Any envoy medical esteem recipients out there?

Cyborg said:
Middle ear implants available with external components:

1) Bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA)

2) Vibrant Soundbridge

3) Carina semi-implantable middle ear transducer (MET)


CONSIDER those products if you're frustrated with hearing aids. Envoy is not the only option.
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Cyborg, I fully agree. I just don't want the Esteem to get a bad rep because it is a product that has been a huge game-changer not only for myself, but for many others as well. But anyone who is thinking about another alternative to hearing aids should absolutely consider all viable options and research, research, research!
 
That's odd - my long posts must be approved while the short posts are submitted right away, lol. I posted a long response to you, stlcardinalfan; hopefully it'll show up soon.
 
MandyMarie said:
Cyborg, I fully agree. I just don't want the Esteem to get a bad rep because it is a product that has been a huge game-changer not only for myself, but for many others as well. But anyone who is thinking about another alternative to hearing aids should absolutely consider all viable options and research, research, research!
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When I get a Totally Implantable CI, will you go out with me?

:wave:
 
I am only interested in the MEI, b/c of the claims of more natural hearing versus a microphone/speaker of HA's
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Yeah, but what does "more nautral" even MEAN?!?! Again, be very careful..........companies are the ones who claim that dinky aids (the ITE and smaller ones) provide more nautral hearing b/c the mic is closer to the eardrum.
Hearing aids use the eardrum too you know. They don't automaticly bypass the eardrum.
 
and Mandy if I recall, you opted for the implant by claiming that the results from a low level anlog aid were horrible. I dunno, I'm just extremely extremely skeptical about this.
 
deafdyke said:
Yeah, but what does "more nautral" even MEAN?!?! Again, be very careful..........companies are the ones who claim that dinky aids (the ITE and smaller ones) provide more nautral hearing b/c the mic is closer to the eardrum.
Hearing aids use the eardrum too you know. They don't automaticly bypass the eardrum.
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There is NO microphone with the Esteem Envoy. It uses the eardrum as a natural microphone. The hearing aid itself has a microphone where it picks up the sound and digitized it, amplifies the sound which is why it's never a natural sound because it gets distorted. Watch this captioned video:

How the Esteem® works
 
Lou Ferrigno Uses Esteem Hearing Device

May 2012

Profoundly hard of hearing since two years old, Lou Ferrigno revealed last night on The Celebrity Apprentice that he recently underwent a surgical procedure to restore his hearing, with the Esteem(r) Device, manufactured by Envoy Medical Corporation. The device is a fully implantable prosthetic cochlea stimulator, designed to do just that. It has no microphones or speakers. It is invisible. Except that Lou knows it was implanted, he has no sense of it being in his body. But he can hear. And according to Lou Ferrigno, it "is a miracle."


The article said that Lou Ferrigno is profoundly hard of hearing, and he got the Envoy product.

I want the Envoy product. I'm profoundly deaf. I forget what my audiogram paper said. But its something like 86 decibels to 100 (118 at the most at the high frequencies). Could the Envoy get it down to 25 to 30 decibels? The Envoy product is supposed to gain 60 decibels. But if I turn it on the MAXIMUM - I might get 70 decibels gain

Am I qualified for the Envoy product?
 
Cyborg said:
Lou Ferrigno Uses Esteem Hearing Device

May 2012

Profoundly hard of hearing since two years old, Lou Ferrigno revealed last night on The Celebrity Apprentice that he recently underwent a surgical procedure to restore his hearing, with the Esteem(r) Device, manufactured by Envoy Medical Corporation. The device is a fully implantable prosthetic cochlea stimulator, designed to do just that. It has no microphones or speakers. It is invisible. Except that Lou knows it was implanted, he has no sense of it being in his body. But he can hear. And according to Lou Ferrigno, it "is a miracle."


The article said that Lou Ferrigno is profoundly hard of hearing, and he got the Envoy product.

