[NFB-DB] cochlear implant experiences
Gene Richburg
gene5402 at austin.rr.com
Tue Nov 5 00:13:04 UTC 2019
Yeah, and for the internal component, it looks like a rubbery thing, but
it's actually made out of a jell, I got to feel of one at an event one
time, the internal component has electrodes that are kind of hexagon shaped.
The process is this, the Sergent will make an insition on your head,
then have to drill holes in the cochlea depending on how many electrodes
the brand of ci you go with, which, of course will injure the cochlea,
which will leave you with out any hearing on that side, then they make
what I would refer to as an armature magnetic field, kind of like the
way a motor is constructed.
What happens with a motor, is that you have the grind wheel, this is the
part of the motor that turns when it's running, so, it has a few of
these flat medal round pieces that have three openings on them, then,
you take some copper wire and rap it around, evenly around all of these
three openings, and then somehow, secure the end of the wire so that it
doesn't come undone.
So, that's kind of how the internal component of the implant works, once
you connect the outside magnetic head piece to the inside magnet that
goes to the internal component, the mic picks up sound, it's processed
through the processor, then it's transmitted through the rf cable to the
coil on the head piece, which sends it through the two magnets, and then
through the electrodes in the cochlea which are connected to the main
auditory nerve.
hope that answers your question.
On 11/4/2019 5:48 PM, Chris Westbrook via NFB-DB wrote:
> There are different types of processors, the processor I have works
> similar to the behind the ear hearing aid I used to have for that ear
> and still wear on the other ear. It has an ear hook that goes around
> the ear which is connected to a device that sits behind the ear which
> contains the microphones. It is slightly bigger than my hearing aid,
> but that is mainly due to the battery which is rechargeable so I will
> take the convenience over the slight increase in size. It doesn't
> bother me at all. Oh I forgot this piece behind my ear is connected to
> a coil that is connected to the magnet that attracts to the magnet
> inside my head. It doesn't bother me at all though. It did a little
> bit when I was first activated but not much. I got used to it quickly.
>
> On Mon, Nov 4, 2019 at 4:19 PM jmail201586--- via NFB-DB
> <nfb-db at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> So may I ask, how exactly does the implant work? I’m asking this
> question because me myself, am hard of hearing (this is how my
> doctors/audiologists terms it) and I’ve chosen not to have the
> implant performed.
>
> Is the implant noticeable. Do you wrap the device around the ear?
>
> Thank you.
>
> *From:* NFB-DB <nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org>> *On Behalf Of *Chris Westbrook
> via NFB-DB
> *Sent:* Monday, November 4, 2019 10:02 AM
> *To:* NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List <nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>>
> *Cc:* Chris Westbrook <westbchris at gmail.com
> <mailto:westbchris at gmail.com>>
> *Subject:* Re: [NFB-DB] cochlear implant experiences
>
> I have no vision. I chose cochlear because of their compatibility
> with iphone. I was told that all three major brands are good and
> it was just a matter of picking one. The center I went to had
> experience with all three but that may not always be the case.
>
> On Mon, Nov 4, 2019 at 9:56 AM Marsha via NFB-DB
> <nfb-db at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>
> Gene and Chris,
>
> Both of you do not have any vision? Correct.
>
> Thank you for sparking this very interesting discussion.
>
> Thank you,
>
> *From:* NFB-DB <nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org>> *On Behalf Of *Gene
> Richburg via NFB-DB
> *Sent:* Sunday, November 3, 2019 9:24 PM
> *To:* NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List <nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>>
> *Cc:* Gene Richburg <gene5402 at austin.rr.com
> <mailto:gene5402 at austin.rr.com>>
> *Subject:* Re: [NFB-DB] cochlear implant experiences
>
> Hi guys;
>
> I have had my ci for probably about 4 and a half years now.
>
> At first, when I would hear voices through it, some voices
> would sound like a man and a women mixed together sort of, and
> the sound was like I had a really bad ear infection.
>
> Also, the sound was so new, that it sounded like my head was
> this really big medal ball, and when my audi was giving me
> simple words like hotdog, ice cream, bluebird, words like
> that, it almost sounded like she had a little of a reverb, and
> like she was singing the words, even though she wasn't
> really!when I was over at my mom's house, and I was back in
> the bedroom, the ac was kind of loud because the ac was just
> outside the room, so it got the most air flow in the house, so
> the vent was only open just enough for sufficient air to come
> through, so, I wanted to see what it would sound like if I
> took my ci off with the ac on, so I did, and it left a very
> metallic sound, very much like a digital sound effect trailing
> off behind it.
>
> Samantha on my iphone sounded like she was talking much higher
> and quite monotoned at first untill I got more adjusted to the
> implant, she sounds normal now.
>
> Basically, it sounds very distorted at first, kind of like a
> radio off the station, but that should clear up after some
> time, the more you wear it, and use it, the quicker you ajust.
