Today's Audi Appointment

January 21, 2009

Hi everyone,

My audi gave me a hearing test to determine which frequencies were

causing dizziness. She did the same thing afterward in which she

played tones from lowest to highest. The low tones were painfully

loud, but the high frequencies were loud and caused dizziness. She

ended up turning off 6 high frequency electrodes on my left CI and 6

high frequency electrodes on my right CI for a total of 12

electrodes.

I'm no longer experiencing any dizziness and speech sounds better

than it has in a long time.

The only exception is music. Music sounds like it is being played

through a small, tinny AM transistor radio and I'm hearing volume

fluctuations depending on what frequency I am hearing.

For example, a song could start off sounding very soft and then

suddenly get very loud and then soft again.

I was supposed to see the specialist who deals with issues related to

dizziness, but chose not to since I'm no longer having problems with

that. We agreed I would set up an appointment with her if I started

becoming dizzy again.

My audi plans to talk to my CI surgeon and Cochlear to find out why

this is happening. She said it's unusual that something like this

would happen after me having my CIs for as long as I have.

Once my audi and CI surgeon figure out why this happened, they will

let me know.

Right now I'm just happy because I'm no longer dizzy. Music sounds

like crap, but that's okay just as long as I'm able to understand

speech.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

January 21, 2009

Hi ,

Happy to hear there is some good news in this. Do you still think the

dizziness is related to your cold? Could be linked.

Hope its not too long to figure this all out so you can have your music

again.

I've never had electrodes turned off except wtih the 3G of course. Even

when I got the Freedom upgrade and had it mapped, I did not find the music

suffered any. The Freedom must have actualy been slightly better because I

have gone bonkers over Celtic music.

*---* *---* *---* *---* *---*

He who hesitates is probably right.

& Dreamer Doll ke7nwn

E-mail-

rclark0276@...

Home Page-

http://webpages.charter.net/dog_guide/

January 21, 2009

Hey, - I'm glad the audi was able to help. I know how important music

is for you, and I am sorry that isn't good right now. Hopefully this is a

temporary set-back, your body will adjust, and the electrodes can be turned back

on and music restored. Seems like nothing is easy, doesn't it? You take care!

<hugs> Jackie

**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy

steps!

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January 21, 2009

Irv,

That's exactly what I'm doing. When I tried listening to some of my favorite 80s

music on YouTube, it sounded horrid. The volume kept fluctuating between being

very, very loud to soft and back up to medium again.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

---- Irwin Starr <irv_starr@...> wrote:

> Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just what you mean about

music being tinny. I hope you fare better that IÂ did with solving that problem.

In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best regards.

>

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â \

Â Â Â Â Â Irv

>

> From: dreams_in_neon <dreams_in_neon@...>

> Subject: Today's Audi Appointment

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 12:28 PM

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> My audi gave me a hearing test to determine which frequencies were

> causing dizziness. She did the same thing afterward in which she

> played tones from lowest to highest. The low tones were painfully

> loud, but the high frequencies were loud and caused dizziness. She

> ended up turning off 6 high frequency electrodes on my left CI and 6

> high frequency electrodes on my right CI for a total of 12

> electrodes.

>

> I'm no longer experiencing any dizziness and speech sounds better

> than it has in a long time.

>

> The only exception is music. Music sounds like it is being played

> through a small, tinny AM transistor radio and I'm hearing volume

> fluctuations depending on what frequency I am hearing.

>

> For example, a song could start off sounding very soft and then

> suddenly get very loud and then soft again.

>

> I was supposed to see the specialist who deals with issues related to

> dizziness, but chose not to since I'm no longer having problems with

> that. We agreed I would set up an appointment with her if I started

> becoming dizzy again.

>

> My audi plans to talk to my CI surgeon and Cochlear to find out why

> this is happening. She said it's unusual that something like this

> would happen after me having my CIs for as long as I have.

>

> Once my audi and CI surgeon figure out why this happened, they will

> let me know.

>

> Right now I'm just happy because I'm no longer dizzy. Music sounds

> like crap, but that's okay just as long as I'm able to understand

> speech.

