No Regrets

This week I had a third mapping of the cochlear implant.  Each time the audiologist gives me more volume so my hearing gets better and better.  I went into a department store after the visit and was shocked to realize I was hearing conversations of other shoppers not close by.  What a shock.

Before the implant I wondered if wearing the sound processor (the part that fits over the ear and attaches to the implanted magnet) would be a hassle.  Truthfully I have to feel it to know if it’s on my head.  I wear it from the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night.

I continue to listen to audio and follow along in text to practice hearing.  Word recognition is a blessing to me.  It’s a relief to hear natural sounding voices now, but even if the mechanical sound had continued  that would be better than not hearing at all.  When I want to watch TV I turn on the TV Streamer and also frequently use the mini microphone in a crowd.

No regrets at this point about getting the implant.

Getting Used To Having A Magnet In My Head

I rarely pay any attention to wearing my Sound Processor any more. I am committed to wearing it all day, along with my hearing aid in the other ear.  I can hear so much better with the implant than the hearing aid.  I can see how it would be much better with both ears implanted, but I’m still not considering that until I have to.

I saw the audiologist on Monday for my second mapping.  It was time to turn up the volume a bit. She tested my hearing with the implant. I was shocked at the improvement from when I was using a hearing aid. Almost up to normal hearing level in that ear.

I had the magnet strength in my Processor increased a few weeks ago because it was easy to knock off of my head. Made a great difference. I also ordered and received a medical bracelet stating NO MRI.  If I’m in an accident, it could be disastrous for me and the magnet in my head to have an MRI. Since the processor would probably be knocked off there is no way for anyone to know I have the implant.

Voices are sounding more normal. I am recognizing familiar voices now.  I’m curious to see how long  it takes to sound completely normal. I continue to have trouble hearing in a noisy environment.

One Month Later

It has been a month since my implant activation, so it was time for my first appointment with the audiologist.  There are things that need to be done to the implant processor.  That’s called mapping and it is done in increments. They had told me at activation that I would be wanting more volume and that was true.  At activation I had just one “program” and that was just hearing in a general environment.  Now I have a setting for restaurant environment and forward focus which means I can focus on hearing just one person.

I had hoped to be able to filter out noise, but that is part of having an implant and it will fade in time. I also hear an echo which seems to be fading out in the last few days.  The audiologist was very pleased with my progress and I think I am too. 

The two implant accessories that I’m using are immensely helpful.  I use the mini microphone in group or crowd situations.  For example my pastor wore it when he was preaching and I was sitting near the backof the church and it streamed into my ears.   The TV Streamer streams into my ears as well.  I can turn each device off and on from my processor.

My next mapping appointment is in another month. My implant is a Cochlear N7 and I can call Cochlear customer service anytime I need help.  They are extremely knowledgeable.

Meanwhile I’m “practicing hearing.”

Two Weeks Into Hearing

I continue to marvel at being able to hear.  Granted it is not yet "natural sounding" through my implant.  But words are clearly understandable.  I wear a hearing aid in my non-implant ear that is programmed to my implant processor. That means I am bi-modal.  I hear everything with both ears, but by different modes--hearing aid and implant.  People who have an implant in both ears are bi-lateral.

Because of the hearing aid, I continue to hear natural in that ear, but the new way in the implant ear.  This makes understanding much easier for me.  When I am practicing listening I remove the hearing aid in order to help the implant ear work more.  It surprises me that I have to concentrate so intensely or my mind wanders and tries to go into multi-tasking thinking about other things.  We take lots of things for granted, hearing included.

Being in a crowd is something I've avoided because of the noise.  I have attended three worship services.  At the first one, the preacher wore my mini-mic and all his words went directly to my ears.  Great--but it was a small service so not too much noise.  The next was at a large gathering.  To my great wonder I understood nearly every word.  I had clipped on the mic to see if that helped.  Not sure since I was pretty far toward the back.  When I got in the car to go home, I discovered I has lost the mic.  Panic!!  I found it on the floor where it had gotten knocked off in the crowd.  Won't do that a gain!  So thankful nobody stepped on it.  Today I sat near the back and was able to understand most of the preacher's words.  When I first got there, I could barely hear and it was very distressing.  I turned up the volume on both devices but it didn't help.  Finally I put a new battery in the hearing aid.  Not sure how I missed the alert that it was going out.  Immediately I could hear everything.

I have made a decision.  The question to me has been "will you have the other ear implanted?"  At first I said, I'm thinking about it.  However, I have realized that if I do, I will not have ANY hearing without the processors being in place.  As it is, I can hear to a degree with my hearing aid.  I'm not ready to give that up.  Unless I lose all hearing in that ear, I won't have another implant.

How blessed I am to be able to hear and understand--perfect or not.

First Full Day of Hearing

Today was a day of discovering. Discovering just how noisy everything is. Nothing is silent. When I comb my hair, when I walk, when I do anything it makes loud sound. With an implant the brain has to get used to all the sounds coming through my implant rather than the normal way it receives sound.  Per my audiologist, my brain will begin to filter this out and I won’t notice them.

I wore both the hearing aid and implant processor all day and practiced some word recognition of words spoken in the program. I’m not up to 100% yet, but close.

Today I paired my mini microphone with the processor.  Bill clipped it on and it sends his words directly to my ears.  It can be used up to 22’ away from me.  What a treat that is.....until he went into the kitchen and started putting a snack together. It sounded like clanging and banging. I quickly retrieved my mic. I have a few other accessories to try later.

Activation Day At Last

My activation was scheduled for after lunch, so since we’re 45 minutes away we had a leasurely lunch in town before the appointment. My granddaughter, Leslie, went with us to video the activation. I determined that the “a picture is worth 1000 words” would be better than trying to relate what actually happened.

  I felt like my brain was saying “What is that?” when we got started.  Because it sounded mechanical it took a few seconds to realize I was hearing words. As the words became more pronounced I couldn’t determine who was speaking because the voice sounded male with no differentiation. I laughed to realize I was hearing myself sometimes.

I received all of the accessories that came with the implant, but was only paired with my iPhone for now. Words are sounding much more normal now.  I feel incredibly blessed for this experience.
I’m a bit tired from all the concentration so I’ll be happy to take the processor off for a while.

Ready To Go

My month of waiting is over.  Actually the month since the implant seemed to pass quickly, but time does seem to speed by as you age.

Tomorrow I'll go to the Audiologist in College Station to have the processor put on and activated.  I've watched numerous videos of an activation so I know what to expect.  There will be a lot for me to remember about the implant capabilities  and how to use each of the components.  As I understand it, she will not do a lot of things tomorrow, but set the volume (loudness and softness) see what I'm hearing, do a little tweaking and tell me what to do for practice until I see her again.  I've borrowed audiobooks and the print books, downloaded audio Bible.  I usually study with NKJV but could not find that in audio, so I'll use ESV.  There are several recommended software programs for practice.  When I asked people in the cochlear implant support group on Facebook, everybody had their favorite way to practice.  I'm sure I will too.  Whatever is most helpful to me.  Bill has promised to read to me as well.   I don't know how I'll stand all the audio as I hate being read to. LOL!!

I'm blessed that the implant is available for me.  Much improvement has taken place in the years since they became available.