Soundbite Stereo??

[producer]

Ok ima  little confused. The way I understand it is SOundbite receives the sound from your affected ear and through bone conduction the sound is received in your good ear.

But how would that give you a 'stereo' sound like the lady describes on this video?

 http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/197378/288/Hearing-aid-you-wear-in-your-mouth


I mean sure you will receive the audio coming from your left side but wont you still be hearing it from one ear therefore in 'mono' ?




chris

[Smithair]

I certainly can't technically explain it but it works.  I was left with significant balance issues after losing bothe the balance and hearing nerve on my right side. With the sound bite my balance has greatly improved while wearing it along with my hearing being more stereo like.  A good example is listening to the radio in the car. Without the sound bite I can hear music but I can't understand the words. With it I can understand the words.

I got the sound bite late in the afternoon. I immediately wanted to try a restaurant.  I had gotten to the point of not eating out without an earplug. The noise was intolerable, I couldn't understand what people at the table were saying much less the waiter. 

It brought me to tears.  It was just noisy like before losing my hearing and I could have a normal conversation and even hear conversations at the table behind us.  That alone was life changing. 

It is by no means perfect but for me it has significantly changed the quality of my life.
Becky

[producer]

thnks for the explanation Becky.

Im still confused, i guess i would have to try it to understand.   The lady in the article says she hears in stereo again, something which i think is imposible since AN nerve doesnt work?

Ok simple question, do you have directionality with the Soundbite on?  ie do you know that a sound is coming from your bad side (in your case the right side)?


chris

[CHD63]

Chris .....

I am not a doctor but to my knowledge, the Soundbite works on the same principle as a BAHA, just conducts the sound through your teeth, instead of through the abutment implanted in your skull.  Both conduct the sound coming in through the processor to your remaining good auditory nerve.

Technically it is not "stereo" because both channels (as it were) are being received on one side.

According to Dr. Adkins (my audiologist) in a normally hearing person, the sounds coming into the left ear are transmitted through the left auditory nerve to the right hemisphere in the brain (then back to the left hemisphere, where speech/language is processed) ..... the right ear sounds go through the right auditory nerve to the left hemisphere.  Therefore, if one of those nerves is severed or irreparably damaged, no sounds can go through to the brain.  What bone-conduction does is by-pass the bad nerve and is picked up by the remaining good one, along with the normal sounds coming from that side.

All that being said, I have a BAHA (Oticon Medical Ponto Pro) and technically I am not supposed to have directionality from it, but apparently my brain has learned to distinguish the difference in the sounds between the bone-conducted and the natural, normal hearing from my good ear, because I do have a certain level of directionality.  I also have a music setting on my Ponto that essentially opens up all of the frequencies for a better "stereo effect."  If I plug my good ear I can hear excellent sounds from my BAHA, otherwise I am totally unaware it is working.

Hope some of that makes sense.

Clarice

P.S.  I also have an single earbud that receives both channels for listening to music with my iPod ..... not stereo, of course, but at least I "hear" both channels.

[producer]

Thanks Clarice.

I find that very interesting, the fact that as you say the brain learsn to distinguish between the natural input from the good ear and the input from the soundbite/baha..and as  result provide some directionality!

that is very encouraging to know.


How long have you had your BAHA and how long did it take you to start getting this partial directionality?

[CHD63]

Chris .....

Keep in mind that "individual results may vary" and there are no guarantees that anyone will have directionality from any hearing device when one is SSD.

My audiologist gave me no guarantees.  She did, however, give me several exercises to do (involving sitting in a revolving chair with my eyes closed listening to two different sound sources) to encourage the brain to differentiate the sounds.  I started them immediately upon getting the processor and actually within a couple of weeks could tell which was which with my eyes closed.

Some people never can.  Perhaps it was my years as a professional classical musician that allowed me to distinguish timbre/quality of the sounds.

Best wishes.

Clarice

[leapyrtwins]

Chris -

studies have proven that BAHAs don't give the wearer directionality.  I know this because I was part of a study.

Prior to the study I thought I had directionality, but it was just my perception.

That said, BAHAs are amazing.  I had my implant 4 years ago and to this day think it was one of the best things I've ever done.

As to how the BAHA works, check out this link http://www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/baha.htm

Best,

Jan

[producer]

Hi Jan, yes everything you say is how i understood it, yet the lady in the article is talking about being able to hear in stereo. Maybe the writer of the article just got it wrong..





Chris

[nftwoed]

Hi Chris;

  Seems someone wishes to sell Soundbites in the video.
  That's OK, and good, but once SSD occurs, no appliance will cure it except maybe an ABI, but those are usually reserved for the completely deaf, NF-2 pt.
  There is a sense of BInaural hearing with Soundbite, Transear, BAHA, Cros aids due to the delay from deaf side to hearing side and also the difference in sound quality

[Mei Mei]

That's right.   When I went for my one and only SoundBite appointment until I was told I was on a Pilot Study and still had to pay, Dr. Monfared told me up front that it would not give me stereo, directionality or improve my balance.   That said, I might as well go for the TransEar that is past pilot studies and NIH Clinical trials and is less than half the price.
Mei Mei

[kaykay]

i can kinda understand what she means by stereo........without it, i can tell I am only hearing the radio through one ear...its quieter..and well....for all the SDD people you know how having one ear is......
when i use the soundbite, the sound is louder...and its different from what my good ear hears...so i am hearing 2 different sounds for the same thing.....(its actually clearer through the soundbite)
probably like what the baha users notice.
so in a way...it seems like its in stereo....cuz my brain is hearing it that way.

and.....I love soundbite. and Im not hired by the company.....I didnt even complete their survey. LOL.
it was the best option for me...and i will never have any regrets.