Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Eek! 29 days til surgery...

I had my pre-op clearance with my primary care physician today. Everything is looking good and I'm on my way....... Other than some allergy issues I'm currently having which is causing some massive drainage into my throat and coughing so much, doctor feels this needs to clear up before surgery that is scheduled in 29 days. That should be plenty of time get this all cleared, then I need to stay healthy and see the surgeon's nurse a week prior to surgery.

On my drive home, I'm thinking about all this and it hits me... "Holy crap, this is really happening and coming so fast". Let's just say my stomach kind of dropped and everything hit me like a ton of bricks with the realization. I've been pretty calm thus far, but why am I all of a sudden feeling so blue?! I'm excited that I may have the chance to finally hear better than I do now, but all that uncertainty is really creeping me out. I'm sure this is normal and as the days come closer, I will probably start to feel even more 'scared'. This is a major surgery!!!

I've had my wisdom teeth removed, all 4 at one time, I was put out for that. I had surgery on my armpit to remove sweat glands that would swell so bad and cause me so much pain, though I was awake through this surgery. And I've had 2 C-Sections, awake through that as well. I've also had a cardiac ablation done, which I was awake through too. So I'm not a virgin to surgery by any means. So I'm not sure WHY I'm having such a hard time with this one. I don't think its the procedure itself, I think its just some overwhelming fear of what will happen afterwards.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Advanced Bionics gets FDA approval for Clear Voice!

Advanced Bionics gets FDA approval for Clear Voice, FINALLY! Here is the press release:

website: http://www.advancedbionics.com/us/en/system/footer/about_us/corporate_news/2012/clearvoice_launch_us.html

Advanced Bionics Launches ClearVoice
in the United States

-- FDA Approves the Industry’s Only Speech Enhancement Technology
for High-Performance Hearing--

Valencia, CA, March 19, 2012 – Advanced Bionics (AB), the global leader in cochlear implant technology and a subsidiary of the Sonova Group, announced today the approval of ClearVoice™* in the United States. ClearVoice is already approved for use in Europe, Asia and Canada. The availability of ClearVoice in the United States will take place over the next few weeks as clinics are trained by AB. Recipients should wait to contact centers until after Monday, April 9, 2012 to begin scheduling programming appointments.

Built on AB’s proprietary HiRes Fidelity 120™* technology for high-performance hearing, ClearVoice has been designed to automatically analyze and adapt to each listening situation encountered throughout the day, separating the distracting noises from speech so that communication can be a truly effortless experience. The technology was developed to help recipients communicate clearly and confidently in a variety of challenging listening situations, including restaurants, cars and classrooms—without ever needing to change a program or make an adjustment to their sound processor.

ClearVoice is the first and only speech enhancement technology on the market, further solidifying AB’s position as the industry’s innovation leader.

“Advanced Bionics remains firmly committed to developing industry-leading innovations that deliver improved hearing performance for our recipients. We are excited to launch another first with ClearVoice, which helps our recipients understand speech and communicate better than ever before,” said Hansjuerg Emch, Group Vice President of the Sonova Medical Division that AB falls under.

Delivering the industry’s only clinically proven superior performance, ClearVoice has been designed by Advanced Bionics to provide recipients with these important benefits:
  • Improved speech clarity in noisy settings
  • Enhanced lyric understanding for music enjoyment
  • Easier, more effortless listening in real-world settings
  • Outstanding hearing from morning to evening with no adjustments needed
ClearVoice will be available for recipients with HiRes 90K and CII implants who use a Harmony or Neptune sound processor.

“Helping our recipients enjoy life to the fullest and connect with the people they love is a true privilege. ClearVoice takes that connection to the next level by making communication easier and more natural on a daily basis,” said Gerhard Roehrlein, CEO and CTO of Advanced Bionics, LLC.

AB’s cochlear implant system features the world’s most sophisticated technology to bring clearer, high-resolution sound to those affected by significant hearing loss. Now with the addition of ClearVoice, AB has once again delivered a performance innovation that enables recipients to hear their best.

“I hear much better in restaurants and other crowded settings. I have attended several concerts and the sound has been excellent,” said William Vandoleweerd, an AB recipient who uses ClearVoice daily. “I know I hear better with ClearVoice and that makes me a happy camper.”

For more information about ClearVoice, contact a local Advanced Bionics representative or visit AdvancedBionics.com.