A new take on CI's - Adult perspectives

CI users, I have another question to you !

How do you feel when you listen music via your CIs ?
Are CIs good when regarding non speech sounds like music,birds etc ?
Do you like music sound ?

Thanks for your answers in advance :)
 
ecevit said:
CI users, I have another question to you !

How do you feel when you listen music via your CIs ?
Are CIs good when regarding non speech sounds like music,birds etc ?
Do you like music sound ?

Thanks for your answers in advance :)
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I LOVE MUSIC!! The first thing I did when I got home after activation was put some music on --and it was mindblowing! And it just kept getting better (since I was part of the clinical trials for Freedom, I had to go through many different mapping strategies - some made music sound awful, some made it sound fantastic!)

I find my CI is wonderful for non-speech sound. I've gone to my Curves gym a few times and actually recognized music that was playing! I love to sit out on the patio and listen to the birds, and last week there was a thunderstorm and my Dad told me to come outside to hear the thunder WOW!!! What an amazing sound it was!

I have a personal audio cable that I use to directly connect my MP3 player or CD player to my CI and I use it *all* the time - its wonderful to have music back in my life!

I admit though - my experiences are not the "normal" ones - since I lost my hearing when I was 9, I had memories of the music, and I think that helped me a lot. My Audie told me that its uncommon to find somebody who listens to music as much as I do(or rather UNDERSTANDS what they are listening to), but verybody is different- I hope there are others here who enjoy music as well.
 
I agree, it's fun listening to music with the CI. I lost my hearing when I was 7 so the only music I remember was what my mom used to play on the record player or radio. 60's 70's and very early 80's music... and lots of country since my mom was a country fan. So it was a blast to listen to all those old familiar tunes again. Another fun thing to do is go online to some websites that have the theme music from old TV shows and soundtracks from movies.

Last week I listened to Pink Floyd for the first time. Even though it is 70's music I didn't recall it because my mom never played it or listened to it. My hubby has the "Live at Pompeii" DVD film. It was great, especially the opening sequence.. I found it a lot more fun to listen to music where I can also see the action :)
 
ecevit said:
CI users, I have another question to you !

How do you feel when you listen music via your CIs ?
Are CIs good when regarding non speech sounds like music,birds etc ?
Do you like music sound ?

Thanks for your answers in advance :)
Click to expand...

I totally enjoy my music. I listen to it all the time at work using internet music stations. I do have a good auditory memory as I heard right up to getting my CI. It is better than before as I'm hearing some ranges of sounds that I couldn't hear quite as well before.
 
One of the things (there are many!) I LOVE about my Freedom is the autosensitivity setting. Its SO amazing! The other day I had my mp3 player plugged in and was listening to Randy Travis and went to do some vacuuming. When I turned th vaccuum on, of course that overpowered the sound of the music. No problem - switched to my autosensitivity program, waited 10 seconds, and the sound of the vacuum disappeared COMPLETELY, leaving me able to enjoy my music! Its just so fantastic! I've used it when mowing the lawn - the lawnmower disappears, but doesn't interfere with the sound of music or speech so I can have a conversation with somebody even with loud noise in the background. Its great in the car too. This just rocks :)

All the hearing members of my family tell me they wish THEY could just "tune out" loud background noise the way I can. (Which, by the way - shows those who love to scream that CI's aren't a benefit because of "background noise" or "noise pollution"!!!)

Does anybody else find the autosensitivity setting a benefit for them too?
 
neecy said:
...
Does anybody else find the autosensitivity setting a benefit for them too?
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Oh yes...I use it all the time when in the car and in some other loud situations. I really hate the road noise and autosensitivity allows me to ignore it. I still can hear the radio nicely!

FYI - I have for my programs 1) ADRO 2) Squelch 3) Beam and 4) Autosentivitiy. I had switched out whisper for beam to try it out and I'm going back to whisper (I didn't find beam all that helpful whereas I did like whisper). My favorite setting is ADRO and I use it most of the time.

What do you have?
 