>

> Bilateral Cochlear CIs

> December 2004 and February 2006

> Deafblind/Postlingu al

>

January 21, 2009

Hi ,

One of the reasons why I think music sounds the way it does is because most of

the high frequency electrodes have been turned off leaving me with middle and

low frequencies.

What I don't understand is why this happened to me now. I felt rather than heard

high frequencies when both of my CIs were activated, but this improved over time

to where I was able to hear them.

Today when I was in the waiting room I thought I was going to go crazy. All of

the noises were just too much for me to take. Someone had a bad cold and was

coughing and it felt like my entire head was about to explode. I really could

have used a mocha. LOL!

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

---- <rclark0276@...> wrote:

> Hi ,

> Happy to hear there is some good news in this. Do you still think the

> dizziness is related to your cold? Could be linked.

>

> Hope its not too long to figure this all out so you can have your music

> again.

>

> I've never had electrodes turned off except wtih the 3G of course. Even

> when I got the Freedom upgrade and had it mapped, I did not find the music

> suffered any. The Freedom must have actualy been slightly better because I

> have gone bonkers over Celtic music.

>

> *---* *---* *---* *---* *---*

> He who hesitates is probably right.

> & Dreamer Doll ke7nwn

> E-mail-

> rclark0276@...

> Home Page-

> http://webpages.charter.net/dog_guide/

>

January 21, 2009

Jackie,

I forgot to mention in my previous message that right now I don't know what I'm

going to do about my private voice lessons. I have a lesson this Friday, so I'm

going to see how the piano and my own voice sound before deciding to do anything

further. If I can no longer take voice lessons due to my inability to

differentiate and recognize pitch, I'm afraid that's the reality of the

situation and one I will have to accept in order to achieve better speech

understanding and no more dizziness.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

---- lkozlik@... wrote:

> Hi Jackie,

>

> Right now I really like what I'm able to hear in terms of speech, so I don't

want to make any changes. I already sent an e-mail to my audi informing her of

this as well. I'm listening to music on digital cable as I type this and am

already starting to get used to the way it sounds. Some songs sound better than

others. When I mentioned certain frequencies being louder than others this was

when I was listening to YouTube via my computer speakers, so I don't know if

that had anything to do with it. The music I'm listening to on digital cable

(80s) sounds much better, so who knows? Perhaps I can get used to this.

>

> Bilateral Cochlear CIs

> December 2004 and February 2006

> Deafblind/Postlingual

>

> ---- Flashwun@... wrote:

> > Hey, - I'm glad the audi was able to help. I know how important music

> > is for you, and I am sorry that isn't good right now. Hopefully this is a

> > temporary set-back, your body will adjust, and the electrodes can be turned

back

> > on and music restored. Seems like nothing is easy, doesn't it? You take

care!

> > <hugs> Jackie

> > **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy

> > steps!

> >

(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://\

www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De

> > cemailfooterNO62)

> >

January 22, 2009

The audio quality on a lot of those You Tube clips, leaves a lot to be

desired anyway, .

Welcome back.

Ted F.

> > Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just what you

mean about music being tinny. I hope you fare better that IÂ did with

solving that problem. In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best regards.

January 22, 2009

They may be able to turn some of those electrodes back on, a couple at

a time, . Getting rid of the dizziness was the most important

thing, refining the electrodes is a secondary thing. A dozen seems a

lot to turn off in one go, though.

They may be playing on the safe side and plan to reintroduce them

gradually. Once again, with such big changes in one hit, I would

reckon your brain has to get used to the new set-up again. You might

get some natural improvement in your music listening, just with this.

Ted F.

>

> Hi ,

>

> One of the reasons why I think music sounds the way it does is

because most of the high frequency electrodes have been turned off

leaving me with middle and low frequencies.

>

> What I don't understand is why this happened to me now. I felt

rather than heard high frequencies when both of my CIs were activated,

but this improved over time to where I was able to hear them.

>

> Today when I was in the waiting room I thought I was going to go

crazy. All of the noises were just too much for me to take. Someone

had a bad cold and was coughing and it felt like my entire head was

about to explode. I really could have used a mocha. LOL!

