ANA Discussion Forum
AN Community => AN Community => Topic started by: matti on December 06, 2006, 10:19:14 pm
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I've had some requests asking to post pictures of my TransEar...here she is
(http://image1.frappr.com/pix1/i/20061206/7/4/9/749bf228926133da2900a4ff7c9a67aa0_small.jpg)   (http://image1.frappr.com/pix1/i/20061206/8/7/b/87bd548ed426d6a6a1b7db0a18b091c40_small.jpg)
(http://image2.frappr.com/pix2/i/20061206/7/2/f/72fcfb59a5cc3a49e662519b3b42ba6f0_small.jpg)   Processor is behind the ear -  Square button controls 2 listening programs. Program 1 is used for a more quiet environment and program 2 is a noise reduction for a crowded room, restaurant, etc..   Volume control and on/off is just above that
(http://image1.frappr.com/pix1/i/20061206/d/c/4/dc44eab0f1d5a233a1a614ca6f3462290_small.jpg)   It is very comfortable, although I do not wear it all day, as it tends to get moisture build up and as you can see the transfer unit blends in fairly well
It works on the same principal as the BAHA in which sound is conducted through bone. I was asked if I have total hearing loss in that ear and yes I do, my hearing nerve was sacrificed to save my facial nerve.
Cheryl
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Cheryl,
How does the TransEar work? It's not the same principle as the BaHa is it? Transfering sound from the deaf side to the good side.
Paul
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I have an appointment with my ENT next Wednesday and will ask about it.
Thanks, Paul
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I wonder why they don't design those more like a piece of jewellery. Could look great! :) Why try to mask it off which doesn't really work that well, make a feature of it! Glad it works well for you, and thanks for the pics. I'll get on to TransEar and see what the process is.
Lorenzo
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Looks GREAT!!!!!!!!!
What is the diffrence between the Transear, and a hearing aid? I can only go through beltone (per insurance co.), but I like what you have.
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Matti between your left TransEar and my right we make a sister pair! Please telll me what you mean by "moisture buildup". I wear mine higher above my ear and not tucked in so much. I think the wire on mine is the "short" size. Were you told something about where this part has to be situated?
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Sam, I didn't know Beltone had anything for SSD.
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I'm not for sure, but if they do not, I might be in trouble. I went for my evaluation 12/05/06, the doctor explained that I had 50% chance of losing my hearing in the affected ear, I'm just trying to collect all info possible and stay 1 step ahead. I have seen similar devices on their website.ÂÂ
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Okay, this may sound dumb & dumber but,
Is it for use even if the facial nerve was cut? No vestibular nerve?
I'd love to hear in stereo again.
I'll also check with my dr. in January Thanks, Nancy
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Cheryl,
You wok maa-welous!!!! :) Looks fantastic and you can't even tell! Gotta love modern technology, eh? BTW, can you hear me now? :)
Boppie, between you and Cheryl, you got full hearing! Awesome!!!!!!!
Phyl
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Cheryl,
Looks great, thanks for the pics. Thanks for answering about the total hearing loss. Boppie, did you have TOTAL loss too. What I'm getting at is if the trans ear is best for total hearing loss patients. or would it be helpful for someone who has a itsy bitsy bit of hearing left but not really servicable hearing.
Patti UT
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Cheryl,
I'm sorry if I sounded negative on my previous post, didn't mean to! Oooops, sorry.... I think it's great that you got it and that it works so well. I'm trying to find out if I can get one too. And it looks good too, I mean it.
Personally I would prefer something that was a bit more 'jazzed up', well, I am a designer... can't help myself. Maybe silver, or white, or some nice colour, even transparent so I could see all the bits inside the thing... :)
Patti, I was just asking myself the same question too. I have 75% hearing left but really bad voice recognition. Wonder how they would work in that case. Anybody got a contact at TransEar?
Ciao
Lorenzo
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Lorenzo - Rick Gilbert is the TransEar VP who I am sure would be more than willing to help answer any of your questions. I will send you his e-mail through your private e-mail. Also check out www.TransEar.com website, which also has a FAQ section. I didn't think you sounded negative at all, I agree with you, I would love to jazz this thing up for different occasions, perhaps this could open up a whole new design trend in the hearing aid field ;D  I do believe the TransEar will work with some hearing left in the bad ear, but I believe you have to have close to perfect hearing in the good ear ???