I want the Envoy product. I'm profoundly deaf. I forget what my audiogram paper said. But its something like 86 decibels to 100 (118 at the most at the high frequencies). Could the Envoy get it down to 25 to 30 decibels? The Envoy product is supposed to gain 60 decibels. But if I turn it on the MAXIMUM - I might get 70 decibels gain

Am I qualified for the Envoy product?
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Why are you asking us? Ask Envoy Medical or a qualified person that could help you with your question.
 
Indications



The Esteem® is intended to alleviate hearing loss in patients by replicating the ossicular chain and providing additional gain. The Esteem® is indicated for patients with hearing loss that meet the following criteria:
•18 years of age or older Pass
•Stable bilateral sensorineural hearing loss Pass
•Moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss defined by Pure Tone Average (PTA) Fail
•Unaided speech discrimination test score greater than or equal to 40% Fail
•Normally functioning Eustachian tube Pass
•Normal middle ear anatomy Pass
•Normal tympanic membrane Pass
•Adequate space for Esteem® implant determined via high resolution CT scan Pass
•Minimum 30 days of experience with appropriately fit hearing aids Pass

I failed the test.
 
Mandy Marie,

Thanks for the input. It sounds like you've had success. I'm intrigued by the technology for sure. I am going to research this until there is nothing else to research, then make an informed decision. Thanks again!

To Cyborg,
I hope a completely implantable CI becomes available soon for you and everyone else that wants that technology.
 
deafdyke said:
Yeah, but what does "more nautral" even MEAN?!?! Again, be very careful..........companies are the ones who claim that dinky aids (the ITE and smaller ones) provide more nautral hearing b/c the mic is closer to the eardrum.
Hearing aids use the eardrum too you know. They don't automaticly bypass the eardrum.
Click to expand...

I wear the Esteem in one ear, and a Resound digital aid in the other. I wear my hearing aid part-time. Yes, the Esteem does sound closer to my natural hearing than that of my aid. Does it sound completely natural? No. Am I happy with what I hear? Yes. Most of the people I know who do not have major issues with the Esteem agree that it does sound more natural when compared to hearing aids. But that doesn't mean everyone agrees. I know several people who had less than ideal experiences, and at least one or two that wish they'd never done it.

I would never tell anyone that the Esteem is right for them. And I'm not pushing it on anyone. All I can do is share my own experience, which happens to be very successful. The Esteem would not be on the market if it didn't have a lot of success. Just like any other hearing technology, it has its own faults, and it hasn't always been successful. We all share a common bond - a lack of hearing. Whether one is comfortable embracing their deafness, or they are searching for the technology that works for them, it's his or her own choice. What's exciting is that hearing technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Envoy was just the first one to get their foot in the door with a middle ear implant.
 
Cyborg said:
Lou Ferrigno Uses Esteem Hearing Device

May 2012

Profoundly hard of hearing since two years old, Lou Ferrigno revealed last night on The Celebrity Apprentice that he recently underwent a surgical procedure to restore his hearing, with the Esteem(r) Device, manufactured by Envoy Medical Corporation. The device is a fully implantable prosthetic cochlea stimulator, designed to do just that. It has no microphones or speakers. It is invisible. Except that Lou knows it was implanted, he has no sense of it being in his body. But he can hear. And according to Lou Ferrigno, it "is a miracle."


The article said that Lou Ferrigno is profoundly hard of hearing, and he got the Envoy product.

I want the Envoy product. I'm profoundly deaf. I forget what my audiogram paper said. But its something like 86 decibels to 100 (118 at the most at the high frequencies). Could the Envoy get it down to 25 to 30 decibels? The Envoy product is supposed to gain 60 decibels. But if I turn it on the MAXIMUM - I might get 70 decibels gain

Am I qualified for the Envoy product?
Click to expand...

Cyborg, I honestly don't know. The first time I entered the clinical trial, I was forced to drop out at the last minute thanks to my suddenly low scores on the baseline testing. I scored 12% unaided on my speech discrimination test. A couple of years later, Envoy invited me to take part in a separate study involving eight people with a more severe hearing loss. I have a moderate-profound loss. I do know that Envoy is still working on an implant that will fit the needs of those with more profound losses. Even aside from Envoy, I have faith that doors will continue to be opened for us in the near future.
 
