Notes about the N-24 3G

I guess the best place to start is to say that many people, my son included, report that the 3G gives them clearer sound and makes speech easier for them to understand. My son absolutely loves his and refuses to put either his SPRint body worn speech processor or his ESPrit ear level processor back on. He also loves being able to change the colors. OK, here are some notes about the 3G and some things you may want to know about.

One mother writes me to say:
My son is enjoying the 3G, but we are having a lot of problems with sweat getting in the microphone and generating that "motorboating" sound. We sent our first 3G back because the problem seemed irreparable. I have now discovered that if I take out the batteries (with cover off) and blow dry the unit somewhat aggressively, the motor-boating goes away. Sometimes just blowing out the mic holes with the puffer included with the kit is sufficient, but other times only blowdrying+puffer does the trick. (The battery compartment also collects a fair bit of moisture.)

When people first get their 3G programmed, it can be done by either a straight translation from the SPRint or ESPrit, or by starting from scratch and setting all the T & C levels. From the implant recipients I've heard from, who were unhappy with the 3G, almost all of them had a straight translation done. When they went back and had a new map from scratch, they loved the results. I've only heard of one or two whose map was started from scratch who didn't like it and went back for another map.

Some audiologists are recommending that patients not use the screwdriver included with their N-24 to change the covers on the coil, that they should instead get a screwdriver for eyeglasses and use that instead. They explain that the one included is just a hair too big and it strips the heads of the screws too easily. The most frustrating thing for my son is getting the screws in and out. I had assumed the problem was because the magnet kept pulling the screwdriver to it. My son tried the screwdriver for eyeglasses and said it works a lot better.

There is a problem with the package design for the Varta batteries and the package is being redesigned. The problem is, when you remove the battery from the package, the tab automatically comes off. This doesn't prove a problem for normal use of the batteries, but if you like to keep some spares in the battery caddy (our cochlear implant representative gave us a special one that holds 3 batteries), you don't want the tab coming off. I'm still using some Toshiba's we had before to keep in the battery caddy and using the Vartas at home. It looks like if you're really careful, you can use a razor knife to take them out of the package and still keep the battery tab on, but I haven't had to actually do this yet.

Cochlear realizes the screws are causing problems for many, and so they're re-designing the head coil. The principal clinical applications specialist for the west central reason said that the overall appearance of the coil for the 3G will not change significantly but that the magnet will once again screw in and the cover will no longer be removable (thus no color covers anymore). The coil and cable will also remain one unit. The Cochlear representative said that they won't do a mass mailing of them, but as the coils come in under warranty for repairs, they'll be replaced with the newly designed ones. Just last week I asked Cochlear when this would be and she said probably not till after the first of next year, if even that soon.

Colors, and lots of them - but some people want a specific color that just isn't included in the kit - like gold or orange. The representative told me that even though Cochlear hasn't officially approved this practice, many people are getting an extra set of covers and painting them. When I asked what kind of paint they are using she said spray paint, model car paint, enamels, all sorts of things. Some paint it a solid color, and some paint pictures on it. Great idea! Please be aware that Cochlear put a lot of effort into making sure that their colors wouldn't cause skin reactions, and when you paint them, all bets are off as far as this goes. So, if you paint the covers, you do so at your own risk. We've painted the pink one that came in my son's kit because it looked like he had a pencil eraser stuck to his head every time I saw him wearing it. He LOVES his customized covers. All of them have a clear top coat to prevent skin reactions. Here are 3 covers I've done for him (click on the picture to get a better look):

This one was made with a vinyl window stick-on, then coated with clear fingernail polish. This one was made with fingernail polish: 2 coats of base color, 2 coats of glitter color, and 1 coat of clear. This one was done with glow-in-the-dark spray paint: 2 white layers for base, 2 layers of glow-in-the-dark, and 2 layers of clear spray paint on top of that. The clear layers are essential on this one because the glow spray paint is water soluble. This is my son's latest favorite - his Patriotic look. We just used the red and blue covers, but used paste eyelash adhesive to stick on the star.

You can find other ideas for spiffing up how the 3G looks in the Make Hearing Aids Look Cool! section of our website.

The coils for the brown, black, and beige coils are molded out of that color of plastic. The color on the silver one, however, is just painted on. Some users are reporting that it's already starting to wear off.

Some people didn't get the listening earphones for the 3G. This usually happened with older kids. Give cochlear a call or drop them an email and they'll get put you on the list for one (as of this writing, they're a bit behind on these.)

Cochlear's Site says that there is supposed to be a TV patch cord in the 3G kit, but we didn't get one. When I called to check on this, they told me that if you got this cord with the SPRint, one is not sent out with the kit.

I just had an interesting conversation with my 15 year old, and I thought I'd pass along what he had to say. I have noticed that with the 3G, he loves to use the patch cords to plug into everything: his computer, the TV, his Gameboy, his portable cd player, the stereo, etc. I just asked him why he likes to do this now, but he never did it with the ESPrit. He said that with the 3G the patch cords provide him with better sound than they did with the ESPrit.

There must be 13 working electrodes for the 3G to work, but sometimes the audiologist can double up on one or two electrodes to get the required 13. (Please don't ask me what that means, this is just what I've been told.)

With the Whisper setting, if the dial is set to sensitivity, the lower the # on the dial, the greater the amplification.

Also, when he was using the ESPrit, he used to like to have a couple hours in the morning of TV time (on non-school days) without any amplification. I've noticed that with the 3G, it's on and he's usually plugged into the TV instead. I've also noticed that with the 3G, he listens to music a lot more. In fact, I usually have to get on him after his playing the same tune on his computer over and over for a couple of hours - our computers are in the same room. ;-)

Some people are confused about how to hook up the patch cords to plug into various devices. Here is a picture of how my son plugs into his Gameboy.


This one was made with a vinyl window stick-on, then coated with clear fingernail polish.	This one was made with fingernail polish: 2 coats of base color, 2 coats of glitter color, and 1 coat of clear.	This one was done with glow-in-the-dark spray paint: 2 white layers for base, 2 layers of glow-in-the-dark, and 2 layers of clear spray paint on top of that. The clear layers are essential on this one because the glow spray paint is water soluble.	This is my son's latest favorite - his Patriotic look. We just used the red and blue covers, but used paste eyelash adhesive to stick on the star.