Newly implanted! Hello everyone.

[Flywithme]

Hi everyone. 

I'm glad to have come to this forum to learn so many valuable knowledge and information about CI prior to my surgery. Thank you all for sharing your stories. 

I was newly implanted with MED-EL Synchrony last Friday Aug 06th at Sunnybrook in Toronto. So far the recovery process has been good except with the tinnitus buzzing, and the occasional dizziness (though it has subsided). I wasn't prescribed with any medication or antibiotics, just regular Tylenol. I'm surprised how minimal the pain is. The medical team at Sunnybrook did an amazing job. The surgeon managed to preserve some of my residual hearing, as I can still hear some sounds now. However, I'm not sure how long the residual hearing will last.  

I'm looking forward to the activation on Sept 01st with Rondo 3. 

Questions:

1. Does any of the CI users experience difficulties in understanding speech when talking to someone that wears a face mask?

2. Does the speech sound very differently with mask on and without?   My speech comprehension with mask on is almost 0%. I constantly have to use Otter transcriber app when talking to people. I hope CI will help improve this. 

Cheers. 

Charlie 

[Mary Beth]

@Flywithme

Congratulations Charlie!  Wishing you the best on your CI journey.

Speech does sound different through face masks.  In fact, research has been done on how various face masks alter speech and recommendations for program changes for understanding speech through masks are available.  Different frequencies of speech are impacted to various degrees when the speaker uses a face mask.

I do well in my regular program , even with masks.  Sometimes it is challenging though depending on the person’s voice.  Others have face mask programs and like those.  Definitely worth discussing with your audiologist after you reach a stable CI MAP (program).

I look forward to following your CI journey.

[Eric in Tulsa]

It’s great to hear of your experience Charlie.

I have not been implanted yet and I’m soaking up as much information as I can. I love posts like yours. I’m SSD, and am blessed with good hearing in the other ear. But being one eared in a two eared world is still a disadvantage. I can’t locate sounds, I can’t discern some sounds from others. So sometimes, I mistake running water for the wind, and vice versa. I also have trouble understanding speech behind the masks. 
I’m encouraged that you felt little pain. Did they shave any hair off?

Please post updates as they occur.

 

 

[Flywithme]

@Mary Beth Thank you for your message. I'm glad that you do well in your regular program with masks. I will definitely discuss this with my audiologist. I'll post more updates once they become available.  

[Flywithme]

@Eric in Tulsa Thank you for your message. Isn't this forum amazing? I've learned so much about CI. 

I'm glad to hear that yo have good hearing in one ear. I have moderate to severe progressive hearing loss in both ears. Previously I've worn hearing aids but they didn't do much for me due to the auditory neuropathy condition that my ENT suspected. My speech recognition during the most recent hearing test was 0%. So she referred me to the ear surgeon for CI and it turned out I'm a candidate for it. However, the surgeon said the results are not guaranteed but we could try it with the right ear first. If the CI works, we'll do the left ear. I truly hope it will work. 

Answer to your question, yes, they did shave a little bit of my hair off around the ear, but hardly detectable as I have short hair. 

Good luck to your surgery. I'll look forward to hearing your journey.