MandyMarie said:
I wear the Esteem in one ear, and a Resound digital aid in the other. I wear my hearing aid part-time. Yes, the Esteem does sound closer to my natural hearing than that of my aid. Does it sound completely natural? No. Am I happy with what I hear? Yes. Most of the people I know who do not have major issues with the Esteem agree that it does sound more natural when compared to hearing aids. But that doesn't mean everyone agrees. I know several people who had less than ideal experiences, and at least one or two that wish they'd never done it.

I would never tell anyone that the Esteem is right for them. And I'm not pushing it on anyone. All I can do is share my own experience, which happens to be very successful. The Esteem would not be on the market if it didn't have a lot of success. Just like any other hearing technology, it has its own faults, and it hasn't always been successful. We all share a common bond - a lack of hearing. Whether one is comfortable embracing their deafness, or they are searching for the technology that works for them, it's his or her own choice. What's exciting is that hearing technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Envoy was just the first one to get their foot in the door with a middle ear implant.
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Absolutely. Which is why it's important to do your own research and ask people about their experiences with the implant.
 
MandyMarie said:
Cyborg, I honestly don't know. The first time I entered the clinical trial, I was forced to drop out at the last minute thanks to my suddenly low scores on the baseline testing. I scored 12% unaided on my speech discrimination test. A couple of years later, Envoy invited me to take part in a separate study involving eight people with a more severe hearing loss. I have a moderate-profound loss. I do know that Envoy is still working on an implant that will fit the needs of those with more profound losses. Even aside from Envoy, I have faith that doors will continue to be opened for us in the near future.
Click to expand...

I believe with the continuing advancement in hearing technology we will see a shift from those who wear hearing aids to choosing hearing implants with greater frequency.
 
stlcardinalfan said:
To Cyborg,
I hope a completely implantable CI becomes available soon for you and everyone else that wants that technology.
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Thanks. I appreciate that a lot.


By the way, Albert Pujols should have stayed with the Cardinals! The hitting slump proves it.
 
not me and so not a fan of it, I prefer my powerful BTE better :)
and that Esteem is for peeps with moderate-severe losses.
 
Mandy, on the other hand you were BORN with your hearing loss. How the heck would you even KNOW what "nautral" hearing even SOUNDS like in the first place?
I think the implant is going to be hit or miss.... some people will benifit strongly from them, but others won't. They ALWAYS act this way when new technology comes out, and it's usually not as amazing as the hype.
 
If Mandy can talk on the phone with ease, that's as close as it gets to natural hearing.


The cochlear implant lets me hear 90 to 100 percent on the phone. So, the ci companies are wasting their time if they're still trying to make it work better. Just get it inside me so that it doesn't fall off when waves crash me!!! I surf and skimboard!

Thanks CI Companies!!
 
MandyMarie, please feel free to re-type your post. It helps to write in a notepad document and copy and paste it later to here incase anything gets lost. After you reach somewhere around 10, or 20 posts, the block saying that it will be routed to approval shouldn't come up anymore. This is just a method to circumvent spammers, who post some unnecessary stuff on the forums.

@Cyborg - the post approving system is wacky. Moderators can't access it, it might come around at a later day.
 
On the topic, natural hearing =/= being able to hear, imo.

That's like saying, someone who got dentures has real teeth. They work and look great, but to nit pick, they are not the same.

I've always been interested in reading about how the cochlear implant works on the brain. It's not like the natural hearing comes back, it seems like it's more of a mechanical or distinctive process in comprehending the sound source.

I remember reading and watching CI implantees play musical instruments, like the piano or violin. They did fine. After I started seeing music enthusiast and critics giving their criticism/perspectives of the piece, they commented in the opinion that the CI player was not able to comprehend the distinctions in the pitches and chords, more in so that they may have been relying on muscle memory in order to play the tune.

That brought some food for thought; it's probably not the same as natural hearing. But without a CI, I won't ever be able to attest to the truths behind it as I'm only relying on anecdotal information.
 
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