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Evaluation Process for CIs - Your experience?

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Just wanted to share some things that have changed the past few days. My surgery was October 1st. I lost most of my sense of smell and taste after the surgery. Over the past few days I am noticing my smell and taste returning. Pretty excited about that.

My speech understanding is slowly getting better, not what I hoped for at this time but improving. It is hit and miss talking on the phone. Have not been wearing an aid in my other ear, hoping it helps the implanted ear to learn sooner.

The Cochlear Kanso 2 processor with the #5 magnet is trying to hold a little better. I am optimistic that I will be able to wear the Kanso 2 in the future. Hopefully swelling is still an issue.

@Raudrive it’s great to read of your progress, the taste of food must be wonderful after all this time. Happy to hear it’s possibly still just swelling and your K2. Definitely just working your ear will help. In my very early days to get clarity of words I just streamed constantly. Things will improve with every mapping.

I thought especially the people would get a laugh out of this little story.

Today I was pulling up all the plants in the vegetable garden. Our latest freeze ended production. When I got to the tomatoes I needed to pull up the tomato cages first. They are about 6 feet tall. While lifting the first cage everything went quiet. I figured a tomato vine had pulled my processor off my head. I looked around on the ground and couldn’t find the processor. Finally I looked up and the processors magnet had grabbed the heavy wire of the tomato cage. The processor was stuck to the cage. Put it back on my head while getting a laugh about it. This is the second time this magnetic thing has happened.

About a week ago I was putting air in the tractor tires. The valve stems are on the inside so you have to get your body and head in an odd position to get to the valve stem. While doing this the metal feeder pulled my processor off my head.

Have any other CI members had this stuff happen?

Edited

Have to get aluminum wheels for the tractor! :slight_smile:
Does that mean that #5 magnet is now sticking to your head as long as you don’t tempt it with a better target?

The Nucleus 7 sticks with a 4 or 5 magnet until the magnet gets a better conductor.
The Kanso 2 with the 5 magnet does hold but not well enough to be comfortable about getting out and about with it. I could use a security cord but have not tried that yet.

In reply to @Raudrive

@Raudrive said:

Have any other CI members had this stuff happen?

I found my processor attached to the outside of our refrigerator which has a metal door. This has happened while I grabbed some dishes from the cabinet and my son opened the fridge next to me.
One friend sometimes finds his processor attached to the roof inside his car after climbing into his Smart.
Another friend found his processor attached to a grip bar within a public service bus after getting onto the bus.

You get used to those funny situations :slight_smile:

@Raudrive
“Have any other members had this stuff happen?”

It’s never happened to me so far…”touch wood” but I’m only 5’6” which isn’t as tall as you guys. So my head doesn’t hit the roof of the car…

5’6” is not that short for a woman.
Seems this processor sticking to metal happens to those that get out around metal things. I am always working on things that are metal so I should pay more attention.

Thinking I should send the Kanso 2 back to Cochlear before the 90 day return period ends. At this time I can not say this processor will work for me in the future. So I need to move forward with the Nucleus 7 for now. Maybe later I can try the K2 again.

@Raudrive I’m sorry to hear that as you always wanted the K2. But if the magnets not going to hold the processor in place you don’t have a lot of options. It will only cost you a small fortune in replacing the processor all the time. I hope you have it insured, listed separately under portable items in your house contents.

You could perhaps try again when you go bilateral. By then your current op site will have settled back to normal for you.

I’ve heard people have layers of skin shaved off surgical in an endeavor to get the magnet to attach so they can wear the K2. I always thought that was a bit drastic, but if that’s what rocks their boat, so be it.

In reply to @Deaf_piper

@Deaf_piper said:

I hope you have it insured, listed separately under portable items in your house contents.

I did not know this. Will check into it.

You are thinking what I am thinking concerning trying the K2 later when I get the second implant surgery. I have read about shaving the scalp to help the processor magnet hold. I asked my surgeon about this my last visit with him. He said that is old school stuff. Blew me off you might say.

A little update about my process.
Yesterday I went to the audiologist, an opening jumped up early.
This appointment I was word and sentence understanding tested with the implant only. Both word and sentence understanding was right at 68%. He gave me the impression I am doing well. I asked about the second implant and he felt like I should move forward with that so I contacted the surgeons office about getting this going.

By the way, I believe @Dani is getting his second implant today. Good luck to you.

In reply to @Raudrive

Great news!
And big numbers so fast! You’re definitely putting a hard work in it, congrats!

How do you feel now when using it? In terms of how tiring listening is? Did that got better? Or having mixed sounds is tiring?

@Raudrive for only being activated in October you are doing exceptionally well with sentence recognition at 68%. You are obviously putting in a lot of hard work in rehab and it shows. Congratulations.

In reply to @Blacky

@Blacky said:

How do you feel now when using it? In terms of how tiring listening is? Did that got better? Or having mixed sounds is tiring?

At first it was overwhelming with all the new sounds. The high frequency gibberish was tiring and frustrating at that time.

The past few weeks the gibberish is clearing and becoming legible. There is still some gibberish but not bad at all. Still a little robot sounding but that has improved with processor programming and time.

Listening is getting less strenuous. I catch myself understanding without reading lips. I can see how things can be really nice in a few more months. Music is pretty bad but is better than it was shortly after activation. I can see music getting ok, maybe not great but ok. Even now I hear particular instrument sounds I didn’t hear with aids. We will see how music goes.

I was around my 10 month old grandson the last couple days. When he was screaming and banging on things I could not hear speech well at all. I did try the forward focus feature to talk to a friend in front of me, this feature did help a bunch. This was in a large room with hard surfaces.

@Raudrive said:

Listening is getting less strenuous. I catch myself understanding without reading lips

Omg this is awesome!

Uf screaming kids, or just their squeeky voices, that’s hardest environment I’ve been in so far. Full focus, Roger select, lip reading, uf, still hard. Glad to hear that you already managed to have a convo under such difficult circumstances.

Are you relying only on side now, or +CI at the same time, or each at own time?

@Blacky said:

Are you relying only on CI side now, or HA+CI at the same time, or each at own time?

I have only worn the processor for about a month now. I did try using the aid experimenting with streaming music and in town at a few places of business for better speech one day. What this taught me is the hearing aid is about useless now. Not sure why but the aid doesn’t help much at all, even when the volume is cranked all the way up. I could try reprogramming but that is not the direction I plan to go.

That’s certainly a win for your case!

Just don’t forget to still give something to ear while you wait for the next CI, to keep that brain side busy :slight_smile:

My guess about difference is because of perception of volume, I have a feeling that what CI can send and how distinctive it is, HAs aren’t able to compete with that after some point, because of the distortion and whatnot.

So your brain definitely prefers CI sound for squeezing the information out of it.

I emailed my implant surgeon about getting a second implant surgery. They have responded with it usually takes 6-8 weeks to get Medicare approval. So my guess is I will probably be getting my second implant sometime in February, we will see.

Fingers crossed that it’ll be soon :crossed_fingers:

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