Although Bluetooth with my AB processor is not a completely new experience, something about having total direct wireless connectivity and the implementation of it changes everything.  I did not have my ComPilot powered on all day with my Q70.  It got in the way by interrupting at inopportune times in various ways.  I couldn’t scroll through Facebook on my phone without it connecting and disconnecting despite my phone being muted.  So “off” it went.  Calls would come in and completely interrupt to great frustration while in mid-conversation.  So, again, “off” it went. I’d wear it during the work week and only power it on when needed.  Even powering it on or off meant my sound was going to be interrupted and cut out momentarily.  I also had to wait about one minute for it to complete connecting to my Android phones before I could start streaming any music.  Trying to do so any sooner would result in a stream that cut in and out as if it were an older car struggling to be started.  On top of all of that, the stream could cut out very briefly if I wore the loop under my shirt, particularly those with collars, if I turned my head to the left.   

I keep my phone on mute most of the time because I am an Apple Watch wearer.  My phone will be unmuted when I happen to not be wearing the watch and want to be aware of any notifications from my phone.  I hear everything coming from the phone as if it were coming from the speaker, but is heard only in my ear and without interrupting my external sound.  Calls coming in, whether or not my phone is muted, will be heard as ringing just as any other phone, but also not interrupt my ability to hear in mid-conversation any more than a phone ringing externally.  Conversely, when I am streaming music it is loud, clear, and dominant.

ComPilot users may be familiar with how using a 50% mix ratio would usually prove futile since any external sound would easily overwhelm the stream so it could not be heard.  This meant going to a minimum of 75%, which reduced the ability to hear externally while the ComPilot was connected.  You also had to pretty much max out your phone’s volume to get the stream level to be strong enough to be heard clearly (Signal to Noise Ratio.)  

The M90s implementation resolves all of this.  The default 50% level of surround mix coupled with a much stronger SNR means I can be walking along listening to music at full strength, come up on someone where conversation will ensue, simply pause the music using my Apple Watch (replacing the ComPilot’s big button) and I’m all ready to converse!  No holding my finger up to communicate the need to wait for the ComPilot to finish its disconnect routine over the span of about 5 seconds so that I may hear them!  

The AB Remote app’s slider control for the surround mix also gives me the ability to open it up enough to clearly hear both my surroundings and the stream mix equally well by sliding it to the left.  If I really want that 100% stream mix (no external sound) I just slide it all the way to the right (the M90 doesn’t offer complete 100% streaming with no external sound at all, but the external level is extremely low and pretty much impossible to hear anything externally even if listening to spoken word or completely quiet sections.)  The combination of the signal strength of streams and the ability to control the surround mix on a sliding scale (which can also be done using the M90 multifunction button while streaming) resolves two nagging issues from the previous generation processors:  1. No more creating program slots just for different mix ratios.  2. No more insufficient signal strength from the stream or inability to hear surroundings as needed.  

Phone calls through the M90, or rather, the headset functionality where audio is heard in the processor and my voice is picked up has opened up where and when I can make or take calls.    I previously only used the ComPilot on conference calls and mainly where I would not have to speak due to a combination of poor outgoing voice quality and a delay in hearing my own voice if on a 100% mix..  I never used it on video calls due to the delay between the video and audio and would opt for headphones or just using the phone’s speaker.  The headset functionality of the M90 has me ready to take both types of calls at all times as well as able to participate in conference calls.  Video calls are in sync with the audio.  I find myself not needing to move to a quieter location when taking calls because I am able to hear the call so well, as well as hear myself speaking.  Where I’ve needed to move has been for the benefit of the other end.  It’s worth noting that what we hear while on a call as our surround mix is what the other end is hearing because the headset functionality switches to a single BTE mic (specified during programming as the “Bluetooth side” in bilateral/bimodal fittings) to pick up our voice.  Those using two processors or going bimodal will hear the call on both sides, but only one side is picking up your voice.  Keep this mind for turning that side away from noise the way you would as if you were holding a phone up to your ear.  Also of note; the multifunction button while on calls only controls the phone’s volume for calls.  It does not control the surround mix as specified in the M90 user manual.  When increasing the volume of the call stream, the SNR increases and the call volume overrides the surrounding noise.  

The one complaint I have in regards to phone calls with the M90 is the lack of processor volume control.  Processor volume is not the same as the stream/phone volume.  It is essentially the volume for our hearing.  It should be set for optimal clarity and speech discrimination.  Since all processor volume control while doing any kind of streaming is done so under the remote app, which is not available during any headset use/calls due to the protocol in use being in conflict with the protocol the app needs to use, we are unable to adjust the volume.  The volume will be locked at whatever your default volume is under AutoSense. You cannot adjust your volume under AutoSense prior to a call and have that carry over to the call.  The default volume should be sufficient, but if you are like me, your volume needs change as the day goes on or in response to weather and climate changes that affect internal physiology.  This means that the default volume on calls can be insufficient for my needs.  Over last weekend while on a beach walk using headphones, which I continue to enjoy for the different sound stage and bass, I was already up to a volume level of 3 in the app.  I needed to make a call after the walk, so I switched back to the M90’s Bluetooth.  The processor volume level for the call was too low for me to hear clearly after being on level 3, so I had to quit the call, reconnect the headphones, and resume the call with the headphones where I had full control over the processor volume. If I did not have headphones at that moment, the other option would have been to switch from the M90 to the phone while in the call so that it was routed through the phone’s earpiece and hold it up to my T-mic.  

