Back to Work, a Sound Experiment and a Memory

I returned to work for the first time since my cochlear implant surgery. The sounds on the subway train sound the same, except for the public service announcements. I can't understand the PA announcements yet. To my delight, it was a "quiet" day at work. A lot of my office co-workers are on official travel for a training conference until next Monday.  I can hear people walking back and forth in the corridor outside my office door. I can hear people walking around the corridor when I can't see them, thus avoiding any near "people collisions."

I am still relying on lipreading as well as listening to people's voices. The clarity of speech is getting better, depending on who I talk to. The huge difference is that I am not exhausted after a day of "listening" and "lipreading." Don't get me wrong. I am tired after my first day back at work, but I don't feel absolutely wiped out.  In hearing with a cochlear implant, lipreading is an added benefit. Thank God for all that relentless auditory training and rhythm classes. If you don't use what residual hearing you have, you lose it. That's my theory.

The sounds of traffic are sounding more "normal," post activation.  I now see the wisdom of not wearing a BTE hearing aid in the non-implanted ear, and wearing the sound processor over the implanted ear constantly.  You can't really get the full benefit from a cochlear implant by "practicing" for a few hours with a sound processor after implantation, and then taking it off or whatever. You don't do that with glasses, or you shouldn't. Otherwise that is a wasted prescription for glasses as well as a waste of your money. Contact lenses do take some time getting used to.

Music is still a challenge to me. On the way home, while driving in city traffic, I decided to "tweak" the radio in my car to see if the tweaking helped my listening experience. Until now, music was still noise. I did. I tweaked the treble, bass, and fade controls. Then I put on a Sheryl Crow CD. AHA!!  I could hear the singing and recognized the singing as that of Sheryl Crow, but didn't understand the lyrics as of yet. I got the rhythm. I could identify the various instruments on the CD.

I could "tweak" the radio so I could enjoy what my ear perceives as music and enjoy it, after 19 days of being "activated."  See, my hearing friends would "tweak" my car radio and stereo receiver at home for me. They would tweak and fiddle until the radio or stereo receiver sounded "normal" to me when I was wearing hearing aids. Whoo Hoo! I'm on a roll here!

Years later, I now understand how my father, could have trouble understanding a conversation at the dinner table, but yet have hearing so acute that he could hear the "rickety tick-tick" of our black Labrador retriever's toenails across the kitchen no-wax tile floor, and hear the roll of toilet paper going in a downstairs bathroom. This is a true story. My dad was a veteran of Korea and Vietnam, a career Army Officer, and had been exposed to the constant barrage of artillery fire. I had my own bedroom downstairs with a private bath in our house. One night I got up in the middle of the night to pee and was startled by feeling the vibration of my father pounding on the bathroom door. Here I was, sitting on the toilet and wiping myself when the banging started.  I got up, opened the door, and was quite startled by my father, in his underwear, holding a rifle in his hands (unloaded, but I didn't know that). Why I didn't scream, I am not sure.

My mother, of course, was sound asleep upstairs. She would literally sleep the sleep of the dead. I am not kidding.  A fire engine could roar through their bedroom and Mom would sleep right through it. My father was the one who was the light sleeper of the two.

He said that he heard a noise and said Mindy, it is two o'clock in the morning, and wanted to know what I was doing.  I was really rattled at seeing the rifle, and said, "Daddy, I was on the toilet, I had to go to the bathroom, and what you heard was me using the toilet, and then the roll of toilet paper rolling."!  He said oh, and said well, go back to bed. It took me a good while to go back to sleep!

I couldn't understand until now, why my father could pick out and hear certain sounds, but yet have trouble with speech discrimination.  Another "Aha"! moment.  He is probably on a cloud somewhere in Heaven just laughing at the irony of my whole cochlear implant experience to date. I don't mean laughing at me to be mean, but rather laughing as if to say, "Now you get it"! My mother is probably sitting right beside him on that cloud, shaking her head at my father.

I grew up in a family that appreciates music.  Being deaf, I learned to appreciate music during deaf school days by placing my hand to feel the vibration of the grand piano.  Tonight I found myself reverting back to that "feeling" behavior when listening to the Sheryl Crow CD.  I placed my left hand on the left armrest at a red traffic light to "feel" the rhythm as well as "hear" the music.