>
> There is a grocery store in Texas called H E B and if you go
> into huge ones like they have here in
>
> Austin, it is really noisy, and even though I still have a ha,
> I found I was unable to hear people that didn't know me, so, I
> had a friend of mine go with me, and man, was it loud, but I
> said, there's no point in putting off the oppertunity to get
> adjusted as quickly as possible, so I just wore the ci, and
> just lived with it.
>
> When you have one of these, you or some else that has it might
> notice, in the way of music, that notes sound very distorted
> and soft almost like there out of your range to hear them.I
> have advanced bionics, which was recommended to me since it
> supports virtuil frequencies, it only has 16 electrodes,
> unlike cochlear Americas, but, to my knowledge, ab is the only
> one that supports this virtual frequency technology,
> basically, what they're doing, is much like what ha
> manufactures do, but in the case of the ci's, it's a little
> different.
>
> So when you have a loss that's so severe, that ha's are not
> able to accomidate the frequencies you need, they use this
> virtual frequency cloning technology.
>
> What this does, is takes frequencies that you're not able to
> hear, and clones them to frequencies that you can here.
>
> So, the a b ci's do something similar to that, they take
> frequencies that they don't physically support, and copy them
> to ones they do support, so the result is more of a range of
> hearing, but you don't have to use that feature if you don't
> want to.
>
> It also has something called clear voice, this feature I
> should say tries to provide releaf from unwanted noises, but
> in doing so, it makes speech you're trying to hear kind of
> scratchy and muted, and my audiologist told me that I'm not
> the only one that says that, she has 4 other deaf-blind
> patients who also say the same thing.
>
> I do have unpredictable sound localization issues, as my ears
> are not balanced, and I'm actually in the process of having to
> get my other ear implanted, as my hearing has gotten to the
> point that the most powerful ha is only 5 percent stronger
> than the one I have now, and I've had two audiologists tell me
> that they really think I should consider it, so I'm trying to
> work through the twc system to get it, but I don't know when
> it's gonna get aproved, as they have a lot more loops and
> hoops to jump through to get it approved.
>
> I hope this has been helpfull, just everyone keep in mind,
> that everyone has different experiences, so you might
> experience some or all of the things I have should you decide
> to have this done.
>
> Gene
>
> On 11/3/2019 6:49 PM, Chris Westbrook via NFB-DB wrote:
>
> I can imagine that would be a real mourning process. I
> have had hearing and vision loss all my life, I could have
> gotten a cochlear implant a long time ago but was too
> scared. Lol. So I dont know what normal sounds like. I
> will say music sounds really bad through the implant, but
> that might get better still, I have been focusing more on
> practicing speech recognition than music. So interesting
> that people can have such different experiences.
>
> On Sun, Nov 3, 2019 at 7:26 PM Showe Trela via NFB-DB
> <nfb-db at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>
> Hello. I had a CI put in about a year and a half ago
> and I personally am glad I have it, but don't use it
> as much as I should. I got randomly sick a couple of
> years ago and lost all my hearing in my right ear. I
> am still going through a terible mourning process so I
> think that is why I hate my CI so much. It didn't hurt
> at all for me. I find the app pretty accessible. I
> hate how it sounds because I still have normal hearing
> in my left ear and my CI gives me a headache and I
> have to slow down voiceover to understand my phone.
> Never had to do that before... I still have lots of
> trouble localizing sound even when I wear the darn
> thing. Like I said. I am still mourning my hearing
> loss. Blindness is nothing to me because I've been
> blind all my life but losing my hearing was hard...
>
> Showe
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Nov 3, 2019, at 12:21 PM, kara bohnenstiel via
> NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>
>
>
> As the mother of a 14 year old who is totally
> blind and on Nov 21 will receive the surgery-- I
> would love to hear anyone's experience... Here's
> one question: firstly, did you wake up in a lot of
> pain from the surgery? Glad to hear you are glad
> you did it, Chris!
>
> Best,
>
> Kara
>
> On Sun, Nov 3, 2019 at 1:58 PM Chris Westbrook via
> NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:nfb-db at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
>
> I thought it would be neat to start a thread
> on cochlear implants. I have been "activated"
> for almost three months now and am glad I did
> it, but it has been a challenging journey.
> Just curious what others' experiences have
> ben. I am considering writing an article for
> the braille monitor on my experiences, as I
> feel that the broader blind community needs to
> be more educated about the experiences of some
> of us. I am also willing ot answer any
> questions anyone may have. Look forward to
> responses. Thanks and have a great day.
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> NFB-DB mailing list
>
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org <mailto:NFB-DB at nfbnet.org>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> NFB-DB mailing list
> NFB-DB at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfb-db_nfbnet.org/attachments/20191104/b1b5511e/attachment.html>
More information about the NFB-DB
mailing list