I'M SOOO EXCITED!

i have an appointment with my audiologist to get my hearing aid re-programmed today and i can't WAIT! i haven't worn a hearing aid in my right (unimplanted) ear since my CI was activated on February 7th... so this should be pretty interesting.

i look forward to having "3D hearing" again. being able to tell where sounds are coming from is something i truly miss.

i will post updates when i have a chance to let everyone know how i hear with a cochlear implant AND a hearing aid.

YIPPEEE for me!

:o)

A Work-Related Update

last week, i went to a Disability Law Conference hosted by the Division of Civil Rights at Bergen Community College in Paramus. even though it was something i had to do for work, it was a very informative session for me.

well, being that this was a disability-related conference, they provided Computer Assisted Real Time (CART) captioning for the attendees who needed it. (they also had ASL interpreters and a PowerPoint presentation, etc.) since the CART captioning was available, i could read what the speakers were saying, but i actually had an easier time simply listening to them talk. reading the transcription took too long -- and didn't include everything that was being said (the operator wasn't typing quick enough).

i am glad to report that my CI works so well that i didn't have to read -- and could actually LISTEN to the panel. i guess my ears "hear faster" than my eyes can read the CART transcription!

sometimes, a speaker would covered his or her mouth while talking (people tend to do this when they're nervous or are holding a microphone), so i had to concentrated harder on their words... and i STILL could hear what they were saying! it was absolutely AWESOME.

i'm not sure if this incident could be classified as a "CI moment" but it surely made my week!

:oD

Rhapsody Is Really Cool

today i did something i haven't done since i lost my hearing last October: i turned on the Rhapsody radio program on my computer at work... and i listened to music!

i noticed that a lot of my posts lately have to do with the radio or with music. before my CI was activated, i really missed listening to music, so now i have been catching up every chance i get.

considering that i've been HOH my whole life, it's amazing how much i really enjoy listening to music. people have asked me if i can really hear the musicians or bands that i'm listening to. first, i think 'well, duh... of course i can,' but then i say, 'yes, i do.' i guess it's normal for some people to assume that i'm not really hearing the music -- that i'm only perceiving some kind of melodic sounds... and maybe i AM, but that doesn't mean i don't enjoy it.

i've been on a Charlie Parker kick lately... he sounds incredible. i have always enjoyed jazz, especially the saxophone-tinged kind. if it wasn't for my father, i would never know who "Bird" is. THANK YOU, Daddy!

:-)

DANCING!

last weekend, i went to a club in Woodbridge, NJ called Studio 9 with a bunch of my friends.

this is the first time i've gone out dancing with my CI... and it was AWESOME!

the music was reeeeeally loud... so much so that i actually had to turn my processor off at one point. this helped somewhat, but the bass is so strong, it doesn't matter how deaf i am... i still "heard" that music.

needless to say -- with my processor on or off -- i had a really good time and can't wait to go again!

An "artistic" rendition of sound through a hearing aid

"A hearing aid amplifies all the sounds that come into it, so the user has to learn what to listen to and what to ignore. When you are hard of hearing you tend to listen very closely to everything for fear of missing something important. With practice, you learn again what needs to be attended to and what can be ignored." (Denise M. Jansen, "Day to Day With My Cochlear Implant" Audiology Online, October 21, 2002)

This is what sounds "look" like with a cochlear implant!

"With the cochlear implant, sounds are different from what they were with hearing aids. Hearing with hearing aids is somewhat passive, the sounds are amplified and you hear them. Hearing with a cochlear implant is active, you must learn to hear with the implant." (Denise M. Jansen, "Day to Day With My Cochlear Implant" Audiology Online, October 21, 2002)

Listening to the News

every morning on my way to work, i listen to WNYC-FM: 93.9, National Public Radio. now that i have my CI, i can actually understand the news broadcasts (assuming the voice isn't too high-pitched or accented)... and it's GREAT.

well, i realized this morning that there really isn't anything in the news that is worth listening to. these are the stories i've picked up so far and i must say, they are DEPRESSING!