I could take the sound processor off, sit on the floor, place the small of my back against a speaker and "listen"  to rock music that way and "understand" the music just fine. At rock concerts, my hearing friends knew to lip sync the lyrics for me. In case you are wondering, I didn't wear the hearing aids at the rock concerts. The music was loud enough WITHOUT the hearing aids. Again, I didn't go to that many concerts, either.

Appreciating music with a cochlear implant to its fullest is taking time. That's okay, too. My friends, family and I have to unlearn a lot of deaf habits! I already have assigned myself "homework." I'm going to listen to the singing on the CMA awards Wednesday night on TV.
One Hearing Day At A Time!

Tweaking Day Three

Today was my first solo trip as a driver on the Interstate post-activation. I did just fine in spite of heavy traffic during "rush hour" this morning. I still rely on visual clues, but I can definitely hear traffic around me.

I met with the CI Audiologist to be "tweaked." She tested my hearing with the cochlear implant for the first time. Both the Cochlear Implant and the Sound Processor are doing their job.  The new mapping resulted in better clarity of speech (not so much echoing) and sound.  The CI Audiologist also tested my speech discrimination post activation, and I understood every word and sentence, repeating back what she said with accuracy. Now, this happened in the quiet of the audiologist's office with her door closed and no background noise!!

Still, when I think back to August, when I couldn't understand speech at all, with or without my behind the ear hearing aids, to now - today - the technology of the cochlear implant is just amazing.

I even heard an electrode misfiring and was able to tell the CI Audiologist about it. She found the misfiring electrode (on the computer) as I was hooked up, and turned that electrode off. That just blew my mind. The misfiring electrode didn't affect the performance of the cochlear implant or the sound processor.

Thanksgiving will be here in three days. I am so grateful for the gift of hearing with a cochlear implant. In just 11 short days, this wonderful technology has greatly improved my quality of life. It really has opened a whole new world of sound for me.

Bias rears its ugly head again

Today I came across a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from an organization called Audism Free America (AFA) . It is a petition requesting the FDA to establish an independent and impartial investigation into the long term physical, psychological, social and cultural impact of the surgical insertion of cochlear implants (unilateral and bilateral) into the bodies of infants, children and youth.

Audism has been defined as "attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best.  It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice in overt or covert ways against Deaf culture, American Sign Language and Deaf people of all walks of life."

The petition also reads, "Many scholars have referred to the recent proliferation of cochlear implant surgeries coupled with the oral/aural only movement (prohibiting of signing and over-emphasis of auditory technology) as a form of eugenics that may lead to cultural and linguistic genocide of Deaf Americans.  Because these infants and children are unable to give informed consent and are being denied a fully natural and accessible language, cochlear implant surgeries have also been identified as being a violation of human and linguistic rights. Clearly, the FDA needs a more in depth consideration of the moral and ethical issues associated with cochlear implants."
 
Read MY Lips: "Hell, NO"!

I wasn't born yesterday. I did my homework.  I was fully aware of the risks of undergoing cochlear implant surgery. I knew what potentially could go wrong. However, I was so deaf (and still am) that I tested within the limits of the audiometer.  I didn't have anything to LOSE and everything to GAIN.  I was nearly 100% deaf when I started the seven month long journey of GETTING a cochlear implant. I already had done the soul searching, faced my fears, cried, went through quite an emotional roller coaster, cried some more, prayed a lot, by the time I walked into the operating room. I had the unconditional support of my friends, family and co-workers.

I have had my cochlear implant turned on for one week. Hearing is such a priceless gift.  Each day brings an additional gift of hearing. Recognizing a sound I haven't heard for years.  Hearing a new sound and banking that sound into my hearing memory.  I still plan to have my right ear implanted in the near future.

When I read the petition, all I could think of was the undercurrent of ignorance and fear running through this petition.  I am all for nondiscrimination against any deaf person, whether that deaf person is an infant, a child, a teenager, or an adult. This petition is NOT the way to do this.

WHY would any sane mother, father, or legal guardian worth his or her salt, fail to exercise good judgment in deciding what is in the best interest of any deaf infant, child, teenager? You go through enough soul searching as it is, once you find out your child is deaf.

I vehemently disagree with this petition and want nothing to do with this.  I wish cochlear implants had been available to me as an infant, child, or teenager. My parents would have immediately pushed for me to have a cochlear implant.

