Roger DM connectivity with Sonnet

[suzcohen]

@Mary BethHope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! Quick troubleshooting question for Mary Beth and the group. Has anyone ever had trouble connecting a Sonnet with a Roger 21 receiver to a Phonak transmitter? My son has been able to pair his RIGHT CI to the school's Phonak Pen Touchscreen as well as to his personal Phonak Roger Pen. However, we have not been able to pair his LEFT CI to the same transmitters....we've swapped out speech processor, disposable battery cage, coil, cable and three different Roger 21 receivers (which we've verified pair with the RIGHT CI) with no luck. We're told there are no settings in a MAPPING that affect FM/DM connectivity. We're at a loss and wondering if anyone else has had this issue. Thanks for any thoughts! Suzanne

[Mary Beth]

@suzcohen

Let’s start at the beginning.

Roger receivers must be paired one at a time with any Roger transmitter.  Have you tried pairing the left Roger 21 by holding the Roger receiver close to it while the right Roger 21 is quite a distance away (not on his right ear or close by).

 

Roger Touchscreen Mic (is that the transmitter used at school?) is a terrific transmitter and has a screen display showing connectivity.

[Mary Beth]

@suzcohen

If your son removes his right Sonnet and only listens with his left Sonnet (without using the Roger tech), can he hear well?

[suzcohen]

Thanks @Mary Beth!  Yes, we've tried to pair just the LEFT CI/Roger DM with the RIGHT CI turned off.  Even with 4 different Roger 21 receivers (which work when paired with the RIGHT CI), we have had no success. 

My son does well with his LEFT CI in the unilateral state (72% on the AZBio Sentences-Quiet), but he does far better with his RIGHT CI (98% on the AZBio Sentences-Quiet).  His first CI was his RIGHT CI at 12 months; he received his second LEFT CI at 4.5 years.  Combined, he does much better in the bilateral listing condition in noise.

Another mom just suggested we try using the rechargeable battery pack with the LEFT CI to see if it makes a difference.  I will try that as soon as they charge up.  She said she's found the Roger 21's to be very finicky as well, but I haven't heard of other adult recipients reporting that.

I appreciate your comments.  Take Care,  Suzanne

 

 

[Mary Beth]

@suzcohen

It is very interesting.  Since the same Roger 21 will work when on the right Sonnet, it seems like the Roger 21 is fine.

And I expect the Roger 21 that was working on the right Sonnet, fails to work if you move it to the left Sonnet?

You said you tried a different left Sonnet and had the same problem.

And you have tried different Roger transmitters to be sure the issue is not with the transmitter itself.

This must be frustrating.

In the meantime, if you or the school has a Roger X type (02) receiver and a Sonnet FM battery cover with 3 holes on the bottom, you can use that on the left side along with the Roger 21 on the right side.  Be sure to set the Roger X (02) receiver to the CI setting for Sonnets using the Touchscreen Mic.  It is easy to do and once set it will stay set.

or

your son could temporarily use a Roger MyLink neckloop receiver (under his shirt if desired) and put both processors in MT.

I will reach out to our Phonak rep and see if he has heard of this. 
 

 

[suzcohen]

@Mary BethThanks for all these thoughts, Mary Beth!  Yes, the Roger 21 that works on his RIGHT CI side fails to work when moved to the LEFT CI side.  We completely replaced every component of the LEFT CI, including new speech processor.

 

This morning, we just tried using the RECHARGEABLE battery on the LEFT CI and we were instantly able to connect the Roger Pen to the Roger 21 receiver on his LEFT implant.  A mom in Colorado had encountered the same issue.  After months of replacing the Roger 21 receivers, and then systematically changing out all component parts on the LEFT CI, it never occurred to me to that the disposable batteries were the problem.  Just speculating, but I wonder if some CI maps combined with the Roger DM require greater power input than the Sonnet's 2-battery disposable batteries are able to provide?  I will share this with our educational audiologist so she can go back to Phonak as they had no ideas for us on how to remedy our issue.  This could be an issue for other kids whose maps are very different between one CI and their contralateral CI.

 

Thanks again for your support!  Suzanne

 

 

[Mary Beth]

@suzcohen

YAY!  So glad you have a work around.  Definitely have your son carry extra Sonnet standard rechargeable batteries to school because people are reporting that with Roger use one standard rechargeable battery is not lasting until their children return home.

 

Just out of curiosity, what type disposable batteries were you using?

 

In my experience, the Sonnets are very finicky about power (disposable & rechargeable).  It can be frustrating.

[suzcohen]

We are currently using ZeniPower MF Implant Power 675P batteries.  Have you found a brand that is most effective for you?  Take Care, Suzanne

[Mary Beth]

@suzcohen

I had so much trouble with ZeniPower CI batteries and my Sonnets.  Many people did.  False dead battery beeps.  Terrible battery life.  Quite a few of us contacted Med-El US about it several years ago.

 

Power One Implant batteries consistently work great for me in my Sonnets.  If your insurance covers batteries, you can order Power One Implant batteries through Med-El .  If your insurance does not cover batteries, the exact same batteries are available online for less money.  
 

If you decide to try Power One Implant batteries in your son’s Sonnets with the Roger 21, I’d love to hear about your experience.

[Mary Beth]