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TAMI SAM

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Well Everyone I went to the Audi today,she isnt invoved with CI"s just supposed to really know her stuff on HA's.She programmed my hearing aid with a hearing test done last month on a somewhat bad recruitment day.She put in all 4 programs with a loud ,softer, shopping and a phone-just for kicks. Then she was showing me -a Im not exactly sure what you call it but sort of a FM unit which I really liked-$1000 Ay-yi-yi! So I mention Im still having a hard time understanding you, you sound muddy. She said well let me put your hearing aid on computer and brighten it up .My husband said her jaw dropped:jaw: Were did everything go,all the work we spent totally over an hour -GONE! So 2 audi's were right my HA has not been holding a program.The woman who sold me this has worked contless times "trying" to get it right".I cant understand how she never saw this. This was the first time I ever met this woman and was paying her 50$, something that should have been included in my original cost when i got my new HA.I was fitted end of July 2006 which means for almost 1 year I have struggled like a mad person trying to hear. I'm not sure this is going to help all that much but MY GOD,can you imagine if I went and got implanted and no one caught this! I still think my hearing is on its way out and will probably need a ci eventually but a year of this could have been avoided. Now maybe I'll have more time to let the menieres burn out. Thank You all for your suggestions. I did take a fresh calendar and mark all good days bad hearing days and dizzy spells. Which actually Im still getting more than I realized about 2X a month.Actually had one sunday night that turned nasty so couldnt see Audi until today.My HA is out for repair and I'm on a crummy loaner it should be back friday. I hope so my birthday's sunday and I Cant Hear Squat! Since on a weekend was sorta looking forward to it. Anyway, should I buy this FM thing anyone use one ever? May help in crowded situations or am I going to look like Im trying to be a repoter shoving a microphone in everyones faces?
 
Wow! :eek3:

It's a good thing the people at the CI clinic made you go back to a hearing aid specialist rather than just go and implant you!

There's a lot of cowboy HA operators out there. Before I had my CI I went through about 4 or 5 different HA operators before I found an audiologist I liked and trusted.

Will you try and get your money back from the other woman for all those sessions of her "trying to get it right"?
 
well R2D2, she didnt charge per visit but my HA cost almost $3000! she assured me I needed a strong one and this would do the trick.She works in the office with my local ENT although he has 2 offices so he has never actually worked with her as they're days are opposite.I certainly plan on letting him know though.Even though these other Audi's Ive seen havent come out and said it I can tell by their faces that they are thinking W.T.H? One even questioned me why i didnt have various programs.I told her I had no idea they were available,I could mentally see eyes rolling.Thats how I was recommended to this woman I saw today-Just to make sure the audi who sold me HA "didnt miss something" HUH!
 
TAMI SAM said:
well R2D2, she didnt charge per visit but my HA cost almost $3000! she assured me I needed a strong one and this would do the trick.She works in the office with my local ENT although he has 2 offices so he has never actually worked with her as they're days are opposite.I certainly plan on letting him know though.Even though these other Audi's Ive seen havent come out and said it I can tell by their faces that they are thinking W.T.H? One even questioned me why i didnt have various programs.I told her I had no idea they were available,I could mentally see eyes rolling.Thats how I was recommended to this woman I saw today-Just to make sure the audi who sold me HA "didnt miss something" HUH!
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Yes, definitely let the ENT specialist know. There could be other clients also suffering from similar unresolved problems with their HAs.

I hope your HA returns back from repair soon. At least all the frustration that you felt over not being accepted for candidacy was for the good!
 
Tami, I hope your hearing aid can be fixed and will fianllly work properly. If it does not work properly after the repair see if you can get the HA replaced.

If you can get a trial period for the FM system it would not hurt to try. I tried an FM system but returned it because I always ended up yanking my right Hearing aid out because I could not stand the static and vibration. Music sounded better but it was not worth $3000.

I found that with the last set of HAs I tried, I would get headaches and dizzy spells for about the first three weeks I had the HAs. Did your dizzy spells seem worse after the new hearing aid? It would be nice if once the HA is working properly your dizzy spells were not as bad.
 
Wow set2 I had no idea about fm unit doing this .Thats the last thing I need .I will definately make sure it returnable then before I buy it,as it is alot of money for me to spend which I really dont have but I'm so desperate. No I cant say hearing aids made me more dizzy but you have to know I have SEVERE menieres disease in both ears.The only thing I can say is listening to the recruitment (Donald duck voices) makes me want throw up.I dont know why that is.
 
Tami,

I used an FM system for 6 years prior to receiving my CIs and loved it! I was introduced to a Comtek FM system 10 years ago at my local deafblind center. Unlike set2, I never experienced static or vibration with the Comtek. Having said that, some FM systems are better than others. The more expensive units like the Comtek tend to produce better sound quality than less expensive units. Now that I think about it, I had a Williams' Sound FM system that I tried using and also experienced static especially when I was around florescent lights. (That doesn't mean Williams' Sound FM systems are inferior to Comtek -- only that you should experiment with different systems to see which works best for you.)

