New discoveries

5 years on

2011-10-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on the difference between normal hearing and the CI:

The sound is different to normal hearing, it is a bit more robotic. There are still difficulties with background noise. Hearing people might be able to hear conversations across the room.. I can't, people need to be fairly close to me so I can hear.

I can talk on the phone, so I don't need to lipread. I can hear sounds like sand falling on floors, but sometimes need to ask what it is if I don't recognise it.

I prefer having subtitles for movies and TV, usually because the background has music. But that is my preference, I know some CI users who manage without it.

I make it sound awful, I've just listed all the drawbacks!

BUT - the CI gives enough dB that speech can be understood without lipreading and that is such a blessing.
It gave me a confidence that I had lacked, I am now sure of myself that I have heard something right and can join in group conversations better, rather than hanging back wondering if I've heard correctly and looking like a dickhead if I'm not on the same subject.
There are a lot of sounds (like computer beeping, doorbells) that I can hear again and little things like that make the CI all worth it.

It is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made to get implanted, being late-deafened in in an oral family, it has improved my quality of life immeasurably!

There is a wonderful webpage which shows hearing people what it sounds like to a CI recipient: http://www.pbs.org/saf/1205/features/Interactive/intro1.htm

So, saying all this and saying how great the CI is, I would recommend it to people, especially to people in "hearing" families but I'm not going to scorn people that don't want one, it is a very personal decision afterall!!

Dogs and cords do not mix

2011-08-11T18:26:00.001-07:00

Last night, we were watching Red Riding Hood. This didn't have subs, so I connected the CI to the TV (via a cord), to make things clearer/louder for me.

Anyway, about halfway through the movie, Taffy decides she wants to go outside and walks into the cord, ripping my CI off my ear.

Apparently I scared the hell out of everyone (Stu, Taffy, birds) when I yelled out at Taffy to get her to stop. Oops. I am a bit protective of my $8000 ear piece :P

Found it on the floor, minus the little clear earhook that helps it balance on my ear. I didn't realise they came off :P I even have spares in my CI box of tricks. But Stu found my original one so it could sit on my ear again and I made sure the cord was on the ground properly so Taffy could walk OVER it, not THROUGH it.

Reddit again

2011-07-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

It seems that Reddit has posted my vid again.

HI REDDIT!

And since all my mobile phone posts, I actually got myself an iPhone which doesn't have T-switch at all but I can hear well enough if the volume is up really loud. Still prefer sms's. But I love all the apps :)

Mobile phones

2010-06-13T23:08:00.001-07:00

I sent out emails to various Federal Politicians, suggesting we have the same legislation as the US does, as regards to ratings for mobile phones.

I had one assistant ring me to tell me to contact Telstra. To go into a store and ask. OMFG, like I haven't contacted Telstra a billion times already to try and get information from them.

But they missed the point in my email. I want RATINGS on phones. Manufactures can't even tell me what handsets have t-coils in them. I want this information available for every handset, like they do in America.

If a politician can't understand that, then what in hell can be done about it?

Sound from the CI

2010-06-03T03:35:00.000-07:00

Due to recent visitors who may not know about cochlear implants, I'll explain a bit about the sound:

As I was late-deafened, I 'remember' sound so I can compare how it is to normal hearing.

When it is first switched on, there is noise. As in my video, I was spoken to but all it sounded like was one high pitch, no understanding at all. I was expecting actual speech so that was a bit of a shock.

Coming out of the office after activation, when playing with my mobile phone, I could hear the clicking of the keypad! It was the everyday type noises that I recognised almost right away and I spent weeks revelling in all those little things that people take for granted, like the click of the light switch being turned on and off and the pffssshhhttt noise when opening soft drink.

It took about 2 weeks before I could understand speech without lipreading. I believe that is really fast, some CI recipients who are born deaf my never get to that point.

I could not live without my implant. It has helped me so much. Saying that, it is not like 'real' hearing. It can still sound a bit hollow and robotic. I am still hard-of-hearing because I don't understand everything. I find it very difficult to hear when there is a lot of background noise. I still prefer to have subtitles when I watch TV and movies.

I couldn't use the phone when I had hearing aids, I could not understand a thing. But now I can pick up the phone and talk to my loved ones and that is priceless :)

Excited!

2010-06-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's very exciting, my YouTube video has suddenly got very popular and is being posted on lots of different webpages! I wondered why the hits had tripled in the last few days :)

From Buzzfeed

I was interviewed by ninemsn and an article about that will appear tomorrow... it's great that people are becoming aware of this technology!!!

More updates on mobile phones

2010-05-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my dad's suggestion, I contacted Telstra's disability department about mobile phones for CI users. They actually gave me a specific phone that will work well with the cochlear implant.

Of course, the phone is their own brand, LOL.

But we have found this great site which lists phones with high compatibility with hearing aids:
Phone Finder

As that is American, now it's just a matter of finding out if those models are also sold in Australia.

Motorola Australia also has a webpage devoted to accessibility, including mentioning that all their phones are built with telecoil:
Motorola

So there is information out there!

Bits and pieces

2010-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, I captioned my YouTube video of my switch on. It took Stu (my husband) 2 hours to caption a one minute video! Such an involved process!

You Tube Video

Other things:

About a month ago, I received an email from someone in the US who wanted to interview me about my CI experience for an article she was writing.
This is the finished product:

CI article

Another recent happening is a Senate report on Hearing Health in Australia was released. I actually made a submission and was quoted on the cost of hearing aid batteries.
I wish I made a mention of mobile phones :(

The PDF of the report : here

Mobile phones

2010-05-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

In the US, they have a M and T rating for cell phones. M for Microphone and T for telecoil and the higher the number, the more compatible with hearing aids/cochlear implants.

