CI sound quality compared to hearing-aid days

Ruminator said:
Man! The electrical simulation has been a rather frazzling and exhausting experience. I feel constantly and unpleasantly ON EDGE, like I need a fierce and sweaty game of racquetball to release all this energy pent-up in my nerves, which feel like they're about to start shooting sparks and electrocute people. Another way to describe it is it feels constantly as though I drank three cans of sugary caffeinated Jolt all at once.

Certainly this symptom will soon diminish... won't it? Today is my third full day as a borg.
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Interesting that ur sensitive to that kind of thing, I did feel a lot more alert after I was activated I would guess cochlea and hearing part of brain is waken up and working hard to reprogram the brain or something causes that? Who know brain work in weird way I do feel more alert and have more energy now still but when its close to bedtime when I take CI off then *snap fingers* I'm in dreamland haha
 
Ruminator said:
Man! The electrical simulation has been a rather frazzling and exhausting experience. I feel constantly and unpleasantly ON EDGE, like I need a fierce and sweaty game of racquetball to release all this energy pent-up in my nerves, which feel like they're about to start shooting sparks and electrocute people. Another way to describe it is it feels constantly as though I drank three cans of sugary caffeinated Jolt all at once.

Certainly this symptom will soon diminish... won't it? Today is my third full day as a borg.
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It will. I notice when I only have on my left CI(my bad ear), it has that same feeling. It has gotten so much better over time. It is up to 90% comprehension from 1%. Give it time. Your ear is getting use to the sound. Imagine the shock it feels after all this time without hearing. I would feel like a sugar high also.
 
Can anyone tell me if they can "locate" sounds with their CI?

For example,someone said they heard something in the kitchen from another room...were you able to hear where it was coming from?
Or was it just a sound you had to get closer to before you pinpointed it?

Im very curious about this...Im asking those with CI that has used them for a while and learned/adapted.Thanks!
:cool2:
 
Sceptre71 said:
Can anyone tell me if they can "locate" sounds with their CI?

For example,someone said they heard something in the kitchen from another room...were you able to hear where it was coming from?
Or was it just a sound you had to get closer to before you pinpointed it?

Im very curious about this...Im asking those with CI that has used them for a while and learned/adapted.Thanks!
:cool2:
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I recommend that you start a new thread, title it something like "CI sound localization," and ask this question again. You're likely to get more responses that way.
 
Ruminator said:
I recommend that you start a new thread, title it something like "CI sound localization," and ask this question again. You're likely to get more responses that way.
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I can but didnt think I was that far :topic: to ask here.
:ty:
 
Sceptre71 said:
Can anyone tell me if they can "locate" sounds with their CI?

For example,someone said they heard something in the kitchen from another room...were you able to hear where it was coming from?
Or was it just a sound you had to get closer to before you pinpointed it?

Im very curious about this...Im asking those with CI that has used them for a while and learned/adapted.Thanks!
:cool2:
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You can, but its HARD!!! (at least for somebody who has only one CI - I imagine stereo sound with bilateral implants is vastly superior)

Case in point, last summer while house-sitting, I noticed a weird "clicking" noise in the living room. I couldn't figure out what it was, or where it was coming from, but I realized that if I walked into the kitchen, the sound got softer, so I simply closed my eyes and started walking a slow circle around the living room, noting when the sound got louder or quieter....eventually I was able to figure out that it was coming from a tiny little clock shaped like an angel on the fireplace mantle, which was "ticking" the seconds away. I hadn't noticed it because it was partially hidden by a picture frame. So it IS possible if you can walk / turn around and see where the sound is loudest so you can get a "direction" to work with, but I realize its not foolproof.
 
Sceptre71 said:
Can anyone tell me if they can "locate" sounds with their CI?

For example,someone said they heard something in the kitchen from another room...were you able to hear where it was coming from?
Or was it just a sound you had to get closer to before you pinpointed it?

Im very curious about this...Im asking those with CI that has used them for a while and learned/adapted.Thanks!
:cool2:
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I'm bilateral, I can fairly well. If in my living room, I can hear the timer in the kitchen and locate the sound. I can tell the direction of voices or noise. If someone calls my name behind me, I know it.
 
Sceptre71 said:
Can anyone tell me if they can "locate" sounds with their CI?

For example,someone said they heard something in the kitchen from another room...were you able to hear where it was coming from?
Or was it just a sound you had to get closer to before you pinpointed it?

Im very curious about this...Im asking those with CI that has used them for a while and learned/adapted.Thanks!
:cool2:
Click to expand...

True sound localization always depends on having two sources of sound input. This will be true whether one has two normal ears, two HAs or two CIs. To prove my point, those who only hear with one ear try to locate sounds in the dark. I dare anybody to claim they can do it with any accuracy. One has to turn one's body around to sort of figure where it might be coming from. Believe me, those with two ears can tell you will great accuracy! Of course, the better hearing one has the better the results.

Having said that, I have noticed that I had more success to sort of localize sounds with my CI compared to my HA. I do have to turn my body some to narrow it down some (this assumes that I have no idea where the sound or speaker is coming from).
 
Yeah, since I can only hear via a single ear; I often have to move around to locate sounds that I hear. Other times, I'll use a process of elimination in order to locate sounds.

For example, I used to be an avid biker and when I was riding my bike on some road, I'd hear a car and then I'd look up the road. Since I knew that I could only hear the car if it was five feet away or less, it has to be either right behind me or just up the hill. If there is no car in front of me, then it's behind me. This was before I got implanted, BTW.
 
Location of sounds did not improved as much with me with a cochlear and hearing aids vs. wearing two hearing aids in the past but I enjoy locating bird sounds better with the implant.
 
I just had a look at your blog, Ruminator. Sounds like you've had a few days of good progress!
 
Buzzzzywuzzy!

Well, I was activated 3/10/08, and had my first remapping 3/19/08. Results of the remap did not particularly impress me, however, so I guess I simply need more time to get to where I hope to be soon.

The quality of everything I hear is severely degraded by a phantom "buzzing" sound. Obviously, this prevents me from experiencing much in the way of clarity. Buzzing occurs only when real sounds occur; in the absence of sound, I hear nothing. Hopefully, this buzzing phenomenon is just my brain adjusting, and hopefully, it will lessen and disappear soon! It's pretty awful as it currently stands.

Implanted: 2/29/08
Activated: 3/10/08
Advanced Bionics
Ruminator's Ruminatings
 
Ruminator said:
Well, I was activated 3/10/08, and had my first remapping 3/19/08. Results of the remap did not particularly impress me, however, so I guess I simply need more time to get to where I hope to be soon.

The quality of everything I hear is severely degraded by a phantom "buzzing" sound. Obviously, this prevents me from experiencing much in the way of clarity. Buzzing occurs only when real sounds occur; in the absence of sound, I hear nothing. Hopefully, this buzzing phenomenon is just my brain adjusting, and hopefully, it will lessen and disappear soon! It's pretty awful as it currently stands.
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Hope, it improves for you as your dynamic range increases. In the early weeks I had an ongoing static in the background even when it was quiet but it disappeared completely.

When is your next map scheduled for?

I think you just have to be patient and chill in the first few weeks. It is very good that you were able to understand phone messages in the second week though - many of us take months to do that.
 
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