TransEar Notes from Day One

[Andy]

Day 11

Wore it all day.  I have not noticed any improvement in hearing today.  Thanks to Rick's posting, I am now not worried so much that it's not working too good for me.  It it perhaps the fact that my brain will take longer to get used to this device- Thanks for the post Rick! 

In regards to the not-so-smooth edges, they are only temporary.  My audiologist has been trying to get this thing fitted for me, but we've been sanding it in the wrong place.  All we needed to sand was the very end of the mold, since it had a sharp edge to it.  She will place an order for a new piece since when she was sanding this one, she sanded right through that little ventilation tube which allows your ear canal to breathe.  We're leaving it as is for now to see how this device is working out for me. 

[Boppie]

Andy, I know your hearing was damaged a long time ago but just to show you how different we are...My brain understood useable sound from day one and before all of the sanding adjustments were done.  My SSD was only 10 months old.  Pre-surgery I had been using 35% of the AN side for hearing.

As for settings I always use progam 1 and volume set between 2½ and 3.  I've never wanted more than that, too much gain and too much vibration for me.

I am enjoying your posts.

Thanks for the photos of your wire.  I do need to get mine changed out for a medium.

[okiesandy]

Andy,

Thanks for posting. I didn't see this until this evening. Thanks to Boppie.

I have wondered about the level of sound with mine. The last one I had produced no sound. The one before that I could hear sounds and even speech, admittedly not as loud as I would have expected. I kept the one before this at 3.5 most of the time. If I pushed down on the part the iis pointed on the outside of the ear it seemed like it pushed the inside tip against what ever makes me hear. I couldn't walk around with my finger on my ear so I didn't get much benefit from it. There was one time in my car with my deep voiced son behind me that I could hear very well with it. The tip vibration is what caused the most problems.

I have a voice enhanced phone that I can put behind my dead ear and hear perfectly. Maybe Panasonic will come out with a new aid. Wouldn't it be funny if Boppies short ear cord was the secret of her success?

[Andy]

Day 12

I wore it pretty much all day.  Once again, not much change from the day before.  I have noticed that I can understand people a little better with it in. 

Also, when I press on the ear mold part in from the outside, I can hear a bit better, which leaves to believe/hope that once we get this thing fitted again, I will have a little bit better results than I'm getting now.

Since I'm not seeing much change from day to day, I will write you guys again when something does change.  For now, to summarize, I am able to hear speech through TransEar only if I close my good ear, close my eyes to concentrate (as it is a weak sound), and press the mold part a little into my ear for a snug fit.  Another benefit I've noticed is that I feel that I can understand people better.  Without TransEar, I can hear people fine, but sometimes have a hard time trying to figure out exactly what they are saying.  I find myselft asking "What?" a lot- driving some people crazy.  TransEar has helped a bit in that respect. 

I'll keep you posted of any changes.  Til then...

[Jeanlea]

Thanks Andy for posting the pictures and to Rick for letting us know that is the proper position for the Trans Ear.  Now I'm sure that I'm wearing mine in the right place.  I keep mine on program one and the volume at about 2 3/4 to 3.  When I wear it it seems like I'm receiving no benefit.  But when I don't have it in I do notice it.  I knew it would not be the same as my regular hearing before I got it though.  All in all, I'm happy that I have it. 

Jean

[Andy]

I guess I'm still deciding whether it's worth the investment.  I knew that it wasn't going to be as good as the good ear was but, like you put it Jean, it does feel like there is no benefit when you're wearing it (until you take it out).  I was expecting just a bit more out of it.  Perhaps my brain is still adjusting to it and I'll have more benefit down the line.  We'll see... 

[Featofclay]

Andy,
Thanks for all your postings on TransEar and particularly the one about holding the music player with headphones and placing one of the headphones so that it touched the bone behind the bad ear.  It worked for me and I could faintly hear the song. 

My audiologists has ordered TransEar 270 for me and I am patiently (sic) waiting for it to arrive.  She tried a smaller hearing aid, CIC (Completely in Canal), but I could not hear anything with it.  It did seem to make my tinnitus quieter and hopefully TransEar will do that also.  How long did it take for your TransEar to come in and how are you doing with it now? 

Also, thanks for posting the pictures with the TransEar.  I have read most of the postings that Rick has posted and think it was super nice of him to answer your post. 
Jean in Mississippi