Unfortunately, Australia does not have this rating and our major Telecommunications company has fobbed me off TWICE (once online, once in a shop) as they can't help and don't offer to do any research in it.

Yesterday in the shop, I explained the Iphone (as an example) had terrible sound and I just a blank look with "but that volume is quite loud". Well yes, it might be, but it's not compatable enough with telecoils.

On the US Nokia site I actually found a list of Nokia phones with this high M/T rating, but which Australia doesn't sell.
So I email Nokia, explaining this rating and these phones and do we have anything similar in Australia.
I get an answer that Nokia does not keep records of these ratings and refer to the Nokia pages to search for a phone that suits your needs and preferences.

DUH, this is why I EMAILED YOU.

Obviously in Australia there is a HUGE gap where there is no information available on compatible mobile phones!!!

Nucleus 5 : switch on

2010-05-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

This switch on was nowhere near as emotional as my first one!

She put it all together as it comes in lots of pieces. She hooked it up to the computer... added all the previous settings from my old one and turned it on.

Audiologist: How is it?
Me : Fine
Audiologist: Any different?
Me: S's a bit more clearer, that is about it.

So there is not much difference with it in every day situations. BUT it is much lighter on the ear and looks cooler too :)

The audiologist showed me how to add the battery packs on and how to use the remote. She didn't show me how to use the buttons on the actual processor, saying I would just use the remote (which looks very ipodish).

Stu and I left after being there only half an hour and went to the city, to test if it really is better in noisier situations like it claims. It is sort of better, the remote definately helps in working out what program is which so you can adjust it to the noisy situation.
But while at the pub, I did work how I can use the buttons on the processor, as lets face it, carrying a remote around all the time is a pain in the bum.

On the way to the city tho, I did ring dad from the mobile to test that and it worked ok.

But at work on the phones, I'm having problems. At the moment I can't tell if it's the setting (I can hear background noise which is great at being able to tell how loud you are talking, previously it cut out all background noise) or if I just haven't quite worked out the best way to place the phone.

Also, because I can hear background noise, I can't tell if the auto-t switch is kicking in. This is why I wanted this processor, because I didn't have to press any buttons to use the phone, it can detect the phone and automatically switch programs.
This is easily fixed with a visit to the audiologist tho, she can turn down the background noise.
I also want her to set it as a permanent feature, not something I have to set with the remote (cant' believe she didn't set it in the first place, or at least ask).

My disposible battery pack I think will need to be replaced as it's not fitting tightly on, it kind of wobbles a bit. I don't want that twisting and falling off!

I do have a major problem with the new processor. My everyday setting is currently on it's maximum setting. It is the same volume I had before... only I used to turn it up in quiet situations. Now this is the loudest it will ever get.
What is wrong with Cochlear?!! MAKE IT LOUDER!!!!!!!!!!!

Stu doesn't think I'm doing any worse or any better with it.

2010-04-08T22:48:00.001-07:00

Upgrade information

2010-04-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

I just joined a cochlear implant form on yahoo and already someone with a Nucleus 5 has given me lots of information!!

I find the new Nucleus 5 processors are:

- Much more elegant design, look and feel. They are much smaller in size and much lighter on your ear to wear. Much more comfortable. Not that the Freedom wasn’t, but the new processor is better.

- I have found the new microphones on the Nucleus 5 to be more superior (for my listening situations). Also the microphone covers last much longer and are made of a new gortex material and you only have to change them now say every 6 months.

- I have found that the rechargeable batteries are great with the Nucleus 5. You have a choice of stand size (longer battery) or Compact Size (which is shorter and makes the processor even smaller overall). Having said this the standard rechargeable’s last longer in length of hours etc.

- The N5 takes 2 Zinc Air batteries compared to the Freedom taking 3 batteries. I find that with the new processor I get nearly as long battery life with 2 Zinc Air as I did with my Freedoms using 3 Zinc Air.

- The remote control is fantastic and so easy to use. It is even better if you have Bilateral Implants as you can control both processors at the press of one button to change to say Program 3 from Program 1 etc. The remote controls either one processor, or two processors at one time. It gives you the flexibility to adjust from EVERYDAY program to NOISE or BEAM programs very easily and therefore you have a better listening situation if you adjust your programs to suit the environment.

- It also has an Auto turn off feature so that it turns itself off after not being on the ear/head etc after 2 minutes. Handy feature.

- It also has Auto Telecoil feature which is great when at home and the home phone rings. If you have it in Auto-T mode, when you answer the phone the Telecoil turns on automatically and turns off automatically after you hang up thereby enhancing your telephone listening experience. I used to never you Telecoil on my Freedoms as I was to lazy to press the Telecoil button, but now that it is automatic, I use it and can actually hear better on the telephone with it.

- I also find that the new software with Nucleus 5 allows me to hear better in noise. Listening in noisy places is always a bit harder for everyone and something none of us like, but with this new processor I find I survive better in noise.

- Overall I am very happy with the new Nucleus 5. Having said this, you still have to get mapped and tuned to suit you as an individual and it takes time to get your new maps set the way you like them.

Upgrading

2010-04-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

While I was at the audiologist last week, I gave her instructions on how she can order an upgrade on my behalf.. which involves paperwork to Cochlear Ltd and my health fund.

But while I was there I got to see the new speech processor which looks lovely and shiny!! It also looks a lot smaller which hopefully means it will not be as heavy on my ear.

So my audiologist put in an order for it the very next day (I am going for the boring beige colour, though the white was very appealling!!) and yesterday I got my paperwork from Cochlear, which I simply hand over to my health fund and they can pay for it!

I already have my new "switch on" day, which is the 30th April. I probably could've had it done a lot earlier but I'm getting married in about 2 weeks and apparently the sound will be different so I think I'll stick with what I know for my Big Day :)

This is perfect timing for an upgrade too as the last couple of days, my speech processor has been cutting out for no reason. I changed the coil over and it seems to have behaved itself since then.