• Robert Blake's murder acquittal - who cares?
• Alaskan oil drilling - too bad
• the Michael Jackson trial - yikes!
• steroid use among Major League Baseball players - ugh
• the WAR in Iraq - when will it be over???
• problems in Lebanon and Syria - see above
• soldiers in Afghanistan - poor guys
• blah blah blah - blah blah blah

is this really what i've been missing all these years of not being able to hear the news? i find it to be sooo draining that i usually switch the station after a while and just listen to some music.

BUT!!! there are 2 reasons why i will never completely give up on listening to the news:

1. because i like to be kept abreast of current events;
2. and because i CAN!

heh heh.

;-P

My Visit to Hawthorne High School

a good friend of mine - who is a science teacher at Hawthorne High School - asked me to come talk to a couple of her classes about my cochlear implant. at first, the idea terrified me because i am NOT a fan of public speaking, but i swallowed my fear and agreed to be a guest-speaker at the school.

i wasn't sure if i spoke too quickly or too quietly, but nobody had any complaints, so i guess i did an okay job. i basically told the "life story" of my hearing loss -- how my parents found out, what it was like wearing hearing aids, how i got by all those years in school as a HOH student and then of course, my implant experience.

i discussed details about the surgery, the hook-up and the two processors i wear. i even passed them around the classroom so that the students could take a look at them up close. as scared as i was to be speaking in front of a large group of people (there were around 30, i think), it felt very empowering to "brag" about my CI. for some reason, getting to share my story with all these wonderful kids validated my experience in a way and made it more REAL for me.

at the end of my presentation, the students asked me some very interesting questions. because some of them i had never even thought about, i figured i would share them with my blog-readers:

1. Q: what is your favorite sound? A: i was not prepared to answer this and wish i had come up with something more unique and original, but the only thing i could think of (besides every new sound i've heard) is my husband's voice -- being able to hear him without having to lipread him is so rewarding. my least favorite sound was a no-brainer, though, and that is the vacuum cleaner... ugh.
2. Q: do you regret getting implanted? A: NO WAY! if i had to do everything all over again, i would... no doubt about it. there is nothing i would change or do differently. gosh forbid something ever happens to the hearing in my other ear, i would LOVE to be implanted on that side, as well (that is, if my health insurance approves it)!
3. Q: what is the difference between the two processors (the ear-level versus the body-worn one)? A: the sound-quality is definitely different -- the ear-level processor sounds more "mechanic" or "robotic" than the body-worn processor, but that is a small price to pay when i don't want to be tied down with wires.
4. Q: will the implant ever have to be replaced? A: no. because i am an adult, my cochlea and mastoid bone will not change in size, so the implant shouldn't shift/move out of place. for children who are implanted at a very young age, replacement of the inner parts is sometimes necessary. i'm no expert when it comes to this, but those that are curious, i did find this tidbit on the Internet --
   Reimplantation is necessary in approximately 5 percent of cases because of improper electrode insertion or migration, device failure, serious flap complication, or loss of manufacturer support. In general, reimplantation in the same ear is usually possible, and thus far individual auditory performance after reimplantation equals or exceeds that seen with the original implant (Cochlear Implants in Adults and Children. NIH Consens Statement. Online 1995 May 15-17 [cited 2005 March 16]; 13(2):1-30).

well, i guess that's it for now. i am glad that i went to visit Hawthorne High School so that i could share my CI experiences with the students there. i must admit though, that the best part was seeing a former teacher of mine, who happens to be the principal there. he is just as wonderful as i remember him from my eighth grade science class!

anyway, it was a *great* experience for me... and hope that my visitors think the same!

