This is a continuing of yesterday’s email exchange…

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Wow Sam…thanks so much for all the information…sounds like you are very happy with the implant you chose…and I am very happy for you too…probably about 12 years ago I started losing hearing and people were noticing it..I had a hearing test and at the time I was down in both ears…then suddenly my left ear went completely deaf(not hearing aid adaptable) so they put an aid on my right ear…I did pretty good for several years but the hearing in the right ear kept declining and I had 3 different aids e ach one more powerful than the other…then all the sudden the right ear took another dive and I now have the most powerful aid on the market…I am hanging on by a thread…I had to retire from the classroom after 20 years as a teacher assistant at (school removed to protect the innocent)..my life has not been the same since…I too nod alot and smile alot and inside feel very frustrated..I have felt my world close in on me…talking with folks like you and (name removed to protect the innocent) has given me much hope…the things I liked about Med-El were that it claims to have the only electrode in the industry that can stimulate the entire cochlea mimics hearing more naturally,leads the industry in research and developement,has fine structure which enchances pitch and sound quailty,lightest and thinnest speech processor available today…I don’t know all 3 companies have quailities I like…my husband says I am stressing too much on which one to go with…but I think it is a very important decision to make…thank you so much for your imput…I will think about the Darien Lake Event…it would be nice to meet you…(name removed to protect the innocent)

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(name removed to protect the innocent),

I would be interested in knowing where you got your information on the Med-El device because it seems that what you said about it can be said about Advanced Bionics, if not more.

Also, in my earlier email I mentioned two reasons why the AB device is superior (t-mic and AutoSound). One thing that I didn’t mention is the sound processing. The AB Harmony comes with Fidelity 120. This is a feature that is capable of so many things including grandkids and music!! It is the only system that has 16 individual output circuits; the other companies only have one. With Fidelity 120, you get 10 to 20 times greater resolution.

Think of it this way, sound has three primary components: frequency, intensity, and time. Only a small portion of these components is needed to hear words. To appreciate the richness of sound and to go beyond words, more detail is needed. It’s the details that distinguish not just what a word means, but how it’s said—with enthusiasm, sarcasm, or passion and to fully enjoy music, even more detail is needed. This is what Fidelity 120 is about. Fidelity 120 vs conventional processing is like listening to a piano with just 16-24 keys vs listening to a piano with 120!!! ( yes, piano’s only have 83 keys, but just imagine if they could have more!! ).

I am attaching an independent study (if anyone who reads this would like a copy of the study, please email me and I will send it) that was done and released in April 2007. Hopefully it is not too technical for you but considering you were a teacher assistant, you have a lot of patience! I think you will see clearly the superiority of the Advanced Bionics device.

As for me, I was born hard of hearing but my parents didn’t find out until I was 3. I guess I was that smart! Since you are considered what is known as late-deafen, your auditory system has already been stimulated. I think you’re going to be mildly surprised to find that it may just pull a Rip Van Winkle and remember what every thing sound like 12 years ago!

I strongly encourage you to come to the Darien Lake event and its only 20 miles from (city removed to protect the innocent). You’ll get to meet other implant recipients as well as an audiologist from Advanced Bionics.

Do you have a surgery date yet and if so, when…and where will you have it done?
Sam