I can not WAIT to get my new speech processor with all it's new features!!!

Insurance

2010-03-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Documentation for upgrading the speech processor has finally come out. The documentation is fantastic, it lists all the health funds and the contacts.

My current fund will only upgrade after a lot of fuss. In fact, they didn't get back to me when I contacted them about it.

Medibank Private, on the other hand, are fantastic. I replied and got all the answers I wanted, including they will upgrade with no fuss, as long as the audiologist is happy to put in the claim paperwork on the clients behalf!

So, so easy!

So I swapped funds, the great thing being that there are no waiting periods if your cover from the previous fund is the same as the cover in the new fund!

Thank you, Australian Health System!

T switch

2010-03-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

I visited the audiologist who made the t-switch an actual program, rather than pressing 2 buttons at once.

It's been fantastic ever since, it's much faster to change over and can hear on the phone so much better!!!

Wearing out

2010-03-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

The button I press to get my "telephone" program on my CI is wearing out. It's so hard to swap over and that is a real pain when the phone is ringing and you want to answer it right away :(

In other news, the rebate code for the new processors have come out so hopefully I will be able to get somewhere when asking health insurance companies if they cover upgrades :)

Clean it out!

2010-02-18T23:03:00.001-08:00

Lately I've been getting Stu (my partner) to repeat himself a lot. This morning I finally twigged that this has been happening more frequently

Me: Is my hearing getting worse?
Stu: (exasperated) YES!!

Ooops. So today when the batteries died (at work) I grabbed a screen cleaner wipe, opened up everything I could...then saw how filthy it was in the microphone area. So cleaned that up and put it back on and VOILA!!! OMG, the difference is amazing, I can hear all the little things again!!

I emailed Stu and told him it was dirt covering the microphone and he was very happy, LOL

So should clean that more often :P This explains why I've been turning up the volume just to hear normal convos, lol

Screen wipes are awesome :)

Insurance

2010-02-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

I've started thinking about upgrades to my CI, which cost craploads of money so thought better check if my health fund covers it.

Apparently they don't.

I try to talk to a company that I've heard DOES cover upgrades. They have no freaking idea what I'm talking about.

I send out billions of emails to different companies to see if they'll cover a new upgrade, then they reply needing medicare numbers.

Medicare tells me there are thousands of numbers and just fob me off.

I try my audiologist and my ENT for *any* sort of information.

In the meantime I find out there is actually a new processor out !!!

I've spoken to Cochlear numerous times now, they don't have a rebate code for the new processor yet (too new?) but they gave me the old rebate code. They tell me they've dealt with MY insurance company who do cover upgrades, as does the one who originally had no freaking idea what i'm talking about.

I can't believe how freaking difficult it is to get cover for an upgrade. It's like a hearing aid for gods sake, you get covered for upgrading those!!!

*cries*

Swimming pools

2010-01-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

Cochlear Ltd advertise the CI's as being splashproof. They even have a picture of a child in a pool wearing their CI. I can tell everyone that this is not true coz after a bit of splashing in the pool yesterday, it completely buggered up!!! Wouldn't have been so bad if I was just at mum's but we were socialising with friends so I was even more stressed out about it!! I managed to get sound out of it, but there was definately something wrong!

It dried out overnight and it's all working fine again, but I thought it was ironic that my non-splashproof hearing aid fared better than my splashproof CI.

Movies without subtitles

2009-08-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

I am still really useless at watching movies without subtitles.

My boyfriend is all excited because he has all these downloaded movies that we can watch (via the laptop) on our new TV. None of these movies have subtitles and I watched a couple last night and although I can follow the storyline, I pretty much miss everything they say.

Watching movies without understanding them is very boring.

Cords

2009-08-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

I just read over my last post about fraying cords. I believe they have made them better and my new cord hasn't needed to be replaced for over a year!

I've also read (skimmed, really) "Rebuilt : how becoming part computer made me more human" by Michael Chorst and I've wondered if anyone would publish a book if I wrote about my experience ;)

Dating a deaf person

2008-08-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is fabulous... someone deaf has joined the dating game again after years of marriage to a hearing person. The story is quite interesting because when hearing males find out she's deaf, they run a mile and I'm always afraid that will happen to me. But she's written some great tips which I'll copy and paste here.

Here is the original link with the story

How to Date Deaf People: (written by Dawn)

*If you meet a deaf person and you want to talk, let the person know by waving “Hi” or write a note to give to her or him.

*When you want to say something; Have a pen and paper to communicate with them so he or she can understand.

*If you invite a deaf person out out on a date, please face your date, to make it easier to read lips, and use the pen and paper when you don’t understand. Also, listen to what he or she has to say.

*If you have cell phone with you, don’t answer it unless you warn your date first [Dr. Romance says this is true of any date, not just a deaf person.] Understand that a deaf person probably can’t tell what you’re saying when you’re talking into a cell phone, so it’s polite to let your date know why you’re answering the phone and what the call is about (for example, it’s work calling, or someone who is ill. Non-essential calls can wait.)

*If you take this date to a party, introduce your date and let them know that she or he is deaf. Sometimes, people knew some sign language — you never know.

*If the other person is talking and your date doesn’t understand, help him or her stay in the conversation by briefly explaining the gist of the conversation.

*It’s helpful and kind to ask your date how to say some words in sign language. Your date will be impressed that you are willing to learn to communicate with them in their own language.

*Phone calls are easy — text messaging always works. Even when you’re on a date, texting something on your phone and handing it to your date will work if you don’t think you’re understood.

*If you’re going to the movies, ask in advance if there are closed captions for the hearing impaired.

*Remember your date can’t read your lips in a darkened theater. This is a good place to use texting — you can just hand your date your phone.