Crazycat - Yes, the TransEar works on the same principal, when the sound is received on the bad side, it drives the vibrator in the transfer unit and the signals are transfrerred via bones in the skull to the cochlea in the good ear. If I were you, I would ask your ENT if you could take home and try the BAHA test band for a week. This will give you a good idea on what the TransEar will sound like as well.
I was not a candidate for the BAHA due to extreme head sensitivity.
Nancy - There is no such thing as a dumb question! It will work perfectly fine if the facial nerve was cut, again as I mentioned to Crazycat, to get a good sense of what it will sound like, I would ask your ENT to try out the BAHA test band.
Boppie - If I wear my TransEar for more than 5 or 6 hours, I guess the ear canal sweats (I did not know it did that) and then becomes uncomfortable. I see my audiologist today for software adjustments. She did want to bend the wire at the fitting, so it sat higher, but that would put it where my "dent" is and that is a very sensitive area.
hugs,
Cheryl
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cheryl,
How does the Trans Ear work in a crowd ? I can't hear a thing even with one good ear if I'm with a large group (like in a restaurant) or at a dinner party. And, how long after surgery do they consider you a candidate for a Trans Ear? Has anyone had their hearing return on its own after 4 or 6 or 12 months after surgery?
Marjoryb
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Thanks Matti, looking forward to talking to Rick Gilbert! Who knows, I might be able to get it anyway on a trip to the US. I do have perfect hearing on my other side, thankfully! Lets see if we can shake up the hearing aid fashion a bit, shall we? I'll talk to him about it. Would ba an interesting design project! Hemmmmm
Wonder how many people would prefer to have a more jewelry like item? Anybody? Opinions? I can feel a pro-bono project coming along maybe...
Good question Marjoryb, how is the sound discrimination in a growded place? I know I can't distinguish between noise I want to hear and other noises, it's all the same at the moment. Wonder how that is with TransEar in place?
Ciao
Lorenzo
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Marjory - Boppie would be better at answering that question, as my TransEar needs some software adjustments, I keep getting the whistling feed back and it is interferring with that particular program. Boppie started a thread a while back about her TransEar experience and I believe she talks about crowded and noisy situtations.
The sound that comes through the bad side does have a different tone and quality (tin can sounding).
Lorenzo - Since I am Italian (Sicilian) could you design me an Italian flag cover or the map of Italy for my TransEar ;D  (My brother's name is Lorenzo)
Cheryl
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I'm in the process of getting either the transear or the cross through VR.  Slow process but hey they're paying.  I have called transear twice and emailed them and have gotten prompt info and responses. They even sent a package to my audiologist who had never heard of transear.  I have no residual hearing, I do have my hearing nerve intact and have been told that either one will be ok to eliminate my ssd. ÂÂ
Cheryl thanks for sharing your pics!  Hoping I'll have something to share by the beginning of the new year.
I want a pink glitter whatever I get with a pirate emblem...think I'll get it? LOL
I did regain a weeeeeeee bit of hearing (ask matti I called her late one night LOL) It's not enough to be cosidered viable but it did get rid of the one sided feeling I had. I also actually used to my bad ear to make a phone call. I needed to dial the number and hear the ring start so I could put the good phone on my good ear and was able to hear what I needed to. Of course the house has to be QUIET!
M
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Italian flag coming up! That'll be two of us so! I can feel my mind starting to design... pink glitter, silver, flags, skull and bones, transparent, white... How about glow in the dark?
Ciao Cheryl,
Lorenzo (the other one)
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I want pink day-glo in the dark with a skull and cross gold swords and diamond eyes that blink!!!!
Yippee! Also I want it to work, not just be stunning to look at! ::)
Capt Deb, 8) the queen of glitz
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I'll see what I can do. Diamonds or plasic blinking eyes?
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This sounds (no pun intended) really exciting. I'm only into my fouth month of post-op, but I'm a rough time adapting to SSD.
I see my doctor in a few weeks and Transear will surely be at top of my list. I am wondering about tinitis in the deaf ear. My varies contsantly; however, it's always there. Does anyone out there with a Transear have tinitis and if so can you explain how it's effected?
