CI soon...CI friendly only please

Hi Stacieleigh - glad to hear you've been having a great 4th July and that bike ride sounds wonderful.

You must have a fairly high cps speed as well if your batteries are going that fast. I'm beginning to realise that different audiologists have different approaches to mapping. My friend who has her batteries last as long as 8 days was started off on 250 hertz and stayed there for quite a few months. She told me at her clinic that they start all prelinguals at that speed. But obviously Stacie and I have been started off on higher speeds. I wonder why that is? Maybe some feel it's better to start off high and then gradually adjust down if nescessary and others prefer a slowly building up approach?
 
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Rose Immortal said:
This refresh rate you're talking about...is there a visual equivalent of that phenomenon? I wonder because it seems related to the "refresh rate" of a monitor. Some people seem not to be bothered by it, but if a computer monitor is set on a 60 Hz cycle the strobing is bad enough that it's uncomfortable to look at, and to be totally OK I have to have a monitor at as high a rate as it's capable of going. Are these related or two totally separate systems?
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I've no idea but it would be interesting to find out! It would make sense wouldn't it?
 
Thanks, it was!
I'm not too sure on the cps speed, I will def. ask next time, this is the first I've heard of it. I first started off with program one, and then grad. up to prog 3 now. My audie wrote this down for me, P1 for regular, P2 for louder, P3 for loudest, P4 for softest. P3 sounds the best for me, I'm only able to really picked out the speech with that one. Maybe someone can explain it to me lol. I'm going to have this for the rest of my life, I want to know every details and with the knowledges, less confusion! I'm rambling again......lol


R2D2 said:
Hi Stacieleigh - glad to hear you've been having a great 4th July and that bike ride sounds wonderful.

You must have a fairly high cps speed as well if your batteries are going that fast. I'm beginning to realise that different audiologists have different approaches to mapping. My friend who has her batteries last as long as 8 days was started off on 250 megahertz and stayed there for quite a few months. She told me at her clinic that they start all prelinguals at that speed. But obviously Stacie and I have been started off on higher speeds. I wonder why that is? Maybe some feel it's better to start off high and then gradually adjust down if nescessary and others prefer a slowly building up approach?
Click to expand...
 
R2D2 said:
Hi Stacieleigh - glad to hear you've been having a great 4th July and that bike ride sounds wonderful.

You must have a fairly high cps speed as well if your batteries are going that fast. I'm beginning to realise that different audiologists have different approaches to mapping. My friend who has her batteries last as long as 8 days was started off on 250 megahertz and stayed there for quite a few months. She told me at her clinic that they start all prelinguals at that speed. But obviously Stacie and I have been started off on higher speeds. I wonder why that is? Maybe some feel it's better to start off high and then gradually adjust down if nescessary and others prefer a slowly building up approach?
Click to expand...

Actually, there is logic to the madness...

It depends on the history of the person getting a CI. If they had a history of hearing before, then they will start off at a higher rate as they are already "geared" to sounds. Those that are prelinguals, it is assumed they need a slow gradual introduction to the world of sound to make sense of it. This assumes the person really doesn't have much of an auditory memory. Is that the case with your friend?
 
StacieLeigh said:
Thanks, it was!
I'm not too sure on the cps speed, I will def. ask next time, this is the first I've heard of it. I first started off with program one, and then grad. up to prog 3 now. My audie wrote this down for me, P1 for regular, P2 for louder, P3 for loudest, P4 for softest. P3 sounds the best for me, I'm only able to really picked out the speech with that one. Maybe someone can explain it to me lol. I'm going to have this for the rest of my life, I want to know every details and with the knowledges, less confusion! I'm rambling again......lol
Click to expand...

That's interesting. Maybe that is why you aren't going back for your second mapping for a month. My audie only gave me one program and she said that she wasn't going to add any others until a month had passed. Different approaches.