*If you want to be able to talk, it’s better to take your date out to mini golf, a nice small cafe or the park.

*Understand that American Sign is a different language, with different grammar, so don’t be offended if your date is sometimes hard to understand. As with any different language, it takes a little patience. You’ll get used to it after a while.

*I encourage you to learn sign language. Classes are fun, and you’ll impress your friends.

*Your date will be happy to answer questions if you ask.

Fraying cord

2008-07-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

So my audiologist mails me a warranty card explaining that the frayed cord is only covered for one year. This warranty card is different to the one they gave me originally, which does not mention anything about cords and just tells me it's covered for 3 years.

RUBBBISSSH.

So I email cochlear with a scanned copy of MY warranty and they still tell me it's not covered for 3 years like it says!! ARRRGHH.
Now at dinner on Monday with the family, both Dad and Garth said I should demand replacements if my warranty says 3 years.

I chickened out a bit, it's easier for them to refuse me on email so I asked Dad (he said I demanded) that he ring and prove this point. Dad didn't even get to the warranty bit, the girl on the phone said it was a common problem and would send me out TWO replacements! WHOO!! $500 of free stuff!
Apparently they've worked out what makes the cord fray and are doing something about it.

So that covers me until my 3 year warranty runs out *sigh*

Fraying cords

2008-07-06T21:14:00.001-07:00

My CI cord is fraying AGAIN. I go through 2 of these a year. I just emailed my audiologist who tells me I'm now out of warranty (I think I still have a year to go) so I have to order it direct through Cochlear Ltd and the cord is $235!!!! And I need 2 a year!!! PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Captioning

2008-02-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me why wasn't my CI activation video captioned. I was a bit stunned, why hadn't I thought of it earlier!!

A fellow CI-blogger has written instructions on how it can be done so now it's just finding the time to do it.

I do love coming across other people who leave comments about their CI success :)

Mobile phone

2007-11-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Someone called me on my mobile yesterday, someone I don't know very well. I thought I struggled, he thought I did fine but I have a feeling that he was being nice :P
But later I rang a friend who I understood perfectly... but I was so taken aback by the greeting "Nikki!" instead of hello, hahaha. I need more practice with it, so much stuff completely throws me out!

Music

2007-10-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

I am SO pleased to recently discover I am learning song lyrics from just listening to the song, rather than my usual trick of having the lyrics up as it plays on media player!! WHOOOO, go CI!!

Mobile phones!

2007-10-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Short version:
I have a Next G phone! Now everyone can call me!! YAAAY FOR USING A MOBILE!
(oh yeah, i have video calling now too)

Long version:
Went to the shops... there are 3 phone shops right next to each other... for all the complaints you hear about Telstra, it was the only full shop.
I waited 45 minutes to be served, thats how busy they were!

So when I finally got served, I had to explain I have the CI so I needed a NextG phone and I'd like to test it out to see if it worked. The guy was very young so I expected a bit of attitude or confusion at the least but he seemed to know exactly what I meant and pulled out a handset for me, set it up and told me to go outside the shops where he called and spoke to me and asked about interference. I tried 2 phones but sticking with the Nokia (mmm nokia).

And he was very helpful about plans because I explained I had no idea what my call usage was going to be, not using voice calls before and asked if it would be a problem to change... so he's got me some sort of deal where I can interchange plans with no problems if my call usage is high!

What a great helpful guy, I might write a letter :P

So I have called Mum, Garth (who said "is that it? thats why you've called, to say you can hear on the phone?") and Dane! YAAAY. I have to try and speak normally and not yell into it, haha

Point of this entry:
YAAAY PHONE CALLS!!!

Behind my back

2007-08-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

The other day, Dane was giving me crap and said something behind my back. He actually acted surprised when I turned around and hit him, he even said "Oh thats right, she can hear now" HAHA.

Hair

2007-06-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

And now for a girly paragraph about my hair. The bit where they shaved it off for the CI has grown quite a lot and with the haircut, its now all the same length again. Only that one part is TWICE AS CURLY. I thought it was just the length of it making it curly but nooooo, its because it'd been shaved off. How on earth does that work? That means that part of my hair is going to be an absolute bugger to straigten for the rest of my life! ARGH!

Not so good in noisy places

2007-05-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I still suck in noisy situations, as demonstrated at dinner on Tuesday night. It's like being back at square one, I have so much difficulty understanding anything.

TV

2007-05-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

I watched What About Brian last night (after last week where they found out one of the kids is deaf) and they ARE researching cochlear implants. This is going to annoy the hell out of me, I wanted to slap the character when he said "I've done research on the internet and deaf people are against it". They are against it because of their culture which isn't really applicable to someone in a hearing family.

Talking about CI's, I had someone totally random call me at work and I helped them. YAAAY!!!

Even more phone!

2007-03-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

I just rang my audiologist to make an appointment and I could tell the receptionist is new because she had no idea who I was (there are 2 receptionists and both know who I am) and I don't think she ever heard of a CI before, rofl. So it was really funny trying to explain what I need her to tell my audiologist ;)

I rang a restaurant today to get a menu faxed to me for a work lunch tmw :) Awesome

When I was at mums the other day I answered the phone thinking it was Garth coz I told him to call me and it was someone else ringing for mum, oooops. But I managed and the person rang mum again later and she thought I did great on the phone. I'm glad she thought so because the only thing I didn't catch out of the whole conversation was her name, lol

More phone!