I found that squelch and beam didn't help me any so I just use ADRO all the time, and the autosensitivity when necessary. ADRO is the bomb!!!
 
neecy said:
I found that squelch and beam didn't help me any so I just use ADRO all the time, and the autosensitivity when necessary. ADRO is the bomb!!!
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Actually, squelch is more useful than you think. When driving in the colder weather and the windows are up, I use squelch to listen to the radio. It "squelches" the environmental sounds and it is pretty good for the radio. Now being in NC, the weather is more often warm, I use the autosensitivity for listening as the windows are down (even when it is blazingly hot as I prefer not to use the AC - if I'm with others, the AC is on...sigh!).

I agree with you on beam and that is why I'm going back to whisper. It picks up the softer sounds and it is great for the TV, conferences (and conference calls), and other such activities. Think of it like being in a quiet spot and you want a little boost....like being in a meadow and listening to the crickets... :thumb:
 
neecy said:
One of the things (there are many!) I LOVE about my Freedom is the autosensitivity setting. Its SO amazing! The other day I had my mp3 player plugged in and was listening to Randy Travis and went to do some vacuuming. When I turned th vaccuum on, of course that overpowered the sound of the music. No problem - switched to my autosensitivity program, waited 10 seconds, and the sound of the vacuum disappeared COMPLETELY, leaving me able to enjoy my music! Its just so fantastic! I've used it when mowing the lawn - the lawnmower disappears, but doesn't interfere with the sound of music or speech so I can have a conversation with somebody even with loud noise in the background. Its great in the car too. This just rocks :)

All the hearing members of my family tell me they wish THEY could just "tune out" loud background noise the way I can. (Which, by the way - shows those who love to scream that CI's aren't a benefit because of "background noise" or "noise pollution"!!!)

Does anybody else find the autosensitivity setting a benefit for them too?
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Wow that sounds a great and useful program. Do you use it in crowd situations too such as in a restaurant or a hall?
 
R2D2 said:
Wow that sounds a great and useful program. Do you use it in crowd situations too such as in a restaurant or a hall?
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To chime in, I have used it for a wedding receptions, restaurants, and any other similar venues. If it is related to music, musical, plays and whatnot, I would not use autosensitivity. In this case, I would typically prefer ADRO as it is more of a singular source of sounds and no competition elsewhere.
 
sr171soars said:
FYI - I have for my programs 1) ADRO 2) Squelch 3) Beam and 4) Autosentivitiy. I had switched out whisper for beam to try it out and I'm going back to whisper (I didn't find beam all that helpful whereas I did like whisper). My favorite setting is ADRO and I use it most of the time.
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I wonder if that's considered an 'advantage' for the Nucleus Freedom. It would seem to be confusing and awkward in constantly adjusting your BTE part of the CI all the time to account for different listening environments. I just wonder how that really plays out in real life situations. Do you (& other Freedom users) really adjust your BTE to compensate for different listening situations all the time, or it's just a rare occurence and usually one listening strategy is used nearly all the time?
 
Eyeth said:
I wonder if that's considered an 'advantage' for the Nucleus Freedom. It would seem to be confusing and awkward in constantly adjusting your BTE part of the CI all the time to account for different listening environments. I just wonder how that really plays out in real life situations. Do you (& other Freedom users) really adjust your BTE to compensate for different listening situations all the time, or it's just a rare occurence and usually one listening strategy is used nearly all the time?
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Actually, it's no big deal to change them. You don't even have to remove the processor off the ear. There is a big button that you push on the processor. It "beeps" corresponding to the program number (i.e., one beep for program 1 and so on). Because of that simplicity, you can really change the processor program strategy anytime and often as you like. Some people rarely change them and others change them frequently.

I generally stick with ADRO for most situations including the phone. At work, I might want to change to whisper in a conference or meeting with several people (as it picks up the softer sounds like those sitting farther away). Going home, I shift to autosensitivity as I walk to the parking lot, I don't have to listen to the traffic being so loud. I might switch to squelch for listening to the radio if I keep the window up. So, you see it really depends on the person and their particular needs and that varies alot.

