Activation for Second Implant

It has been almost two weeks since the initial activation of my second implant. When my audiologist first turned it on I heard a lot of very high pitched sounds. Her voice was really squeaky and there were a lot of other sounds that made me think of Christmas. I was probably associating it with Christmas movies. She told me it was not unusual and that the brain would adjust. The sound is still high pitched and Mickey Mouse but I can have a conversation with the people in my house using just the newly implanted side. My theory is that the electrodes in the cochlear probably aren’t positioned exactly in the same place so when they are fired they are both stimulating different parts of the cochlear. Combined with my other implant the two sounds seem to blend. I remember my first implant sounding like a kazoo but definitely not as high pitched.

Since I chose MedEl I am also testing out the Rondo to decide if I want to have two of these or one free Rondo and the traditional behind the ear device. They both sound the same right now and the Rondo is very light and comfortable. I tend to knock it off sometimes especially when I have to pull something over my head. If I had short hair I might consider using the Rondo on both sides. The Rondo comes with 3 disposable batteries which last about 4 days. I figured it would cost over $300 a year for batteries while the behind the ear device uses rechargeable. However, when they need to be replaced they cost about $100 apiece. For now my rechargables will last another two years and I have a 5 year replacement warranty on them.