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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bionically | |
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I am OH so VERY excited. Although, probably not as excited as Megan or Mom was. I don't think I've seen Megan that excited. Today was definitely an awesome day, because not only did Christina Aguilera's new CD come out today (which I now have in my possession *squee*), I also got some test results with my CI (even more *squee-worthy*). The answer to last week's programming riddle: program 1-pulsing, program 2-sequential. I now have two new programs, and they are getting to the point where they are starting to sound like my "natural hearing", but faint. There's still much more twiddling to do with these, but I am confident KNOW that I will reach that point. Even music is starting to slowly sound better. After programming, I got to do a pure-tone audiometry test in the soundbooth with my CI, testing program 1, then 2. And I have the results of the audiogram. The vertical column measures how loud a sound has to be in order to hear it. The horizontal column is the frequency (or pitch) of a sound, going from low to high frequency. 
6/22/06 - professional resultsThis is what I can hear with digital hearing aids. The sounds in the "speech banana" is around where normal people with normal hearing can hear it. This is with my hearing aids, and I still can't hear the high-frequency sounds, so I am sorely lacking in that department. 
8/15/06 - professional resultsThis is what I can hear with Program 1. My lower frequency (to the left) sounds have improved slightly, but my high frequency sounds have shot way up. I can now hear F, Sh, Th, K, and some others. 
8/15/06 - professional resultsThis is with Program 2. This one is a bit louder than P1. Same results as P1, but with a few minor variations in the higher frequency.  Overall, you can see how I've changed, going from a digital hearing aids, to using a CI and the results I'm getting one week later. It's just absolutely mind-boggling and incredible to me, to be able to hear all these high-pitched sounds that I wasn't able to hear before. I am very excited, happy and looking forward to what's next! As soon as I got those results, I went to surprise mom at work, and her face just totally lit up and she was so happy! While walking back to her desk, she was showing the results off to her co-workers, and everybody was amazed, heh. We then went out to lunch with her co-workers (since it was lunchtime when I arrived), and it was my first time in a restaurant since I've been activated. I could hear the differences in people's voices (at our table), and knew if a different person was talking. I could hear speech sounds with the CI that I wasn't hearing with the HA. Words were fuller and had more detail (but still didn't make sense to me). I also had my first speech therapy session with Susan at 3:30 this afternoon. I am going to have to learn to differentiate between similar words but with different sounds/placement. The other fun thing I will learn to work on is tone of voice without using facial/body cues. Gotta start small, then work my way up! Right now my brain is waking up, learning to interpret what all these sounds are that are coming in, and then eventually will start putting some sense to them. It's kind of like learning how to walk, except you've never walked before. So far, everything is fantastic. I have no regrets. Everything that I went through in July, was well worth it for what I'm getting now. The only negative I have right now is that my incision is itching like mad and starting to become red. We were going to try to switch it to the other side of my head to give my ear a chance to heal (and get the itchiness to go away), but the cable for the headpiece isn't long enough to pull that off. I'm starting to wonder if I'm already getting used to this program, because things are starting to sound really quiet once again, so I may be making a trip back to see Megan sooner than later. Starting today, my hearing aid has started to give me an attitude. I think we have a raging case of jealousy right now, and an unwillingness to coexist peacefully. New Sounds List8/14/06 - the word "Now" while listening to Harry Potter. 8/14/06 - hearing benny purr with CI, and realizing it that I couldn't hear it with the HA. 8/15/06 - differentiating between voices at my table, while in a restaurant Tags: activation, appointment, christina aguilera, happy, hearing aids vs. ci, information, itching, listening, listening therapy, mapping session, megan, music, observations, post-activation, post-surgical, processing strategies, programming, programs, reactions, results, sound identification, sound list, speech, speech therapy, susan, testing
feeling:  excited
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Comments
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From: bionically |
Date: August 22nd, 2006 11:28 pm (UTC) |
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Me @ 2006-08-22 04:12 pm
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well, there are other things that i take for granted, when i read your posts, i realize how much i take for granted as well. but i still think you're a miracle anyway. :-)
it'd be nice to see you too!
I'm not back yet, won't be back till late Wednesday night, and then I'm going to be mad busy moving my neverending pile of "shtuff" into my apartment and getting ready, cuz I have classes first thing at 8 am Monday. In fact, all my classes are piled together on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with only one class on Thursday and none on Friday. Still have to figure out where I'm going to put Mandy and Karen in for speech/listening therapy.
