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)