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Sound still robotic

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Hello,

I am wondering why all voices still sound robotic 3 years after surgery. It is not at all becoming more natural. I can understand language but it is very exhausting. Music is chaotic, sounds horrible.

I did rehab - and do my listening training every day. My audiologist does not have a solution.

Is anyone experiencing the same - or are you all satisfied with sound quality?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Cosy65

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Sorry to hear you are struggling with your .

Would you tell us what testing you have had done to improve your maps? There are speech tests in the both that your audiologist can do to see what exactly you are hearing. This can verify the good and bad. Then he/she can make mapping adjustments to help you hear better.

Tell us more about your testings and mappings.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum @Cosy65.

What processor do you have please? Has anyone come out from the company to help with your mappings?

I’m 6 yrs post implantation now. It took me around 10 months of solid daily rehab to get rid of the robotic sounds.

Music is a very tough gig. It took me a good 18 months or more of having music playing aurally all day to be able to appreciate music. I did not stream music at all. I have a speaker and played music from Spotify from the 50’s-80’s, music I knew and from my teenage era.

Are to or bilateral?

If you are bimodal what is the status of your non implanted ear? Competition between a new or improperly trained and a decent or good hearing ear can be challenging. The CI needs to be rehabbed by itself for best results.

Thanks for your replies!

I am left and have the Rondo 3 from MED EL.

I underwent all tests, got some minor adjustments of the mapping, train everyday both with streaming and in “real world” (and covering my good ear).

I am understanding language - but the sound is the same horrible sound which I had from thr beginning.

Could it be that I need a total new mapping from scratch?

Thank you all

Cosy65

Do you know what your word understanding score is for the only?

can be more challenging due to having a good ear that competes with the CI. The brain is lazy and wants to do what’s easiest. You need to force the CO to learn without distractions from that better ear.

Can you stream only to the CI, absolutely no sound to the the good ear?

As @Deaf_piper asked, have you had a Med El rep brought into one of your mappings to assist your audiologist? Not all audiologist are created equal, you just might need to find a new one to help you hear better. Talking to Med El might give you some ideas. These CI manufacturers have great reps to help if asked.

@DWol999 has shared some very helpful information about learning how to hear with one CI. Maybe he will chime in on your situation.

Echoing what others have already said, but adding a little. Here’s a list of training resources that I got several years ago off this forum from deaf_piper (thanks):

image

Also you can add Spotify (free version) you will get podcasts audiobooks and music. Hearoes is an excellent app for iOS users.

You also have your local library, they have a few audiobook apps where you can borrow the hard copy to read along. You also have English as a second language, from a computer (not an app)

@Cosy65 I highly recommend you ring Med El and get one of their ’s out to help your AuD. Not all AuD’s understand recipients issues.

I am SSDish with in the left side.

Some insights from links below (one from Hearing Review website):

How well do people hear after getting cochlear implant?
I’ll try, thanks:) However we will have to remember that gaining better hearing with CI is hardly a target in itself. Rather, it’s getting a better tool to communicate with anyone, for example. By the way, referring to the main topic, recently I found another useful article, in that case about hearing music with CI: Improving Cochlear Implant Recipients’ Relationship with Music | The Hearing Review I like especially this scheme. Of course it’s a rule of thumb, but very useful to sum up knowle…

Keep in mind that greenish roadmap is a rule of thumb.

@bcarp said:

Does one working ear have positive implications for a contralateral CI ear?

@Bimodal_user said:

It depends. When someone are a few years old (I have my audiogram the same for my whole life since then) it is good for childhood development.

However, after activation in 2013, I used my Nucleus 6 for ~3 years, more than 10 h/day, but I didn’t get much benefit from it. So I put it away to the drawer for the next 6.5 years. After that, I exchanged messages with @Raudrive on topics related to a forum thread about CI. Even though I didn’t say it directly, he could tell that I wasn’t happy with my CI. He has given advice to consider isolation of my better ear during rehabilitation.

I tried Phone Clip I and streamed a lot to CI, and it worked pretty well over the next 1.5 year. I got 80% WRS. I still rely more on the better ear in everyday life, but it’s always better to have left ear more ‘in shape’ :sweat_smile:

To sum things up: it’s always better to have a working non-CI ear, but it makes rehabilitation more difficult in some ways. For example, I almost never stream binaurally (bimodally) and I don’t see any benefits from it - so I didn’t rushed to buy Resound hearing aids, as my CI audiologist encouraged - your mileage may vary.

I only stream for two reasons: either to help with my rehabilitation or to get the most out of the podcast. I hardly ever stream just to use my Phonak Sphere HA.

There is also YouTube video, however, my experiences with hearing music is better than the video author below:

Wow, thank you all! What a great forum!

My language understanding with single words is ca.60 %

And I do a lot of streaming of podcasts and books (Audible). As stated above - I understand language quite well - that is not the problem.

It is the sound - it is distorted, monotone sounds as if the speaker would sit in a bucket or a tube. As if the spoken language would be “dirty” “muddy”. No change after all the practice and training…

I expected that the sound would change and improve..and listening via the mic of the Rondo 3 is so frustrating and exhausting.

Well, and since I am a musician I practiced very much with Meludia and listened to my favorite music in Spotify. Over and over again. But there is just mud, cacocophonia..and I am unable to hear a melody - and the keys of a piano sound like hammering on the same pitch.

So, I will follow your recommendation and asking for a MED EL expert to help me - and my audiologist.

Have a nice sunday!

Cosy65

@Cosy65 said:

My language understanding with single words is ca.60 %

Thanks for your update.

60% is borderline a candidate. Something is is not right.

I hope you can get some help from the Med El rep.

Good luck and let us know how it’s going.

All great tips given - welcome to the forum. Another thought - you are using the off ear version, correct? I wonder if the Med El audiologist would be able to let you try the on ear version and see if it is any different and better for you. Experimenting with mapping might get you further along as well. Let us know how you do with a Med El audiologist consult.

In reply to @Cosy65

Your comments about music reminded me of discussion with my brother, also a musician. I’m guessing that many musicians actually have different capacities for hearing and understanding sound, certainly true for my sib.

I’m encouraging you to keep notes about the sound you’re getting. If possible, try to unpack words like “muddy”. For my sib, this would mean that he’s hearing sounds that should be clear and separate as conflicting, like trying to use the same resource. No idea what it might mean for you, but the more info you can give the Aud and MedEl rep, the better chance for success.

Alas, it ain’t free. Takes time and thought. Potential payoff is pretty darn good

In reply to @Raudrive

I am at 100% recognition. . Best way to train the single ear without effecting the good ear is to stream from a phone -via Bluetooth- to the . You can stream your favorite podcast. Also, I have had mine for 5 years now and it is still robotic. It is because your brain compares the sound to the good ear. That being said, it helps with total recognition. good luck!

In reply to @Deaf_piper

I’m the same with music. I only enjoy music I am familiar with, classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s.

Probably took me at least a year to really start appreciating music. Music I am not familiar with is

just noise. No way I could recognize a Taylor Swift song even if you told me it was her.

I see you are at 4 years implanted, a year less than I am. Like you I prefer the music I grew up with. It actually sounds good. Some newer music is pretty good but most not so good. I am bilateral so no born with hearing to compare it to. Everything I hear is absolutely normal to me with CI’s.

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