HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted September 15, 2021 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted September 15, 2021 From One CI User to Another: My Hearing Loss & CI Journey Mary Beth My hearing story I was born with typical hearing but by age 13 my progressive hearing loss began. I have otosclerosis which is genetic but my version started earlier than normal and progressed faster than normal. My hearing continued to decline. The doctors tried to surgically fix the hearing in my right ear but after 4 surgeries on that ear, I had lost total hearing in that ear. So for the next 24 years I only heard from the hearing aid in my left ear. I needed more and more powerful hearing aids as time went on. Eventually hearing aids just were not enough. My world was shrinking as I needed to rely on speech reading with the left hearing aid to follow conversations. I am a teacher and hearing all day in class was exhausting. I came home tired and frustrated from the challenges of listening every day. So in late 2014 I went for an evaluation to see if a cochlear implant would help. My dead ear was implanted first in February 2015 and turned on (activated) in March. At first it only heard static and beeps but within hours it was starting to hear words. Absolutely amazing! I practiced with listening exercises and apps every day and every day I could hear and understand more and more. Absolutely life changing! I could not wait to get my left ear implanted and hear this good in both ears. My left ear was implanted 8 months after my right. Within months of its activation I was listening with balanced ears for the first time in decades. It is so awesome! I remember very well how frustrated and anxious I felt before getting a cochlear implant. These CIs have been the best decision ever for me. Life changing. Wishing you the very best! My hearing loss and journey to cochlear implants Podcast interview with transcription https://cochlearimplantbasics.com/2021/06/mary-beth-napoli/ First cochlear implant Guest blog https://blog.medel.com/why-a-teacher-of-the-deaf-chose-a-med-el-cochlear-implant/ Second cochlear implant Guest blog https://blog.medel.com/bilateral-cochlear-implants-mary-beths-story/ Cochlear Implants: Selection and Activation YouTube captioned video https://youtu.be/uAG0fCgafqk Cochlear implants and music journey Guest blog https://blog.medel.com/3-steps-to-rediscovering-music-with-a-cochlear-implant/ YouTube captioned video https://youtu.be/1WNwVDH9G2k MED-EL Moderator, Lauren, AnnetteT and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted November 12, 2021 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted November 12, 2021 @Msz3 look above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Msz3 Posted November 14, 2021 Report Share Posted November 14, 2021 Wow that's a journey, there's certainly seems to be a lot of different points of view, but in general everyone seems to be happy with their choices. Thank you for your story. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosane Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 Hi Mary Beth, I hope you are doing well. I was wondering if there is any update for this topic: "Trying to receive Roger input only with Sonnet 21". I actually have the Roger 02 X receiver. Seems like Roger connected to Sonnet is preset for 50/50 when ideally should be 100/0. Were you able to figure out how to change this setting to get ONLY Roger input with Sonnet without surrounding sound? Please let me know. All the best, Rosane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted December 13, 2021 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 @Rosane The only way to get Roger only (100/0) mix with Sonnet/Sonnet2 is to use the Roger neckloop or Roger MyLink neckloop with the Sonnet/Sonnet2 set on T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosane Posted December 13, 2021 Report Share Posted December 13, 2021 Thank you, Mary Beth! I find it pretty intriguing there is no easy/better solution since the main point of using a Roger Pen is exactly to isolate external sounds and be able to hear better one source. Best, Rosane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted December 14, 2021 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted December 14, 2021 @Rosane in the school system we use Roger technology often for our deaf and hard of hearing students. In those settings we use 50/50 mix so students hear their teachers, their classmates and themselves. When I stream audiobooks everyday for pleasure, I prefer streaming audio only. The Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop lets me stream from my phone to my Sonnets and T lets me hear the book only. I am a fan. Here is a link to my captioned review in case you are interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosane Posted December 14, 2021 Report Share Posted December 14, 2021 Thank you for the info, Mary Beth. It's helpful indeed. I would still be interested in finding a solution with no need to use an additional tool. I would imagine that Med El and Roger should be able to find a way to create a setting to choose either 50/50 or 100/0. The 50/50 setting for the school situation as you mentioned is ideal. But there should be an option for those that need 100/0. Thank you for sending the video - I will look into this tool. all the best, Rosane Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 18, 2022 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 Was asked about this link so just loving it up to the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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