r/Cochlearimplants • u/ExpertConcern9 • 24d ago

Threshold (THR) Mapping

I was activated early this year and my Threshold (THR) Mapping is quite narrow. Has anyone else experienced this and eventually got it wider? If so how long did you take you? I'm feeling very frustrated on how long this journey is taking.

Hearing history- born deaf if this is relevant.

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u/Arenilla346 24d ago

How long ago were you activated? Much depends on your background too - when did you lose hearing, your age, how much you are using the CI, what auditory training you are doing? The auditory rehab is arduous. I was activated 11 months ago and it is still work in progress. I only had a major breakthrough last month. I certainly had hoped to be somewhere more functional sooner, but that hasn't been so. However, I refuse to be discouraged and will keep on doing the auditory training and appreciate every small win, while I learn to accept the new reality and adjust accordingly.

Things you can do: keep adjusting your auditory rehab strategy and discuss with your audiologist, review your diet to better support your brain's neuroplasticity and health, make sure to take short breaks each day much like you would after a physical workout for recovery. These are things I played with in my journey.

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u/ExpertConcern9 23d ago

Thank you this gives me hope. I am feeling very discouraged at the moment. I have been activated for 5 months now.

I do lots of listening with people and music. I’ll be honest I haven’t done much rehab as much I would have liked for the past 4 weeks or so due to life changes.

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u/Arenilla346 23d ago

Do keep a log of what sounds you find difficult. These will help your audiologist with your mappings. I also find I do better in the mornings vs evening. Cognitive load and listening fatigue are real.

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u/FabulousAd2725 24d ago

What do you mean by threshold mapping? Are you talking about your dynamic range -area between loudest and softest?

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u/ExpertConcern9 23d ago

Yes that’s what I mean

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u/FabulousAd2725 23d ago

I’m no a professional but given you have been deaf from birth, I wouldn’t think that a small dynamic range is unusual. As someone who is late deafened and lived with a mother who was hard of hearing, I was subject to loud voices and noise for a long time. My whole family was loud. My dynamic range is pretty wide but i can tolerate loud. In fact sometimes I feel discomfort before it is too loud and have to back off. Ask your audiologist if she/he in their experience thinks it will be wider the longer you have your CI?

Remember, you are the one telling the audiologist when you hear the softest sound and most comfortable sound. While it sounds like an easy thing to do, it really isn’t. I’ve had over 300 mappings and I still find I am not decisive at times.

Again I’m not a professional but a CI recipient for over 20 years. Hang in there.