Author Topic: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!  (Read 210736 times)

leapyrtwins

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #180 on: November 22, 2010, 10:38:19 pm »
Koray -

I can't speak for the Sonnitus, but a BAHA will help you in all the situations you mention.

It won't be like having your normal hearing back - nothing currently on the market can do that for you - but it's a huge improvement over being SSD in my opinion.

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

KKorkut

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #181 on: November 23, 2010, 03:29:05 am »
Hi Jan,
as I said before I need an hearing aid during only %10 of my lilfe, so a removable device is a better option for me. I think that BAHA is more useful for women because it can easily be hidden inside of your hair and it is nearly invisible, but this is not the case for men. Because it is removable and more invisible I will prefer Soundbite to BAHA if both have the same efficiency.

From an engineer point of view I think that if BAHA is effective in the situations I mentioned before than Soundbite must work well in the same situations also, because they both use the Bone Anchoring principle to transmit sound from actuator to cochlea. The only difference between two devices is in the way they transfer signals from microphone to the actuator. BAHA transfers signals to the actuator directly while Sounbite transfers this signals to the actuator via radio signals.

As you are using BAHA for years and you give positive comments I am confident that the device is useful in noisy situations, but  according to comments from Gloria I suspect that Soundbite is not so effective in noisy situations. Maybe the noisy enviroment she meant is a Metallica concert as she said before. In this case there is no problem. I don't expect to hear in such an environment, but if soundbite does not work when you try to talk to your friend on the deaf side in a reasonable loud restaurant then it is a problem. What is the point of having an hearing aid which is not usefull when you really need it?

I will ask from Gloria to give more details about the situations which Soundbite is not usefull.

Thanks,

Koray

 

Mei Mei

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #182 on: November 23, 2010, 07:23:24 am »
Thank you for this nice explanation.   I really also don't want more surgery to have a hearing device.   I am only going to consider the non-surgical devices as they have the amplification that I need.   (I don't need to go to an Metallica concerts  ;D ;D)

I am however going to wait until Sonnitus releases the smaller devices that people have talked about here and are not getting to take home.  This will come in time.

Take care!
Mei Mei
1 cm Tumor RetrosigmoidSurgery on Jan 12 at Johns Hopkins
Drs. Niparko and Tamargo
35dB loss pre surgery and now SSD
Post surgical Headaches and Tinnitus
Dr Ducic Georgetown Excision Surgery May 2011
Dr. Schwartz GW  Titanium Mesh  March 2012
Drs Kalhorn/Baker, Georgetown Removal of Titanium Mesh

Arasha

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #183 on: November 23, 2010, 03:40:14 pm »
Hi Koray,
Your explanation is very concise. Thanks.
According to your comments, you have a very good hearing in your good side, as I do. Thanks God!. The first time I went to Sonitus for the trial, in the questionnaire they requested me to fill it out, they asked about the needs in quiet situations, my responses where that I practically didn’t need any aid in those situations because my hearing was pretty good.  I am SSD three years now and I thought I needed the aid only in noisy environments, because in that kind of situations I feel completely deaf since I can't hear anything clear, all that I hear is a huge confusion of words and noises, making my tinnitus even worse.  When I tried SoundBite, I realized that my hearing was not as good as I thought. As soon as I put the device, the amplification was “WOW”, everything was so CLEAR.  I agree with you Koray, that our hearing it is not a big deal in a very quiet environment, but hearing clearer, trust me, you feel a lot better. Add to this the ability to localize the cell phone that keeps ringing and you can’t remember where did you leave it.

When I am watching TV and suddenly someone begins to speak, I can not understand anything, not the Tv, nor what someone said, so, when I am watching Tv as a family, I have to beseech them to try to be quiet.  With the SoundBite, this was not a problem anymore.  I posted before that I could even chew something extra crunchy and still could hear the TV, because the sound of my chewing did not interfere with my hearing.

I will try to answer your questions in a very explicit manner:

LUNCH TIME
I was able to hold a conversation while I was eating in a restaurant (with people around talking, laughing, the Tv on, or background music, I could hear what my peers were saying at both sides.  If I have to talk in terms of percent, I would say that I was able to improve 50% my hearing on my deaf side, which is much less compared with the utility in quiet conditions, in which I could say my hearing improved about 80%.

WHILE DRIVING
My husband likes to drive with the radio on (am radio KGO  :) ), While wearing the SoundBite I could hear him (I am left side deaf), and because this station is all news and comments, my husband likes to talk to me while he is listening; sometimes when he turned the radio very loud (I guess because the sound of “am” is not very clear) I had difficulty in understanding him, but in general I could hold a reasonable conversation.  I was also able to hear when my son  in the back seat was talking. When I drove, of course I could hear better to the person on my right side, and also helped me to be aware of the traffic on my left side.
 
WALKING ON THE STREET.

When I had the SoundBite I wore it to run. It was a pleasant experience to be able to hold a conversation with my co-runner at my left side. Since I run two miles in the streets until I get to the trail, it helped me to be aware of the traffic as well. Without the device, I prefer to run alone. So my answer is YES, I could hear to the person talking at my deaf side while I was walking. Intentionally, I was trading places in order to test this issue.

I found out that SoundBite it is not very useful in crowded places like shopping centers or supermarkets (I still can hear but not as much I would have liked). 