TV Connector has been a fun tool to work with!  Unfortunately, I have not been able to incorporate it into my entertainment system due to technical issues that result in requiring I make switches in settings in both my TV and receiver every single time I want to use it, so I removed it altogether.  I now just have it plugged in to the headphone jack on the receiver for when I want to use it, but this blocks all external sound.  This is actually fine given my friends and I regularly do “silent disco” on weekends where we are all plugged in via headphones into the receiver (actually, we are all using wireless headphones to not be tethered.)  This is for complete immersion in music since all of us are musicians that take our music listening seriously.  I use an active headphone splitter with 4 outputs connected to individual Bluetooth transmitters to allow for all of us to hear wirelessly.  Since I have two wearable subwoofers available, these are also thrown into the mix with one of my friends using one and I’m using the other.  Both wearable subwoofers use Bluetooth to connect while using wired headphones from the wearable subwoofer to hear… normally.  Where TV Connector comes in is I am able to be completely wireless by having the wearable subwoofer connected to Bluetooth and my M90 receive sound via TV Connector!  There are no cables anywhere on me and I’m completely immersed in music!  I can also set my surround mix so that I am clearly hearing the music, but fully able to hear around me.  This can be amusing given that my friends will often get so wrapped up in the music that they forget they have headphones on and begin singing… so I’m getting the perfect mix of their voice and the actual vocals.  They need to remove their headphones whenever we engage in discussion or just talk in general while I don’t need to do anything!  

AutoSense 3.0 OS……… how do I feel about it?  If you know me, you know I’m not one for automation or hand-holding.  I was activated at a time when there were no features for hearing in noise so I learned to listen through it where possible.  The first feature for dealing with noise, other than utilizing a lower IDR (which I never used,) was ClearVoice.  I didn’t care for my sound quality fluctuating and I certainly did not want to listen to music through it.  My everyday program is a wide-open, no-features program.  My IDR is adjusted to be functionally larger than the default max of 80 db to being between 90 and 100 db.  Switching to a ClearVoice program on the fly for noisy-environments did not prove to be helpful for my needs other than for those days I had a headache and simply wanted to reduce the noise level.  In the waning days before I had it removed from my processor altogether, it had been relegated for use on flights or long car rides where I wanted some peace and quiet while still being able to hear.  

The first game-changer to come along to help hearing in noise was the Q70’s UltraZoom.  It filtered out background noise without actually changing my sound quality and was actually useful in improving speech discrimination in noise.  It was routine to switch to my UltraZoom program when sitting down at a restaurant with others while ensuring I was seated optimally to capture those around the table.  When the Q90 was released, new features were rolled out with it: StereoZoom, which was exclusive to the Q90, WindBlock, SoundRelax, and EchoBlock.  I got to experience StereoZoom while trying out the CROS and discovered the next level in dealing with extremely noisy situations that would actually be useful to me.  The other features were another story.  EchoBlock required switching to a program for that purpose.  I was not about to switch to a program before entering the restroom at work where coworkers would engage in conversation.  SoundRelax can be tied to a stake and burned as far as I’m concerned.  It isn’t helpful to have me questioning what the hell is wrong with my car door or why my ceramic coffee cup has turned to rubber if I’m going by auditory cues.  WindBlock doesn’t actually help hearing in wind, but blocks the sound of wind blowing on the mics.  This would be fine except that it is falsely triggered when using headphones or in the presence of just the right subsonic frequencies, resulting in my being unable to hear when there is no wind in the first place.  

With all of that long background out of the way, I’m about to savage AutoSense 3.0 before I redeem it.  AutoSense is marketed as making seamless changes without the recipient even noticing it.  That’s a problem.  You SHOULD notice it in the sense that you should know exactly what it is doing.  I have a baseline for my bionic hearing that involves hearing everything.  I know what I can hear and can’t hear in different environments.  So when I’m at work and I’m not hearing intercom announcements, particularly when I’m standing right under one of the speakers, because AutoSense has decided it is noise I don’t need to hear, that’s not adding to my quality of life.  When I’m putting on my high-end headphones over my T-Mic to do a music listening session and my sound goes from being lush and detailed to thin and barely audible, what has happened?  I know exactly what is happening and how to resolve it.  How does someone that is having everything thrown at them as their baseline for their new hearing know this?  “It makes changes without you even knowing” doesn’t sound like something that should be said with a smile anymore.  

