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I just listened to a You Tube video of a Michael West song, "Strong Enough." It had captions which helped me to enjoy the song. It was beautiful and a good reminder of where my priorities should lie in what has been a challenging week!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Cardinals and other sounds
I have a pair of cardinals that regularly visit my crape myrtle tree and boxwoods. I figured out why I was able to hear cardinals from inside my kitchen. One cardinal (usually the male one) likes to hide in a boxwood beneath my kitchen bay window. The female cardinal likes to perch somewhere on my crape myrtle tree. There's a lot of flying and swooping and bird calling.
Six months after activation, I have discovered that my townhouse isn't as soundproof or quiet as I thought it was. I can not only hear the cardinals, I can hear my next door neighbor's dog barking and I can hear cars, trucks and SUV's go by as well as some other noises I haven't quite identified yet.
Even walking to work from the subway station, I can pick out the bird calls from other city noise.
In a quieter environment I can hear cell phone ringtones, a co-worker in the next room popping gum.
We had an all-hands office meeting recently. It was my first meeting with my office as a group since I underwent cochlear implant surgery and had it activated. It was amazing. I could hear each person's voice as clearly as if he or she were sitting right next to me, no matter where that person was sitting at the table.
With hearing aids and what little hearing, office meetings were really a challenge. I would talk with a co-worker afterwards to see what I had missed.
The difference in the quality of sound with a cochlear implant is amazing. It was WOW! Just absolutely astounding.
A few weeks ago I went over to a friend's townhouse. We were going out to dinner. One of the cats, a sleek, black cat with green eyes, came up and rubbed against my legs, wanting attention. I petted him, and as I did so, I kept hearing intermittent "tings." I realized it was the bell tinkling on the cat's collar!
They say the cicadas will be here in five weeks. I wonder what that will sound like with a cochlear implant? I remember cicadas - an buzzing, humming sound when I wore hearing aids in both ears.
It is challenging hearing with a cochlear implant in a noisy environment. I appreciate "quiet," so that I can listen for new sounds, like hearing the bell on the cat's collar.
Amazing. Hearing is such a gift.
Six months after activation, I have discovered that my townhouse isn't as soundproof or quiet as I thought it was. I can not only hear the cardinals, I can hear my next door neighbor's dog barking and I can hear cars, trucks and SUV's go by as well as some other noises I haven't quite identified yet.
Even walking to work from the subway station, I can pick out the bird calls from other city noise.
In a quieter environment I can hear cell phone ringtones, a co-worker in the next room popping gum.
We had an all-hands office meeting recently. It was my first meeting with my office as a group since I underwent cochlear implant surgery and had it activated. It was amazing. I could hear each person's voice as clearly as if he or she were sitting right next to me, no matter where that person was sitting at the table.
With hearing aids and what little hearing, office meetings were really a challenge. I would talk with a co-worker afterwards to see what I had missed.
The difference in the quality of sound with a cochlear implant is amazing. It was WOW! Just absolutely astounding.
A few weeks ago I went over to a friend's townhouse. We were going out to dinner. One of the cats, a sleek, black cat with green eyes, came up and rubbed against my legs, wanting attention. I petted him, and as I did so, I kept hearing intermittent "tings." I realized it was the bell tinkling on the cat's collar!
They say the cicadas will be here in five weeks. I wonder what that will sound like with a cochlear implant? I remember cicadas - an buzzing, humming sound when I wore hearing aids in both ears.
It is challenging hearing with a cochlear implant in a noisy environment. I appreciate "quiet," so that I can listen for new sounds, like hearing the bell on the cat's collar.
Amazing. Hearing is such a gift.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
God's Symphony
Yesterday after running errands and doing some much needed yard work, I opened up a bottle of cold green tea and sat down on my porch steps of my townhouse. I have a crape myrtle tree in my front yard, and it is not very tall. A female cardinal came and perched on a branch on the tree. I didn't dare breathe, we were literally a foot apart. I watched her carefully, wondering what the bird would do.
Her beak opened, and to my delight, I heard the bird calling. I have been hearing bird calls for some time, but couldn't match the bird call to the individual bird. I can now. She continued with her bird song for a bit, then flew off.
I definitely, positively know what a Cardinal's bird call sounds like. I am hearing birds inside my townhouse, especially if I am near a window, or in the kitchen. I can hear bird calls even in the city among other noises. I can pick out bird sounds. To me it sounds like a lot of bird chirping and tweeting - even sharp whistling sounds.
