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"Ken" <kkerrison@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:1167088740.881256.3700@42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
Rush Limbaugh says that with his cochlear implant he can listen to music he
knew before his auto-immune condition rendered him completely deaf, and hear
it, but music he did not learn when his hearing was normal, he cannot now
decipher or appreciate. A very interesting observation, as he is a former
disk jockey, who now makes talk radio his livelihood.
Artis
news:1167088740.881256.3700@42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
I understand Cochlear is developing a 48-electrode array - difficult
for the reasons you mention. And still a long way from thousands.
Incidentally, in my case, as a recent implantee, all electrodes
worked.
I have yet to tackle music - except what I pick up listening to
radio/DVDs/TV. And I have one ear which, with a hearing aid, can hear
up to 1000hz and, within that limitation, can enjoy music (No violins
but most vocal not bad and, oddly, clarinets come through)
In response to Kalman and others,
From reports from other implantees, experience with music varies widely
(I find myself wondering whether those who do well were, in their
hearing years, tone deaf - plenty of tone-deaf people love/ enjoy music
and the deficiencies of CI mentioned above would not affect them - my
wife is tone-deaf and, as a child, had a hopeless ambition to be in the
choir - naturally she always, eventually, got turfed out!).
The other thing is the ability of the brain to adapt - learn. I intend
to work with a keyboard to see if it is possible to follow the
chromatic scale - we will see.
And the other string to my bow is continuing development of CI
software. The big thing, for people interested in music, is that
Cochlear must be keen to sell CI technology to populous increasingly
affluent Asian countries whose languages are tonal. For CI to work well
in these countries its ability to convey music is, coincidentally,
improved.
Rush Limbaugh says that with his cochlear implant he can listen to music he
knew before his auto-immune condition rendered him completely deaf, and hear
it, but music he did not learn when his hearing was normal, he cannot now
decipher or appreciate. A very interesting observation, as he is a former
disk jockey, who now makes talk radio his livelihood.
Artis