Cochlear Implants
by Cochlear Guest Author

Tips and Tricks: How recipients can use the Mini Mic 2+ wireless accessory to stream in-flight entertainment straight to their sound processor

November 21, 2018
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Clinical Quick Tips

By guest author: Skylar Mason

Skylar Mason

Many of your patients will be embarking on flights this holiday season—to visit family, attend a work function or take a vacation.

Their Cochlear™ technology can easily improve their travel experience. With the Mini Mic 2+ wireless accessory recipients can stream audio from the in-flight entertainment system directly to their sound processor(s).

Mini Mic 2+

All they need is the line-in cable which is provided in the Mini Mic 2+ wireless accessory kit. Plug one end into the Mini Mic 2+ and the other end into the headphone jack of the entertainment system.

Turn on the Mini Mic 2+, make sure it is paired to the sound processor and they should be all set! (Learn how to pair Cochlear™ Nucleus® or Cochlear™ Baha® Device(s) with the Mini Mic 2+).

There are benefits to using the Mini Mic 2+’s streaming capabilities:

1) Better sound quality

The direct wireless connection between the Mini Mic 2+ and the sound processor is designed to allow for the clearest, loudest sound available.

2) It cuts out the sounds they don’t want to hear

No one wants to board a nine-hour flight and realize there is a fussy infant in the seat right behind them. However, with their Cochlear sound processor and Mini Mic 2+, recipients can cut out all environmental sounds and stream music or TV shows instead.

While everyone else on the flight is plugging their ears and silently begging for the child to fall asleep, Cochlear recipients can listen to some peaceful songs or catch up on their favorite shows.

The Mini Mic 2+ wireless accessory can do more than just stream audio from the plane.

Check out a TECH talk from Pediatric Audiologist Kali Markle on how it can help your patients in the classroom and beyond.

About our guest author:

Skylar Mason is a journalism student, Baha recipient, and Anders Tjellström Scholarship winner. She is excited to join the team at Cochlear as an intern to tell the stories of other CI and Baha recipients! She attends the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

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Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

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Yellow ear

What is Normal Hearing? Why a simple and consistent answer is needed

October 29, 2020

By Patti Trautwein, MA, AuD, Vice President, Product Management & Marketing, Cochlear Americas

Less than 25% of people get their hearing screened annually and more than 37 million (15%) Americans have hearing loss.1-2  Less than 30% of people who can benefit from hearing aids1, 2 and approximately 8% from cochlear implants have them.3 

As an audiologist, this data can be frustrating. There have been tremendous advancements in technology in the last few decades, including more treatment options with devices that are smaller, smarter and deliver better outcomes. Despite these advances, why haven’t the growing number of people with hearing loss accessed treatment?  Recent clinical and market investigations have identified awareness, acceptance, cost and stigma as primary obstacles to adopting hearing devices.4

A recent article by Christopher Spankovich reviewed the history of defining hearing loss using the audiogram versus other measures such as speech or objective measures, explaining how the past five decades encapsulated the rationale for 15- 25 dB HL as the limit for normal hearing.5 Importantly, the author noted strong correlation between pure tone average and perceived hearing difficulty. Most interesting, Spankovich reported that when asking audiologists what normal hearing is, “not surprisingly, you get a variety of responses.” 

How does the variability across clinicians transcend to the general population’s understanding of normal hearing? 

For example, Cochlear’s industry research highlights how people described hearing and noted the variability. Some used words such as mild, moderately severe, significant or deaf, while others used percentages of loss or percentages of hearing remaining.

So, do people know what is normal hearing? The team decided to go out on the street to find out:

Raising awareness of a simple metric, such as 20 dB PTA, for normal hearing may help the general population understand hearing health. Further, it may provide guidance on when to seek clinical evaluation, treatment and even what type of treatments to consider. This becomes increasingly important as the options expand to include over-the-counter devices in addition to hearing aids or hearing implants, making it more important for consumers to get the support of an audiologist or ENT. A simple and consistent metric streamlines to the process for consumers and allied health providers to monitor and act on hearing health, as they are likely to do with other health considerations such as vision or cholesterol.  

Is this a call to action for hearing health care providers to align on the simple answer that the general public can understand?  Please share the video with your colleagues and start the conversation so we can work together to improve access to appropriate hearing healthcare.

To learn more, subscribe to Cochlear ProNews.

About the author: Patricia’s 25 years in the hearing healthcare industry includes roles in research and clinical studies, product management, education and training, sales and marketing. As Cochlear America’s VP of Marketing, Patricia is responsible for the marketing strategy, communications and public relations, brand ambassador program and product management. Her organization is responsible for positioning Cochlear Americas growth strategy, cultivating opportunities in new and existing customer markets and growing demand for Cochlear’s hearing solutions in the region.

References:

1. Abrahms, H and Kihm, J (2015) MT9 reveals renewed encouragement as well as obstacles for consumers with hearing loss. Hearing Review https://www.hearingreview.com/practice-building/marketing/introduction-marketrak-ix-new-baseline-hearing-aid-market (accessed on Sept 14, 2020)  

2. Quick Statistics About Hearing. (2020, October 2). NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick-statisticshearing#:~:text=One%20in%20eight%20people%20in,based%20on%20standard%20hearing%20examinations.&text=About%202%20percent%20of%20adults,54%20have%20disabling%20hearing%20loss.

3. Holder, J., Reynolds, S., Sunderhaus, L., Gifford, R. (2018) Current Profile of Adults Presenting for Preoperative Cochlear Implant Evaluation Trends in Hearing Jan-Dec.