:o)

I had some lovely CI moments last weekend

i know it's been a while since i posted any new CI moments, but i have been so busy lately -- i'm surprised i have time to breathe!

on March 13th, it was my mother's birthday, so being the good children we are, my brother and i visited with her all weekend. my father is away on a skiing trip, so unfortunately he wasn't around, but a lot of my recent CI moments circled around my mom and bro... and it was wonderful!

• i was upstairs in the living room folding my laundry while my mother was downstairs (behind me) in the foyer... she called to me that my sweaters were still a little damp and would need to be laid out to dry... i responded, 'okay' and went about folding the rest of my clothes... WELL, i found out later that my mother was on her way upstairs to basically tell me the damp-sweater news a second time (just in case) because she figured i didn't hear her, but when i responded 'okay' she was SO DELIGHTED to learn that i did hear her (and didn't have to repeat herself!)
  
• while having dinner with my brother and mom, they were talking to me while i was reading the menu... i continued to have a conversation with them even though i wasn't facing them. at one point i looked up and saw both my mother and bro grinning at me from ear to ear... and then my brother said to my mother "she can hear us... that's so cool!" -- i got all teary-eyed seeing how excited both of them were for me

i haven't been keeping track of my CI moments as much as i used to at the beginning, but it's only because there haven't been that many new ones to report. i guess i should mention some new sounds i'm enjoying:

• MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC on my car radio -- familiar musicians/groups are sounding much better to me (Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, Beatles)... i have also been listening to a band called Onyx and think they are INCREDIBLE (their lyrics are just a tad vulgar, but i simply ignore them and enjoy the awesome bass sounds)
• the teakettle whistling is an amazing thing... hubby and i just bought a new one tonight, so i got to hear it for the first time and WOW! (i melted the old teakettle because i didn't hear the whistling -- this happened pre-CI and is something i would rather forget)
• hubby chewing his food -- it's a loud sound (no matter what he's eating)... i never really noticed this before, but now i pick it up all the time

COMING SOON: the story of my visit to Hawthorne High School!

:o)

"Freedom" From Water

This just in: The Nucleus(R) Freedom(TM) System

Talk about weird timing, huh?

:-/

The Perils of Background Noise

i was talking to my husband on the phone yesterday, but was having difficulty understanding him because i kept hearing something in the background.

lately, i haven't had to ask people to repeat themselves over the phone (as much), but for some reason, i kept telling hubby to speak up and slow down and repeat what he was saying.

he was driving in his car, so i asked him, 'what is all that noise back there? i am having a really tough time focusing on your voice...'

hubby said to me, 'that is my car radio playing... it's turned down really low. how can you hear that!?'

well, hear it i DID.

how cool is that!?!?

:-O

I "lost" my batteries!

i was changing the batteries in my 3G this morning when all of a sudden 2 of the used batteries just disappeared on me. i frantically searched for them, but couldn't find them FOR THE LIFE OF ME.

well, i had just about given up looking for these little metal suckers when i picked up the processor to put it back on my head and found the 2 batteries stuck to the magnet of the transmitter!

HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

this cracked me up so much because i would never have expected the batteries to hide underneath the magnet. yup, it actually works (and "steals" used batteries out of my sight)!

:-P

Features of the ESPrit 3G

i wanted to list the differences between the volume setting and the sensitivity setting on my new bte (behind-the-ear) processor.....

this doesn't really involve any specific CI moments, but is something i wanted to record for my own information (and for those that are curious about the technical stuff)

VOLUME:

1. i use this setting in quieter environments where there isn't a lot of background noise -- i.e., at home or at work
   
2. i can hear my computer fan buzzing, the mouse clicking, feet rubbing on the carpet, water running, pretty much everything
3. when i'm watching t.v., i use this setting because then i can hear my phone ringing or my computer beeping when i receive an instant message
   

SENSITIVITY:

1. i like this setting in louder environments, such as a crowded restaurant or in my car
2. i prefer to use this setting wtih my cell phone because it blocks out background noise
   
3. if i want to concentrate on voices right next to me, this setting blocks out everything else so i can focus on whoever i'm listening to

although the sound quality of the 3G isn't as "advanced" or "crisp-sounding" as with the body-worn processor, i am getting used to it more and more each day...

i know that with time, even the 3G will sound more "natural" than my hearing aids ever did.