Thanks
T
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Every time I wear the TransEar I like it more. I feel more normal with it in and can enjoy groups and restaurant conversation once again. I like shopping and walking next to a speaker without turning sideways to see the lips. I have no second thoughts about getting it.ÂÂ
About loud noisy rooms...I find hearing one conversation from my partner in a room full of loud conversations is still difficult with the TransEAr. My husband says I am asking too much of my aid if I expect to hear in that type of situation. That type of sound is discordant and jarring to anybody's nerves. But I like the way the aid works in my guild meetings. We have about 60 people in there for a gereral business meeting.  People speak from the floor frequently. I can hear all that is said from both sides of the room.ÂÂ
Singing and listening to music is fine too. I can hear the musicians on my deaf side better and their tones and mix of harmonies is clear again. My normal good side hearing is down a bit (normal for aging, they say) in the highest frequencies, and my pre op hearing was only 35% in word recognition on the AN side. So I was not hearing much from the AN side, just muffled stuff. The TransEar allows me to hear all but the highest frequencies that occur on both sides.
Note: No hearing aid can replace a frequency deficit. The good cochlea cannot replace sounds it cannot sense.
I still don't know which direction hidden sounds are coming from. I have not yet learned if there is any benefit to be gained from a TransEar that establishes directionality. The TransEar site mentions that "some people" can discern directions with their aid. The jury is still out on this point with me. Maybe my brain can still learn something new. I will surely report to the forum if I learn more from my TransEar.
Tinnitus is less of a problem with my TransEar on. I think the reason lies in the idea that a busy brain does not hear tinnitus as an overpowering presence. Did you ever notice how bad tinnitus is at night? I haven't felt bothered by tinnitus since I told my brain to get busy and ignore it.
About tinnitus. Post op I had tinnitus three times louder than pre op. In the beginning and until around the 6th month comisserated and groaned about my tinnitus. I decided some time this past summer to get over the tinnitus by ignoring it just as I had learned to deal with the buzz sound pre op. Between the ignoring exercises and the experience of getting the hearing aid fitted and borken in I learned to ignore tinnitus. The only time it comes up and bites me in the brain is when I start bragging and talking about it...like now, so I DONMENTIONIT!  ;D
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I think anything that can help you hear is great..And yours looks great. I wear a hear aide in the right ear deaf in left now. I hope that you have very much success and just love the things you hear.. I freaked out the first time I heard traffic, and people carring change in their pocket and jingleing keys. at first they drive ya nuts ..I was always saying what was that..And waite till they drop a food tray.. wow...but ajust slow...
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I need to clarify...Tinnitus is not cured with a hearing aid.  A busy brain can ignore tinnitus, though.  A hearing aid gives the brain a job to do and tinnitus can be ignored more easily.
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Well I had my TransEar reprogrammed today and learned a few interesting things from my audiologists. She has fitted 5 patients with the TransEar and 3 out of the five including myself, are complaining about the sound level not being high enough. Since getting my aid last Thursday I have had to use the highest volume setting to get any benefit, along with that I was getting the whistling feed back. While I was wearing my TransEar she hooked me into the computer and was able to see which levels needed adjustments and at what level I was processing sound to the good ear. Since leaving the audiologists office, I am noticing a better sound quality and little to no feedback. I am trying these new adjustments and will see her again next Monday. There is the possibility that I may have to have my transEar remade, as the transfer unit may not be snug enough in the canal.
If I have any complaints at all, I think it would be with the 30 day guarantee. I understand almost all hearing aid manufacturers give a 45 -60 day guarantee and some will extend to 90. With all the reprogramming that needs to be done with mine, I am worried that when I finally get it to the proper settings I won't have time to fully test it and determine if it is right for me. I hopeTransEar is listening (no pun intended)!
I am going out to lunch tomorrow, so looking forward to testing it and next Friday is my son's college graduation, so that will really give it a good work out.
Cheryl
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I need to clarify...Tinnitus is not cured with a hearing aid. A busy brain can ignore tinnitus, though. A hearing aid gives the brain a job to do and tinnitus can be ignored more easily.