By the way Stacie this afternoon I tried my daughter's audio story books for the first time. Most of the stories I was able to follow the words in the story book except for Billy Goats Gruff because of the way the troll spoke (very deep and gruff). Anything high pitched and especially a woman talking was much easier to follow.
 
jag said:
I actually run at 750hrtz. I've got one slot programed at 900, I go in for mapping this week and will have her adjust the volume up I think, speech doesn't seem loud enough and put ADRO on it, it is to noisy for my liking. I like adro over autosensitivity and the free program. (no need to overwhelm my brain it was overwhelmed with the HA's)

I think the freedom might go a low a 500 but I'm not really sure of that so don't quote me on that. :) . I have read on one a message board for people with cochlear implants that for some reason most prefer a lower rate, while AB users perfer using higher ones. Not sure why. :dunno:
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Ah, learn something new everyday. I was going by what frequencies my audi mentioned. Makes sense there are other frequencies...
 
sr171soars said:
Actually, there is logic to the madness...

It depends on the history of the person getting a CI. If they had a history of hearing before, then they will start off at a higher rate as they are already "geared" to sounds. Those that are prelinguals, it is assumed they need a slow gradual introduction to the world of sound to make sense of it. This assumes the person really doesn't have much of an auditory memory. Is that the case with your friend?
Click to expand...

She did have hearing aids and was raised orally (although she can sign now, English is still her primary language) but tells me that she was unable to hear high frequency sounds such as microwave beeps, trucks reversing etc. So I don't think she would fall into the no history of hearing camp. However I do get what you say - I think her clinic is a lot more conservative, especially with those who were born deaf.

I do know that my audie felt beforehand that I would do well with the CI which maybe explains why she has started me off higher? I would be curious to try lower speeds to see how different it sounds though but not at this stage since a week is not long to be activated.
 
I'm not too sure, on my mapping paper he printed out, it all says Ace, for each slot, he said that in about 6 month I'll be able to understand speech a lot better, no idea why, must have been because all I kept hearing was a motorcycle revving and could not make sense of anything around me.

Awesome on the audio story books, I know what you mean with the very deep and gruff voice, I'm still having trouble with kids' voices and some womens. I don't know the Billy Goats Gruff, any good? lol



R2D2 said:
That's interesting. Maybe that is why you aren't going back for your second mapping for a month. My audie only gave me one program and she said that she wasn't going to add any others until a month had passed. Different approaches.

By the way Stacie this afternoon I tried my daughter's audio story books for the first time. Most of the stories I was able to follow the words in the story book except for Billy Goats Gruff because of the way the troll spoke (very deep and gruff). Anything high pitched and especially a woman talking was much easier to follow.
Click to expand...
 
Rose Immortal said:
This refresh rate you're talking about...is there a visual equivalent of that phenomenon? I wonder because it seems related to the "refresh rate" of a monitor. Some people seem not to be bothered by it, but if a computer monitor is set on a 60 Hz cycle the strobing is bad enough that it's uncomfortable to look at, and to be totally OK I have to have a monitor at as high a rate as it's capable of going. Are these related or two totally separate systems?
Click to expand...

Yes, in a way they are similar. You are dealing with biological senses that work totally in analog and in real time. Ummm...let me see if I can put this in plain english...a CI and a monitor work via digital technology (discrete information as in "snapshot" at a very fast rate of speed...you seen photos or videos of PC monitors with a line across the screen) and are attempting to provide an analog signal. The only way they "pull" it off is to go "fast" enough in the refresh rate to fool the brain that it is a "continuous" signal. If it is too slow, the brain can see it or if it is too fast, the brain loses the information. In the case of it being too fast, the brain just doesn't get all the info and just doesn't process it.

Hope that is clear...

Edit update: Analog is a continous signal with no "gaps" in information which is unlike digital. That is why with good vision or hearing, the input is soooo smooth. In a perfect world, analog is the way to go but it is very difficult to create visual or audio signals at the scale necessary to be really practical. Of course, HAs can be analog but there is only so much one can do with them at that size (BTE). So, digital has become a way of life with the processing power available in computers...
 
