Farewell, Opus 2

Farewell, Opus 2

Today, 09 February 2021, marks an end of a 14-year era. It is my last night hearing with my Med-El Opus 2 audio processor.

Starting with the Med-El Opus 1

I was meant to get my Opus 2 in October 2006 when I had the “switch on” after receiving my PULSAR Cochlear Implant op. The product was recalled though. In the interim, I received the Opus 1 (the model prior to the brand new release that I had ordered) on loan from the Johannesburg Cochlear Implant Centre.

Wow! I can tell you that the Opus 1 was really amazing. While not as aesthetically pleasing as the Opus 2, the hearing was so natural and I heard so well with it (even able to have telephonic conversations if the person on the other end spoke clearly or if I was familiar with the person’s voice). I really loved it.

Sudden Death of the Opus 1

About 9 months into using the Opus 1 (while still waiting for my Opus 2), my husband played a prank on me. He handed me an electric shock pen. I clicked it and the pen went flying! A few hours later, the processor just died… Neither of us knew that such a thing could’ve happened.

I felt so terrible as it was on loan and I took great pains to take care of it. Fortunately my audiologist was so kind about it. She did say that we were lucky that the incident hadn’t fried my internal implant. This would have been so much worse as I’d have had to have another op to replace it.

Opus 2 to the Rescue

About two or three weeks later, I received the Opus 2 that I had ordered. My personal experience was that it isn’t as good as the Opus 1. I may have needed more mapping to be done (the process where the audiologist adjusts the audio processor / implant settings to optimize hearing). We also had to map again from scratch. I had gone a long time without hearing already, which was a setback in itself . The more a person wears the audio processor, the more practice the brain has with interpreting sound and the better the hearing will be.

Regardless, the Opus 2 was also a life changer despite certain struggles. For example, people talking at the same time or the network noises in the background blending in with the voice of the person on the other end of the phone. Speech was not as crystal clear (or almost) as it was with the Opus 1.

The Opus 2 has an auto-shutdown feature though, that the Opus 1 didn’t have. If there’s too much static, it switches off to protect itself. This function did work – it kicked in when my husband started the car just as I entered it. Mind you, I did panic (I thought it had died on me) but simply rebooting it worked and all was well.

Demise of the Ancient Opus 2

I’ve never upgraded from the Opus 2 since getting it in 2007. I went to visit Med-El’s offices last year to explore my options. I was petrified of the Opus 2 dying on me. It was so old that it was literally falling apart. There were no more parts available should something happen. I had to take action, especially as I needed to hear in my Zoom meetings.

The lovely lady at Med-El assisted me and replaced the majority of the parts of my audio processor. She said to me, “This is what we can do with the parts I’ve just replaced.” She promptly threw the pieces in the bin! Yes, it was that bad!

“Frankenopus”

Just about the only things left of my original audio processor are the following:

1. Ear hook.
2. Coil.
3. Magnet casing.
4. The pin that keeps the whole thing together.

Frankenstein’s creator would have been proud! It’s now an eclectic mix of colours, materials and parts from different processors. I sincerely doubt that any of them are “Opus 2” pieces, though – for one, the material is a lot sturdier.

Here is a picture of it as it looks now:

It’s so amazing!

No Backup for Now

I am so excited – I’m going for my upgrade tomorrow!

I will be returning Frankenopus to the audiologist. The parts used are on loan to me just to tide me over till I get my new audio processor.

I will have no backup for now, but I’ve been assured that they will always make a plan for me should anything happen with the new audio processor.

Usually, when upgrading, one would keep the old processor as a backup. The processor previous to the old one gets donated. I will be able to use the new one I’m getting tomorrow as my backup when I upgrade again.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Till next time….

Yours in hearing,
Vanessa