Now, have said all that, I will admit it is much more of a nuisance to deal with the volume and sensitivity settings. If one wanted to change them to suit their needs, they would probably have to take the device off their ear and look at the LED like screen to get them right. I suppose those who change them alot could do it without removing it from their ear. Fortunately for me, I get them to where I want after each mapping, I never touch them again. The volume setting is of course to increase/decrease the strength of the impulses going to your cochlea (similar to volume of a HA). Sensitivity, is more how far away do you want the device generally pick up sounds.
 
i have same as u had.. i also like ADRO much better

music some are lovely sounds some are awful.. the violin (sp?) sounds wonderful.. however to the other music i can't understand the words.. but enjoy hearing violin, and other musical equiment.
 
Thanks. It will be interesting to see what I become like. With the hearing aids I was never one to use the remote control and fiddle with settings - just too much trouble and I was afraid I'd lose the remote. I was the "On and go" type. However having said that I would be really interested in the different programs with the CI as I find myself in a variety of different settings quite often.

R2D2
 
I was talking to my boyfriend last night (he's hearing) and we were discussing my CI - he was a cop for many years, and the hours he spent on the rifle ranges and shooting galleries have resulted in him having severe tinnitus. He remarked that when we're old and grey - he'll probably be the deaf one, whereas my hearing will be as good then (if not better) than it is now.

That got me thinking - with this technology he's right. Whereas most people slowly develop hearing problems when they get older...my CI assisted hearing will stay the same! Its kinda cool.
 
Endymion said:
I was recently talking to an interpreter coordinator at a Tier 1 university. I asked her about the declining enrollment of deaf students at her school, and she told me that, (I paraphrase) "Because the demand for quality education is going up, admissions to universities are more competitive. This ultimately leads to the rejection of more and more students. When universities see quirky English, they are more likely to reject students, hearing status notwithstanding." (She also made a point that clearly separated deaf students from foreign students, and I can repeat that if you want)
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I'd be interested in the distinction this terp coordinator made between deaf and foreign students.
 
neecy said:
I was talking to my boyfriend last night (he's hearing) and we were discussing my CI - he was a cop for many years, and the hours he spent on the rifle ranges and shooting galleries have resulted in him having severe tinnitus. He remarked that when we're old and grey - he'll probably be the deaf one, whereas my hearing will be as good then (if not better) than it is now.

That got me thinking - with this technology he's right. Whereas most people slowly develop hearing problems when they get older...my CI assisted hearing will stay the same! Its kinda cool.
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Actually I was thinking that too! In some ways I am glad that I lost my residual hearing at an age when I am still with it and proactive enough to do something about it. When you are older, it is much harder in terms of understanding and embracing technology.
 
I had a funny experience today - My mom and I were doing some housecleaning for a friend of ours - we wash all the walls in her house once a year, and have done it for the last 4 years.

This year, she was in the kitchen talking to me and my Mom while we were in the living room washing the walls....after about 15 mins...she stopped, walked out of the kitchen and says to me "I thought you were deaf!" :laugh2:

I explained that I'd got a CI and she was sooooo fascinated with it!! She said "I just thought that perhaps something was going on and your Mom was telling you what I was saying, but you were replying too fast for that to have happened" *grin*

Even a year later its still a wonder! :)
 
That's a nice experience Neecy.

Have you found anyone who had never heard of a CI? Everyone here in Australia that I've spoken to, even old ladies have heard of it because it has been very heavily exposed in the media here. But I've found that overseas relatives and friends in Canada in England have never heard of it!
 
neecy said:
I had a funny experience today - My mom and I were doing some housecleaning for a friend of ours - we wash all the walls in her house once a year, and have done it for the last 4 years.

This year, she was in the kitchen talking to me and my Mom while we were in the living room washing the walls....after about 15 mins...she stopped, walked out of the kitchen and says to me "I thought you were deaf!" :laugh2:

I explained that I'd got a CI and she was sooooo fascinated with it!! She said "I just thought that perhaps something was going on and your Mom was telling you what I was saying, but you were replying too fast for that to have happened" *grin*

Even a year later its still a wonder! :)
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WOW, excellent.
Yeh, it's fun to see people being surprised.

We actually have it the other way around.
We're so used to talking to Lotte that when she doesn't wear the CI (while undressed) we would just continue talking... .until we realise she's completely deaf at that moment.
 
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