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Cochlear vs present hearing aids

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My audi didn’t want me to setup/use the smart app yet since it would default sending sound to that ear. But I will see what I ca find.

Not sure all of the details/verbiage. showed that cochlea and semicurcular canals are intact. My jugular bulb is larger and sits higher than normal - close to the IAC. I know that piece impacted the surgical plan. Dr found more significant ossification than expected during surgery as well.

That’s the extent of my “knowledge”.

OK Present situation is: Went to the this morning and the conclusion was that improvement with a would be marginal. Presently I have 48% word recognition in my right ear and 20% in the left ear but I have 80% with hearing aids in both ears. My main problem is distortion and echo in my right ear even without the hearing aid. The next step is to be evaluated by the surgeon/doctor to see if he can find out what is causing the distortion and echo. I have an appoint in a few weeks to see if anything can be done.

One good result at this point is that I bought a used Resound Multi Mic for $29 and when I put that down on the table I can hear my wife much better. Also it works great for streaming form my computer or my tablet. I thought that it was worth a try for $29 and if it works I could purchase the $200+ unit. So far the used unit seems to be working well. I will get a chance to do some more experimenting at the Christmas meals to see how things work when there are several folks around the table. Also I will see how things work in a restaurant setting.

In reply to @FredO

A bit of an update for anyone interested —

I had an Advanced Bionics implanted in Jan 2025 on L with a Phonak Naida Link M on R. Lately my hearing has been heavily distorted so the surgeon ordered a scan that showed the electrode had shifted position with surgery required to correct. (He said that is the 2nd occurrence of this problem he has encountered.)

My surgery has been postponed twice because of an upper respiratory infection (bronchitis or at least a bad cold). Surgery is now scheduled for 23 Jan. with follow-up reprogramming on 13 Mar.

Fred

Sorry to hear about this issue. I hope you get to feeling better

Is this a warranty problem?

Edited

Thanks for the well-wishes.

Had “revision surgery” 23 Feb. which went well – almost zero pain and no nausea (unlike the original surgery last year). Surgeon told my wife he put “packing” around the cable to hold it in place.

8 days later, surgeon checked incision, which has mostly healed & audiologist reprogrammed unit. Sounded very distorted at first but was told I’ll adjust to it – which has been happening. I can hear reasonably-well now. Have another programming apt. this Fri.

Best wishes to you too.
Fred

@FredO said:

Sounded very distorted at first but was told I’ll adjust to it – which has been happening. I can hear reasonably-well now. Have another programming apt. this Fri.

This all sounds good. I sure hope this one works out perfect for you.

Did you get the same model implant as the first?

@Raudrive said:

Did you get the same model implant as the first?

No hardware changed. The surgeon apparently just pushed the electrode in place and then he said he added some “packing” around the wire.

My system includes:
Advanced Bionics System: HiRes Ultra 3D Implant, Marvel processor
AutoSense OS 3.0, Naida Link M , #13 batteries
RogerDirect

Congratulations FredO, that sounds like a very successful procedure for you. All the best to you when activation day arrives. :four_leaf_clover::four_leaf_clover:

How were you going with speech comprehension before the electrode moved?

Edited

The was not “deactivated”. Two days after surgery, I took off the bandages and tried the implant. Unfortunately, it sounded terrible – much too loud and very shrill. 8 days later, the audiologist made preliminary adjustments, telling me I needed time to adapt. She was right – already I’m hearing better than before the surgery. (Note, the CI helped somewhat even then because my other ear is not good with higher frequencies.) I heard birds chirping very clearly via the implant. After the surgery, I still hear birds. Indeed, finches are often too loud.

I have an appt. for more adjustments, including for the hearing aid this Friday.

I’m not sure when the implant’s electrode moved. It might have been shortly after surgery early last year. One oddity: when I touched or bent that ear, I was hearing a metallic humming sound. Months ago, I hear it even if I just moved my head and also with each step while walking. Since the surgery, that “sound” is completely gone.

My comprehension was poor using the microphones in the hearing instruments, but somewhat better streaming from my iPhone and MUCH better streaming from my computer. But music did not sound good so I haven’t been listening to streamed concerts by the Cleveland Orchestra. I hope Friday’s adjustments will restore the pleasure in listening to music.

Fred

@FredO said:

But music did not sound good so I haven’t been listening to streamed concerts by the Cleveland Orchestra.

FredO music is a very tough gig to appreciate after . It took me 9-10 months of listening to music from the 60’s-70’s on Spotify aurally not streaming. I had the music playing for around 6 hours daily. At the start it was a screaming mess, ghastly in fact. I worked my way through the Bring back the beat App. It really was an extremely boring app. So boring Cochlear have removed it from the App Store. Good luck to you with your music endeavors.

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