Yesterday I returned to the Cochlear Clinic for another tweaking session. My audiologist left my left ear processors alone and just tweaked the processors for my right ear. I actually have four cochlear implant processors. One set is worn behind my ears like a behind the ear hearing aid.
Think of a behind the ear hearing aid without tubing and a earmold. There is a ear hook with a microphone for the behind the ear cochlear implant processors. That, along with the magnet headpiece is what activates the surgically implanted cochlear implant or turns it on.
The second set doesn't look like the traditional cochlear implant sound processor at all. You can wear these totally waterproof cochlear implant processors in your hair, clipped to your clothes, using a lanyard, using a headband, or armbands. You still have your magnetized headpieces and the cabling. The left processor is color coded pink, the right processor is color coded blue. You can choose colors - I just did it that way so I could tell which was which. It is convenient- it doesn't matter if you switch up right to left, the processors won't work. It was engineered that way. I just love the off the ear option, though!
On an earlier post, I mentioned that someone from my cochlear implanted community of friends said not long ago, it is a great time to be deaf because today we have so many choices! She is right.
Here's an option now available to me with the totally waterproof sound processors which I didn't have before - the choice to take a water aerobics class and to be able to totally understand the water aerobics instructor. A choice to go to a waterpark with my six nieces and nephews, and to be able to hear the excitement in their voices and screams of delight at cascading down a water slide.
I am hearing more in surround sound than I am hearing new sounds. Bird calls do not sound exactly like. A Robin's bird call is different than a Cardinal's bird call. I discovered that a co-worker has different ring tones on her office phone that alerts her to who is calling, a supervisor vs. a co-worker, or someone calling with a question, problem or comment.
My audiologist had me take my left ear processor off, leave the right ear processor on, and she covered her mouth and said words to me, airplane, hot dog, sidewalk, ice cream, and so forth, listening with my right ear. I got it 100% right. Here's the irony. I didn't wear a hearing aid in my right ear until I was in college. That ear has technically been my "better ear." I wore a hearing aid in my left ear from age two and a half until I had my left ear implanted in October, 2010. Even with a hearing aid, my right ear did better with noise comprehension than auditory verbal responses. I figured the same would be true of me with a cochlear implant in my right ear.
I am completely left side dominant. I write with my left hand and prefer my left side for just about everything. I have a sneaky suspicion that over time, my newly implanted right ear is going to be the dominant ear. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up having phone conversations one of these days using my right ear.
My next tweaking session is in May, in about five weeks. My audiologist wants to test my hearing in my right ear with the cochlear implant using the sound processor. She will also test both ears.
I still find myself ingrained with deaf behaviors. I can't help it. Last week we had a meeting at work and those folks from around the country phoned in. We had a polycom - a conference speaker phone. Well, being deaf all these years, I sat CLOSE to the polycom. HUGE mistake. With cochlear implants, you don't do that. You sit further down the table. Speech can be tricky, because LOUDNESS can distort speech for a cochlear implant user and make it nearly impossible to understand a conversation. I'm still on the learning curve here. What I should have done is flipped the switch on my processors to a quieter program and turned the volume down a bit. Lessons learned. There are some hearing folks who still think that cochlear implants amplify sound. I'll say it again. Cochlear implants bypass the damaged nerves in the middle ear and directly stimulate the cochlea, which translates the electronic impulses to the brain as sound. A cochlear implant is an engineering feat. It comes pretty close to the human ear in terms of hearing.
My surgeon was interviewed recently on National Public Radio. The interviewer asked him, due to the advancement of cochlear implants, is deafness "a choice"? My surgeon replied,
"We are already there." The sad thing, is, for many deaf people, cochlear implants are not an affordable option. I can understand that. I probably qualified for cochlear implants 12 years ago. My health insurance at the time, though, only covered 30% of the cost of cochlear implants and surgery. Today, many health insurance companies cover 80% to 85% of the cost of surgery and cochlear implants.
