Equipment Guide - Med-El

ON/OFF switch
A TROUBLESHOOTING PRIMER
Sensitivity control
LEd
indicator
See page 2-5 for a detailed diagram
of the speech processor.
Verifying normal equipment function
Along with the importance of assessing the child’s detection and discrimination, it
is important to check the equipment for proper settings and function. One child’s
settings may be very different than another child’s settings, so exact settings should
be obtained from the implant center (and should be updated after each mapping
visit) for each child. Be sure to check the individual settings for each processor for the
child with bilateral cochlear implants.
A normally functioning system has the following characteristics:
:: The red LED only illuminates for 4-5 seconds when the system is first turned
on and when the program/volume switch is changed. Otherwise,
it should not light or blink.
:: The ON/OFF switch is set to “ON” or “ | ” (depending on the battery
pack used). If in doubt, switch it off and then back on again. The red light
should illuminate briefly to indicate the processor is on.
:: The sensitivity control is set at approximately the halfway point (for most
users). When looking directly at the sensitivity control, the red dot will be at
approximately 2 or 3 o’clock. If in doubt, simply turn the sensitivity control all
the way off (counter-clockwise) and all the way back on (clockwise) to find
the endpoints of the dial, and then set the dial mid-way between the two
endpoints. Now check to see if the red dot is at approximately 2 or 3 o’clock.
NOTE: Keep in mind that the sensitivity control can be turned all the way
to the ‘off’ position (you will feel a click). In this position, sound input is
significantly dampened and the child will most likely have no sound awareness.
:: The program (1-2-3) and volume (X-Y-Z) switches on the control unit
should be set to the child’s usual settings. These settings are determined by
the implant clinic during mapping sessions and may vary depending on the
programs loaded into the processor.
:: Placing the coil next to the speech processor test device (see page 26)
should produce a red flashing light on the test device, which roughly blinks in
the pattern of your speech or other sounds.
TROUBLESHOOTING FEATURES
The processor has a number of built-in features to facilitate troubleshooting the
equipment.
LED indicator: Troubleshooting the batteries and speech processor
The red LED on the front of the speech processor flashes four different patterns to
indicate different error conditions. If the LEd begins flashing, use the following table to
determine the cause.
BLINKING PATTERN MEANING ACTION TO TAKE REMARKS
On 4-5 seconds Processor just switched on None
l- l- l- l- l- l Batteries low Switch processor off.
Change the batteries
(be sure to use high power
675 batteries).
Switch processor back on.
l— l— l— l— l Electronic problem or Switch processor off.
or temporary processor
lll— lll— lll disturbance Switch processor back on.
Selected position is not Switch processor off.
ll— ll— ll— ll programmed, or there has
been a program failure Select another position.
Switch processor back on.
The LEd comes on continuously
for 4-5 seconds
If the processor is not switched off while
changing the batteries, the LEd will
continue to blink, even with new batteries
in place. If the blinking still persists and
the batteries are brand new, the problem
may be a bad battery pack. Ensure that
the 675 batteries are “high power”
batteries.
If the blinking persists, the speech
processor should be replaced*.
If the blinking persists, the processor
should be reprogrammed by the clinic.
The processor must be switched off
before selecting another program,
otherwise the light will continue to blink
and the processor will not work.
* The speech processor can be replaced by the cochlear implant center. Many children have backup speech processors at home,
keeping them ‘on the air’ while their primary processor is being repaired or replaced.
24 EQUIPMENT GUIdE: TEMPO+ and OPUS 1 SPEECH PROCESSORS
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