I spent Christmas with my younger sister and her family. One year and two months since I received a cochlear implant, her house was definitely noisier than I remember it. Most of the kids got techie gadgets, so there were all kinds of beeps, clicks, whistles, all sorts of noises.
We went to church Christmas Eve. It was a small gathering - a lot of people traveled out of town for the holidays.
I had quality conversations with my nieces and nephews. Conversations flowed easily. My sister only had to tell me once that I misunderstood a child's conversation. That was a first.
My sister automatically turned her head to me as she was driving. I had to remind her I could hear her and could understand the conversation.
She also noticed that I don't talk as loudly as I used to (smile) and that my speech has improved along with my pronunciation of words. I could carry on a conversation in a noisy environment.
look back at where I was 18 months ago and it is humbling to think of the huge change a cochlear implant has made in my life. Hearing is such a gift.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Some WOW Moments
The other morning it was a chilly 31 degrees. I had to stop by the gas station on the way to work and fill up the gas tank. At 5:40 AM, I was the only one at the pump and at the station.
It was quiet. I discovered that the gasoline makes a "glug, glug, glug," noise as it is being pumped into the tank. I would not have heard that distinct sound in a noisy environment!
I have been listening to National Public Radio while driving home in city traffic in an effort to goad my brain into discriminating and understanding speech without captioning. I had a breakthrough: I heard two words, "independent nation," and I was elated. I turned on National Public Radio again on the commute home tonight and heard, "It's not easy," my first sentence WITHOUT captioning. I was so relieved. I continued to hear words here and there and snatches of conversation over the radio.
I now realize that understanding speech without captioning IS possible, and I am hopeful that this time next year I will be conversing over the telephone and a cell phone WITHOUT captioning. That is a personal goal of mine. It has been one year and two months since I had the cochlear implant surgery and had my left ear implanted.
It has been an amazing year. I have had so many WOW! moments. My absolute favorite WOW! moment happened this Spring when I was watching a female cardinal sitting on a branch of my crape Myrtle tree. I was really close to the bird, sitting on my porch step of my townhouse and not daring to breathe. The indescribable joy of seeing the cardinal open its beak and hear the bird call out of its mouth. I will never forget that. Being able to actually connect the bird call to the cardinal and KNOW what that particular soundflavoring was like once I heard it.
Pure Joy. Pure, childlike joy.
Hearing is such a gift.
It was quiet. I discovered that the gasoline makes a "glug, glug, glug," noise as it is being pumped into the tank. I would not have heard that distinct sound in a noisy environment!
I have been listening to National Public Radio while driving home in city traffic in an effort to goad my brain into discriminating and understanding speech without captioning. I had a breakthrough: I heard two words, "independent nation," and I was elated. I turned on National Public Radio again on the commute home tonight and heard, "It's not easy," my first sentence WITHOUT captioning. I was so relieved. I continued to hear words here and there and snatches of conversation over the radio.
I now realize that understanding speech without captioning IS possible, and I am hopeful that this time next year I will be conversing over the telephone and a cell phone WITHOUT captioning. That is a personal goal of mine. It has been one year and two months since I had the cochlear implant surgery and had my left ear implanted.
It has been an amazing year. I have had so many WOW! moments. My absolute favorite WOW! moment happened this Spring when I was watching a female cardinal sitting on a branch of my crape Myrtle tree. I was really close to the bird, sitting on my porch step of my townhouse and not daring to breathe. The indescribable joy of seeing the cardinal open its beak and hear the bird call out of its mouth. I will never forget that. Being able to actually connect the bird call to the cardinal and KNOW what that particular soundflavoring was like once I heard it.
Pure Joy. Pure, childlike joy.
Hearing is such a gift.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Hearing with a CI is still a process
It is the Christmas season once again. The Salvation Army Bell ringers were outside the grocery store ringing the bell. I could hear that bell from several feet away as I walked toward the store. I can still hear the grocery carts coming around an aisle and no, no collisions!
I also did some badly needed yard work in preparation for the winter. I cleared out the flower beds of debris, leaves, weeds and put down super fine mulch. I could hear birds but could not tell what kind of bird was calling. It wasn't a cardinal, that's for sure. I definitely know what a cardinal sounds like.
I have no issues recognizing music. Understanding singing on a CD, the radio is still a challenge. Speech discrimination without the aid of captioning is dicey. My brain has learned to tune out certain background noise.
My sound processor goes on just before I leave for work in the morning.
I am still amazed at how deaf I am when I take the sound processor off at night and recharge the battery.
I am still a deaf person with a cochlear implant. But how that cochlear implant has changed my world. Big time!
Hearing is such a gift.
I also did some badly needed yard work in preparation for the winter. I cleared out the flower beds of debris, leaves, weeds and put down super fine mulch. I could hear birds but could not tell what kind of bird was calling. It wasn't a cardinal, that's for sure. I definitely know what a cardinal sounds like.
I have no issues recognizing music. Understanding singing on a CD, the radio is still a challenge. Speech discrimination without the aid of captioning is dicey. My brain has learned to tune out certain background noise.
My sound processor goes on just before I leave for work in the morning.
I am still amazed at how deaf I am when I take the sound processor off at night and recharge the battery.
I am still a deaf person with a cochlear implant. But how that cochlear implant has changed my world. Big time!
Hearing is such a gift.
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