I'm going to say this again. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a deaf infant, child, or teenager, and you have been given the choice and the opportunity to have your son or daughter implanted with a cochlear implant, TAKE IT. You are seriously compromising your child's future if you don't. If the insurance companies turn you down, try again. Look for alternative sources of funding the surgery and cochlear implant. If I were as wealthy as Bill and Melinda Gates, one of the first things I would do is to create a worldwide charity to provide cochlear implants to all who qualified for a cochlear implant or two and who wanted one. I'm just as middle class as the next person, so unless I hit the lottery big time, this charity won't happen.

What part of "hearing world" did this author of the petition not understand?  Look at the job announcements. 99.9% of the job announcements have this sentence somewhere in the announcement, .."the ability to communicate orally and in writing."  We are in a terrible recession.  It is hard enough for hearing people to find secure jobs and to KEEP them.  Unemployment of disabled people is still at 75% of the population. The last time I checked, spoken English was STILL the predominant language in this country.

My parents wanted me to be as self-sufficient as possible.  Part of that included being educated at one of the finest private deaf schools in this country, and one which still to this day,  subscribes to the philosophy of an oral education.  How many traditional schools for the deaf are still open in this country?!  That should tell you something. 

I AM NOT APOLOGIZING FOR GETTING A COCHLEAR IMPLANT!!!!

I pity the author or author(s) who wrote this petition. I'm still a deaf person with a cochlear implant. Deafness has been a part of me since I was 18 months old.  But why allow fear and ignorance to hold you back from what could be your highest potential as a individual?  I had NOTHING TO LOSE, and everything to GAIN by undergoing cochlear implant surgery.

Ok. Deep Cleansing Breath. I'm going to think nice thoughts and get off my soap box...

God turned the faucet on

Yesterday it rained. When I stepped outside, it literally sounded like God turned the faucet on in Heaven to make it rain on earth. It wasn't a downpour, exactly, but it was a good soaking rain. I didn't hear the "pitter-patter" of rain, but it was definitely rain that I heard. 

I also had to get a medical procedure done, and when my blood pressure was being taken, I heard the blood pressure cuff inflate and deflate for the first time.  I didn't know that made a sound when it did that. 

After I came home, I watched Oprah Winfrey's show. Barbara Streisand was on the show along with Robert Redford. She sang the song, "The Way We Were," on the show, accompanied by a pianist playing the piano.  Well, it sounded different. I could hear snatches of her singing - with the captioning, and I could definitely hear the piano. Not bad for six days of "hearing" post-activation. It isn't music or singing the way I remember it, but it isn't noise, either.

Today I noticed I am hearing more environmental sounds.  When I use the microwave, when I press the keypad, it beeps with each keypad stroke. I can now hear the toast in the toaster pop up when it is ready.

Certain sounds are beginning to be familiar. The ticking of my desk regulator clock. The sound of me typing as I am blogging. I definitely hear the heat pump come on and off, whether I am upstairs or downstairs. When I was watching a car commercial tonight, I heard what was supposedly the sound of wind howling. Whether that was artificially created or the real deal, I don't know. But it had an interesting flavor of sound to it. The sound of a car passing is more familiar. I still hear the turn signal clicking.

I stopped by a grocery store to get a prescription refilled and to pick up a few items. I went through a self-checkout lane after purchasing my items, and to my surprise, I heard and understood this sentence (without lipreading, or any kind of written prompts), "Please take your receipt and thank you for shopping at ... ."  It still sounded kind of echoey and underwater, but it was definitely a sentence.  There are a lot of environmental noises at a grocery store that I haven't identified yet. However, no more grocery cart collisions! YAY! I just can't get over that. And nobody has said "excuse me," to get by me because I didn't hear them.

I stopped by my bank's drive through ATM to get some cash.  The key pad on the ATM screen also beeps. There are different "flavors" of  beeps - one for cash, one for your paper receipt and another to retrieve your ATM card. 

Next, I stopped at Starbucks to get my beloved Venti Skim Latte. The sound of hissing of the frother for steaming the milk is higher than I remember it.  

I am also getting used to finding the "sweet spot" on my head for the headpiece magnet so that the cochlear implant and the sound processor can do their job.

More sounds in bits and pieces

Today I went to the dentist to finish up some dental work which had been postponed because of the cochlear implant surgery. I heard that drill whine for the first time. It did not bother me, but I now understand why people don't like going to the dentist.  I don't like getting those shots in my mouth. THAT has always bothered me.