I do not miss single-sided deafness. I do not miss ill-fitting earmolds, feedback and I definitely do not miss hearing aids. My world is definitely noisier.
Being able to hear out of both ears, having both ears implanted with cochlear implants, totally ROCKS.
Being able to hear with two cochlear implants is such a gift.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Easter Blessings
I spent a relaxing Easter Sunday reading the Sunday paper and eating breakast. It was a bit chilly this morning but the sun was out. I am definitely hearing out of both ears with the two cochlear implants. I practice hearing with just the right ear cochlear implant processor for a few hours as part of auditory verbal training. Right now my right ear just compliments my left ear and I hear surround sound.
It is nice not to experience single-sided deafness and to be able to hear out of both ears. I am hearing traffic noises of cars blocks away before I even see the car coming. I ran an errand earlier this morning and a woman who was driving, and not paying attention to her surroundings, nearly ran into me in the parking lot. I was able to brake in time in order to prevent her from sideswiping my car.
There are some deaf behaviors I haven't been able to shake as a deaf driver. If I can, I will back into a parking lot trunk first so that I can see while pulling out of a parking spot. I still will tap my horn and honk a little before backing out. I am amazed at the number of distracted drivers out there. I think distracted drivers are very scary. For years I had to rely on sight as a deaf driver and to this day I am very visual. I still use my eyes as my guide rather than my ears.
Still, it is nice to be able to hear out of both ears when driving on multi-lane interstate roads, especially during rush hour. I do find that I am not as anxious driving from my home to the cochlear clinic for mappings. I won't say I am a relaxed driver, but I am used to making the one and a half hour trip (two if it is bad weather) from my home to the cochlear clinic and back home again.
This Easter Sunday I am definitely counting my blessings as a bilateral cochlear implant recipient. I know there are more sound flavorings to get used to. I continue to be surprised at how deaf I am when I take off my cochlear implant processors at night. It is pretty quiet. It is even more amazing when I think about all those years how I functioned with my deafness, especially as it got worse over time.
I definitely hit the Hearing Lottery in realizing the dream of cochlear implants. I consider myself blessed beyond measure.
How can you put a price on Hearing? Hearing with two cochlear implants is priceless.
It is nice not to experience single-sided deafness and to be able to hear out of both ears. I am hearing traffic noises of cars blocks away before I even see the car coming. I ran an errand earlier this morning and a woman who was driving, and not paying attention to her surroundings, nearly ran into me in the parking lot. I was able to brake in time in order to prevent her from sideswiping my car.
There are some deaf behaviors I haven't been able to shake as a deaf driver. If I can, I will back into a parking lot trunk first so that I can see while pulling out of a parking spot. I still will tap my horn and honk a little before backing out. I am amazed at the number of distracted drivers out there. I think distracted drivers are very scary. For years I had to rely on sight as a deaf driver and to this day I am very visual. I still use my eyes as my guide rather than my ears.
Still, it is nice to be able to hear out of both ears when driving on multi-lane interstate roads, especially during rush hour. I do find that I am not as anxious driving from my home to the cochlear clinic for mappings. I won't say I am a relaxed driver, but I am used to making the one and a half hour trip (two if it is bad weather) from my home to the cochlear clinic and back home again.
This Easter Sunday I am definitely counting my blessings as a bilateral cochlear implant recipient. I know there are more sound flavorings to get used to. I continue to be surprised at how deaf I am when I take off my cochlear implant processors at night. It is pretty quiet. It is even more amazing when I think about all those years how I functioned with my deafness, especially as it got worse over time.
I definitely hit the Hearing Lottery in realizing the dream of cochlear implants. I consider myself blessed beyond measure.
How can you put a price on Hearing? Hearing with two cochlear implants is priceless.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
A Breakthrough In Listening To Music and a Surprise
It is four days post-activation with the second CI. I have been faithfully taking off my processor for my left ear when I come home from work and just listening with my right ear. My right ear is catching on fast and I was actually able to understand some commercials on TV without captioning. I definitely have directionality of sound and while I am hearing some new sounds, it is more of hearing more with both ears than it is anything else.
