another step change
Today I had two appointments at the U: one with the Med-El rep, and I was able to see and handle the Rondo2 one-piece processor and it's wonderfully light and compact. Add to that the fact that its rechargeable battery lasts twice as long as the ones with my behind-the-ear processor and I'm really excited to get this. I'm told it will be mid-to-late fall in the US. The device has receipted premarket approval from FDA but the programming software hasn't been approved yet. Step 1 and step 2, but still, it means a wait.
But that's actually good for me. My second appointment was with my audiologist, and we did remap and reprogram, but we also discussed (further) getting me in to meet with the surgeon to schedule my second surgery. We have a tentative appointment for me in the second week of August but K is also going to check with Dr H and see if there's any time earlier than that. And if we schedule my surgery and order the devices before they release the new processor, I can get two behind-the-ear processors AND get the voucher for the new one, like I did on the right side.
As far as I'm concerned, the sooner I'm in the surgery queue the better. My audiologist said that it's more common to wait six months between surgeries, but that there's no particularly strong reason why, other than average recovery times. Last time I spoke to Dr H she suggested that it's not a problem at all to do the second one sooner than that, and in fact I know some people on the CI forums I frequent who had their surgeries 3 or 4 months apart.
I really would like to have two ears.
But today's remapping was good too. We added some volume but also reduced the relative volume of the very high frequencies which helped a lot with the tinniness that I've been hearing. I have a co-worker with a very high-pitched voice and she has never sounded normal, but after this last adjustment she sounds a LOT closer to normal.
And then when I drove back to work, and again on my way home, the music sounded much, much better. Not perfect yet, but noticeably better than it did this morning.
This is great. I wasn't doubting it even after my last remapping, I've begun to see consistent improvement and can see, pretty much, where I'm headed. But it's still really very satisfying to have it actually happen. I've been listening to mangled music for two months now, and while it's not as clear as I fully expect it will be soon, it's also not nearly as incoherent as it's been. Springsteen's starting to sound good, and even the women that came up in my playlist today sounded so much better than before.
I'm a happy CI-borg.
But that's actually good for me. My second appointment was with my audiologist, and we did remap and reprogram, but we also discussed (further) getting me in to meet with the surgeon to schedule my second surgery. We have a tentative appointment for me in the second week of August but K is also going to check with Dr H and see if there's any time earlier than that. And if we schedule my surgery and order the devices before they release the new processor, I can get two behind-the-ear processors AND get the voucher for the new one, like I did on the right side.
As far as I'm concerned, the sooner I'm in the surgery queue the better. My audiologist said that it's more common to wait six months between surgeries, but that there's no particularly strong reason why, other than average recovery times. Last time I spoke to Dr H she suggested that it's not a problem at all to do the second one sooner than that, and in fact I know some people on the CI forums I frequent who had their surgeries 3 or 4 months apart.
I really would like to have two ears.
But today's remapping was good too. We added some volume but also reduced the relative volume of the very high frequencies which helped a lot with the tinniness that I've been hearing. I have a co-worker with a very high-pitched voice and she has never sounded normal, but after this last adjustment she sounds a LOT closer to normal.
And then when I drove back to work, and again on my way home, the music sounded much, much better. Not perfect yet, but noticeably better than it did this morning.
This is great. I wasn't doubting it even after my last remapping, I've begun to see consistent improvement and can see, pretty much, where I'm headed. But it's still really very satisfying to have it actually happen. I've been listening to mangled music for two months now, and while it's not as clear as I fully expect it will be soon, it's also not nearly as incoherent as it's been. Springsteen's starting to sound good, and even the women that came up in my playlist today sounded so much better than before.
I'm a happy CI-borg.
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