Sounding Off

Ever have a moment where something just sounds off? It could be anything from a new home gadget to your car. For me, it was my own ears and I did a series of troubleshooting to see if it was programming or an external device issue. I have learned a few things to help me troubleshoot and keep calm over the years. When I was younger, I developed anxiety/worries around anything that sounded off, and it took me some time to find my center and work to find a solution. 

For example, when I was around 12-13 years old, I went on a camping trip in the hot humid summer months. The night before was a fun night of laughs and playing games. Things sounded right. Then the morning came and everything sounded off. I kept taking them off and checking the microphones, batteries, and all wire connections. I panicked for a moment and finally found my dad and said, “There is something wrong with my ears?” I keep hearing this unfamiliar buzzing sound. He then says, “Oh that is the morning bugs making all those noises.” I then got in the truck where I closed all the doors and once I was in a somewhat soundproof spot, I realized the buzzing faded. To say I was overjoyed was an understatement and was able to continue on my morning. New listening environments can often welcome new sounds and have to learn your surroundings. 

I share that story to point out that I am super sensitive to how things sound.  Recently something is sounding off. However, I was wondering if I was losing it because of how loud my kids can get when playing rough or something. Instead of rushing to a fear base state, I took a moment to run some troubleshooting. 

I start to list out what I was experiencing:

1. The right ear not sounding rich

2. The left ear sounds louder

3. My voice sounds slightly muffled

4. The vacuum does not sound right when it ran earlier that day. 

Knowing that most of my issues were coming from my right ear, I was able to play around with some techniques to narrow down the issues. To help find the core issue, I did the following:

1. Inspected my processor and external equipment and cleaned connection points. 

2. Talked to myself out loud and listened to family members to see if it was a volume issue or a clarity issue. 

3. Checked if I am on the right program. (most processors have 3-5 programs you can pick from) 

4. Connected to my wireless microphone at 100% and listened to music to see if maybe the program is not working right. 

5. Connected to my wireless microphone at 100% again but listened through the wireless microphone instead. 

By the time I reached my 5th step, I knew it was NOT a programming issue but that my T-Mic microphone has began to go out. So the t-mic was not functioning at 100% and not picking up everything correctly. 

Knowing it was a bad microphone, I found my old backup microphone and swapped it. Instantly, everything sounded much better. Since I don’t want to rely on an old backup, I ordered a new microphone and once it arrived, it sounded so clear and crisp. Thank goodness for the amazing support from Advanced Bionics and that it was not a programming issue. 

What if it was a programming issue? If that were the case, I would need to meet with a cochlear implant audiologist to run further tests on the internal component and a mapping session which can last anywhere from 2-4 hours of creating a new and improved program. 

In my 20+ years of living with a cochlear implant, I have experienced all those scenarios many times. Once you go through them, the next time is not as daunting and becomes less anxious. 

-David

Did you know?

If you find yourself unable to troubleshoot on your own, you can reach out to a team at Advanced Bionics who can help guide you through any questions you have. They have live chat or email options for those days when things don’t sound right. ;)