Today I was at my computer and decided to listen to Spotify again. I set my left ear processor to the music program (my left ear being my dominant ear) and left my right ear processor alone. I chose Seals and Crofts "Summer Breeze," because male voices are what I hear best listening to music. The music AND the singing came through clearly, although still somewhat scratchy. I understood most of the song.
Then I tried listening to Seals and Crofts "I'll Play For You," and again I heard and understood most of it.
I switched to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." I understood the chorus and some of the lyrics.
Next, I tried Coldplay's "Clocks." I heard the music but didn't understand the lyrics.
I discovered something. Not all of the song tracks on Spotify are of good quality. I wonder if that is true of radio as well. The stereo systems that they install in cars are not that great unless you spend some serious money for GOOD STEREO in your car.
I had a hearing joke played on me today. I had asked my CI audiologist if processors reacted to electromagnetic interference on computers, cell phones or smart phones. She said they can.
Well duh. Today I was reading through e-mail on one of my accounts. That so-called "static" that I heard?
The "static" was the vroom-vroom of car engines in an on-line advertisement on my
e-mail web page!!!!
I just laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. How's that for a good clean hearing joke on a deaf woman with two cochlear implants?
You have to admit that it WAS funny! I wonder what other hearing surprises are in store for me, now that I can hear out of both ears?
Hearing with two cochlear implants is priceless.
Today I was at my computer and decided to listen to Spotify again. I set my left ear processor to the music program (my left ear being my dominant ear) and left my right ear processor alone. I chose Seals and Crofts "Summer Breeze," because male voices are what I hear best listening to music. The music AND the singing came through clearly, although still somewhat scratchy. I understood most of the song.
Then I tried listening to Seals and Crofts "I'll Play For You," and again I heard and understood most of it.
I switched to Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." I understood the chorus and some of the lyrics.
Next, I tried Coldplay's "Clocks." I heard the music but didn't understand the lyrics.
I discovered something. Not all of the song tracks on Spotify are of good quality. I wonder if that is true of radio as well. The stereo systems that they install in cars are not that great unless you spend some serious money for GOOD STEREO in your car.
I had a hearing joke played on me today. I had asked my CI audiologist if processors reacted to electromagnetic interference on computers, cell phones or smart phones. She said they can.
Well duh. Today I was reading through e-mail on one of my accounts. That so-called "static" that I heard?
The "static" was the vroom-vroom of car engines in an on-line advertisement on my
e-mail web page!!!!
I just laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. How's that for a good clean hearing joke on a deaf woman with two cochlear implants?
You have to admit that it WAS funny! I wonder what other hearing surprises are in store for me, now that I can hear out of both ears?
Hearing with two cochlear implants is priceless.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Being Binaural or Bilateral, Day Three
When I walked into my office yesterday, there was a surprise waiting for me. On my desk, there was this beautiful potted fuchsia orchid. In front of the orchid, there was a card. I opened it. It said on the front, "Yay for you"! The inside of the card said a congratulatory message, and everyone in my office signed it, and they were congratulating me on receiving my second cochlear implant. I was so glad nobody was there to see my tears. I was really touched. The gesture was totally unexpected.
Easing back into work has been more tiring than I thought. I have been battling allergies, sneezing, and dealing with a tender right ear. The incision has just about healed. I returned to the cochlear clinic today and got "tweaked" again.
Sounds are not wild and crazy, and speech is understandable as long as I'm lipreading. The speech discrimination without captioning is improving, but nowhere am I ready for a gab session on a smart phone just yet. It is a relief to have both ears implanted now and activated.
The balance issues have just about gone, but I still have touches of wooziness when I get out of bed in the morning.
Music is fine. Lyrics still sound scratchy, but words will come through clearly every now and then.
I had my Magellan GPS in my car when I went to the cochlear clinic. I can understand some of the verbal instructions now, and the GPS now has an audible bell that I can hear when I am getting ready to turn onto a street.