Guess my brain must not be busy enough then because my tinitus ROARS constantly. The only relief is when I am asleep. Yes, when I am busy working or running the kids around, doing housework, etc, it is less noticable but ALWAYS there,and loud. Then when, like you say at night, or when driving in the car alone with no other talking going on it is louder. I try real hard not to think about it but it is so overpowering, It's NEVER not there. All I need is a miricle. All the other post op stuff would be more tolerable if I could just make it stop. But I know that is not going to happen. SO I keep hoping one of these hearing aids will help the siituation.
Thank you to both Boppie and Matti for being the firsts to try the Trans ear and keep us informed.
Patti UT
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Matti, I get good summation with the other side on a 2¾ setting, but it is a low volume. If I turn my TransEar up to 3+ I get some feedback too! My audiologist told me to settle on this medium setting for best results. She also said other hearing aids have the same faults, high volume setting = more feedback  :'( .ÂÂ
Also, I notice a warm sensation in my ear canal when I am next to a really loud person on my aid side. I turn that person down.ÂÂ
Did you ever notice some people are just too noisy? They turn their voices up to volume 5  24/7.  ::) They blast our brains!
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I'd be interested to learn what the volume levels on Cros aids for SSD produce. Maybe I can get a response from Nate.
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Boppie - A very good friend of mine is a loud talker and I did have to turn the volume down. I come from a loud Italian family, so I'm thinking TransEar should stay home on Christmas Day LOL.
My volume is now programmed between 3 and 4 and my audiologist was able to reduce the feedback, I am still not getting any sound transfer on volume 2. It's still in work in progress, so I continue to be patient.
Cheryl
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That's all very interesting! make sme think that maybe my idea of going to the US next year and possibly getting one fitted might not work after all, I'd have to be there for too long in case of problems... Sigh. Still, I'll get in touch with TransEar and see. Reading this with interest, Thanks you all!
Ah, those Italian families! Ya. I keep away from mine, not difficult to do, they live in Italy, I don't! :) Mind you, the Irish in law family is rather noisy too. I use ear plugs, bright yellow ones preferably. Usually gets the message across.
I love silence, tinnitus or not. Weird. Supposed to make it louder, but for me for some reasson it seems to relax me. Mine isn't loud, just rustling leaves in the wind type sound, so much easier to get used to. Keeping the brain active and avoiding noise helps a lot to make it less noticeable. There are some systems to overcome loud roaring tinnitus by the way.
All the best and ciao, Lorenzo
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Great updates on this Cheryl and Boppie.
I am reading with interest. Do you notice that you have the transear in (after a settling in period). Also, how does wearing glasses work with this gadget tucked behind the ear?
Laz
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Larry, No problem...I am not bothered at all by the TransEar when I am wearing it. I was instructed to do this...The eyeglasses go on my face first with the side pieces in place over the ears. Then I put the TransEar in with the behind-the-ear part perched right next to the side piece.ÂÂ
If you have big, wide, or thick side pieces this could cause a fitting problem.
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Patti UT, You sound like a very busy Mom.
The twin grandsons chatter so loudly sometimes that I feel tired and nervous. So I guess that is the tinnitus kicking in. I have sound induced tinnitus. That is why I turn my aid down.
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Lorenzo,
I think that it comes in three colors to match skin tone, but Maybe you can start an accessorizing thing like for iPods.
little covers for the outside parts in funky colors.
while you are at that fr the baha folks, little screw ornaments for swimming and times when they are not wearing amplifier.
Cut me in on the profits when it takes off, I like the way you think.
I just got an ipod nano last fall and it just plays in a bose dock ever since the left ear went out.
I am serious, When I get my transear I would accesorize it.
Steve
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I am serious too! I'm seriously going to suggest it to TrnasEar, if they haven't picke up on this threa already! They should.
Lorenzo
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Lorenzo,
I get the new version of TransEar today, so will take pictures for you. Remember I'm your first customer ;) and anything diamond studded would be lovely.
Welcome back, we missed you!
hugs,
Cheryl
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I will keep the request in mind! Any other specials?
Oh, better not keep going on this vein, might get told off for not sticking to the thread...
Good luck with the new TransEar Cheryl!
Ciao
Lorenzo