I think sounds of nature must be God's Symphony. I cannot yet hear squirrels.
I am hearing more environmental sounds besides sounds of nature. I heard an ambulance siren last week. It is definitely a noisy world.
Hearing with a cochlear implant is such a gift.
Her beak opened, and to my delight, I heard the bird calling. I have been hearing bird calls for some time, but couldn't match the bird call to the individual bird. I can now. She continued with her bird song for a bit, then flew off.
I definitely, positively know what a Cardinal's bird call sounds like. I am hearing birds inside my townhouse, especially if I am near a window, or in the kitchen. I can hear bird calls even in the city among other noises. I can pick out bird sounds. To me it sounds like a lot of bird chirping and tweeting - even sharp whistling sounds.
I think sounds of nature must be God's Symphony. I cannot yet hear squirrels.
I am hearing more environmental sounds besides sounds of nature. I heard an ambulance siren last week. It is definitely a noisy world.
Hearing with a cochlear implant is such a gift.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
April - my journey so far
Last week, I returned to the Cochlear Clinic for more "tweaking." I am hearing more birds calling. A friend tells me that the male Cardinals are the loudest birds early in the morning. I am hearing other birds calling, but cannot yet identify the specific bird call. Mornings are definitely not quiet, as I leave for work and or run errands on the weekends.
I watched American Idol tonight. I thought, well, I think I can at least enjoy the music. To my surprise and delight, the lyrics didn't sound so "scratchy." YAY!
I was able to enjoy the contestants as they sang their songs. All of them were delightful and quite talented.
Earlier this week, I played a Amy Grant album, "Straight Ahead," which had been digitally remastered for better sound, in my car's CD player and cranked up the sound a bit. It didn't sound loud or painful. I was able to actually understand two lines of the song, "Angels," post implant. "Angels Watching over me, Every Step I take."
Hearing with a Cochlear Implant is so very different from hearing with a hearing aid or two. While I am hearing new sounds, it is definitely a process, and I am learning to discriminate among "flavors" of sounds. One thing I have to constantly remind myself about cochlear implant sound processors. There's no sound amplification. I am hearing at normal levels. Since the CI Aufiologist programs the sound processor, I don't have to worry about excessive loudness or noise.
I still think "Soundflavoringsanew" was definitely a good title for my blog. I have come so far in just five months after having the cochlear implant turned on. Amazing. I've gone from hearing
"wild and crazy" sounds in 24 hours to the first two weeks, to hearing "normally" in four months. Normal for me, anyway.
Hearing is such a gift.
I watched American Idol tonight. I thought, well, I think I can at least enjoy the music. To my surprise and delight, the lyrics didn't sound so "scratchy." YAY!
I was able to enjoy the contestants as they sang their songs. All of them were delightful and quite talented.
Earlier this week, I played a Amy Grant album, "Straight Ahead," which had been digitally remastered for better sound, in my car's CD player and cranked up the sound a bit. It didn't sound loud or painful. I was able to actually understand two lines of the song, "Angels," post implant. "Angels Watching over me, Every Step I take."
Hearing with a Cochlear Implant is so very different from hearing with a hearing aid or two. While I am hearing new sounds, it is definitely a process, and I am learning to discriminate among "flavors" of sounds. One thing I have to constantly remind myself about cochlear implant sound processors. There's no sound amplification. I am hearing at normal levels. Since the CI Aufiologist programs the sound processor, I don't have to worry about excessive loudness or noise.
I still think "Soundflavoringsanew" was definitely a good title for my blog. I have come so far in just five months after having the cochlear implant turned on. Amazing. I've gone from hearing
"wild and crazy" sounds in 24 hours to the first two weeks, to hearing "normally" in four months. Normal for me, anyway.
Hearing is such a gift.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sounds of Spring
There is a bird somewhere in the vicinity of my townhouse. A couple of Saturdays ago while running errands at 7:30 AM, I heard this distinctive, persistent, repetitive sound. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. It came from the trees. I turned my head and listened. There it was again. I turned my head toward the trees and heard the sound again. It was a "errr, errr, errr," sound, followed by "rrrrrrrr," a kind of trilling sound.
Later I told a neighbor that I thought I had heard a bird from somewhere high up in the trees. She said, "You did hear a bird." The bird is most active in the morning and my neighbor told me the bird wakes her up in the mornings!