R2D2 said:
She did have hearing aids and was raised orally (although she can sign now, English is still her primary language) but tells me that she was unable to hear high frequency sounds such as microwave beeps, trucks reversing etc. So I don't think she would fall into the no history of hearing camp. However I do get what you say - I think her clinic is a lot more conservative, especially with those who were born deaf.

I do know that my audie felt beforehand that I would do well with the CI which maybe explains why she has started me off higher? I would be curious to try lower speeds to see how different it sounds though but not at this stage since a week is not long to be activated.
Click to expand...

You are probably right about your friend being at a conservative center...

As for changing CPS, I think that is something you should discuss with your audi. As well as you are hearing now, you are probably very close either up or down to what works best for you. I was in a study and they had me on a schedule of frequent map changes to test out a variety of things. So, I got to do 1200, 1800, and 2400 which is why I know exactly what works for me! :D Believe me, there were certain times I absolutely hated certain mappings but fortunately for me it was typically two weeks between remaps.
 
StacieLeigh said:
Thanks for the info, right now my batteries life is 1 1/2 to 2 days, so yeah that does drive me nuts sometime.
A month to go for my second mapping, can't wait!
I went riding on the bike trail yesterday, 14 miles, it was so awesome, because I rode through there many times before and never knew it was that noisy lol. A factory nearby, really loud, didn't know they even made noises! The bikes' wheels on the rocks and riding through little puddles, noisy. lol
I listened to different birds, and even frogs, since it was an late evening ride. A bat flew in front of me! Almost wreck, but I kept my cool lol!
Coming back, we had to ride through this long tunnel, but apparently, the lights in it goes off at nine! I walked it, lol. I have no sense of direction in pitch black lol. Thankfully my hun's bro had lights on his bike, but it was soooo foggy inside, made it look even scarier! lol I thought I heard him say "the lights going to die" I took off running with my bike, trying to come out on the other side as fast as possible, all the while thinking "did he really say that?". Finally I got out of there, and took a breather and asked did he really say that, yup! lol
Next time, I'll be back at the tunnel 10 mins before the lights goes out lol.
Happy 4th Everyone!
Stacie
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Great news on hearing in the fog! Wait till you hear in the dark!!! :D You just don't know how liberating that is...
 
sr171soars said:
Yes, in a way they are similar. You are dealing with biological senses that work totally in analog and in real time. Ummm...let me see if I can put this in plain english...a CI and a monitor work via digital technology (discrete information as in "snapshot" at a very fast rate of speed...you seen photos or videos of PC monitors with a line across the screen) and are attempting to provide an analog signal. The only way they "pull" it off is to go "fast" enough in the refresh rate to fool the brain that it is a "continuous" signal. If it is too slow, the brain can see it or if it is too fast, the brain loses the information. In the case of it being too fast, the brain just doesn't get all the info and just doesn't process it.

Hope that is clear...

Edit update: Analog is a continous signal with no "gaps" in information which is unlike digital. That is why with good vision or hearing, the input is soooo smooth. In a perfect world, analog is the way to go but it is very difficult to create visual or audio signals at the scale necessary to be really practical. Of course, HAs can be analog but there is only so much one can do with them at that size (BTE). So, digital has become a way of life with the processing power available in computers...
Click to expand...

To add on to this ... the reason things "flicker" or seem harsh when the refresh rate is too low is that your eyes may be out of sync with the monitor, thus making it worse. This is why, for example, flourescent lights in a computer lab will often make your eyes hurt; they're cycling at different rates. It's also why, if you take a picture of a TV or computer screen with a digital camera, most of the screen will be black (or at least, dim) while the rest will be bright; part of the screen is refreshing and part of it hasn't yet.
 
sr171soars said:
Great news on hearing in the fog! Wait till you hear in the dark!!! :D You just don't know how liberating that is...
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That I'm am so looking forward to!
I'm going on vacation this coming weekend, going to Nags Head, N.C. and see my first ocean and first beaches lol
The car trip will be 9 hours, any suggestion on hearing better in the car? Any other suggestion relating CI would be great!
Thanks!
 
