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Below is a typical conversation.
"Don"
>> I understand that there are newer and better CI available now. I
have a
>> friend who is interested also and I was telling him that I read
where the
>> CI's require 3 number 625 batteries every DAY. Is that still correct?
>> That's a lot of batteries.
>>
I have an Advanced Bionics Harmony processor and
HiRes90K implant. It uses a rechargable battery. They
easily last all day, and you get four. After wearing hearing
aids for 20 years, it is really nice not to have to buy batteries
anymore! I thought having to deal with rechargables would
be a nuisance, but it is just the opposite. It only takes about
2 seconds to slip one off and a new one on. No fumbling with
a battery door, etc.
I was implanted just over 7 months ago. In my aided sentence
testing I was at 16% in my good ear and 0% in my bad ear at
my CI eval. I had my bad ear implanted. In four p***** of the
same test, 1 month after activation, I scored 94% to 100%. Now
I am quite sure I'd miss very little.
I can't believe how incredibly good this CI technology is:
- Even though there are several program slots for different
settings, I find that a single setup works best for all settings --
noise, music, quiet, speech, noisy backgrounds. No need to
mess with switching back and forth.
- I easily converse on the phone with strangers. That was
impossible for me for the past 5 years with HAs.
- I can talk to people at a distance outdoors again.
- I can go to the movies and catch all the dialog.
- Music is one of the toughest things for CI users, due to
the complexity and need for pitch precision. The past couple
of months, music has really started to improve for me. The
Harmony's F-120 provides a lot of pitch information and it
seems my brain is just now starting to make good use of
it and adjust.
I dragged my feet for years before getting a CI, because I
didn't want to hear some robotic imitation of sound. I was
so, so wrong. It did sound a little bit electronic at first, but
within a few weeks that dissipated.
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