Preserve resiudral hearing with Freedom Implant

[Fragmenter]

I read the overview of Nucleus' Freedom implant and all of its features just because I was bored. I didn't realize that their soft tip "may" preseve residual hearing during the surgery process.

This is exactly what it says on the website:

2. Softip—to minimize force
The industry’s only Softip electrode is designed to protect the delicate cochlea during surgery, which may lead to the preservation of residual hearing

From this messageboard, I learned that a cochlear implant will destroy whatever residual hearing you had left in the implanted ear. According to Cochlear, this may not happen with the Freedom's soft tip... Hmmmm?

 

[Cloggy]

I also recall this. Soft tip might protect the inside of the cochlea when the electrode is inserted.
But to hear with the implanted ear would mean that the window through which the electrode is inserted will grow back again, and that the fluid inside the cochlea will be able to transfer pressure.

I think that even when it would be possible, the stimulation of the nerve by the CI would far exceed natural stimulation. The brain would probably not even "hear" natural sound after it got used to CI.

For me, I assumed that the tip protected the walls of the cochlea. It's a small organ...

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Cloggy, I had a question for someone with a CI. May I PM you?

 

[Fragmenter]

Cool, thanks for the input, Cloggy.

 

[Awauphi]

i did asked the dr about that.. he said that if i get ci.. the hearing will be gone.. they cut thru nerve to bypass the nerve to the cochlea something. i guess all are different.. hmm

 

[ismi]

Actually, cloggy, they're not mutually exclusive. The material my audi gave me included information about a trial being done to combine a Nucleus implant with a hearing aid (in the same ear). I think it's been going on for a few years.

I am going to be evaluated for a CI in the next few months, though not through the above study - the whole point of the CI, in my case, is to get these ear molds out of my ears and try to get my infections under control.

 

[sr171soars]

Ismi - It is called a Hybrid Cochlear Implant or Electrical Acoustical Stimulation (EAS). It will be great for lots of people.

Yea, I can understand what you mean about ear molds. I hardly ever got infections but I would get the sore ear syndrome every time I got new ones (about every six months). I totally hated that and love never having to wear those blasted things again.

SmileyGin - No they don't sever the nerve in the cochlea. That is the last thing they want to do. Most people loose their residual hearing from a CI because of fluid leakage and other stuff I believe (Boult correct me here).

 

[R2D2]

Actually, cloggy, they're not mutually exclusive. The material my audi gave me included information about a trial being done to combine a Nucleus implant with a hearing aid (in the same ear). I think it's been going on for a few years.

I am going to be evaluated for a CI in the next few months, though not through the above study - the whole point of the CI, in my case, is to get these ear molds out of my ears and try to get my infections under control.

Best wishes with that. Ear molds I do not miss. Like S171Soars I used to get the sore skin syndrome every time I got new molds. I don't usually get infections but I do recall one time when I wore my hearing aids for very long periods of time (when I first had my baby) and I got infections in both ears from that. The doctor said it was due to lack of air circulation.

 

[jag]

I read the overview of Nucleus' Freedom implant and all of its features just because I was bored. I didn't realize that their soft tip "may" preseve residual hearing during the surgery process.

This is exactly what it says on the website:

2. Softip—to minimize force
The industry’s only Softip electrode is designed to protect the delicate cochlea during surgery, which may lead to the preservation of residual hearing

From this messageboard, I learned that a cochlear implant will destroy whatever residual hearing you had left in the implanted ear. According to Cochlear, this may not happen with the Freedom's soft tip... Hmmmm?

Personal experience, I can still hear sound in the ear with the implant....when my hubby talks directly into that ear I can hear him BUT I can't understand him. And unlike alot of people here i did get benefit from HA's but was very frustrated with that 'benefit' (probably a your milage may very thing) Which is why I got CI. One reason I went with the freedom was that statement tho.

 

[Fragmenter]

I guess the Freedom implant indeed preserves residual hearing somewhat

That is really cool..

 

[Cloggy]

Actually, cloggy, they're not mutually exclusive. The material my audi gave me included information about a trial being done to combine a Nucleus implant with a hearing aid (in the same ear). I think it's been going on for a few years.

I am going to be evaluated for a CI in the next few months, though not through the above study - the whole point of the CI, in my case, is to get these ear molds out of my ears and try to get my infections under control.

That sounds great!.. Looking forward to hear more about it..
Can you start a new topic on this!

 

[Cloggy]

i did asked the dr about that.. he said that if i get ci.. the hearing will be gone.. they cut thru nerve to bypass the nerve to the cochlea something. i guess all are different.. hmm

You must have misunderstood. The nerve is the KEY to CI. If the nerve doesn't work - No CI !

But it's good that you posted your understanding, because rectifying these kind of misunderstandings is very important.
Ask your dr to explain again. If he/she explains again that a nerve is going to be cut.... get the hell out of there!!!!! Change dr.!!

 

[ismi]

That sounds great!.. Looking forward to hear more about it..
Can you start a new topic on this!

