ta da
Today was the day: activation. I had a short appointment with the surgeon first, to confirm that everything was okay. (It is.)
Then across the hall to the audiologist. First we did a quick hearing test - it doesn't look like I have any remaining natural hearing in my right ear, but apparently there is still some liquid in there and we'll test again next week to make sure. Then we had to map the electrodes, but that didn't take all that long, and soon my CI was turned on.
The sound is really odd. "Beeps" isn't really what it sounds like, but it's probably the best description. We kept on turning up the stimulation level on the electrodes and increasing the volume, and eventually the sounds started taking some shape. Eventually (keep in mind, this was all happening inside about 45 minutes, so "eventually" is probably not the best word) I began hearing whispery voices among the beeps and then actual voices. I was able to hear both my audiologist and my husband before we left.
So, not perfection, but a really, really good result nonetheless.
Now I have to do my rehab: listen to people. Listen to audiobooks. Listen to TV shows. Listen to music.
I did that in the car on the way home: turned on my .... well, there's this USB port in the console and I have a thumb drive in there with several hundred songs on it. But essentially I guess it's the car itself playing the music. In the past I've just cranked the volume way the heck up but now I just listened through the CI. It was, well, odd. This was about one hour post-activation but even so some things were quite clear. Percussion sounded perfectly normal, voices not so much.
But I was hearing music - however badly - through an ear that's been almost stone deaf for years. It's amazing.
I mean, I never even knew my computer mouse makes a click when I press the button. I just heard that. I can hear my keyboard too, and on the laptop I never had before.
So it's going to be a process, but I have a good start. I'm very happy with this.
Then across the hall to the audiologist. First we did a quick hearing test - it doesn't look like I have any remaining natural hearing in my right ear, but apparently there is still some liquid in there and we'll test again next week to make sure. Then we had to map the electrodes, but that didn't take all that long, and soon my CI was turned on.
The sound is really odd. "Beeps" isn't really what it sounds like, but it's probably the best description. We kept on turning up the stimulation level on the electrodes and increasing the volume, and eventually the sounds started taking some shape. Eventually (keep in mind, this was all happening inside about 45 minutes, so "eventually" is probably not the best word) I began hearing whispery voices among the beeps and then actual voices. I was able to hear both my audiologist and my husband before we left.
So, not perfection, but a really, really good result nonetheless.
Now I have to do my rehab: listen to people. Listen to audiobooks. Listen to TV shows. Listen to music.
I did that in the car on the way home: turned on my .... well, there's this USB port in the console and I have a thumb drive in there with several hundred songs on it. But essentially I guess it's the car itself playing the music. In the past I've just cranked the volume way the heck up but now I just listened through the CI. It was, well, odd. This was about one hour post-activation but even so some things were quite clear. Percussion sounded perfectly normal, voices not so much.
But I was hearing music - however badly - through an ear that's been almost stone deaf for years. It's amazing.
I mean, I never even knew my computer mouse makes a click when I press the button. I just heard that. I can hear my keyboard too, and on the laptop I never had before.
So it's going to be a process, but I have a good start. I'm very happy with this.
My face hurts from grinning for you.
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