2007-03-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

I love the phone now! I seem to be making a habit of updating everytime I use the phone succesfully, lol.
Todays phone story: Nikki emailed Garth to ring somewhere and book a table for her. Garth takes a long time to email back. Nikki gets impatient and calls Garth on his mobile. Garth is too busy to make phone calls for Nikki but expresses surprise at how well she can follow the conversation while he's on the mobile. Nikki likes mobiles because people talk DIRECTLY into the mouthpiece.
Anyway, Nikki tries to call Mum to get her to call for a table reservation but Mum isn't home. Doh. So Nikki calls herself! And she did really well, she got all the information she wanted. Nikki rocks :P
(The WHOLE POINT of me getting the CI was so I could use the phone again! God, I am so happy about it, I managed to do well enough to USE THE PHONE. That is the ultimate CI success, IMHO).

Switch on anniversary

2007-02-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

It has now been over a year since I've been switched on!

I can't put into words what a fantastic decision it was to get a CI. I'm starting to take noises for granted now but every now and then there will be something that will remind me.

I hope I never ever take understanding speech without lip-reading for granted. Just the past couple of weeks I have called people for appointments, etc, something that I would never have done a year ago. And going to normal movies, something I always avoided... and watching TV without subtitles without needing someone to repeat what was said every 5 minutes!!

One of the best parts is having confidence in knowing I've heard something correctly, without a lot of guesswork involved. I LOVE that.

Plans for the other ear??... bring on re-growing cochlear hairs!!!

1 year anniversary

2007-01-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today it has been exactly 1 year since I got a hole drilled in my head and then spent the longest week of my life in hospital staring at white walls willing them to stop spinning. Actually, the dizziness didn't hit me until the next day and thats when I became a total wreck :P This day last year, I looked like a Simpson character because they drowned me in Betadine :P

**EDIT And dad just called me here at work and the first thing he said was "A year ago you wouldn't have been able to do this!" haha

Phone!

2007-01-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

I just had a work-related phone call! OMG, I understood what they said and helped them and everything!! And she had an ACCENT!!!!!

ARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

*dance of joy*

CI adjustment

2007-01-12T17:47:00.000-08:00

My CI was adjusted this morning and my beautiful "s" sounds have a buzz quality to them. Sigh.

More work phone

2006-12-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

I emailed my dad this morning telling him my brakes are making awful scraping noises and would the mechanic fit me in tomorrow? Apparently brake noises are REALLY BAD so he called the RAC for me. RAC came and listened to brakes and looked at them and said "drive it STRAIGHT to the mechanic".

My mechanic is a legend. He said I could go in right away and he will fix it then and there, even though its his last day before closing down for the year.

So I was gone for about an hour and a half! So came back to work and rang Dad and he couldn't believe how quick it was fixed. And how well I did on the phone, he thought it was much easier than dealing with the situation over email. I thought so too. Was especially pleased to have someone other than dad answer the phone and still understand everything!!

Work phones

2006-12-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

I sent mum and email yesterday so I thought I would call her and let her know I emailed her so she could check it (because I am very impatient and I like replies RIGHT NOW). So I called her from a work phone, partly to say "hey, check your email" and partly to see how I manage the work phones.

I am the only person in the library without a phone, I'm sure they've done this with good intentions so people don't call me but I can still talk to mum!! This phone rocks, its better than my home one. So I ended up having a conversation with her and understood everything!

So this morning my boss (who sits across from me and probably heard every word I said yesterday) asked would I like a phone. So I am getting a phone! YAAAY! Now I can call mum and dad, yaaay!! I might even try answering a work call to see how I go! whooo!

Fiddling

2006-11-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

I was just fiddling with buttons on my CI the other day (I was trying to find the sensitivity) when this "+L" came up. Then I pressed the same buttons again and a "-L" comes up. I did this a few times to try to work out what that meant but it all sounded the same.

Then I went to call Garth and I went to switch it to the telecoil and it wouldn't do anything, it just beeped at me. It was THEN I figured that +L and -L means lock!! It locked the controls! That'd be a safety thing for little kids. But I'm glad I worked that out :P

New CI stuff

2006-09-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I got excited about a new battery case that was coming out which was smaller and used less batteries. When I asked about it, it hadn't been released in Australia, only the US (never mind the fact that Cochlear Ltd is an AUSTRALIAN COMPANY)

Its finally been released here, along with rechargeable batteries (I assume for the larger casing). I got some advertising leaflets in the mail about it. And I nearly fell over when I saw how much they were charging for this stuff

Bare in mind I nearly fell over when they told me the cord that connects directly from the CI to an iPod cost $100.

Rechargeable battery (2 of them... with the battery power lasting only one day and will last 362 charges) is $562.50. And thats at 25% off!! I don't spend that much on batteries in a year!

The new smaller battery case is *drumroll* $337.50! Also at 25% off.

So won't bother getting the new accessories.

Tinkling

2006-08-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Lightbulbs falling from sockets make a lovely tinkling sound when they hit the ground and smash into billions of shards.

They keep making this lovely tinkling noise when you sweep up all the pieces too!

In other news, I can't change lightbulbs.

Surprise

2006-07-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason last night I went through the pictures I have on my phone and got a couple of surprises. Obviously when I was completely knocked out after my CI op, the boys got ahold of my phone. There are a couple of pics of me drugged out (complete with head bandages) and one of Garth pretending to play with my blood pressure machine! rofl!

Fraying

2006-07-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Couple of things to mention!

Firstly, here is a pic of the speech processor so people can see what i'm talking about:

This morning I noticed the wire bit of the CI (as you can see above) has FRAYED. The insulation bit is falling apart and you can see the actual wires inside. Its ONLY FIVE MONTHS OLD!!
I can tell what has caused it, it gets twisted when it's actually on. Trouble is, they have to replace the whole magnet, gah! So finding out now what the deal is there.
*EDIT* Apparently its a common problem, its covered under warranty and just to go in to get it replaced. YAY!
And if they let me keep it, I can start a collection of CI fridge magnets, lol

The other bit to mention... in the pic you can see 2 battery cases. They've brought out a NEW one, a SMALLER one with less batteries!! ARRRRGHH!!! The smaller one wouldn't last as long (they say 4 days, I'd say about 3) but... smaller/lighter! It gets pretty heavy sometimes.