After I finished my dental appointment, I returned to my car and put in Nelly Furtado's CD "Loose," just to see what I would hear. It did not sound familiar to me post-implant, but I could hear the percussive instrumentation and rhythm. I had the CD on at a lower volume, probably to the relief of my fellow drivers on the road.  When wearing hearing aids, I'd crank up the music.  Okay, it's going to take some time before my favorite CD's sound like "music" to me again.  I get that.

I had no problems post-implant recognizing the rhythm of any music when I got activated five days ago. The music just sounds different and I can't yet hear or understand the lyrics.

When I returned home, I started sweeping up leaves in the back patio. That was a slightly different sound from raking leaves yesterday. 

I also heard a plane flying overhead toward the airport which I recognized immediately. The only difference between hearing a plane post-implant and before with hearing aids, is the fact that I am probably hearing the plane at normal volume instead of louder volume.

I am glad I finished what yard work I did today. I bagged four 30 gallon bags of leaves. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and the day after.  Will I "hear" the pitter-patter of rain? I wonder.

A Noisy Sunday and a Bully Pulpit

For the first time since before my cochlear implant surgery, I went outside and raked leaves, gathered up the leaves and bagged them. The sound of raking leaves sounds very different and unfamiliar when hearing with a cochlear implant.  The sound of a car passing is beginning to be familiar in that I recognize that particular sound as a car passing by.  I heard that sound for the first time INSIDE my home and again when outside. The clicking of the keys as I type this blog is beginning to sound familiar. I am hearing more environmental or "background" noise. I now hear the heat pump turning on. I hear my regulator clock ticking and recognize the sound for what it is.  Later I was watching the program 60 Minutes on TV and heard that clock ticking. I didn't know the 60 Minutes clock ticked the seconds, or minutes to the hour. 

I am now recognizing speech from the news programs and am able to understand some spoken speech while lipreading the various news anchors. Often, the news anchor speaks faster than the captioner can transcribe the spoken speech, and I still understand what is being said. 

Getting used to a cochlear implant is a unique experience for each person who is implanted with a cochlear implant. It is very unfair for someone who has been hearing all her or his life to form an opinion such as "Deaf people who have not heard sounds have a difficult time adjusting to the cochlear implant," or assume that once you have a cochlear implant, are activated, you can automatically use a telephone without assistance.  I may or may not be able to use a telephone in a month. It might be six months. I simply don't know.

My deafness progressed from severe to profound to nearly completely deaf over time. Your brain never forgets to hear, whether the deafness is acquired or you were born deaf.  Hearing people need to understand this.  A cochlear implant doesn't CURE deafness.  I am "hearing" 8 hours a day with the cochlear implant, but I still have to take OFF the sound processor to sleep, shower, bathe.  During the time I have the sound processor OFF, I am Deaf again. I still depend on a dawn simulator lamp with a timer to wake me up, or when I am traveling, I take a portable battery powered alarm clock that I clip to my nightshirt and vibrates to wake me up.

The HUGE difference between a cochlear implant and a hearing aid, is that a hearing aid makes sounds LOUDER, while a cochlear implant bypasses the damaged nerves and sends electronic impulses to the cochlea, which in turn sends a message to the brain, which perceives it as "sound."

I think this is why I have the sensation at times that I am hearing "sound" through a tunnel or that sounds are echoing, or that people are talking as if underwater.

Deaf people are extremely visual. When I saw my friend's cats open their mouths and HEARD the sounds, "Maaaaah," and "Meeeee," I knew that the sound was the cat's meow. THAT's how I was able to identify the sound.  If I don't know the sound that I am "hearing," I am intelligent enough to ask a hearing person, "What is that sound"?

I don't think Hearing people give Deaf people enough credit. When I heard the ticking of the regulator clock for the first time, I immediately stopped what I was doing and focused on the ticking sound. I noticed the ticking sound was coming from my left. I thought what is in this room that would tick? Then I saw my German regulator clock with the weight sitting on my desk, and had an "Aha" moment. I then recognized the ticking sound coming from my clock.

Getting used to a cochlear implant is a PROCESS.  It is not instantaneous hearing at all. I still have to figure out what the sound is. Because I WASN'T always profoundly deaf, I was able to recognize the sound of wheels rolling on a grocery cart, and avoid a grocery cart collision.