Unfortunately, WindBlock and SoundRelax have pervasively been woven into AutoSense 3.0.   The professional thinking is that these features only rear up to help you hear or make sound comfortable.  How did I learn how pervasive they are?  It took two tries over the course of a week to get them removed from my programs, which means I got to be out in the world, hear their hallmarks rear their heads, and contact my Audiologist to check my programs to verify I’m not crazy.  Both of them need to be disabled under every single classifier, except for Music (and any streaming programs,) under AutoSense.  There is no universal off switch and they are on by default.  I mentioned the Music classifier because I did attempt to use headphones while on AutoSense.  This should ideally switch to the Music classifier, which it did.  At some point in mid-song it decided music had ceased because WindBlock was then applied and I could no longer hear.  This would only happen if it had switched to a classifier that had WindBlock enabled.  

The first order with AutoSense was to turn off anything that would alter my sound quality.  AutoSense has the latest versions of UltraZoom and StereoZoom as part of its toolbox, so that makes it immediately attractive.  With the undesirable elements removed, AutoSense was then set up to be usable.  AutoSense has been set as my default program over the last few weeks to ensure I let it do its thing without forgetting to be in it.  It has been a bit of a mixed bag.  It has been difficult to nail down how it will behave from moment to moment, which I attribute to it working to do the best it can to optimize for each environment.  I do trust it to beamform in environments that call for it to the point of feeling secure in tossing out the need to have a custom program with “Speech in Noise.”  There have been moments where it is beamforming when I need to hear around me, but again, not consistently.  It seems to be constantly working to decide whether I need to hear directly in front of me or perhaps need to hear the person sitting or walking at my side.  My custom program with no features is a very quick click away for those moments where I need to take control back, but it’s been pretty infrequent!  

Music, as already mentioned, is one of the classifiers under AutoSense and I love that fact!  It’s actually interwoven into the processor at the streaming level, as well.  I did wonder how much of a difference I would really hear from my default program which is ideally already set to hear music without any change.  It does change things for so many others where lower IDRs are being used because it applies the widest parameters specifically for enhancing music.  This was only possible previously by having a separate program for it, so the new system makes music more accessible than ever.  There was one moment that stood out about a week ago while sitting in my car having a conversation with a friend out in a parking lot while music played over the stereo in the background.  When we stopped speaking, the music swelled from being background and moved to the foreground, becoming lush and detailed.  When we began speaking again, it moved back to the background.  It was a moment that made me smile knowing I had just clearly heard AutoSense do exactly as it claims.  

I also have the Music scene classifier set up as a custom program to compare with my no-features custom program.  Overall, music with the M90 has been a step up all around.  There are more subtle details being fleshed out in songs.  It seems to have an even greater dynamic range and less compression than we’ve ever had before with the audio frequency range at the bass end seems to be slightly lower.  This is in comparison to my no-features program, wide open IDR that I’ve used for years.  I’m certainly looking forward to my first concert with my M90 (which is currently slated for September!)  I do switch to my music program for dedicated music listening sessions since anyone speaking will interrupt it.  This was presented while watching the Grammys two weeks ago.  It’s not necessarily a negative as I can see being in a social environment like a bar where such switching is ideal. 

As long as AutoSense gives me the ability to take the reins by switching to custom programs and remove undesirable aspects of it, I am happy with it.  I appreciate no longer needing to switch to an UltraZoom program.  Time will tell if I wind up moving it from the default position to the end position on my programs.  The world has yet to return to normal, so the opportunities to truly test drive socially out in the world have not been as plentiful.  

My left ear is a dead ear.  I originally thought I would implant it as a “nothing to lose” approach back in 2006, but was discouraged by Dr. House from doing so since it was unlikely to offer good results.  I listened to his advice and let him implant my right ear, the only hearing I ever had and obviously that choice is delivered over and over.  Over the last few years I began to mull over the possibility of doing my left ear, despite the odds that it will offer much benefit in the way of actual hearing given that it has never even had actual sound, just vibrotactile.  At some point along the way I made up my mind to go ahead and do it upon the release of the next processor.  That time is here now with the M90 and I’m following through.  Fifteen years later to the day will be the day I am bilaterally implanted.  I was implanted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006.  I will be implanted on my left on Wednesday, April 28th.  Wednesdays are the only day my Physician does surgeries.  My expectations are more towards gaining the bilateral benefits of using two M90s rather than the actual hearing.  I mentioned earlier how much I liked StereoZoom, a bilateral feature, and taking this step will add that level to my challenging situations toolbox.  There is definitely nothing to lose.  

A small part of me is excited at the prospect of just maybe being able to experience stereo hearing or even surround sound for the first time in my life!  It will be like going from seeing in one dimension to 3D.  It will also give me insight into the challenges others have faced with results that do not offer rockstar activations like I had with my right ear.  I am absolutely ready to take this new journey.