>

> Bilateral Cochlear CIs

> December 2004 and February 2006

> Deafblind/Postlingual

>

January 22, 2009

Ted,

Thanks for letting me know that because I was starting to wonder if it was

YouTube or my computer speakers.

By the way, music is sounding better now. Right now I'm listening to Cyndi

Lauper's " Girls Just Wanna Have Fun " on the digital cable music channel and when

she reaches her high notes, it no longer sounds off-key like it did before.

12 electrodes may be alot to turn off, but I like what I'm hearing and don't

want to change it. Besides, who says you have to have all of the electrodes

turned on to have the best hearing? I didn't. When I compare what I've been

hearing over the past 4 years with my first CI and the past 2 years with my

second CI, what I'm hearing today is significantly better.

I've also noticed that I'm able to understand speech much, much better with my

left CI than I could before with my previous map.

I think the changes my audi made yesterday were a step in the right direction

and I'd like to keep everything the way it is. I don't care if 12 electrodes are

turned off. All I care about is crisp, clear hearing which is what I have now.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

---- " Ted F. " <ted.fletcher@...> wrote:

> The audio quality on a lot of those You Tube clips, leaves a lot to be

> desired anyway, .

>

> Welcome back.

>

> Ted F.

>

> > > Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just what you

> mean about music being tinny. I hope you fare better that IÃ‚Â did with

> solving that problem. In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best regards.

>

January 22, 2009

The improvements are great, .

You must have one of those fast reacting brains :-).

I too, have a couple of electrodes turned off and dont miss them at

all. I would expect the effect of turning 12 of them off, to be

dramatic..........to begin with. Then your brain takes over and

normalises what you are hearing.

Its strange, how sometimes dramatic changes, can actually be so much

better. Thats why I would implore anyone who isnt hearing as well as

they think they should be, to hang in there and let their audi make

some changes in speeds, programmes etc. Then give them a good chance

of working, or giving you a positive result, by wearing your processor

as often as you can, in as many different situations as you can.

I went to a funeral this week, its not the first one that I have been

to since I got my cochlear implant, but it was the first one, that I

probably heard about 75% of what was said. Next time I get mapped, I

will ask the audi to combine the Whisper programme with the

Sensitivity one, to try and take out the noise of the air

conditioning. Then I think I would hear 90+%.

Ted F.

> > > > Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just what you

> > mean about music being tinny. I hope you fare better that IÃ‚Â did

with

> > solving that problem. In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best regards.

> >

>

January 22, 2009

Ted,

I think it's wonderful that you were able to understand 75% of what was said at

the funeral you attended. That's great!

It's ironic you should mention how quickly my brain adjusts to what it hears. My

first audi said the same thing. LOL! I honestly think it has to do with the fact

that I'm totally blind and not distracted by visual stimuli. All I have to

concentrate on is my hearing, so I don't have to worry about anything else

interferring with that.

When my audi turned off the 12 electrodes, I immediately noticed how much softer

and " duller " speech sounded, but within a few minutes everything started to

sound smooth, clear and comfortably loud.

Right now I'm listening to a song called, " This Time I Know It's For Real " by

Donna Summer. With my old map I couldn't stand the way that song sounded. Now

Donna's voice is so crisp and clear and I'm able to hear all of the keyboard

notes distinctly. I also notice that when she sings a very high note, it doesn't

sound off-key.

I have no idea why the high frequencies suddenly sound the way they should after

12 high frequency electrodes were turned off, but I'm not going to complain.

LOL! If anyone can give me an explanation or guesstimation as to why this is the

case, I'd appreciate knowing the answer.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

---- " Ted F. " <ted.fletcher@...> wrote:

> The improvements are great, .

> You must have one of those fast reacting brains :-).

>

> I too, have a couple of electrodes turned off and dont miss them at

> all. I would expect the effect of turning 12 of them off, to be

> dramatic..........to begin with. Then your brain takes over and

> normalises what you are hearing.