Each new sound will become familiar to me over time. I will "bank" that memory of that particular sound into my hearing memory, so when I hear that sound again, I will know what it is. Hearing and understanding spoken speech without lipreading is still a challenge. I have only had the cochlear implant turned on for four days. This is still a process, and one that is going to take a while.  While some sounds are surprising and unfamiliar to me, and even sounds noisy, I was very prepared to take this hearing journey. I have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Everything has a sound

EVERYTHING has a sound. Friday, November 12th, my two sisters and I returned to my CI Audiologist for more "tweaking." She hooked my sound processor up to the computer. I was told again to listen for beeps, tones and to tell her what was the most tolerable. Everybody's voices still sounded a bit like that person was talking underwater, but the clarity of sound was much better. I still cannot understand speech without lip reading. I recognize music when it is being played but don't yet recognize the song or the artist. I now hear distinct sounds like the elevator doors opening and closing.

None of the sounds are loud, overwhelming or anything like that.  Everything is NOISY. I don't have to strain to hear anything. The cochlear implant and sound processor are doing what they are supposed to do.  I do have to listen and figure out what I am "hearing."  My friend came to take me home. She met me at a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant near the airport. My sisters and my friend and I all said our good-byes. My friend and I stopped by her apartment. We went inside. I heard my friend's cats meow for the first time with the implant and recognized it for what it was. The 16 year old cat's meow is "Mah," at a higher frequency. The six month old kitten's meow is "Meee," also at a higher frequency. I couldn't hear the kitten purr, but I could feel it. My friend said he was purring quite loudly.

We stopped at a take-out restaurant and picked up items to take home for dinner. The television was on and NBC news was on.  I was able to understand Brian Williams, the news anchor, for the first time with the implant and without the aid of captioning.  As my friend drove, I was able to identify the sound of vehicles passing in the night. For the first time that my friend and I could ever remember, I was able to carry on a conversation at night in the car with her, sitting beside my friend. The lights from the control panel of the car illuminated her face just enough that I was able to lipread her and respond to the conversation appropriately.

When we reached my home, we had dinner and talked some more. I was tired by the time my friend and I decided to say good night and go to sleep. I wasn't exhausted, but I was tired from Day Two of post-activation.

My friend and I got up this morning, Day Three of activation. She had already made up the sofa bed downstairs and was in the shower in the basement by the time I came downstairs to the kitchen to fix breakfast. I thanked her for everything. She hugged me back and left to go to her son's apartment.

I can hear myself chew food. I can hear the keys of the computer keyboard clicking as I type this blog. I hear my regulator clock ticking. I drove my car for the first time in four weeks. I could hear the car automatically shift gears. I could hear the door locks unlocking and lock when I used my remote key control.  I went to a small grocery store to pick up a few items. I could hear the wheels of the grocery carts on the floor.  No more grocery cart collisions!  I could hear people come up behind me and move around.  I could hear the cashier scan individual items and hear "beeps" everytime an item got scanned.

I experienced no vertigo or dizziness on the interstate last night, nor did I have any sense of imbalance. I can hear leaves crunching under my feet as I walk. I am more steady on my feet now than I can ever remember.

Everything has a sound. My world is now "noisy," post implant.  Hearing is such a gift to me. I feel like it is my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and New Year's rolled into one.  Each sound also has a "flavor," and as I process each new sound or recognize sounds from long ago, like the cat's meow, I bank it away into my hearing memory.

Activation Day

My sisters and I met with the CI Audiologist at 9:00 AM this morning.  I was fitted with the sound processor, and hooked up to the computer.  I first felt pulsing and then I heard the pulsing. It reminded me of something out of Star Trek and I said, "Beam me up, Scotty"!  My older sister turned to my younger sister and said our sister hears for the first time using a cochlear implant, and the most profound thing she says is "Beam me up, Scotty"!  I was just sitting there rather amazed at the technology.  It is NOT instantaneous hearing as in a hearing aid where one is fitted with a hearing aid and "ta-da"! You can "hear."

"Hearing" with a cochlear implant is very different. I am literally learning to hear all over again.  The CI Audiologist explained to me that I would hear a series of "beeps." She wanted to tell me what was tolerable.  We did that.  Then she said I am going to talk.  Well, when she mapped the sound processor for "speech," and started talking, her voice sounded like she was talking underwater.