A little birdie told me that Spring is coming!

oh, my goodness... i heard birds singing this morning and they sounded BEEEAUTIFUL!

yes, i know some birds make really pretty sounds, but WOW... i never heard just *how* pretty they can be.

and to think that all these years, even with my hearing aids, i never truly HEARD birds singing. i did hear something that sounded like chirping or squeaking, but it wasn't an actual song -- it was more like background noise that i learned to ignore.

well, now i *really* can't wait for Spring to get here!

:-D

Four weeks to the day...

well, it's been a month since my CI was first activated and BOY, has a lot changed!

i am thoroughly enjoying not being "tied down" with the wires of the SPrint body-worn processor, but i must admit that the sound quality isn't as crisp with the 3G. i know that each device has its advantages and disadvantages, so depending on the situation i'm in, i will change the processor i'm wearing.

regardless, i have experienced some more CI moments since i got the 3G:

• while driving to NYC with my husband this past weekend, we were listening to the radio in my car... i could barely hear the music, so i asked him if i could turn it up (i don't like "blasting" the radio unless i'm alone because then i worry about other people's ears not being able to handle the volume i like)... well, when i said i was having difficulty hearing the music, hubby said, 'i can barely hear it myself; it's turned down really low.' how amazing is that? i couldn't hear the radio, not because i'm deaf, but because it was too quiet... what a normal feeling!
• i heard a beep-boop sound the other day (and thought it was my cell phone letting me know i received a text-message), but because it was barely audible, i thought i was imagining the sound... it turns out that i did receive a text-message. this makes me realize that i don't trust my newfound hearing ability as much as i should
• while out having brunch with my mother at a diner, i had a really difficult time hearing her voice because i kept hearing other people's voices around me... this background speaking thing is very new to me -- i'm not used to hearing someone else behind me talking while i'm trying to have a conversation myself... it is HARD!

just a little side note: if i don't concentrate on really LISTENING to a person, i have a tough time picking up what they are saying if i'm not speech-reading them... it doesn't matter that i can HEAR what is being said -- i have to truly focus on listening to the dialogue. i'm sure normal-hearing people deal with this all the time and don't even think twice about it, but for ME, it's sooo new...

i realize that over the years, i became so used to just saying 'what?' all the time and basically "took advantage" of everyone constantly repeating themselves. this is exactly why i'm so lazy now when it comes to listening and is something i really need to work on. who would've thought that something so simple would be such a challenge!

RESIZED PICTURES!

here i am, wearing my new 3G speech processor

another picture

you can still see the scar above my ear (it's almost healed)

The 3G... Exposed

this is what the 3G looks like when it's open... all naked with batteries exposed

color covers

the various color covers for my 3G... these are fun to change depending on my mood and/or outfit!

Pictures

it occurred to me that i can make my pictures larger and easier to see, so i will be re-posting them this weekend.

for those of you who are having trouble viewing the thumbnails i just put up, i apologize.

better quality photographs will be here soon, i promise!

:o)

Now that I have my ESprit 3G speech processor.....

..... i have to practice wearing it, listening with it, adjusting it and figuring out which program and setting is most comfortable for me. it's not like i'm starting from scratch (like the way i did with my bwp), but it's definitely different.

i have had several CI moments since i got fitted with the 3G processor:

