I was upgraded from the Harmony
to the Naida Q90 in November 2016. I’d been waiting patiently since the 5 year
mark, so 3 years of waiting felt like a long time. I didn’t expect a lot,
because I didn’t want to be disappointed, but I felt excited to finally benefit
from Advanced Bionics’ (AB) newest technology.
Upgrade day came and went without
too much of a hitch. There was a processor mix up over the colour (I have the
beautiful Caribbean Pirate colour – thank you, AB) and there was, admittedly a
few moments of panic when they first turned the Q90 on; all I could hear was a
horrid buzzing sound. “Am I not compatible with this system?!” was my first
thought. It transpired that they needed to switch a few settings off that were
used with the Harmony processor between the internal and external implant, to
allow the Q90 to send its information through.
“Phew! But it sounds the same…
Nothing is different.” Part of me was incredibly relieved. I didn’t want the
same emotional upheaval that I experienced when I first got my implant in 2008 but at
the same time, I wasn’t gobsmacked by this amazing new technology! I loved the
smaller size though, it just ‘disappeared’ when I was wearing it and it was so
light!
Just two days later and the
following *amazing* benefits started to emerge:
- Better pitch perception without the assistance of my Phonak Hearing Aid – the sound with my CI alone no longer sounded 'flat'
- Improved listening in noisy conditions
- I HAD A FIVE MINUTE PHONE CONVERSATION WITH A STRANGER – I never achieved this with my previous processor. I have also made a phone call to my doctors and spoke with the receptionist for a few minutes about making an appointment and discussing the possibility of needing an x-ray at the hospital.
- Speech sounded clearer when listening to music
- When listening to music, I could also hear my own voice. It use to ‘disappear’ with my Harmony processor
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