The cochlear implant and sound processor are functioning as they should.  Everything is noisy but sounds like echoing to me.  I can hear car tires going "ta-click" over the roads, but the sound of cars going by almost sounds like a tunnel-like roaring. The sounds are not painful or overwhelming. It is just extremely different from what I am used to "hearing." My sisters and I went out to a Brazilian Steakhouse for dinner to celebrate Activation Day. I could understand the waiter, who helped with the menu choices.  The restaurant was noisy. 

The sounds are wild and crazy sounds to me, alright.  It is definitely taking time to get used to.  My younger sister brought some DVDs that her children had made movies for school projects, and I recognized the sound of music but not the lyrics or the song.

My younger sister had a very good description of the process: She said you know how a computer does pinging (which I cannot hear) to find a wireless network. I said yeah. She said, that is sort of what your brain is doing with a cochlear implant. I thought that was a very accurate description of what I am processing. I can have conversations with my sisters even though their speech sounds like echoing.  It is probably part lipreading and part hearing what passes for speech.

Activation Day is definitely a sensory experience.  It is a really strange sensory experience, but the process of hearing with a cochlear implant is going to take time. Tomorrow we meet with the CI Audiologist again for more "tweaking."

Yesterday was four weeks post surgery. The dizziness, unsteadiness, balance issues are nearly gone. I get dizzy only when suddenly turning my head, putting my head down, any sudden movements, and I'm a little off. The tinnitus in my ears are still with me. Sometimes it is like white noise, other times a little louder.

Thursday is Activation Day. I have a 9:00 AM appointment with the CI Audiologist.  My sisters will be with me. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, or even what I will hear, if anything. I hope that the cochlear implant works 100% and that all channels are a go. 

A friend is driving me to the hotel tonight, and my sisters are flying into the airport tonight and will meet me at the hotel. We will go to the hospital's outpatient clinic bright and early Thursday morning. The rest of the day I will be getting used to whatever sounds I am "hearing."

Friday I have another appointment with the CI Audiologist for more "tweaking." After Friday's appointment, my sisters will return home (my nieces and nephews are all in school) and a friend will drive me home. I wonder what traffic noises will sound like on the interstate as we are driving home?

Think of the sound processor component of a CI as a super sophisicated stereo receiver. You have your treble, bass, reverb, "woofers" etc. The CI Audiologist "maps" each channel of the sound processor according to what I can tolerate. That is what the Friday appointment is for - she will "tweak" the sound processor.  It might be a little too much bass, not enough treble, a little too soft, muffled.

I have been told by my online CI veterans to prepare for a wild and crazy week of learning to hear with the CI. I kind of feel like I am at the beginning of a new roller coaster ride: you are sitting there, strapped in, holding on to the stabilizer bar, feeling the car go up and up and up and up. You get to the very top and you aren't sure what the ride is going to feel like.

Well, here goes. There's no turning back now! 

Some Progress

I think the Woozies are finally starting to go away. The only way I can describe this feeling is this. If you have ever drank an alcoholic beverage on a totally empty stomach and experienced a buzz, felt a little unsteady on your feet, that is sort of what the Woozies have felt like for three weeks. Granted, the "Woozies" didn't officially start until October 15th (that was my worst day), the feeling of being unsteady on your feet just makes me more cautious.

I now have three weeks worth of growth above my left ear, AND (Drumroll) the stitches have finally dissolved!  I have managed to get something accomplished while recuperating from surgery, and that was to do about three weeks worth of laundry. I stripped my bed and put on warmer sheets and my electric blanket last week. I still have a cold intolerance problem. I do not think it is the anesthesia at this point. Even before the cochlear implantation surgery, I have always hated being cold. It has been a chilly, wet, raw, rainy day and the temperatures didn't rise much above 52 degrees all day. I only went outside once, and that was to retrieve my mail. I figured out where the implant is located on my head. There IS a slight "bump," a lot like a bruise type bump, but a really teensy one. That doesn't bother me in the least.  You cannot see the healing incision, at least I can't see it. When a friend came over Monday night, she said the incision is behind my left ear, kind of like a slant type incision.  

Activation Day isn't that far away. I am getting curious as to what I will "hear" once the implant is turned on.  The tinnitus is also quieting down.  That is really interesting because pre-surgery, the tinnitus was really bad and in my opinion, worse. Roaring, hissing, hooting noises. Now the tinnitus is to me, like white noise. As I am not hearing anything in my left ear post-surgery, my right ear, which I still wear a hearing aid in that particular ear, has "taken over" for my left ear. I wonder if the cochlear implant, once activated, will do the same thing for both my ears?