"Surround" Sound

i have been wearing my hearing aid since Wednesday of last week and would like to say that i'm pleasantly surprised at how quickly i got used to hearing on my right side again. granted, there are HUGE differences in sound between the CI and the HA, but it's still better than being completely deaf on one side.

this is what i've noticed so far:

• i can tell what direction sounds are coming from -- when my cell phone rings, for example, i know what room i left it in
• background noise has a "fuller" quality now -- it's actually more noticeable because i can hear it all around and not just from my CI (left) side
• people's voices are less mechanical and sound more "natural" -- my brain remembers voices better with my HA than with the CI (that's 25 years versus 2 months of hearing experience)

there aren't any other earth-shattering stories to share about my hearing aid now that i'm wearing it in conjunction with my cochlear implant. besides the initial turning on of my HA (which was NOT fun at all because everything sounded so distorted and weird and blurred together), things have been going smoothly.

i guess no news is good news, huh?