our own rehab and reporting that to audiologists is one we should let everyone know about. BTW angel sounds has a whole module on vowels and consonants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted October 20, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 @JohnL The IOWA phoneme test is a great, fast way to check phoneme errors. I used it with a partner while training everyday and tracked my errors. It is helpful to note what we hear as well as what the target phoneme is (I hear ahhhgaa but my partner said ahhhdaa). My audiologist and I use it to test out MAP changes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted October 22, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted October 22, 2019 On 10/20/2019 at 6:52 AM, pdk said: I'd like to add how important practice is. I would like to suggest something which may stir the pot. I don't think Audiologists in general provide enough info on training especially Computer backed training. I think we should go one level higher and ask the manufacturers to jack up their support and start providing references especially for all the new comers. How many of you out there feel supported apart from the usual mapping updates? Peter Peter, my clinic provides an appointment with a person whose job title I've forgotten, but it's a chance to get recommendations on rehab apps and software and other methods of practicing hearing with CIs. Between this forum and my audiologist I didn't really learn anything new, but she did test word comprehension and I realized that I was being lazy with my second CI and got a bit more focused on my rehab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted October 25, 2019 Report Share Posted October 25, 2019 Great response, my mapping is done soley with tones, trying to achieve a constant volume over the audio range. Going to a meeting next week to discuss apps for training. I'll keep you updated. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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