StacieLeigh said:
That I'm am so looking forward to!
I'm going on vacation this coming weekend, going to Nags Head, N.C. and see my first ocean and first beaches lol
The car trip will be 9 hours, any suggestion on hearing better in the car? Any other suggestion relating CI would be great!
Thanks!
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Ah, coming through my state...eh? Enjoy the beach. I haven't been to Nags Head. I been to Atlantic Beach, the beaches in the Wilmington NC area and my favorite is Myrtle Beach SC!!!

Anyway, as for the car trip... Do you have autosensitivity? If you do, use that as it helps with the road noise. Also, take your dry & store with you and put it in every night! There is lots of humidity at the beaches. ;)
 
sr171soars said:
You are probably right about your friend being at a conservative center...

As for changing CPS, I think that is something you should discuss with your audi. As well as you are hearing now, you are probably very close either up or down to what works best for you. I was in a study and they had me on a schedule of frequent map changes to test out a variety of things. So, I got to do 1200, 1800, and 2400 which is why I know exactly what works for me! :D Believe me, there were certain times I absolutely hated certain mappings but fortunately for me it was typically two weeks between remaps.
Click to expand...

Wow, it sounds like you felt very strongly about the effects of different speeds and different maps. It goes to show how versatile a CI is doesn't it?
 
sr171soars said:
Yes, in a way they are similar. You are dealing with biological senses that work totally in analog and in real time. Ummm...let me see if I can put this in plain english...a CI and a monitor work via digital technology (discrete information as in "snapshot" at a very fast rate of speed...you seen photos or videos of PC monitors with a line across the screen) and are attempting to provide an analog signal. The only way they "pull" it off is to go "fast" enough in the refresh rate to fool the brain that it is a "continuous" signal. If it is too slow, the brain can see it or if it is too fast, the brain loses the information. In the case of it being too fast, the brain just doesn't get all the info and just doesn't process it.
Click to expand...

You explained that very well. I just think of those old silent movies they made in the 1920s where everything flickered and every action was jerky.
 
sr171soars said:
Not the strength of the signal but the "refresh rate" in stimulating your cochlear nerve. There is an upper limit to how many times one's cochlear nerve can be stimulated before one' brain can't distinguish reasonably between each batch of signals. This is true for normal hearing has well (the whole ear is an amazing thing). So, they have found that with CI users...some prefer 900, 1200, 1800 and I think it can go as high as 2400. Very few individuals like 2400. Those that use 900 get much more battery life. Obviously, those who use 2400 really can drain the battery in less than two days. Hence my remark about trade offs. I tried 2400 as part of the study and it got too "grainy" for my liking.

Hope that helps...
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In the study we were "blind" to what refresh rate we were using (so to get unbiased results) when I was switched from 1800 to 2400 I HATED it!!!! Everything went from crisp and clear to muddy and muddled and just plain *awful*. They actually had a few people drop out of the study (I was offered the option to go back to the one I wantd, but then I'd have to leave the study itself) in order to go back to the level they preferred rather than endure 3-4 weeks of the horrid 2400. I stayed with it, and tried to tweak mine the best they could within the study protocols, but I had to bear it out for another 3 weeks. It was the WORST 3 weeks of the study for me, and a godsend to go back to 1800 (which I didnt' know was 1800 at the time, just that it was my favorite.) At the end, it was interesting to find out that the one I had hated was the 2400 and out of our study group only one person had opted for that setting.
 
R2D2 said:
Wow, it sounds like you felt very strongly about the effects of different speeds and different maps. It goes to show how versatile a CI is doesn't it?
Click to expand...

Yes indeed! It is a very nifty device and very remarkable too...
 
R2D2 said:
You explained that very well. I just think of those old silent movies they made in the 1920s where everything flickered and every action was jerky.
Click to expand...

Great example! I will have to remember that... :D
 
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