A Spring of two Bionic Ears, 2013

The month of May has been a busy one.  I cannot believe it is June already!

I recently accomplished my second solo trip of driving on the interstate at night.  It was an hour and a half trip.  As it was the Memorial Day weekend, traffic was busy. I had my Google maps and my Magellan GPS.  I now can hear and understand the GPS telling me directions.  I also had never been to this particular address before, so nothing was familiar.  I didn't get lost going there and didn't get lost coming home. I am getting better with directionality of sound. So far, so good.

I still am discovering new sounds. The other night I was watching a news feature about a dolphin that had surgery to improve its breathing. I didn't know dolphins made clicking sounds. The birds are still calling to each other.  I can hear more different bird calls now.  I also can hear the difference in cars and trucks idling in city traffic. I hear paper shuffling and rustling in offices where I share adjoining doors.

I still can hear a co-worker snap and chew gum all day long, much to my chagrin. 

There are so many things I am doing now that I never would have done before cochlear implants - driving at night on the interstate, for example.

I am an Amy Grant fan, have been for years, and love her music.  I bought her new CD, "How Mercy Looks From Here,"put it in my car stereo, not expecting to understand any of the lyrics, just the music.  Well, to my surprise, I heard "If what I could see what the Angels see..." out of my right ear. Well, that floored me, because my right ear typically did poorly as far as speech comprehension. I thought about how this talented woman started out singing with her guitar as a teenager, and in her latest CD still sings with her guitar.  I could hear the harmonizing on the CD. I always liked Amy's music and the lyrics because she keeps things real. 

So as audio therapy on the drive home from work, I plan to listen to her newest CD some more.

I am listening to traffic and cars driving by from within my townhouse. A dog is intermittently barking/howling somewhere outside - and getting more persistent. I think the dog is bored.  It is funny, because before cochlear implants, my townhouse was a lot quieter! Not any more!!

It has been an amazing journey since October, 2010, when I was first implanted in my left ear. I am still processing new sounds.  I am still stunned by how deaf I am.  Cochlear Implant technology continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  Already, my cochlear implant company has a new BTE CI processor coming out. Computer technology and telephones are now adaptable for the deaf. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, Skype, Face Time now bridge the gap between the hearing world and the deaf world.

I always felt there was something missing from my life, even with hearing aids. With cochlear implants, my hunger to hear more sound and to have a better quality of life is being satisfied.  I also have been going through a kind of spiritual healing of sorts, and my spirit is at peace.

Isolation doesn't have to be a part of my life anymore.  Neither does loneliness. Thank you, God for my blessings.  I don't take hearing for granted anymore.

For eight plus hours a day, I hear with my cochlear implant processors and have access to smartphones, ipod nanos. I listen to iheart radio, Spotify, and my downloaded tunes.

"Surround Sound," now makes up my world.  Everything has a sound.

My life is still transitioning...!  I still am profoundly deaf, I still am very visual, but I am hearing speech along with lipreading.  The fact that I can understand the GPS giving me step by step directions and hearing the bell before I make my turns tell me this.

Yes. Everything has a sound. Who would have thought I would be hearing out of both ears with two cochlear implants in three years?

A dream realized.