And I will just mention I just LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to understand people without lipreading :)))

Movies

2006-07-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Went to see Over the Hedge last night and it was lovely to see a few people I hadn't seen in a while :)

Nearly six months since switch on and I STILL get excited about understanding movies without subtitles. And animated ones, no less!!

3 month checkup

2006-05-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 3 month check-up at the audiologist since my Cochlear Implant was switched on. I did a hearing test and it has been a very long time since the lines on my audiogram have been that high ;)

She asked how it was going, its all good... she doesn't think I'll need to come in at the 6 month mark because I'm doing so fabulously and I'll see her in a year! Sounds like she'll pass on my email address to people having CI assessments so they can talk to someone who has recently had it done, yaay!

I think I've reached a stalemate when it comes to the CI, I think I'll always need subtitles with the TV and the phone is difficult.

Superceeded

2006-04-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

I am SO depressed. My 22 channel CI has been superceded by a 120 channel CI. How on earth did they manage that huge jump? And just 2 months after I was implanted?

Its a different company to mine, and their old CI had 16 channels. 16 to 120!

I knew I'd get depressed as technology advanced but I thought they'd at least jump just a few channels, not quidriple it!

1.5 months

2006-03-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was another audiologist appointment, she did a proper speech test with me, rather than "exercises" which is what I've previously been doing. I've been calling them speech tests, sorry folks!

This involves using a decible measurer (whatever they are called) so Anne speaks at a certain volume (ie, very softly, gah).

So this time we used the exact same sentances she used when she tested me before the CI. Here are the results

PRE-CI
Left hearing aid : 10%
Both hearing aids : 40%

POST-CI
Left CI : 75%
CI and hearing aid : 90%

I thought that was terrible, I wanted 100% :P

I got it turned up *Grin* And now I don't see her again until May!

Then I went to visit the actual surgeon, who I haven't seen since switch-on. He's a very serious man (*serious deep voice*) so I was telling him all about my progress and he's smiling and saying how pleased he is and he thought I'd do well and giving me a pat to show how pleased he is (this is his bedside manner, god its hilarious). And that he bet Anne was just excited as me at my progress (which she is!!).
I also asked how my speech was. Yes, it has improved. Which I thought was amazing because it was really only supposed to stop more deterioration. (I couldn't tell my speech was deteriorating and either could my family)

In ipod-ci-cord related news, Anne (audiologist) emailed me this morning to say its 100 DOLLARS and do I still want one. No bloody way!! Even she thought it was expensive!

In other bits and pieces, last night Penny said something to the back of me and I answered it and it wasn't until she said "I love how you don't have to look at our face to understand us!" that it clicked, THATS RIGHT!! HAHAHA! I did a mental dance last night when I realised I was joining in just fine at the dinner table! And I love when I'm at the folks' house and they ask "do you need a light on?" and I DON'T!! And apparently I'm a lot easier to talk to *grin*

Phone!

2006-03-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

Exciting news : I was at Mums last night and I called my Aunt and had a conversation… on a NORMAL PHONE. Without ANY volume control! And I understood her!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!

More tests

2006-03-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

After I finally got to the Audiologist, it was explained it would be a quick appointment and I didn't even get hooked up to the computer!

More speech tests, more blitzing. She is SO pleased at how I'm going.
I asked about rehabilitation/therapy and she said I don't need it, I'm doing fine as I am. It's just a matter of exposure now.

I also asked am I just doing really, really well or if my progress is normal. She said its not unexpected with my history of hearing aid use and they tell people it'd be months before understanding speech so expectations are low.

"Now we'll test the phone" she says. I said I tried testing the phone with Mum before, I couldn't understand a thing. "Does she have a cordless?" Yes...apparently cordless phones are really terrible.
She also said it helps if I know what is being said and while I'm practicing phone use, to get the call-ee to read out my speech exercises and me work them out

So WE practiced that (she went into another room and called) and I got it! OMG, USING THE PHONE! I even got all the stuff like 'ok, I'll read them out now' and 'thats great, I'll come back in a sec' !!!

Sooo.... who has a corded landline and wants to call me and read out nursery rhymes (or something familar) for me to practice with?!! :P

Music

2006-03-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

I was listening to music on the weekend... it doesn't sound the same per se, but it sounded a lot better than it did the first day I tried listening to music. I did expect to be hearing new instruments and I was right!! I don't know what its called... its part of the drum kit, the bit that looks like 2 cymbals. Run to Paradise uses that instrument in the first few bars, did you all know that? :P
And Axel F sounds a hellava lot better!

Garth and I went to see Revenge of the Sith at Moonlight Cinemas... about halfway through, some people from the audience walked to the front, lit up their LIGHTSABRES and did a mock fight. It was so cool.
But the most exciting part of the night was actually understanding most of the movie! Even at the end Garth said to me “I could tell you were understanding the movie because you were laughing at what Yoda said”… you can’t lip read Yoda! YAAAAY!!!

I'll tell you what drove me nuts today.... black cockatoos!!! Sitting at my desk at work, then suddenly.... OMG, I can hear the cockatoos! And they SOUNDED like cockatoos! I got over that very quickly, they are annoying too :P

More tune ups

2006-02-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

Another tune up today, only this time at the end we did a speech test.... and I BLITZED IT!!

I don't think either of us believed it :) The audiologist was saying "this is unbelievable!" and I don't know if she's so surprised coz I'm doing so well (I'm only at the end of my second week, afterall) or if its simply because the last time I did that test... with 2 hearing aids.... I didn't get ANYTHING!!