>

> Its strange, how sometimes dramatic changes, can actually be so much

> better. Thats why I would implore anyone who isnt hearing as well as

> they think they should be, to hang in there and let their audi make

> some changes in speeds, programmes etc. Then give them a good chance

> of working, or giving you a positive result, by wearing your processor

> as often as you can, in as many different situations as you can.

>

> I went to a funeral this week, its not the first one that I have been

> to since I got my cochlear implant, but it was the first one, that I

> probably heard about 75% of what was said. Next time I get mapped, I

> will ask the audi to combine the Whisper programme with the

> Sensitivity one, to try and take out the noise of the air

> conditioning. Then I think I would hear 90+%.

>

> Ted F.

>

> > > > > Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just what you

> > > mean about music being tinny. I hope you fare better that IÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â did

> with

> > > solving that problem. In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best regards.

> > >

> >

>

January 23, 2009

Ted,

If you wanted to hear less of the air conditioning I would not for

myself be using the Whisper smart sound since that program will let

me hear all the faint sounds including more of the wind when I am

outside. I use the whisper mode for my T-coil to get maximum sounds

even when it is also more sensitive to interference as well. The

whisper mode is also useful for me at guitar concerts in church

sitting in the back.

> > > > > Hi . Glad to hear your dizziness is gone. I know just

what you

> > > mean about music being tinny. I hope you fare better that

IÃ‚Â did

> with

> > > solving that problem. In the meantime, listen to jazz. Best

regards.

> > >

> >

>

January 23, 2009

Hi - your paragraph below caught my eye. There was one time my audi tried

turning down/off some electrodes and I had noticed the same thing and told her

immediately I didn't like it. So maybe I should have given it more time. I

wonder if we couldn't have this done on one program or on my backup processor,

so I can try to give it time to adjust. The problem I have is I live so far

away from the audi I can't just pop in every few weeks or so for adjustments if

I find things still don't work right for me.

My theory on the high frequencies, well, the brain has to rethink how to process

the sounds it is hearing. Your hearing memory is one thing, and so as you hear

the new sounds your brain is thinking no, that isn't what it is suppose to sound

like. Then eventually the brain automatically puts the sound in the right place

so it sounds normal to you again..

I'll recap an experience I had last April. On my trip down to Rochester, as I

mentioned, a 7 1/2 hours drive, I was listening to a favorite CD - Celtic

Woman. I listened to it over and over in the car with my CI and HA ears working

together, memorizing the words of the songs. I did this going down and coming

home - so almost 15 hours of listening time. When I got back to my office I

decided I needed to continue my rehabbing my CI, so I hooked up to my MP3

player, and thought, okay, let's see if I can make out the words of the songs

I've been listening to. So I turned on the first song, and when the song

started I thought, wow, music sounds so much better with this new map, I really

hear the instruments so much better now. Then the singer started singing, and I

was like, whoa, what's wrong, it's suppose to be a female singer, not a male. I

switched my HA to t-coil to listen in, thinking there might be something wrong

with

the MP3 player, but no, the singer sounded normal with my HA ear, with the CI

ear alone, it sounded very low like a man's voice. So I thought, oh well, let's

ignore that and just see if I can understand the words. As I listened, I found

I could understand the words fine, but the voice was still low. As I continued

to listen though, it was like my brain was fiddling with the dial on a radio,

trying to find that right frequency so that the radio station would come in

clearer. The singer's voice would come up a notch, then another notch, and

again, until suddenly it clicked into the right tone. It was the darndest

experience, but it really hit home to me how the brain processes the sounds and

tries to put it in the right place to sound right based on hearing memory.

Well, I thought you would like to hear that story, and my theory about why you

had the experience you had with the electrodes turned off. I also have another

theory, but don't have time to go into it now. It has to do with the electrodes

and what frequencies we hear....

Ted,

When my audi turned off the 12 electrodes, I immediately noticed how much softer

and " duller " speech sounded, but within a few minutes everything started to

sound smooth, clear and comfortably loud.

I have no idea why the high frequencies suddenly sound the way they should after

12 high frequency electrodes were turned off, but I'm not going to complain.

