Your Favourite Rehab Tool

[pdk]

Nice work John. Just logged into medular, will check it out.

You could add my android apps getanearful and bendmyear

[AnnetteT]

@John R, I'm getting ready to subscribe to Meludia soon as I was just activated yesterday. I'm working with a piano first to get at least some pitch discrimination before starting, though 🙂. I could actually tell the difference after doing chromatic interval playing/listening for a few hours on activation day (obviously I wasn't discriminating half tones, but I was starting to imagine that I was comprehending major triads and octaves on the left side of the keyboard).

[AnnetteT]

By the way, I tried out the Auralia Cloud training tool with a guest subscription. It had a plethora of many types of really great music listening exercises, but even level 1 was too challenging for my 3 days-from implantation ears. I'll stick with the piano for now and then try out Meludia. . I would try @pdk's android app, but am an iPhone user🙂 (and my work Android doesn't allow side-loaded apps). 

cc: @John R, @Dianna, @pdk

[pdk]

In my early implant days, playing the scales on the guitar helped tremendously. Going from g down to e made f sound wrong but playing from e to g sounded fine. Fast scales came right quickly. Piano was the best sounding instrument.

[AnnetteT]

@pdk, I've been working on solving for the "up the scale" vs "down the scale" variability that you mention by first trying to resolve any clash between the octave interval for my scale (e.g. lower C with higher C) and then playing each note on the scale sandwiched between those notes the scale (e.g. lower C, <interior note>, higher C). I'm also torturing myself with half steps, trying to distinguish all 12 tones and their interval with the base note across the full piano range (though some octaves are obviously out of range for my implant). I have reached the point where notes a half step apart sound different from each other, but am not always sure if they are higher or lower when half steps apart.  I've also found the lower frequency limit of my longer array while watching a show with an actor with a very low voice that has been transposed up an octave.

[pdk]

On 2/21/2022 at 9:17 PM, AnnetteT said:

@pdk, I've been working on solving for the "up the scale" vs "down the scale" variability that you mention by first trying to resolve any clash between the octave interval for my scale (e.g. lower C with higher C) and then playing each note on the scale sandwiched between those notes the scale (e.g. lower C, <interior note>, higher C). I'm also torturing myself with half steps, trying to distinguish all 12 tones and their interval with the base note across the full piano range (though some octaves are obviously out of range for my implant). I have reached the point where notes a half step apart sound different from each other, but am not always sure if they are higher or lower when half steps apart.  I've also found the lower frequency limit of my longer array while watching a show with an actor with a very low voice that has been transposed up an octave.

It's interesting hearing a note which sounds out of place. I have not been playing my guitar lately but like you can hear the half tone change. I also can hear the bottom note on the piano, the top note is more clapper sound rather than a note. I have no residual hearing and know the bottom frequency for the CI i 200. The bottom note on the piano is 28   . So how does that work. The top of range is 8000 so you should hear that. Just tried and can hear the note change as I play down the scale . It is more a bang than a note. I'm really enjoying the ability to listen to more and more instruments.

[Neal in FL]

Another favorite spoken word with text site for me: http://poets.org/audio. Zillions of poems being read by a variety of voices. Also a great fan of the variety of speech and music programs in Angel Sound (http://angelsound.tigerspeech.com/) and for a highly interactive rehab for voice recognition in the LACE program (https://laceauditorytraining.com/). I have been using Spotify for practicing musical listening. I can hear individual notes spanning the entire piano keyboard, but the accuracy of pitch perception is still a work in progress for me. There seem also to be a few rehab programs in the works soon, so I'll check back after they're done with the beta tests. 

[pdk]

On 3/18/2022 at 11:55 PM, Neal in FL said:

Another favorite spoken word with text site for me: http://poets.org/audio. Zillions of poems being read by a variety of voices. Also a great fan of the variety of speech and music programs in Angel Sound (http://angelsound.tigerspeech.com/) and for a highly interactive rehab for voice recognition in the LACE program (https://laceauditorytraining.com/). I have been using Spotify for practicing musical listening. I can hear individual notes spanning the entire piano keyboard, but the accuracy of pitch perception is still a work in progress for me. There seem also to be a few rehab programs in the works soon, so I'll check back after they're done with the beta tests. 

Got page not found for the poems.

Medel has a list for CI listeners.

https://pdkknight.editorx.io/getanearful/blank-10

[AnnetteT]

13 hours ago, pdk said:

Got page not found for the poems.

 

@pdk, Try https://poets.org/audio (it appears that the insecure http: reverts to page not found instead of auto-forwarding to https)

[AnnetteT]

On 2/22/2022 at 10:38 PM, pdk said:

It's interesting hearing a note which sounds out of place. I have not been playing my guitar lately but like you can hear the half tone change. I also can hear the bottom note on the piano, the top note is more clapper sound rather than a note. I have no residual hearing and know the bottom frequency for the CI i 200. The bottom note on the piano is 28   . So how does that work. The top of range is 8000 so you should hear that. Just tried and can hear the note change as I play down the scale . It is more a bang than a note. I'm really enjoying the ability to listen to more and more instruments.

sorry, I missed this when you wrote it. I too get the "clapper" sounds in high notes and then wonder if it's related to my general issues with high notes. I've been listening to an operatic soprano to get this (I think it's my auditory nerve and maybe some compression in the device that might be causing this--it gets better after doing marathon listening sessions with high notes I think). 