I had forgotten how tiring it is getting used to a cochlear implant. Yesterday my ears were battling each other in order to be the dominant ear. It truly is a brain thing. You cannot force hearing new sounds.
It is noisy. I hear more environmental noise from within my townhouse. I can hear myself rubbing my hands. I didn't know you could hear that. I am definitely hearing out of both ears, there is no question about that.
I am sleeping like a baby. The Hearing Dreams have quieted for now.
Hearing with two cochlear implants is such a gift.
Easing back into work has been more tiring than I thought. I have been battling allergies, sneezing, and dealing with a tender right ear. The incision has just about healed. I returned to the cochlear clinic today and got "tweaked" again.
Sounds are not wild and crazy, and speech is understandable as long as I'm lipreading. The speech discrimination without captioning is improving, but nowhere am I ready for a gab session on a smart phone just yet. It is a relief to have both ears implanted now and activated.
The balance issues have just about gone, but I still have touches of wooziness when I get out of bed in the morning.
Music is fine. Lyrics still sound scratchy, but words will come through clearly every now and then.
I had my Magellan GPS in my car when I went to the cochlear clinic. I can understand some of the verbal instructions now, and the GPS now has an audible bell that I can hear when I am getting ready to turn onto a street.
I had forgotten how tiring it is getting used to a cochlear implant. Yesterday my ears were battling each other in order to be the dominant ear. It truly is a brain thing. You cannot force hearing new sounds.
It is noisy. I hear more environmental noise from within my townhouse. I can hear myself rubbing my hands. I didn't know you could hear that. I am definitely hearing out of both ears, there is no question about that.
I am sleeping like a baby. The Hearing Dreams have quieted for now.
Hearing with two cochlear implants is such a gift.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Surround Sound At Last
I went to the Cochlear Clinic today. My audiologist took my back-up processor and programmed it for my right ear. I ordered two waterproof processors as back ups - I will be able to wear them in a swimming pool, at a water park, and the waterproof processors can be worn OFF the ears, and it runs on triple A batteries! Good thing to have in case of a power outage. How cool is that?
Activation Day with my second CI, for my right ear was a success. I recognized speech right away, it sounded a bit echoey, but when I think of when I was first activated a year and four months ago, sounds are not wild and crazy. It is a little on the loud side, and I go back for another mapping Thursday.
Driving home was a lot less nerve wracking now that I can hear traffic noises out of both ears.
Lyrics still sound somewhat scratchy, but I can recognize snatches of singing, not just a word here and there. Music is recognizable. I still recognize music better than lyrics. My first errand was to the Apple store. I am now the proud owner of a i-pod nano. That to me is just unreal. I can now use an i-pod nano. My next stop was to the Home Depot store, to get some clear tubing so I can customize my Klipsch ear buds to my processors and listen to the radio without distracting background noise. I can listen to National Public Radio and practice Audio Verbal Therapy (AVT) at work while I am doing my own work at the computer at work.
I feel more balanced now that I have both CI's activated. My audiologist wants me to listen only with the right cochlear processor for a few hours a day. I think I will do that at home so that I am more aware of sounds without distractions.
How fitting it is that I was activated with my second CI before Easter. I am so thankful for my surgeon's gift, that he was able to successfully implant cochlear implants in my ears. The fact that I can hear birds trilling while walking outside is still stunning to me.
I went to the grocery store. It wasn't quiet. It was crowded and busy, and I wondered, why are there so many people at the grocery store early in the afternoon? Then I realized that schools are out for spring break - at least where I live.
I have a feeling that my right ear will quickly adapt to hearing with a cochlear implant.
I was always going to get a cochlear implant someday. Now I have two cochlear implants and can now hear out of both ears. I think after a few months and some "tweaking" sessions, I will feel as if I am hearing in technicolor, stereo and high definition in both ears.
Surround sound at last. I am so relieved- single sided deafness is not something I enjoyed while waiting to get the second cochlear implant. I am still a deaf person with two cochlear implants, but my world just got a little noisier.
