HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted June 5, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 Hi HearPeers friends, A dear friend of mine has an appt to be evaluated for a cochlear implant in two weeks. She is in her 80s. I am looking for others who were implanted at age 80 or beyond so she can learn from their experiences. Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy C Posted June 5, 2020 Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 @Mary Beth i do not fit the age that you Ask for exactly, but close. I was implanted late August 2019 at age 79. As of May 2020 I am 80. I would be happy to answer any questions about my experiences and decision making process if it would be of benefit your friend. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted June 5, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 Thank you @Tommy C! I will update you after her appt in 2 weeks. I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted September 1, 2020 Report Share Posted September 1, 2020 On 6/5/2020 at 4:25 PM, Mary Beth said: Hi HearPeers friends, A dear friend of mine has an appt to be evaluated for a cochlear implant in two weeks. She is in her 80s. I am looking for others who were implanted at age 80 or beyond so she can learn from their experiences. Any help is appreciated. Thanks! I had mine 2 months before my 80th birthday and by the time I get the next one I'll be 81. It's brilliant. Peter Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Delap Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 I am almost 85 years old and have been accepted to a cochlear implant. I am currently trying to choose between Med El and other options. My queries / concerns are: What is the battery life like? Do they last all day? Are you given spare re-chargables? What is meant my directionality? How does Med-el perform with picking up sounds from the front / side / behind? How do you use the Audio link? Is it an extra microphone? Can you put it close to someone else to improve your hearing? I have some residual hearing. How does Med-el enhance this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 4, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 @Tim Delap Congratulations on being approved for a CI! My CIs have been life changing. Rechargeable battery life of Rondo 2 is 18 hours and rechargeable battery life of the new Rondo 3 is 24 hours. Rondo processors are one piece, off the ear, very easy to use processors. Directionality is how a processor uses two microphones to help us hear better in noise. I hear sounds great from all around me. Your audiologist has microphone setting options and you can have 4 programs on your processor at the same time. AudioLink does work as remote mic that can be clipped on one person or set on a table. It also connects to the TV, our cell phones, any device with a headphone jack too. Depending on the amount and frequency of your residual hearing you may be offered an electro acoustic option called Sonnet 2 EAS. This is a question best addressed to your CI surgeon and audiologist as they know your exact hearing levels. We are holding our monthly GoogleMeet video chat with captions soon. If you want to join in, you are welcome. It’s a friendly group of Med-El CI users. If you are interested, just let us know. Wishing you the very best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdk Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 Hi Tim I can only add that whichever solution You choose will be the right one. A CI implant will almost definitely improve your ability to hear. Just find support that You like and trust and go for it. Mary Beth has furnished technical details for Med-El but I'm sure any one of the Big 3 can provide a satisfactory solution. You have certainly joined the best Forum. Good Luck Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Delap Posted September 5, 2020 Report Share Posted September 5, 2020 Dear Peter, Thank you very much for your response to my question. It is very encouraging to find so much enthusiasm for CI. Thanks, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Delap Posted September 12, 2020 Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 Mary Beth, Peter, any others.. I am still trying to decide between Med-El, Cochlear and Advanced Bionics. Med-El is favourite in many ways, but I do have a concern about connectivity. I understand that I can only stream into one ear (implanted one). I wonder if anyone has any views on how this works? Med-El also has no hearing aid designed to work specifically with the processor. Should I be concerned about this? My current hearing aids, which stream directly from my i-phone, are Bernafon. I understand I will still be using them with Med-el (if I choose it), so perhaps my sound will stream from both. On the other hand, it may not be possible to receive streaming from 2 devices, there may be interference? I'm a bit confused. I'd be really interested to see your experience "from the chalk face" best wishes Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 12, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 @Tim Delap It is a difficult decision to make so take your time. The way we hear with a CI is primarily based on the internal implant. And hopefully we have that for life. The external CI processors and connectivity options change very rapidly. I have been implanted for 5 1/2 years and in that time Med-El has released... Sonnet Sonnet 2 Rondo 2 Rondo 3 (announced for a late 2020 release) With each new processor design, connectivity options advance. It is fortunate that we need CIs during this rapid tech development era. If you are bimodal with Med-El at this time you have these wireless streaming options for getting audio to both your HA and CI..... -Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop (tiny, light, easy to use) as long as your HA has an active telecoil. (This is a great option for the one piece Rondo processor too.) -BT around the ear headphones like BOSE QC35 (They did not cause feedback in my power hearing aid when I was bimodal.) If you don’t mind wires you also can use music hooks (silhouettes). Again your HA needs to have an active telecoil. I think the competition between CI brands is great for us because it pushes each brand. That has been evident with one piece processor designs, MRI compatibility, apps, connectivity options, wireless charging, etc. My preferred connectivity option is the Artone. I have been happily using it for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.