I think that the bottom notes that are out of CI frequency range are transposed and some sort of AI is used to make them seem lower in tone than the octaves above them. I'm not sure, though.

[Neal in FL]

16 hours ago, AnnetteT said:

@pdk, Try https://poets.org/audio (it appears that the insecure http: reverts to page not found instead of auto-forwarding to https)

Quite right. Thanks and apologies for missing s.

[pdk]

21 hours ago, AnnetteT said:

sorry, I missed this when you wrote it. I too get the "clapper" sounds in high notes and then wonder if it's related to my general issues with high notes. I've been listening to an operatic soprano to get this (I think it's my auditory nerve and maybe some compression in the device that might be causing this--it gets better after doing marathon listening sessions with high notes I think). 

I think that the bottom notes that are out of CI frequency range are transposed and some sort of AI is used to make them seem lower in tone than the octaves above them. I'm not sure, though.

Will make some experiments. Due for mapping on 29th. What with nails scratching on nylon strings and notes lost to clappers, challenges.

[AnnetteT]

5 hours ago, pdk said:

Will make some experiments. Due for mapping on 29th. What with nails scratching on nylon strings and notes lost to clappers, challenges.

I hope that your mapping helps with these issues. I'm going to be getting my next mapping in a bit over a week and am eager to see how it goes. I'll let you know if it helps with the clapper effect. 

[AnnetteT]

10 hours ago, Neal in FL said:

Quite right. Thanks and apologies for missing s.

Thank you for this link! Great resource

[pdk]

21 hours ago, Neal in FL said:

Quite right. Thanks and apologies for missing s.

Thanks. The link works. However my definition of poetry is a little different. I'll do some searching later.

[AnnetteT]

6 hours ago, pdk said:

Thanks. The link works. However my definition of poetry is a little different. I'll do some searching later.

@pdk, It does appear that most of these poems are by newer poets. 

I actually enjoy listening to more traditional poetry on YouTube. If you like Poe, then you might like The Raven or The Bells. 

[Tiel]

I have been using Auribus on my iPad. It has a lot of content, which keeps me from getting bored. 

EDIT: The app is for apple only and can be found on the appstore.

[Mary Beth]

@Tiel

There is not much information out yet about that app.  It says it was created by a team of AVT but never lists their names.  The 2 names associated with this new app seem to be engineers.  The app itself is free but requires in app purchases.  If you have more information about the app and the prices please share.

[Tiel]

@Mary Beth I am not sure about the team, but the app is free and doesn’t require purchases. The subscription is optional. As I stated earlier, it has a lot of content, and I haven’t hit any roadblocks even though I’ve been using it extensively. The subscription apparently unlocks more complex courses and drills. I will probably be purchasing; this is easily the best tool I’ve used. I will let you all know how it goes.

[Mary Beth]

@Tiel

Thanks.  I will test it out next week.  I always love to explore helpful aural rehab apps/activities.

[Tiel]

I went ahead and signed up for a monthly subscription to Auribus. The core auditory training course is what I am working on. It is like choosing your own adventure, but there seems to be an order to the content. My favorite deck is where you hear two sounds, and you have to enter what you heard in the correct order. It is less taxing to have many related, but different materials to go through. They have a blog post that helped me understand the concepts https://www.auribuslabs.com/post/how-to-use-auribus which helped me understand the diff between tests and decks. 

I'll post my updates on going through this material.

[Tiel]

It has been a month since I started using Auribus for AT. Thought I would post an update on my progress and a few observations.

First off, the app is really slick and responsive. I was using Hearoes, but the interface was really challenging, and the gamification felt like something my 8-year-old made and, in the end, was more of a distraction. Auribus lets me focus, and I can grind through a few decks in the morning and then again in the afternoon. I spend an hour+ per day.

I am working my way through the primary AT course focusing on several decks. After a few iterations on a deck, you are essentially left with the challenging sounds that you have. The most memorable ones are final constants like witch/wish that I used to guess out of context. Now I feel that I am really picking up on the nuances in those sounds. 

Auribus is currently my only AT tool, with supplementary work limited to consuming videos.  Not a scientific result, but I am now listening to youtube videos without captions and feel like I am understanding much more than before.  I still cheat on videos with accents and turn on captions. Once I am more confident with American English, I will change to British English and give that a go. 

 

 

[Tiel]

It is the end of October, and I am still working on my AT with Auribus. My progress has been a consistent grind with a session (almost) daily where I grind through a series of decks. I have been working through nonsense words. Sometimes, I get bored and switch on noise or change the language to British English. Airport noise is by far the most challenging.

I will probably continue my subscription, but after months of using this, it feels that MED-EL should have included this app with my implant costs or at least given me a discount. In the end, it is still easier than going and seeing someone who would do the same exercises with me.

[EdenStokes]

One of my go-to tools is the Headspace app, which offers mindfulness and meditation exercises that can be incredibly helpful for anyone on their rehab journey. It's accessible for both beginners and seasoned users, providing a wide range of guided practices to support mental well-being. Another great resource is the Sober Grid app, which connects individuals in recovery with a supportive community and helpful resources. It's an excellent way to find encouragement and accountability from others who understand the challenges of sobriety. Also, if anyone is struggling with addiction, I recently found a detox center that offers addiction treatment programs. It could be a valuable resource for those in need of support.