LOL! If anyone can give me an explanation or guesstimation as to why this is the

case, I'd appreciate knowing the answer.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingu al

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January 23, 2009

Hello go57,

Perhaps I didnt explain myself properly, but the funeral WAS in

church. The Whisper programme bought up the quiet speakers, so that I

could hear some of what they said. With the Freedom new sounds being

able to combine different programmes, I thought it would be worthwhile

trying Whisper+Sensitivity combined. I have never had an occasion to

use Whisper before, so I was impressed that it bought up the sound I

couldnt hear well, but the air conditioning overhead, was bought up

too. I thought that with combining the 2 programmes, that the

sensitivity would take out the air con noise, leaving me with the

Whisper enhancement and no air con.

Its worth a try anyway, on a programme I rarely/never use.

Ted F.

> >

> > I went to a funeral this week, its not the first one that I have

> > been to since I got my cochlear implant, but it was the first >

> one, that I probably heard about 75% of what was said. Next time > >

I get mapped, I will ask the audi to combine the Whisper > >

programme with the Sensitivity one, to try and take out the noise > >

of the air conditioning. Then I think I would hear 90+%.

> >

> > Ted F.

January 24, 2009

Thanks Carol, but that wouldnt work well for me. Its very hot and

humid here and I have a fan to the side of the TV turned onto its

highest/noisiest setting. Whisper would just make that louder too.

Ted F.

> > >

>

> > > I went to a funeral this week, its not the first one that I have

> > > been to since I got my cochlear implant, but it was the first >

> > one, that I probably heard about 75% of what was said. Next time > >

> I get mapped, I will ask the audi to combine the Whisper > >

> programme with the Sensitivity one, to try and take out the noise > >

> of the air conditioning. Then I think I would hear 90+%.

> > >

> > > Ted F.

>

February 11, 2009

,

Recruitment is when someone perceives normal sounds as being much louder than

they actually are. For example, when I was in the waiting room at my CI center

today, I heard someone laugh and the sound reverberated in my head almost like

it was a knife cutting through me, if that makes any sense. I don't know how

else describe it. Later, after my audi appointment, I heard a small child crying

and that sound was enough to make me turn my left CI off (since that's the CI

the child was sitting closest to). A final example is when someone scrapes the

leg of a chair against a tiled floor. The sound goes right through me. Does that

make sense? If not, let me know and I would be happy to clarify further.

Bilateral Cochlear CIs

December 2004 and February 2006

Deafblind/Postlingual

February 11, 2009

,

The funny thing is when I was using all of my electrodes on each side, my

sentence discrimination was 100% for my right CI and 90% for my left. Apparently

the fact that 12 electrodes have been turned off doesn't seem to negatively

affect my hearing. If anything, I think my hearing has improved because I'm able

to hear so much better in noise. Just today I was having a conversation with the

receptionist at the Information Desk and there were several people around me who

were talking and the area were were in was located at the entrace of the

hospital/CI center. I was even able to understand my CI audi when she had her

back towards me as we walked down the hallway after my hearing test and I've

never been able to do that before. I think this is cause for celebration with a

strawberry mocha, don't you? LOL!

Mona

February 12, 2009

Well, interesting. So this is what we call my problem too. Yes, I know exactly

what you mean by certain sounds cutting through you like a knife. I have this

all the time at home with our t.v. on certain channels - or even when the

commercials come on. It's is absolutely annoying. And then when my husband

talks to me in his normal voice at home it is too loud, which tells me the

acoustics in our home is attributing to that. So I need to have one program

that will be my home program, but then I would have to lose one of my other

programs...

So, how do you solve this problem? Did it go away by turning off the

electrodes, or at least reduce it?

And, yes, I can see why you would be able to understand people better now that

the sounds you are getting is clearer. I am having more and more trouble now

with this echo/reverberation in my CI ear...it is becoming more and more

difficult to make out what people are saying. I'm anxious to try turning off

the higher frequencies to see if I can gain any more clarity. I crave it so...

________________________________

From: " lkozlik@... " <lkozlik@...>

Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:28:58 PM

Subject: Re: Today's Audi Appointment