4. Kochin, S. (2007) MarkeTrak VII: Obstacles to adult non-user adoption of hearing aids, he Hearing Journal: April 2007 – Volume 60 – Issue 4 – p 24-51

5. Spankovich, C. (2020) Some observations on normal hearing and hearing loss.  Audiology Today Sep/Oct 2020 pgs. 32-41.

Dr. Tribulski

Inclusivity in video games

July 8, 2022

By Kathryn Tribulski, AuD

Why those with hearing loss can be left behind in the video game world

Below is a timeline of world events that led to a realization that as providers, we can do so much more in terms of access for our patients:

● March 11th, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declares COVID-19 a global pandemic

            ● March 13th, 2020 COVID-19 is declared a National Emergency

            ● March 19th, 2020 the first state orders a stay at home order[i]

            ● March 20th, 2020 Animal Crossing New Horizons from Nintendo has its world-wide

release[ii]

● March 24th, 2020 Kat Tribulski, AuD, tries desperately to find a Nintendo Switch™…. but there is nothing in a 100-mile radius.

In 2020, many like myself searched for the latest and greatest in escapism through video games.  But those with hearing loss, particularly cochlear implant users, seemed to be left behind. With the world locked down, many turned to technology as a social outlet in addition to a form of escapism.  It was at this point I realized how many of my patients were at yet another deficit with their devices. Hearing loss professionals are often asked to educate device users on integrating technology with phones/tablets and it’s time that we expand this to video game systems.

The psychosocial benefits of video games have been debated; however, recent studies show that video games do not cause harm in terms of psychosocial development.[iii] The unfortunate truth is that those with hearing loss are not granted the same access to this form of escapism and outlet for socialization – video games currently have rating systems including the rating “E for everyone”, which isn’t necessarily true. 

In an article from October 2020, Melanie Ashford shares, “Unlike many other gamers, I am immediately at a disadvantage,” citing footstep noise, bonus level/item noises and chat functions without captions, therefore limiting access to some with hearing loss. It seems that even with the increased technological innovation such as the Nucleus® 7 iPhone compatibility and Bluetooth® streaming capability, there is still more work to be done. 

While I don’t personally have hearing loss, I approached my own video game experience and started to specifically look to see how my cochlear implant patients could access all the auditory functions some games have to offer. In many single player games remote technology like a TV Streamer or a Mini Microphone 2+ allow for auditory access; however, that access can be dependent on the patient’s access to and understanding based on their MAPping and rehabilitation model.

As video games become even more engrained in our culture, all ages of users should have some equity in terms of ability to play. In a recent Captel blog post from December 2021, hearing loss friendly adjustments to game development were shared including touch feedback (vibratory control features), visual cues, dialogue to background noise adjustment options, subtitles and captioning as some integration options to allow access.[iv]  The industry is changing and trying to address these issues; for example in a June 2020 article to The Verge, lead game designer for The Last of Us Part II Emilia Schatz is quoted as stating, “accessibility for us is about removing barriers that are keeping players from completing a game. It’s not about dumbing down a game or making a game easy. What do our players need in order to play the game in parity with everyone else?”.[v]  This game won 43 of the 94 nominations for game awards, so the disability access did not seem to negatively impact its reception – if anything it helped.

Video games are quickly becoming engrained into our culture and research has shown that they are tools used by a variety of generations for connection and growth.[vi] As the world continues to change, those with hearing loss shouldn’t be left behind and it’s our duty as hearing loss professionals to embrace those changes and assist, advocate and educate so that they are not.

Read this Cochlear ProNews article to read more from professionals on increasing access for those with hearing loss.

[i] Staff A. A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020. AJMC. https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020. Published 2022. Accessed May 1, 2022.

[ii] Pearce K, Yip J, Lee J et al. Families Playing Animal Crossing Together: Coping With Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Games Cult. 2021:155541202110561. doi:10.1177/15554120211056125 and Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. Bellisario.psu.edu. https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/medialab/research-article/animal-crossing-usage-during-the-covid-19-pandemic1. Published 2022. Accessed May 1, 2022.

[iii] Lobel A, Engels R, Stone L, Burk W, Granic I. Video Gaming and Children’s Psychosocial Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Study. J Youth Adolesc. 2017;46(4):884-897. doi:10.1007/s10964-017-0646-z

[iv] Hearing Loss Accessibility Features in Video Games. CapTel. https://www.captel.com/2021/12/hearing-loss-accessibility-features-in-video-games/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20most%20common%20hearing%20loss%20accessibility,well%20they%20are%20subtitled%20%28among%20other%20accessibility%20questions%29. Published 2022. Accessed May 1, 2022.

[v] The Last of Us Part II isn’t just Naughty Dog’s most ambitious game — it’s the most accessible, too. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/21274923/the-last-of-us-part-2-accessibility-features-naughty-dog-interview-ps4. Published 2022. Accessed May 1, 2022.https://www.theverge.com/21274923/the-last-of-us-part-2-accessibility-features-naughty-dog-interview-ps4

[vi] Marston H, Kowert R. What role can videogames play in the COVID-19 pandemic?. Emerald Open Research. 2020;2:34. doi:10.35241/emeraldopenres.13727.1

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For compatibility information visit www.cochlear.com/compatibility

About the author:

Dr. Kat Tribulski is the Cochlear Implant Coordinator at Nemours Children’s Health in Orlando, FL.  In addition to her role as implant coordinator she is a full-time pediatric audiologist at Nemour’s.  Prior to working at Nemour’s Dr. Tribulski was the Pediatric Cochlear Implant director and Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA.  She is currently a member of the ASHA and the ACIA. Dr. Tribulski earned her doctorate in Audiology at Salus University in 2016.  She completed her externship at Eastern Virginia Medical School and The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter in Norfolk, VA with a focus on cochlear implants.  In her free time she enjoys video games, board games and her dog Lilly.

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This material is intended for health professionals. If you are a consumer, please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

 

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