• while driving home from work, i was listening to Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" and actually understood the lyrics he was singing (i didn't know the story behind it until i looked it up tonight)... well, it shocked the heck out of me and made me laugh SO MUCH when i realized he was singing 'Plucked her eyebrows on the way, Shaved her leg and then he was a she...' at first i thought it was "plucked her eyebrows all the way" but after listening to it over and over again, i figured it out... yay!
• i noticed that i can hear better on my cell phone with my 3G than i did with the SPrint body-worn processor; this is why i did something completely new today: answered a telemarketer's phone call. this is the FIRST time since my CI was activated that i answered my cell phone even though i didn't recognize the number on the caller ID... it was amazing -- this guy was trying to get me to change banks (or something) and even though i wasn't interested, i kept on talking to him because i could understand him (he had the best voice for it)... he was very friendly and really easy to talk to... i think we chit-chatted for maybe 3 minutes (which is long considering i didn't buy anything)... and i'm sure the telemarketer dude thinks i'm nuts, but i had fun!
• there are 2 settings for my 3G -- sensitivity and volume; when the sensitivity setting is increased, the microphone will pick up sounds from farther away, but when it's decreased, it only picks up nearby conversation and blocks out background noise... well, i was washing dishes and talking to my husband at the same time when i realized that i could hear his voice, yet i barely heard the water running... it was the weirdest thing

obviously, i'm still getting used to the 3G... it's not as heavy as i thought it would be and changing the colors is fun. i also have a lot to learn about the different settings and deciding which ones i'll use for what situations (listening to music versus sitting in a crowded restaurant, for example).

all in all, i am very pleased with the way it's working!

:o)

Three-and-a-half weeks!

so much has happened since the last time i posted on here, i'm absolutely overwhelmed. instead of making such a big production out of every little item and dreading the time it will take to post each entry, i'm just going to spit it out. there's no sense making myself more anxious than i already am, right? right!

sooo... here are some more CI moments i've had recently:

• while at the car dealership a couple days ago, hubby and i were waiting for the car salesman to come back with some paper work. while sitting at the guy's desk, i heard music playing over the dealership's PA system and i RECOGNIZED it! the song wasn't that difficult to pick up -- The Bee Gees classic, Stayin' Alive - but my goodness, i knew what it was! the funny thing is, it didn't even occur to me that i was having such a wonderful CI moment until my husband caught me lip-syncing along to the song and brought it to my attention... heh heh :-P
  
• even though the t.v. was turned on while i was watching Law & Order, i still heard the microwave beeping when my dinner was ready... this startled me, because even though i knew i was heating up food, i actually forgot about it until the microwave beeped
• i can hear my husband spraying air freshener in the bathroom... it's the funniest sound and i always make fun of him: 'did you stink up the bathroom again?' and he says to me, 'no fair... you heard that!'
• when i called my audiologist, Judy, to reschedule an appointment, her reaction was so sweet! it's pretty much "normal" for me to use my phone now (i use a hands-free headset, which makes it easier to hear), but apparently it was a bigger deal for Judy... her words: 'i almost fell off my chair when i realized it was you!' this was so nice to hear because it's not every day that someone truly sees how well i'm doing with my CI... and tells me so. thanks, Judy! :o)
  
• when i was taking a nap one afternoon, i decided to keep my CI turned on just in case my phone rang or whatever... well, believe it or not, but my own stomach grrrowling woke me up! normally, i don't sleep with my CI or hearing aids, so i'm not used to hearing anything... AND i don't think i've ever heard my stomach growl this loud!
• i facilitated a meeting at my work for the first time since i was hooked up... despite there being 12 people in the group, i had a MUCH easier time following the discussion; as long as people took turns talking one-by-one, i was hearing them with less difficulty... when i could see the speaker's face, the combination of the CI and lipreading made the meeting go by SO WELL... and i wasn't bored because i knew what was going on

the biggest, most exciting piece of news i wanted to share does not involve an actual CI moment... it is about me getting my ESprit 3G (ear-level) processor today! as soon as i get some pictures taken of it, i will post them on here so everyone can see what it looks like. there are NO WIRES dangling from my head... no body-worn processor tugging on my pants... it's perfect. granted, the sound quality is very different (not good or bad), but just like i did with the SPrint, i will have to get used to the 3G.

(pictures are coming soon!)