So now I have different programs/maps (which I change with a push of a button), one which will 'even out' environmental sounds (ie, if its going soft, loud, soft, loud), and another which directs the microphone right in front of me, so I can hear the person in front and it will cut out background noise.

Then we talked about that guy who got 2 switched on at once this week and how ridiculous it was that he was going to listen to music in the car on the way home. Good luck mate. We also had a bit of a laugh at the reporter saying this guy will need "intense rehabilitation for the next month". The audiologist had a bit of a joke saying I was having intense rehabilitation right then ;)

I LOVE my CI. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

Speech

2006-02-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that last Friday, on my arrival at Mums, I was putting stuff away when Garth asks me a question from behind me... and I answered it without thinking. It wasn't until Garth said "You understood what I said!!" that I realised I wasn't lipreading!!
It happened again later on in the night when he tried to say "now we can't trick her anymore" without me knowing, haha.

But today was amazing. We had a section meeting where I can never understand anything. But I could today! Even when the speaker had her back to me, I was still understanding what she was saying! Of course, then I'd get so excited that I could understand, it would break my concentration and I'd lose the thread of speech again, haha. My supervisor looked over at me and asked if I wanted to swap seats so I could see/hear better and I said I could understand (!!) and she got really excited too :)

First tune up

2006-02-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my first tune up. It was so funny, the audiologist walked into the waiting room and saw me and she broke out in a huge smile and said "Hi Nikki!! How are you going??!!" Then when we went into her office she said "I've been thinking about you this week, how have you been managing??" She's a lovely lady :) (I also think I'm only her second CI patient, lol)

It was all pretty straight forward, listening to tones and telling her the softest I could hear. I really hate doing this because the sounds get mixed up with my tinitus and my brain will repeat the sound back to me so I'll say "yep, heard that" when there is nothing there! Apparently this is NORMAL, haha!

I was a bit disappointed to find out that she'd given me all my pitches the first time round. I could swear I'm missing some, my really low tones have disappeared. She did try to explain it to me but I didn't really understand it, I think its something to do with a pitch threshold which gets smaller as you get older and I have the threshold of an old person. That didn't make ANY sense, I think I missed half of what she was saying (the CI was off at that point, haha).

So she changed some pitches and gave me more volume! YAAAY! I think she thought it was too loud but I love it and I don't have to worry about it being too loud and making me go more deaf :P She said it might sound strange but it sounded how it did before, which made me wonder how gradual the change was.

Now... the exciting bit. She did a speech test. I must admit, its a controlled environment but I closed my eyes (ie, no lipreading) and listed some random colours and I got them! Ditto with months of the year! OMG!

And at work yesterday, I had to check some videos to make sure the picture and sound is ok (I have no idea why they get me to check sound, pfft). But I was watching it and suddenly I realised..... I could understand the voice overs. And there was an ANIMATED video and I was understanding EVERY WORD.
Before we get too excited, I realised a few things. I had headphones, there was no background noise. And the videos I had the most luck understanding were children's videos and they tend to talk a bit slower. But.... OMG!!!!!!

New Sounds
Petrol station checkout beeping when reciept printed
Video rewinding

Difference between hearing aid and CI

2006-02-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

It is amazing the difference between the CI and my hearing aid… now, I still have to wear my hearing aid in my other ear or I’d never understand speech. But the sound from the CI is so *clear*, the hearing aid sounds “dull” in comparison (and I’ve done tests!).
So sometimes I’m unsure if a sound is new or if it’s just sounding crystal clear instead of muffled.

It cuts out background noise. Hearing aids are *supposed* to do this, but I can say that’s absolute bullshit, all they do is increase it. Unless the CI is on such a low volume that it doesn’t pick it up… we’ll find out when it gets turned up.

Speech is still a write-off, its still a horrible garbled noise. About the only thing I can make is “s”. I still love words with S in it after missing out on it for so long :)

TV sounds awful, only because music and talking are all garbled

I think I’ve only been given my “middle” pitches back. I’ve lost my low tones. Someone suggested they are just being evened out with the higher pitches but there are some really obvious noises I used to be able to hear which are missing. And the volume needs to be louder!

My mobile makes it buzz. Damnit. Will have to research if there are any phones which don’t make it buzz, I want to make mobile calls! (this reminds me, someone keeps calling me. I can’t use the phone yet folks!)

The batteries lasted 5 days. THREE batteries, FIVE days. As opposed to my hearing aid using ONE battery lasting 3 weeks. It just conked out just then *Grin*

It takes ages to get to sleep because my mind buzzes after the noise all day. And even though a lot of the time I try to let sound just wash over me instead of concentrating on it, its making me tired too. Then back at work! No wonder I’m buggered :)

New sounds!

2006-02-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

Last night was Rhi's housewarming and that was fantastic! After planning on only staying a short while, I ended up staying all night! It was so good to catch up with everyone, I've felt so hermit-ish lately.

New sounds:
Car indicator
Keys rattling
Ice clinking in the glass
PFFSSHHTT : opening soft drink bottles

New Sounds
Light switches
Taffy’s nails on the floorboards
Tape dispenser
Oven timer ticking over
Squeaky work chair

So exciting :)

SWITCH ON!!

2006-02-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

IT'S ON!!!! And the sound is nothing like anything I've ever heard in my life. Thank god I was told by lots of people I was going to hate it, now I'm not too fazed about how strange it all sounds.

I had reached the point yesterday that I didn't care how the weird the sound would be, I just wanted to know it all worked ok. So after the audiologist went through the whole process and explained how everything worked, she plugged the Speech Processor into the computer and it DIDN'T WORK. She tried to reassure me it was the computer and not me and she eventually restarted the computer and then it worked. I must've been holding my breath the whole time, suddenly I could breathe again, lol.