Have a good day and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone,
Gloria
Left side AN 2.5x1.8 removed on 10/17/2007 endosc. by Dr.Shahinian (retrosig) at SBI, LA,Ca. Facial phalsys (almost back). Balance issues. Tinnitus. MRI 8 months later showed AN was resected completelly.TransEar 11/2008. Clinical trial for SoundBite 11/2009. SoundBite user.I have the best family.

leapyrtwins

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #184 on: November 23, 2010, 07:15:11 pm »
Koray -

totally understand.  The BAHA is definitely not for everyone.

Just for the record, I know just as many men who wear BAHAs as women who wear BAHAs.  Vanity isn't always an issue when it comes to being able to hear  ;)

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

Mei Mei

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #185 on: November 23, 2010, 08:03:42 pm »
Yes, but the less surgery the better.   Some of us are plain tired of surgery.   I'm first in line!
Thanks!

Take care,
Mei Mei
1 cm Tumor RetrosigmoidSurgery on Jan 12 at Johns Hopkins
Drs. Niparko and Tamargo
35dB loss pre surgery and now SSD
Post surgical Headaches and Tinnitus
Dr Ducic Georgetown Excision Surgery May 2011
Dr. Schwartz GW  Titanium Mesh  March 2012
Drs Kalhorn/Baker, Georgetown Removal of Titanium Mesh

KKorkut

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #186 on: November 24, 2010, 09:37:23 am »
Thanks for all your valuable comments and explanations. We can better understand each other as all of us live similliar problems every day. I am a Turkish guy and I want to come to US as soon as Soundbite is available in the market. I feel very happy when I share my feelings and opinions with you. Maybe I can meet some of you when I come there.

Best Regards,

Koray Korkut

Mei Mei

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #187 on: November 24, 2010, 02:37:13 pm »
You're welcome to come here.   My grandmother was from Istambul and went to the Austrian Gymnasium for school.   That was more than one hundred years ago.

I live in Washington, DC area, but you'll probably go out to California for Sonitus.   The San Francisco bay area is a great place for a vacation.

Best wishes to all of us.   We have much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Mei Mei    :)
1 cm Tumor RetrosigmoidSurgery on Jan 12 at Johns Hopkins
Drs. Niparko and Tamargo
35dB loss pre surgery and now SSD
Post surgical Headaches and Tinnitus
Dr Ducic Georgetown Excision Surgery May 2011
Dr. Schwartz GW  Titanium Mesh  March 2012
Drs Kalhorn/Baker, Georgetown Removal of Titanium Mesh

Arasha

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #188 on: November 24, 2010, 04:01:29 pm »
Koray,

If you come to America, I would be very glad to meet you.  I live in the beautiful state of California.

Have a wonderful day,
Gloria
Left side AN 2.5x1.8 removed on 10/17/2007 endosc. by Dr.Shahinian (retrosig) at SBI, LA,Ca. Facial phalsys (almost back). Balance issues. Tinnitus. MRI 8 months later showed AN was resected completelly.TransEar 11/2008. Clinical trial for SoundBite 11/2009. SoundBite user.I have the best family.

Dizzy miss

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #189 on: November 28, 2010, 06:47:53 am »
Jan,  Thanks so much for the information it's hard to believe the Doctor doesn't know that the Baha is made out of titanium.

leapyrtwins

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #190 on: November 29, 2010, 11:10:13 pm »
Dizzy -

you might want to check out www.cochlearamericas.com under "Find a Clinic".

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

dalesings2u

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #191 on: December 17, 2010, 06:54:35 pm »
What is SSD?

Mei Mei

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #192 on: December 17, 2010, 07:06:02 pm »
Singlw Sided Deafness
1 cm Tumor RetrosigmoidSurgery on Jan 12 at Johns Hopkins
Drs. Niparko and Tamargo
35dB loss pre surgery and now SSD
Post surgical Headaches and Tinnitus
Dr Ducic Georgetown Excision Surgery May 2011
Dr. Schwartz GW  Titanium Mesh  March 2012
Drs Kalhorn/Baker, Georgetown Removal of Titanium Mesh

tweety

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #193 on: January 02, 2011, 09:42:57 pm »
Gloria,  Have you tried the sound bite yet?  I am very interested in this. I had microsurgery for a right AN in June 2010 and have almost complete hearing loss in that ear.  My surgeon said I would not be a candidate for a hearing aid but could have the BAHA implanted.  At 5 month post op, I was not ready for any more surgery but am annoyed with not hearing in my right ear.  I was wandering how the sound bite worked and if you found it successful/  Tweety/ Nancy

leapyrtwins

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Re: GOOD NEWS...NEW INVENTION FOR SSD... Sounds good for us!!!!
« Reply #194 on: January 05, 2011, 08:17:27 pm »
Tweety -

whether you opt for a BAHA or not is a personal decision. 

I just wanted to note that the surgery is absolutely nothing like AN surgery.  This was one of my biggest concerns too, and it was totally without foundation.

BAHA implant surgery is a quick, simple, outpatient surgery.  Most docs even give you the choice of general anesthesia or local anesthesia (with or without sedation).  I chose local with no sedation and was wide awake during the entire procedure.  Not something I'd have even considered with AN surgery, if it were even possible.

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways