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Assessment for Cochlear Implant - I'm a candidate!

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Great question! No I haven’t! I’ve been taking it off to ride and putting it back on when the helmet comes off. It’s really tight to get my head inside the helmet, full face protected w/visor and optional shade. I’m not sure I could keep it on without wearing like a swimming cap to keep it on or something. Any suggestions?

No suggestion, don’t wear a helmet.
My first thought would be to relieve the area under the helmet to get clear for the . Use a utility knife to carefully remove just enough padding for clearance.

Starting a new thread in the CI area might get some good ideas.

Just discovered this thread and am quite interested in hearing the experience of @dieslgrl, @Dani and others who have been implanted in the past year or so. I am scheduled for surgery in 2 weeks and also have selected MED-El after a lot of research including surgeons and researchers. I believe that the electrode array and its correct placement (700* with no translocation) is the most important requirement. Sound processors are software and they continue to improve constantly.

In a previous post I asked about what array was selected and whether they had a post surgery scam to assess placement. I am also interested in whether they retained residual hearing in the implanted ear.

@jcech said:

am quite interested in hearing the experience

@Dani has MedEl.
I was hoping he would have gotten involved with your questions. He has told me he would not do MedEl if given a choice again. He has been unhappy with them.
Hopefully he will get back with you on this.

In reply to @jcech

Just addressing the scam post op, yes I had one approx 2 weeks post op.

As far as your residual is concerned it’s never guaranteed. My residual was preserved at operation. I wore a Cochlear hybrid EAS for 15 months. Then my residual tanked on me. The hybrid was removed and my mappings were changed to electric. No one can give me an answer as to why my residual tanked. :woman_shrugging: It just did.
Good luck on your new hearing journey.

In reply to @jcech

Hi jcech,
as Raudrive said I am MedEL implanted since 2020. In my opinion the sound quality is good.
The reason why I always struggle with this is that there is no adjustment option on the SP itself, that the necessary remote control hardly works for me and, alternatively, the app does not work reliably. After I last swapped my SP, the app always crashed when I tried to pair the SP. In addition, direct streaming is only possible with a separate adapter, which I had to replace once every year because it had a loose electric connection. I am using rechargeables and have to replace them once every 6 hours (after 3 years of using). Disposables last 2½ days in my 16h-days. (i.e. approx. 40h)

On the other hand it is really positive to really hear down to 70Hz.

I don’t have any residual hearing since the OP so it was the right choice to use the longest electrode MedEL has.

After surgery a was made to see if the array was placed the correct way. The CT was not used to enable MedELs anatomy based fitting which was not available back in 2020. Together with my audiologist we found the correct position of each electrode by ourself.

@Dani

Thank you for your input. From my research, I was clear to me that full insertion was the best choice because without it, when residual hearing is gone, there is no stimulation at the low frequencies, and I assume these would then be lost with the shorter array.

I have had a and that I assume will be used with their Otoplan fitting. I am also going to participate in a new insertion technology from IotaMotion. It is a device that inserts the array at speeds 1/10 or 1/20 what a human can do. The goal is to achieve a significant reduction in trauma either from the higher pressure created with faster insertion or from translocation of the array.

I selected MED-El because I believe they have the softest arrays, parallel control drivers for electrodes and a wireless SP (Rondo3). I have been a bit concerned about the software they have in that it doesn’t appear to be as robust as Cochlear. That said, I am hopeful that software updates will only improve this.

You mentioned that you have no residual hearing. From your , I assume that you were implanted in your right ear, which didn’t appear to have hearing capability at most frequencies beforehand.

I am anxious to move forward and all the comments from people have helped me in this decision. I thank you for yours as well.

jcech,
I have tried Rondo 3. I was not happy with it. The rechargeable last for only forteen hours. That was way too less in the first year. In addition there is on way for direct streaming to any smartphone like Kanso from Cochlear or all on the ear processors are able to.

My hearing loss before surgery was that I could hear very low frequencies very good but could not hear anything above 2kHz. This lasted for 13 years. My surgeon said I wll loose my residual hearing. The chance to keep it was only 10%. He is one of the first surgeons who was able to preserve residual hearing and therefore has many experience. But my anatomy was too bad.

What do you mean by software? Fitting software for the audiologist or the firmware. In there three years I didn’t get any firmware update. But there is no need for an update anyway. Or what sort of software are you missing in contrast to Cochlear?

For anatomy based fitting your audiologist needs a from post surgery.

And last but not least: You can learn to hear low frequencies with shorter arrays, too. It just needs time.

@Dani

On software, I meant both. They drive how the system works. but practically I assume the only one that needs upgrade over time would be the firmware on the cell phone or streamer. I am aware that Cochlear has more features for control on the cell phone. Hopefully with time ME may upgrade these.

I am working on the assumption that the electrode array is the most important piece in these systems and as technology improves in either firmware or audiologist software, they will be compatible with the implanted hardware.

Re: your comment on Rondo 3, I assume your dissatisfaction is with battery life. My impression from others is that the quality of hearing is the same with Sonnet 2. Since the Rondo 3 comes bundled with Sonnet 2 it doesn’t much matter. I am a golfer and will likely use Sonnet then because it fits under my hat.

Finally, I have the impression that the ME system is frequency adjustable where others are not. By that I mean frequency mapping to match anatomy/placement. I would think the best outcome for hearing as close to “natural” comes by carefully matching the frequency of electrode activation with the actual location. I was told that Cochlear does not do this. While the frequency shift may be small, it would still exist. You eluded in your writeup that a shift in middle frequencies made a noticeable difference.

Edited

In reply to @jcech

I am a year post with Advanced Bionics with great results 95% at 5 months. I was considered borderline, so I took a risk, but SOOO glad I did. has been great and I have the Phonak LInk hearing aid in my other ear that works together with the . Good luck. I lost my residual hearing, which was normal in the lowest frequencies as you can see from my . No regrets because what I have now is better overall. Electrode matters, but length doesn’t seem to be the key yet. Also, one can choose the longer length, but when they get in and see your cochlea, it may not be appropriate. I am tall for a woman, but apparently have small inner ear structures, so had I chosen Med El for array length, it wouldn’t have been used in the end.

Joan,

Thanks for oyur input. my comment about the longer array was intended to reflect I am looking for a full insertion vs a shorter one. The final decision on the actual length is being made by my dr based on the imaging of my cochlea. Each manufacturer has different array options. ME has 5 in the flex series (all lateral arrays of different lengths ), Ab has 3, and Cochlear has 9, some lateral arrays and some perimodiolar (pre-curved).

I am surprised to hear so many who have lost their residual hearing, since studies I’ve read suggest, this is 15% or so. What array did you end up using?

@susanmarylynn said:

On to the hearing tests. They were lengthy and took a lot of concentration. We always want to perform well - which is silly, becaused that is the reason we are there. I tried so hard to repeat words and sentences - often guessing. The results reflected my other two tests over the past year, with just minor variance. Speech on the right: 12%. On left 40%

What kind of tests were they? I’m undergoing an upcoming assessment and was keen to know what test you had done, whether you could see the test persons lips? Did they have background noise?

@susanmarylynn said:

Speech on the right: 12%. On left 40%

What does this mean?

Hi there - these were speech recognition tests in a sound booth, no background noise. I could not see the audiologist, he/she would speak into a microphone which I would hear on a speaker. Those numbers are the percentage of words I understood in each ear. I am happy to report that my implanted ear - which was at 12 percent pre-surgery - is now hearing 98 percent in the same quiet conditions in a sound booth.

Awesome to hear you’ve done so well! So this is a singular word you have to repeat back? Was there any sentence testing? What was your hearing loss like before? Were you similar to my ?

@goldstarfun I had a 2 hour long evaluation. I was tested with both ’s and no HA’s. The standard in a quiet room. Then I had 50 words, in both R and Left ear. With and without HA’s. Then I had 50 sentences again in R and L ear and with and without HA’s. These words and sentences were through a computer program that was spoken through speakers.

They then average out the results for words and sentences to give you a % score. Pre op I was 22% L ear 26% R ear. I had a R ear and my final score at the 12 month assessment was 94%.

In reply to @jcech

Ah, thanks for clarifying. As for % success for retaining residual, my surgeon at Vanderbilt said it’s about 50/50 to retain or lose. Ear anatomy has a lot to do with it too.

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