I am going to make it a point to get up early enough in the mornings on weekends so I can listen to the sounds of Spring.
Bring on the bird choruses, I won't find that annoying or distracting. The sounds of nature and birds are God's symphony. The best part of it is, I can have a front row seat everyday and hear the birdsong for free!
So here's to surround sound, hope and Easter Joy.
Hearing with two cochlear implants is such a gift.
Activation Day with my second CI, for my right ear was a success. I recognized speech right away, it sounded a bit echoey, but when I think of when I was first activated a year and four months ago, sounds are not wild and crazy. It is a little on the loud side, and I go back for another mapping Thursday.
Driving home was a lot less nerve wracking now that I can hear traffic noises out of both ears.
Lyrics still sound somewhat scratchy, but I can recognize snatches of singing, not just a word here and there. Music is recognizable. I still recognize music better than lyrics. My first errand was to the Apple store. I am now the proud owner of a i-pod nano. That to me is just unreal. I can now use an i-pod nano. My next stop was to the Home Depot store, to get some clear tubing so I can customize my Klipsch ear buds to my processors and listen to the radio without distracting background noise. I can listen to National Public Radio and practice Audio Verbal Therapy (AVT) at work while I am doing my own work at the computer at work.
I feel more balanced now that I have both CI's activated. My audiologist wants me to listen only with the right cochlear processor for a few hours a day. I think I will do that at home so that I am more aware of sounds without distractions.
How fitting it is that I was activated with my second CI before Easter. I am so thankful for my surgeon's gift, that he was able to successfully implant cochlear implants in my ears. The fact that I can hear birds trilling while walking outside is still stunning to me.
I went to the grocery store. It wasn't quiet. It was crowded and busy, and I wondered, why are there so many people at the grocery store early in the afternoon? Then I realized that schools are out for spring break - at least where I live.
I have a feeling that my right ear will quickly adapt to hearing with a cochlear implant.
I was always going to get a cochlear implant someday. Now I have two cochlear implants and can now hear out of both ears. I think after a few months and some "tweaking" sessions, I will feel as if I am hearing in technicolor, stereo and high definition in both ears.
Surround sound at last. I am so relieved- single sided deafness is not something I enjoyed while waiting to get the second cochlear implant. I am still a deaf person with two cochlear implants, but my world just got a little noisier.
I am going to make it a point to get up early enough in the mornings on weekends so I can listen to the sounds of Spring.
Bring on the bird choruses, I won't find that annoying or distracting. The sounds of nature and birds are God's symphony. The best part of it is, I can have a front row seat everyday and hear the birdsong for free!
So here's to surround sound, hope and Easter Joy.
Hearing with two cochlear implants is such a gift.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Cardinals and Murphy's Law
Today was one of those days which perfectly describes Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will. I have been working from home while recuperating from surgery. Yesterday I got a bill from the hospital which threw me for a loop when I saw one of the line item charges. Seeing that dollar figure on that bill did not make me feel good. I started out today in a bad mood and was having a pity party for myself big time.
All day today I battled allergies, sneezed, and had a dull headache. I took my blood pressure. I won't tell you what the reading was. I resolutely did my work, and resolutely pressed on. At lunch time I made myself a comfort food I haven't had in a long time - a grilled cheese sandwich made with low-fat swiss cheese and multigrain bread. I looked out my kitchen window, slowly savoring this delicious sandwich and wishing the day was over.
Well, I think God took notice and He gently sent me a cardinal to get my priorities straight.
The female cardinal perched in my crape myrtle tree. I put down my sandwich. I watched for a bit to see what she would do.
To my surprise, when she opened her beak in bird song, I was startled to hear a rhythm in her bird song. "THAT SOUND HAS A PATTERN TO IT"! It was amazing. For the first time in my life, I actually heard bird song that had a rhythm to it. I knew it was coming from that bird because I was watching her beak and her throat pulsing in bird song.
That made my day. REALLY made my day.
Later, after work, I decided to make some phone calls and get to the bottom of the billing issue. I found out after talking with the insurance company that the hospital had billed both the insurance company and me for that particular sum of money. I was reassured the insurance company would process the claim.