Four months, post-implant, I now know what a bird sounds like. I can hear wind outdoors. I am learning to discriminate among sounds. Not all clocks sound the same. Not all key pads beep alike. Not all diesel engines idle alike. Not all car engines sound alike. There are different ringtones for telephones.
People's voices still sound like they are talking with scratchy voices, but I am slowly beginning to hear words and a short sentence without lipreading. I can hear a pot of water bubbling. Even steam sounds different in various coffee shops while listening to milk being steamed in a pitcher.
I can hear a person come up behind me. The sound of some one's footsteps sound different on a carpet, a hardwood floor, a marble floor. I can recognize commercial jingles on TV and am starting to recognize songs on the radio - only the music, the lyrics are still a challenge.
Everything has a sound. I continue to savor each new day. I may not hear a new sound each and every day, but I faithfully wear my sound processor in order to get the full benefit of my CI.
I don't understand why someone would undergo surgery, get a cochlear implant, and then intermittently wear a sound processor. Why bother getting a cochlear implant if you are not going to wear your sound processor? To me, that's like getting prescription glasses and/or contact lenses and then not wearing the glasses or contact lenses.
I'm thinking about buying a bird feeder and putting it in the backyard. Maybe that will allow me to hear more birds and to see which birds call or sing.
Hearing is such a gift. The journey has been a worthwhile one.
Later I told a neighbor that I thought I had heard a bird from somewhere high up in the trees. She said, "You did hear a bird." The bird is most active in the morning and my neighbor told me the bird wakes her up in the mornings!
Four months, post-implant, I now know what a bird sounds like. I can hear wind outdoors. I am learning to discriminate among sounds. Not all clocks sound the same. Not all key pads beep alike. Not all diesel engines idle alike. Not all car engines sound alike. There are different ringtones for telephones.
People's voices still sound like they are talking with scratchy voices, but I am slowly beginning to hear words and a short sentence without lipreading. I can hear a pot of water bubbling. Even steam sounds different in various coffee shops while listening to milk being steamed in a pitcher.
I can hear a person come up behind me. The sound of some one's footsteps sound different on a carpet, a hardwood floor, a marble floor. I can recognize commercial jingles on TV and am starting to recognize songs on the radio - only the music, the lyrics are still a challenge.
Everything has a sound. I continue to savor each new day. I may not hear a new sound each and every day, but I faithfully wear my sound processor in order to get the full benefit of my CI.
I don't understand why someone would undergo surgery, get a cochlear implant, and then intermittently wear a sound processor. Why bother getting a cochlear implant if you are not going to wear your sound processor? To me, that's like getting prescription glasses and/or contact lenses and then not wearing the glasses or contact lenses.
I'm thinking about buying a bird feeder and putting it in the backyard. Maybe that will allow me to hear more birds and to see which birds call or sing.
Hearing is such a gift. The journey has been a worthwhile one.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Three months after activation - what progress I have made
Today is a holiday for me. I was glad for a three day weekend. I indulged myself and watched "The View" earlier this morning. The show featured a new "tween" group called The Big Rush. This group sang their hit song. " I wanna be your B B B Boyfriend." The kids were cute. The music had a percussive beat, and the song was cute. While the group of tweens or teenagers who sang this song are probably old enough to be my sons, I have a young enough soul that I could enjoy the music, and did.
Musically "hearing" with a cochlear implant, three months after activation, I am likely to enjoy hearing a electric guitar solo, a piano recital, a drum solo, any kind of music that doesn't have lyrics. While voices sound more human, it still sounds to me like people are talking or singing with a scratchy voice. I am waiting for the day when I can hear and understand "a clear voice."
I am still not at the point where I can hear and talk on a landline phone, a cell phone, a cordless phone without the aid of captions. I can hear snatches of lyrics when listening to CD's, commercial jingles on television, the radio.
I still cannot fully understand speech without the aid of lipreading. Last week I had a check up with a medical specialist. We hadn't seen each other in 24 months, and I told him that I now had a cochlear implant for my left ear. I showed him my sound processor, and he was impressed. He asked, "Is it better than hearing with a hearing aid"? and I said , Oh, yes. Perhaps when we see each other in another 24 months, I will have had the right ear implanted as well. I would like that.
