This is a continuing of the ongoing email exchange between myself and a CI candidate…and now a message from our sponsor….(canned Sesame St. music in the background)….
Buffalo Rochester BEA Social
COME JOIN US!!!!
When: Saturday, June 6, 2009, 11am-1pm
Where: Darien Lake State Park, Shelter #2, 10289 Harlow Rd, Darien Center, NY 14040
Directions: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=63
RSVP to Katie Peter at kpeter@advancedbionics.com or 877 335 0899
Please do be sure to bring a picnic lunch. Drinks and desserts will be provided!
And now for the continuation of the mentoring experience….
*************************************************************************************
-
Dear Sam…thanks for all the e-mails…I am very happy that each of the people I have conversed with are truly very happy with the implant they choose…(name removed to protect the innocent) sings high praises of the Cochlear brand…I have conversed with a fellow who has the Med-el and insists it is the best and now you…so (name removed to protect the innocent) (name removed to protect the innocent) wife pointed out to me that all 3 are good and that I shouldn’t stress over which one to go with…is the Harmony MRI Compatable??? I know 1 company isn’t….I do like many of the things you reported about your implant….do the voices sound natural or do they all sound very momotone?? can you distinguish a male from a female voice?? this is all so new to me…thanks again (name removed to protect the innocent)
*************************************************************************************
Hello (name removed to protect the innocent),
The Harmony is FDA approved for MRI at .3 and 1.5 Tesla with the magnet removed. Cochlear America’s device has a similar clearance and the Med-El device is only FDA approved for MRI at .3 Tesla with the magnet. Most MRI machines scan at 1.5 Tesla.
I can tell you that the voices sound as natural as I can perceive them and when compared to a hearing aid which I have worn all my life, they sound so much better, clear, richer and deeper. And because I am bi-lateral, I can localize the sound meaning I can tell where it’s coming from. Because of the t-mic, Advanced Bionic’s CI makes it even easier to determine where sound is coming from because it takes advantage of natural hearing, sitting right in the bowl of the ear.
I can tell you that I can distinguish between a male and a female voice because with my CIs, my hearing consists of the full sound spectrum. With my hearing aid, I only heard one tone and couldn’t tell if it was a male or female. The other thing to consider…because the Advanced Bionic program can process up to 83,000 pieces of information per second (I apologize but in an earlier email, I said 81,000) it has that much more capability of fine tuning to truly distinguish a female voice from a male voice.
(name removed to protect the innocent), please do keep the questions coming! This is what I love doing the most….giving back what I received and sharing the most wonderful sense a human being can enjoy…hearing. Have you gotten a chance to check out Hearing Journey? (www.hearingjourney.com).
Sam