You may be interested to know that FM systems can be used with headphones or direct audio input (a cord that snaps onto the bottom of a BTE HA and plugs into the FM system receiver). If you have enough residual hearing, you might want to try using headphones to avoid the problem of the DAI cord accidentally being yanked. I've always used DAI with my HAs and never had a problem with the cord, but perhaps different manufactures of HAs have different cord lengths. I wore Oticon HAs with a stereo DAI cord which was plenty long enough to avoid being pulled off my ears.

Are you a client of DVR? If so, they may be able to purchase an FM system for you. That's how I received mine. Incidentally, last year DVR paid for a new Comtek FM system to replace my 10 year old unit which no longer worked.

Also, if you are in school and they have a deaf/hard of hearing program, they may be able to provide an FM system for you on loan.
 
Hear Again Thank you for the information.Im not sure what a DVR is? Is it direct video recording? Thats the only dvr I saw when I searched it.You were able to get them to replace your old one for you?How did you do that? I will bring this info to the Audi tomorrow as I get back my HA,it was out for repair as for the last year it wasnt holding a program and no one caught on to this.I am looking forward to seeing if this will help my severe hearing loss.If not I am going to start interviewing Dr's in my general area for a CI.Although if I can get enough help with a FM unit I would be thrilled.No I am not a student of a deaf school.I am a late deafend adult with Meniere's disease that has been slowly eating away at my hearing.Last July I was fitted with a BTE Oticon HA in my left ear.My right ear is gone and was hoping to have it implanted but with the flucuating hearing its hard to qualify.I will ask the Audi tomorrow if I may try the system she has or at least make sure it returnable as $1000 is alot to spend if it wont do me any good.Thanks for your help!
 
Let's hope the repaired hearing aids do the trick for you and that you can have adequate and consistent hearing without the need for surgery. If not, then as a late deafened adult then you have a good chance of doing well with a CI.
 
Thanks R2D2..I sure hope so..Its been a hellish year for me and my family. I am not ruling out a CI. I really believe eventually it going to come to that. I feel lucky that there is such a thing.Just watching that video on the surgery you have to think "How in the world they come up with these miraculous things?
 
Oh man, Tami! I would be so frustrated. Albeit, i am glad that your hearing aid is going to be repaired. Mine are digital and they get sent out for repair just about every 6 months. Most hearing aids do have different programs for different situations. I have a normal, T-Mode and one for noisy situations. It is a tedious process. Did you happen to get a copy of your audiological tests? I'm interested in what your hearing loss is.
 
Hi Contra I fluctuate wildly so I am not even sure.My right ear is dead -nodda! My good ear I have gotten as low as 40% word recall out of 100 which is qualifing for CI and its documented but on my CI day I got 70 then with their jacked up super powerful one they said I got 100 but I really didnt, they say if they say "day "and I say" pay" it a score cuz its close enough. thats not right i shouldnt think. The Ci office is sending me back all of my hearing tests my ent faxed so ill tell you scores when I get them.Im not really sure how to read them but when I get them maybe you can help me.Any news yet on surgery date?
 
TAMI SAM said:
Hi Contra I fluctuate wildly so I am not even sure.My right ear is dead -nodda! My good ear I have gotten as low as 40% word recall out of 100 which is qualifing for CI and its documented but on my CI day I got 70 then with their jacked up super powerful one they said I got 100 but I really didnt, they say if they say "day "and I say" pay" it a score cuz its close enough. thats not right i shouldnt think. The Ci office is sending me back all of my hearing tests my ent faxed so ill tell you scores when I get them.Im not really sure how to read them but when I get them maybe you can help me.Any news yet on surgery date?
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Are you kidding me? If your right ear is dead that should count towards it. I will be more then happy to help you read the reports.
 
TAMI SAM said:
Hi Contra I fluctuate wildly so I am not even sure.My right ear is dead -nodda! My good ear I have gotten as low as 40% word recall out of 100 which is qualifing for CI and its documented but on my CI day I got 70 then with their jacked up super powerful one they said I got 100 but I really didnt, they say if they say "day "and I say" pay" it a score cuz its close enough. thats not right i shouldnt...
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Actually to qualify for a CI, one must have 40% or less sentence recognition.

I'm not sure why your audi counts a word as being correct if your guess is "close enough." Now that I think about it, a CI user I know told me her CI center did the same thing to her and because of it, she was disqualified for a CI and had to be reevaluated 6 months later.

CI criteria differ from one CI center to another. For example, some CI centers will accept someone as a CI candidate if they score 60% or less sentence recognition while another will only accept them if they score 40% or less. Conversely, some CI centers will accept a person with hearing loss that starts at 70 dB sloping to profound while others only accept people with losses that start at 90 dB.

Have you thought about being evaluated at a different CI center?
 
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