If I am absolutely still in my kitchen, sitting and listening, I think I can hear birds. I am not absolutely sure, but it is a high, twittering, almost tinkling sound. I think the next time I think I hear twittering, I will look outside and see if a bird is perched on a branch on my crape myrtle tree.
Does wind make a "whooshing sound"? If that is the case, then I definitely heard wind on Saturday while inside my townhouse. It was definitely windy. I had to go outside and tie down the covers on my patio furniture, and somewhat anchor down the furniture.
I discovered that clocks have different ticking sounds. No one clock is alike.
Hearing is such a gift.
Musically "hearing" with a cochlear implant, three months after activation, I am likely to enjoy hearing a electric guitar solo, a piano recital, a drum solo, any kind of music that doesn't have lyrics. While voices sound more human, it still sounds to me like people are talking or singing with a scratchy voice. I am waiting for the day when I can hear and understand "a clear voice."
I am still not at the point where I can hear and talk on a landline phone, a cell phone, a cordless phone without the aid of captions. I can hear snatches of lyrics when listening to CD's, commercial jingles on television, the radio.
I still cannot fully understand speech without the aid of lipreading. Last week I had a check up with a medical specialist. We hadn't seen each other in 24 months, and I told him that I now had a cochlear implant for my left ear. I showed him my sound processor, and he was impressed. He asked, "Is it better than hearing with a hearing aid"? and I said , Oh, yes. Perhaps when we see each other in another 24 months, I will have had the right ear implanted as well. I would like that.
If I am absolutely still in my kitchen, sitting and listening, I think I can hear birds. I am not absolutely sure, but it is a high, twittering, almost tinkling sound. I think the next time I think I hear twittering, I will look outside and see if a bird is perched on a branch on my crape myrtle tree.
Does wind make a "whooshing sound"? If that is the case, then I definitely heard wind on Saturday while inside my townhouse. It was definitely windy. I had to go outside and tie down the covers on my patio furniture, and somewhat anchor down the furniture.
I discovered that clocks have different ticking sounds. No one clock is alike.
Hearing is such a gift.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A Noisy February
I hear more environmental sounds. The sound of my shoes squishing over saturated wet ground. My boots crunching over snow. Outside construction noises as I work from my office window. People walking and talking outside in the corridor of my office with the door closed. If it is quiet, I can hear my co-worker's phone ringing in the next office. I hear the rustling of paper.
I listen to the radio as I drive. I can hear snatches of words. Speech and lyrics are still challenging. It depends on who I am talking/listening to. I am not at the point where I can talk on the telephone or cell phone without captions. Lipreading and listening simultaneously definitely helps.
I had my nails and a pedicure done this weekend. I could hear the water swirling around in the pedicure chair. I could hear the nail technician's tools as she worked, the clipping of the nail clippers, the sound of the nail buffer brushing over my toenails and nails.
I can now hear some things drop, depending on what is dropped. Before I got my left ear implanted with a cochlear implant, if I dropped anything, a hearing person would call it to my attention.
The Grammy Awards are on television tonight. Another opportunity to hear some singing, along with lipreading the singers!
Enjoy Valentine's Day tomorrow. As for me, I'll continue to enjoy experiencing the gift of hearing with my cochlear implant. I am still stunned every night when I take off my sound processor at night, just how deaf I am. I am grateful that deaf babies and young deaf children now have the option to be implanted with cochlear implants now. They have opportunities that were not available to me at that age.
Amazing.
I listen to the radio as I drive. I can hear snatches of words. Speech and lyrics are still challenging. It depends on who I am talking/listening to. I am not at the point where I can talk on the telephone or cell phone without captions. Lipreading and listening simultaneously definitely helps.
I had my nails and a pedicure done this weekend. I could hear the water swirling around in the pedicure chair. I could hear the nail technician's tools as she worked, the clipping of the nail clippers, the sound of the nail buffer brushing over my toenails and nails.
I can now hear some things drop, depending on what is dropped. Before I got my left ear implanted with a cochlear implant, if I dropped anything, a hearing person would call it to my attention.
The Grammy Awards are on television tonight. Another opportunity to hear some singing, along with lipreading the singers!
Enjoy Valentine's Day tomorrow. As for me, I'll continue to enjoy experiencing the gift of hearing with my cochlear implant. I am still stunned every night when I take off my sound processor at night, just how deaf I am. I am grateful that deaf babies and young deaf children now have the option to be implanted with cochlear implants now. They have opportunities that were not available to me at that age.
Amazing.
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