Switching ears???

Dave101

Dave101

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I've bought a Prio 112 vc BTE for my right ear about 2 weeks ago. My hearing is pretty bad in both ears & pretty much the same but my left one maybe worse.

I have the ear mold for my left & am trying the aid in it as I type. Seems to be working fine. Is it ok to do this or is the hearing aid specially for the right ear?

Forgot to ask the doc about doing this. I don't see any right or left on the package or the aid itself. I will be getting another one when money permits but in the meantime wouldn't mind switching.

TIA, Dave
 
Dave,

I would think this wouldn't cause any harm as long as the loss in both ears is fairly identical. If the loss in one of your ears was considerably worse than the other (for example, a mild loss in one ear and a severe loss in the other), this is something I would not recommend.

It's ironic you should mention this. My CI audi and I were having a conversation a few weeks ago about what would happen if I accidentally put my left CI processor on my right ear and my right CI processor on my left ear. Even though both processors are identical as to the programs and speech strategy they use, switching ears could still cause pain due to the fact that my T (the softest sound I can hear) and C (the loudest sound I can hear without experiencing discomfort) levels are different for each processor. I'm curious to know how different they would sound if I switched ears, but I'm not brave enough to find out. LOL!
 
Hear Again said:
Dave,

I would think this wouldn't cause any harm as long as the loss in both ears is fairly identical. If the loss in one of your ears was considerably worse than the other (for example, a mild loss in one ear and a severe loss in the other), this is something I would not recommend.

Even though both processors are identical as to the programs and speech strategy they use, switching ears could still cause pain due to the fact that my T (the softest sound I can hear) and C (the loudest sound I can hear without experiencing discomfort) levels are different for each processor.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. That's what I was thinking. Do you know any good sites that explain the T's & C's (softest & loudess sounds) ?
 
Hear Again said:
Dave,

I would think this wouldn't cause any harm as long as the loss in both ears is fairly identical. If the loss in one of your ears was considerably worse than the other (for example, a mild loss in one ear and a severe loss in the other), this is something I would not recommend.

It's ironic you should mention this. My CI audi and I were having a conversation a few weeks ago about what would happen if I accidentally put my left CI processor on my right ear and my right CI processor on my left ear. Even though both processors are identical as to the programs and speech strategy they use, switching ears could still cause pain due to the fact that my T (the softest sound I can hear) and C (the loudest sound I can hear without experiencing discomfort) levels are different for each processor. I'm curious to know how different they would sound if I switched ears, but I'm not brave enough to find out. LOL!
Click to expand...


As I understand it, each processor is "tied" to each implant by an identification code. Each implant has its own unique identification number and the device is programmed to "verify" if it is communicating with the correct implant. So, if you accidentially switch them, they wouldn't work anyway. This is really a safety feature to prevent such problems. Of course, the audi could reprogram this but otherwise it is not easy to do for the average person.
 
It's ironic you should mention that. I just woke up from a nap (so I can stay awake for a New Year's party I will be attending in another hour :)) and found out something interesting about the Freedom. I was a little disoriented upon waking up and accidentally placed my right Freedom processor on my left ear. When I pressed the power button on the Freedom, it wouldn't turn itself on. What a great feature -- especially for children! I have Scotch tape on one of my processors to distinguish one from the other, but this feature will make it so much easier to tell them apart! I know AB has had this particular feature for awhile, but it's great to know that Cochlear does too! Just goes to show that competition between all 3 companies is beneficial for ALL CI users! :)
 
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