I wish I knew more, but I don't. All I know is that for some patients, they're having success with a combination of aids and CIs in the same ears.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I had a question that I asked Cloggy in PM. It was answered, but I was requested to post the same question here, so I am going to.

The question was:

"Is residual hearing necessary for the CI to be effective?" Essentially, the answer is no, but I'm going to let others explain why as I'm having trouble making my points clear today.

 

[R2D2]

I had a question that I asked Cloggy in PM. It was answered, but I was requested to post the same question here, so I am going to.

The question was:

"Is residual hearing necessary for the CI to be effective?" Essentially, the answer is no, but I'm going to let others explain why as I'm having trouble making my points clear today.

No - it's not nescessary because of the way in which CIs work. With hearing aids you do need residual hearing because hearing aids work by amplifying what residual hearing you have. This is why the smaller residual hearing you have the more distorted it sounds when it's amplified.

With CIs hearing is totally artificial. The microphone picks up sounds from the environment, converts it into code which is sent to the coil, which transmits it to the internal implant which then fires electrical pulses into different points of the cochlea thus stimulating the auditory nerve. The nerve receives these electrical signals, which the brain converts into meaningful sound. I may have got the exact details a bit wrong but that's essentially why you don't need existing residual hearing.
The reason why it's seen as desirable to preserve residual hearing is just in case a CI doesn't work out for you and you can return to hearing aids should that be the case. It's basically retaining your options.

You might like to check out that slide show sticky at the top of the board as an explanation of how the CI works and why it doesn't need residual hearing.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

No - it's not nescessary because of the way in which CIs work. With hearing aids you do need residual hearing because hearing aids work by amplifying what residual hearing you have. This is why the smaller residual hearing you have the more distorted it sounds when it's amplified.

With CIs hearing is totally artificial. The microphone picks up sounds from the environment, converts it into code which is sent to the coil, which transmits it to the internal implant which then fires electrical pulses into different points of the cochlea thus stimulating the auditory nerve. The nerve receives these electrical signals, which the brain converts into meaningful sound. I may have got the exact details a bit wrong but that's essentially why you don't need existing residual hearing.
The reason why it's seen as desirable to preserve residual hearing is just in case a CI doesn't work out for you and you can return to hearing aids should that be the case. It's basically retaining your options.

You might like to check out that slide show sticky at the top of the board as an explanation of how the CI works and why it doesn't need residual hearing.

Thank you.

As I said, I already asked the question, but Cloggy thought others would benefit from a discussion about this, so I was asked to post the question here.

For some reason, I became confused regarding residual hearing. I know that usually the residual hearing is destroyed once a person is implanted, but I think I was confusing residual hearing with "sound memory", since it's been said that post-lingual deafies have an easier time adjusting to the CI, I think?

I hope I don't sound too stupid here. My mind just doesn't want to cooperate with me today. I DO know what the hell I am talking about, I promise! I'm just massively confusing myself right now.

 

[R2D2]

Thank you.

For some reason, I became confused regarding residual hearing. I know that usually the residual hearing is destroyed once a person is implanted, but I think I was confusing residual hearing with "sound memory", since it's been said that post-lingual deafies have an easier time adjusting to the CI, I think?

I hope I don't sound too stupid here. My mind just doesn't want to cooperate with me today. I DO know what the hell I am talking about, I promise! I'm just massively confusing myself right now.

No worries!

Residual hearing and sound memory are completely different. Residual hearing is natural hearing and is basically a function of the level of damage inside your ear. Most people who can benefit from hearing aids still do have enough hair nerves for example that are able to carry the sound waves through the cochlea through to the auditory nerve. However they use hearing aids to increase the level of sound waves to help those remaining hair nerves do the job. However if the damage is so bad those hairs cannot function or are simply not there to do the job. This is where a CI comes in because it bypasses the natural function of that part of the ear.

Hearing memory on the other hand is to do with how the brain was stimulated with sound. For example a hearing person who went completely deaf will have hearing memory from their hearing years still stored away in the brain. It's basically the neurons that were formed in the brain as a result of hearing sound. My audiologist tells me that this hearing memory can last a long time after losing ones hearing before being completely lost - something like 10 years.

 

[netrox]

I still had residual hearing after my implantation but it gradually disappeared over two years. Also, the residual hearing I had left after the implant wasn't the same - it sounded worse.

 

[Fragmenter]

I still had residual hearing after my implantation but it gradually disappeared over two years. Also, the residual hearing I had left after the implant wasn't the same - it sounded worse.

Which implant do you have?

I'm pulling this one out of my butt (this is redneck speak): did your cochela leak until there was no longer any displacement pressure inside it?

 

[ismi]

I still had residual hearing after my implantation but it gradually disappeared over two years. Also, the residual hearing I had left after the implant wasn't the same - it sounded worse.

Do you know if this was a physiological change in the cochlea or nerve due to the implant, or a change in the way your brain processes sound due to having a new source of stimulus?