It was just over 3 weeks ago on a Monday morning that I found myself
sitting in the R & D department of Advanced Bionics in Sylmar. I'd be
lying if I said I wasn't excited. Participating in Clinical Trials
that have anything to do with bettering hearing in any manner had long
been something I had dreamed of doing since I was a 7 year old kid
willing to do whatever it took to get better again and help the rest
of the world in the process.

Of course, the fact that I was about to be unleashed from the wire
that had been running down from my headpiece above my ear and clipped
in the middle of my neck to my shirt running down my back to a box
perched on my waist by being fit with the new as-yet unreleased
Harmony BTE Processor was enough to sustain the side of me that
couldn't care less about saving the world. Slather on the being
mapped with Fidelity 120 on the new processor as dessert and it was
"Let's ride!!!"

I have to shake my head when I think of the R & D team at AB. I'd
heard the stories before…I guess I just had to experience it for
myself. I am certainly proud to know these are the people behind the
implant in my head. They play a vital part of the process that leads
the technology to us. They are passionate people and it shines both
in the job they perform as well as their personalities.

The bulk of the two consecutive days I spent at AB were with Aniket
Saoji. Aniket is one of the most pleasant people I've ever met in my
life. He takes pride in causing people to heap praise on him for his
mapping skills. I'd heard of his work before in others and here I was
experiencing it.

Aniket started the first day off by fitting me with the Harmony in
Silver outfitted with a T-Mic. He transferred my existing Hi Res P
from my PSP to the Harmony and had me try it out. For some reason,
despite the fact that it was the same program I had been using all
along on my PSP, I was hearing everything as if it were heard through
the blades of a fan. No one else had ever reported this happening
before so apparently I was breaking new ground. Aniket didn't waste
any time calling in troops to solve the problem. Aniket took my Hi
Res P map and used it to build my F120 Strategy on the other slot.
When he had me switch over to F120, the chopped sound effect
disappeared and I was hearing with 120 Channels for the first time.

Hearing with 120 Channels was as if new areas of the auditory cloud
cover had opened up in a haze and the overall light was brighter in a
blinding sense. I found it more difficult to understand speech, being
that my sense of hearing was being fed new information in new locales
within my cochlea. Just as it was when I was initially mapped with Hi
Res P, I had to settle in to it.

Then the work began and again, I would be breaking new ground. I was
the first to participate in a new trial that involved hooking me up to
a Computer running software that would actually switch between
strategies on the fly while I would just listen as they switched on
me. There were a number of kinks that had yet to be worked out that I
was able to bring their attention to.
Lunch took place in the conference room with the rest of the R & D
Staff. At this point, I was using F120, mostly as a way to let it
start settling in. It wasn't as easy to discriminate speech, I also
noticed that I was hearing more..and it's all coming in at once.
However, I managed to have quite an enjoyable conversation with
everyone sitting at the table without exerting too much effort.

Just before leaving the first day, Aniket had tweaked a strategy that
I found immediately pleasing. It had the richer bass of MPS yet the
sharp treble and detail of Hi Res. Having just come off a few weeks
of a turning-stale Hi Res map prior to walking into AB, I was never
more thrilled in my life over a strategy right out of the starting
gate. I immediately made some calls upon leaving the office with my
cell to test it out. After speaking with several different people,
while driving in my car, I had the CD Player going the whole 50 minute
or so trip back home. It seemed logical that I was hearing with F120,
also taking into account that with Hi Res through the Harmony, I was
getting the fan effect. That program was on the other slot and I
wasn't about to go near it.

The next day Aniket revealed what the strategy I was enjoying was…Hi
Res P. He had tweaked my strategy to not only get rid of the
chopped-sound effect, but also made it far more pleasing. I most
certainly did be sure to dole out compliments to him on having done so
well with creating that program.

By the end of the 2nd day, the Harmony was programmed with F120 on
full T-mic on slot 1, F120 with full BTE Mic on Slot 2, and the
aforementioned Hi Res P on full T-mic on Slot 3. I also managed to
get Aniket to switch the Silver Harmony for a Dark Sienna, the color
my own Harmony will be when I receive it. So with that, I left AB to
begin my first foray into using the Harmony BTE and 120 Channels out
in the real world.

Looking for a thrill
You'll get it my way
Let's hit the highway
and I'll take you down
Shoot out in the night
Lookin for action
the main attraction
is back in town
Under The Gun - KISS