My headache slowly went away. I was grateful that the billing issue was resolved and even more grateful for the cardinal's birdsong.
So Murphy's Law today turned out to be a dud, and I survived today.
Hearing is such a gift.
All day today I battled allergies, sneezed, and had a dull headache. I took my blood pressure. I won't tell you what the reading was. I resolutely did my work, and resolutely pressed on. At lunch time I made myself a comfort food I haven't had in a long time - a grilled cheese sandwich made with low-fat swiss cheese and multigrain bread. I looked out my kitchen window, slowly savoring this delicious sandwich and wishing the day was over.
Well, I think God took notice and He gently sent me a cardinal to get my priorities straight.
The female cardinal perched in my crape myrtle tree. I put down my sandwich. I watched for a bit to see what she would do.
To my surprise, when she opened her beak in bird song, I was startled to hear a rhythm in her bird song. "THAT SOUND HAS A PATTERN TO IT"! It was amazing. For the first time in my life, I actually heard bird song that had a rhythm to it. I knew it was coming from that bird because I was watching her beak and her throat pulsing in bird song.
That made my day. REALLY made my day.
Later, after work, I decided to make some phone calls and get to the bottom of the billing issue. I found out after talking with the insurance company that the hospital had billed both the insurance company and me for that particular sum of money. I was reassured the insurance company would process the claim.
My headache slowly went away. I was grateful that the billing issue was resolved and even more grateful for the cardinal's birdsong.
So Murphy's Law today turned out to be a dud, and I survived today.
Hearing is such a gift.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Two Weeks Post Second CI Surgery
It was two weeks ago today that I had my second cochlear implant surgery. I took my last pain pill last night. From now on if the ear starts to throb like a toothache, it is Advil. Any discomfort I have had has been very manageable. At no time was I ever in excruciating pain. Even my hand where the IV was has nearly healed. That vein swelling is gone, and so is the bruising. Any jaw pain I had is gone.
My hair isn't growing in fast enough to suit me. I definitely am going to have shorter hair. That's okay. We have been enjoying some beautiful sunny days with warm temperatures for the month of March. I am not complaining. I still have my remaining hair pinned away from my newly implanted ear with hair jaw clips. As the weather is getting warmer, I think I want my hair up.
The stitches are not completely dissolved. That may not happen for another week. For some reason it feels like it is taking longer for the stitches to dissolve this second CI surgery. I think it is going to take another three days or so to clear out any pain meds out of my system.
I feel more rested than I have in a long time. I definitely am sleeping well. No more naps. I am really looking forward to hearing "surround sound" out of both ears on March 27th.
I am trying to let it sink in that on March 27th I will be hearing with TWO cochlear implants. I was always going to get a cochlear implant "someday." After I realized what ONE cochlear implant could do, I wanted MORE.
On March 27th, "someday" will have arrived. It still seems surreal.
Hearing is such a gift, and yes, my world is about to become noisier!
My hair isn't growing in fast enough to suit me. I definitely am going to have shorter hair. That's okay. We have been enjoying some beautiful sunny days with warm temperatures for the month of March. I am not complaining. I still have my remaining hair pinned away from my newly implanted ear with hair jaw clips. As the weather is getting warmer, I think I want my hair up.
The stitches are not completely dissolved. That may not happen for another week. For some reason it feels like it is taking longer for the stitches to dissolve this second CI surgery. I think it is going to take another three days or so to clear out any pain meds out of my system.
I feel more rested than I have in a long time. I definitely am sleeping well. No more naps. I am really looking forward to hearing "surround sound" out of both ears on March 27th.
I am trying to let it sink in that on March 27th I will be hearing with TWO cochlear implants. I was always going to get a cochlear implant "someday." After I realized what ONE cochlear implant could do, I wanted MORE.
On March 27th, "someday" will have arrived. It still seems surreal.
Hearing is such a gift, and yes, my world is about to become noisier!
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