here be dragons
Today was my third mapping session. (The title of this post doesn't make any sense other than maps, and here be dragons goes on maps. Not on electronic mapping of a CI's electrical impulses, but so what? It's my party and I'll pun if I want to!)
I'm exactly three weeks post-activation today. The first map of a CI is pretty much just "turn it on and see how much volume you can tolerate". The programming is standard - you can't really personalize it until you start adjusting to hearing sounds in a way that you previously were unable to do, and in an ear that almost certainly wasn't hearing much at all before. So the first week you just get used to the sounds, and they may or may not sound much like voices at this point. Second week, more volume but not much more.
But now I'm starting to use the CI for real. This week I haven't been wearing my hearing aid. It didn't seem like a big deal when I left it out. I can hear with the CI, though voices sound funny yet and I often have to concentrate to follow what's being said. And I've been told over and over that the more you rely on the CI for your hearing, the better the rehab will go.
So what the heck, right? My team at work is on my side on this. And overall it's really been okay. Some people sound almost normal (it seems to depend on the pitch of their voice) and others still sound like close relatives of Donald Duck. But whether they sound like cartoon waterfowl or not, despite how weird they may sound, I can usually understand them.
And then I realized, you know, this really is a big deal. This ear has been next to useless and now I'm doing all of my hearing on the right side. So yeah, music still sounds awful and even some people sound pretty bad, but it's getting better. My audiologist was pretty happy when I told her that I wasn't wearing my hearing aid - though possibly that's just because if I can see faster progress I might stop sending her emails about whether I shouldn't still be hearing these damn beeps and holy cow but these CIs just murder music.
I mean, I may or may not have overreacted to being frustrated this week. Luckily K is both patient and cognizant that this is a process that's unique to each individual, and she has been trying to tell me that. My problem is, as I may have mentioned, that patience is occasionally a bit of a challenge for me.
We did do some additional modifications to the maps and that seems to have helped a bit with the whispery undertones I've been hearing in some people's voices. The beeps are still there, but getting rid of the whispery part is quite helpful.
When I'm feeling frustrated I can imagine myself as a sort of female Sisyphus with a CI instead of a rock. But my rock's going to get smaller and then it's going to go away.
Dragons my ass.
I'm exactly three weeks post-activation today. The first map of a CI is pretty much just "turn it on and see how much volume you can tolerate". The programming is standard - you can't really personalize it until you start adjusting to hearing sounds in a way that you previously were unable to do, and in an ear that almost certainly wasn't hearing much at all before. So the first week you just get used to the sounds, and they may or may not sound much like voices at this point. Second week, more volume but not much more.
But now I'm starting to use the CI for real. This week I haven't been wearing my hearing aid. It didn't seem like a big deal when I left it out. I can hear with the CI, though voices sound funny yet and I often have to concentrate to follow what's being said. And I've been told over and over that the more you rely on the CI for your hearing, the better the rehab will go.
So what the heck, right? My team at work is on my side on this. And overall it's really been okay. Some people sound almost normal (it seems to depend on the pitch of their voice) and others still sound like close relatives of Donald Duck. But whether they sound like cartoon waterfowl or not, despite how weird they may sound, I can usually understand them.
And then I realized, you know, this really is a big deal. This ear has been next to useless and now I'm doing all of my hearing on the right side. So yeah, music still sounds awful and even some people sound pretty bad, but it's getting better. My audiologist was pretty happy when I told her that I wasn't wearing my hearing aid - though possibly that's just because if I can see faster progress I might stop sending her emails about whether I shouldn't still be hearing these damn beeps and holy cow but these CIs just murder music.
I mean, I may or may not have overreacted to being frustrated this week. Luckily K is both patient and cognizant that this is a process that's unique to each individual, and she has been trying to tell me that. My problem is, as I may have mentioned, that patience is occasionally a bit of a challenge for me.
We did do some additional modifications to the maps and that seems to have helped a bit with the whispery undertones I've been hearing in some people's voices. The beeps are still there, but getting rid of the whispery part is quite helpful.
When I'm feeling frustrated I can imagine myself as a sort of female Sisyphus with a CI instead of a rock. But my rock's going to get smaller and then it's going to go away.
Dragons my ass.
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