I won't have my car for a few weeks, so I'm pretty much campus-bound.
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From: bionically |
Date: August 22nd, 2006 11:26 pm (UTC) |
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Me @ 2006-08-22 04:25 pm
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hiya! it's been an ongoing process (the CI) since about 1997. My mom actually thought about it when I was a little kid, but there was another girl who was getting the CI at House Ear Institute, back around 1984, and she didn't do very well with it, and this was just right before they came out with a new version of the CI, and the family was very disappointed/really struggled with getting her to understand and all that. Meanwhile, I was doing fantastic with my hearing aids, so she didn't see a point in pursuing it at the moment, wanted to wait and see how the technology would develop and change over time. I remember Cas talking to me about it a few years ago, I actually still have the conversation saved somewhere (it might have been deleted from my old email address, because they deleted everything in my inbox due to inactivity) and we talked about it quite a bit. My parents (family and friends) have been incredibly supportive of me through this whole process. People who I didn't think took THAT much of an interest in the whole CI process have been taking the initiative to do their own research and ask me a bunch of questions, so it's nice to have that behind me and all that support. Yes, it is a major surgery process, but the best you can hope for is that you're back to normal life within a few days. The recovery time varies from person to person...some people bounce back right away (as in the same day to a few days later, while there are some like me and Amy, who take a long time to recover). I had a very unusual case with mine, which is why I had such a rough time with the surgery process, which is not the norm for CI surgeries (and I don't want everybody to be scared away from it based on my experience). My only tip to you is that if you have the surgery, try to get Decadron for an anesthetic. Even eMedicine suggests that Decadron is the best thing to use. "Postoperative details: Patients are typically returned to the recovery room with orders for antinausea medication. Most patients have minimal nausea and vertigo because routine intraoperative administration of dexamethasone (Decadron) has a prophylactic effect on postoperative nausea. Most patients have minimal dizziness or gait issues and are able to be discharged an hour and a half following surgery."I don't know what the anesthesiologist used on me for the first surgery, but it made me sicker than all heck. The second surgery they used Decadron and I felt FANTASTIC. (my mom had it for her back surgery and had the same results that I did with it, that's how I know about it)The other thing to think about is that since you have two little kids (and this is a conversation I've been having with my big sis), it might be more difficult to get a CI, because I cannot imagine having to raise two kids and recover from the CI at the same time. My big sis, if she gets the CI, she wants to do it before she has kids so she can hear them and be ready for "listening" for them. However, you're strong and capable, and I think you can do it. It just might be harder for you with the two little ones. Just get an evaluation, you never know if you will be an eligible candidate. It depends on your hearing loss as well. I tried out the digital hearing aids before I got the CI, and still wasn't satisfied, which is one of the reasons why I went for the CI. I'm feeling like I'm rambling here, so I'm going to shush. Feel free to ask away! |
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From: bionically |
Date: August 23rd, 2006 03:02 am (UTC) |
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Me @ 2006-08-22 08:01 pm
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Aww, thanks so much! :-)
To answer your question, yes, I am still using a hearing aid in my non-ci ear, but only when I go out to places where I am not familiar with noise or outside of my "comfort zone".
However, I'm starting to get to the point where I am starting to feel comfortable going out without my hearing aid.
I also had to try and keep my hearing aid off as much as I can in the beginning to give my brain a chance to get used to hearing sound in the right ear. At first the left ear (hearing aid) was overpowering my right ear, so it was all haering aid, no cochlear implant.
The funny thing is that now I'm starting to "feel" like I can hear in the left ear, but not really. It's hard to explain.
I'm at the point where I want/definitely want to get a second CI, just because what I've got is so amazing so far, but at the same time, I know that the technology can change a few years down the road and may be will be even better than what I have now.
I'm trying to not be overly effusive with the CI (because nothing is perfect and it's not the same for everybody), but right now I'm just extremely happy with what I have.
However, I tried to play the piano the other day and it sucks. Bleeeeeeeeeecccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I know it'll get there soon, but right now the piano doesn't sound "right". It sounds badly out of tune (which it probably is, since it hasn't been tuned in probably like 15 years - since before I got it)
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