Then she went through some tones and I had to tell her the softest tone I could hear... we did that through all the pitches and she warned the high pitches would sound weird but they all sounded the same to me. Dane, meanwhile, is taking pictures of me the whole time, lol.

Then the audiologist turns to Dane and says, get the camera ready, this is the actual switch on where she'll be able to hear. I thought great, he's going to get a pic of me bawling my eyes out.

She turns it on, and as explained, just kept slowly turning it up until it got to loud and I'd tell her to stop.

The sound was just so weird, all it was like was this high pitched, garbled, continuous noise. This was people TALKING. I had to indicate to get her to stop turning it up, I didn't even want to talk, my voice sounded so weird. Then everyone is trying to talk to me and its so weird and I said "it sounds like aliens!" and just burst into tears (just like i predicted). Mum and dad got all teary too, I think they thought I was happy-crying because there was sound but it was bloody awful. Dane didn't actually take pictures, he FILMED it! (I love our digital cameras!)

She turned it down and that really helped, either that or my brain adjusted to the sound quickly enough to realise this funny high pitched noise is people talking. There was a delay between the noise and it actually reaching me. I described it as the noise sounding "stringy" but that makes no sense... its almost like a radio frequency, a noise that makes no sense.

Now, this is all normal, its going to be a while before things make sense.

Speech is just weird, I can't make anything out. But NOISES!! I had absolutely NO IDEA that the keypad on my mobile phone makes clicky noises! I can HEAR THE RINGTONE! We visited my grandparents on the way home and I heard the DOORBELL from far away!! I can hear the noises Taffy's plastic bucket makes and I had no idea at all it even made noise! I heard a BIRD! (tho, it didn't sound like a bird, I could just tell there was a noise). I can hear "SSSS"!

Everything else is just garbled. Thankfully, the CI is better than a hearing aid where a low volume stays at a low volume so nothing is really loud to me at the moment, I'm just supposed to be getting used to different pitches.

It's been a huge morning and now I'm completely buggered :)

Not long

2006-02-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Friday morning is switch-on day. I'm not really looking forward to it if its going to be as awful as everyone says it is.

I am sleeping on my left side again (thank god!) and I can FEEL the implant in my head when I lie on my left side, its almost like there is a piece of board in my pillow or something. Its so weird!

And I still get dizzy, mostly when I'm wandering around. This is a huge improvement, I don't feel the need to lie down, sitting is just fine. Phew. It makes me feel a bit out of it though.

Having no taste buds on the left side hasn't bothered me at all either! I got used to that very quickly!

Post-op appointment

2006-01-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the doc for the post-op appointment and I nearly freaked out when he came into the room and checked the RIGHT side of my head. OMG, he needed the LEFT side!! HAHA.
Anyway, he says "how are you?" and I said "I'm still dizzy" which was a lovely greeting :P Apparently this isn't unusual, he's known people to be dizzy for longer and he's surprised that it doesn't happen to more people. That made me feel a bit better.

Now, I woke up last night and there was some kind of lump in my neck and I immediately start worrying it was a blood clot and it would travel to my brain and I'd be dead by morning. I wasn't dead this morning (phew) so I also asked about this funny lump but he said it was my lymph node, albiet swollen. Fatalistic, much? ;)

My stitches are out now too :) I had 16 of them!

Back home, finally

2006-01-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

I am FINALLY home after being released from hospital yesterday. So much for day surgery.

The actual surgery all went well, its the side effects which have me laid up. Dizzy, nausea... its like being seasick on dry land. I won't go into how awful it is. But its pretty awful :P And I'm putting a lot of faith into the doctor who said it won't last forever. Apparently its a common side effect.

The only complication being I've lost the taste buds on my left side coz he had to drill through the nerve. Well, better that than a facial nerve ;)

Thank you to everyone who has sent me sms's, it is much appreciated. My apologies if I didn't reply to all of them, its an effort to concentrate on a small screen.

I'm going to go collapse on a chair after the tremendous effort of staying upright while typing this out :P

oh, btw... NURSES ROCK!!!

One day!

2006-01-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

And this time tomorrow, cochlear implant surgery will all be over. I'll officially be a cyborg :P Hopefully with no complications *fingers crossed*

Switch on date

2006-01-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

There is a God and he loves me.

10th February at 9am! I will try and get it done even earlier if possible but at least its while I'm still on holidays (albiet, my last day).

Now I have heard that you can hook up an Ipod to a CI, but couldn't find anything on the net about it. My instruction book mentions a cord (an "accessory") which connects the CI to a Personal Device run on batteries, ie game console thing... now they didn't exactly mention Ipods but thats a battery powered personal device!! ARRGGHHH!! OMG, AN IPOD!!!

**EDIT** OMG ITS TRUE!!! Direct from the site:
Personal audio cable: Helps you keep up with the exciting personal audio products on today's market. Use the personal audio cable for simple connection to an iPod®, Walkman®, portable radio or other battery-operated audio products

More tests

2006-01-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

I went to the Audiologist yesterday, I was hoping for a switch-on date, but more on that a bit later.

She had fun turning up my hearing aids AGAIN. She turned them up so loud my head was vibrating at one stage so she turned them back down.

One of my main worries with the CI is things being LOUD. I've gotten so used to everything being quiet. But she tells me they aren't going to bombard me with sound, it'll probably be the same volume as my hearing aids, but just with the higher pitches. Good.

So she went through the switch on process with me, the speech processer will have 3 settings on it and I'll start off on the first setting and change it once I think I've gotten used to it. Then I go back every week for a month for adjustments.
I got an instruction book and I read through it last night, it sounds very fancy. It'll hold my name in it! haha, I can just imagine losing it, then someone chasing me down because my name being in it ;)
Anyway, it has all sorts of beeps and lights and LCD screens, very cyborgish.

The switch-on date... she says to me "how does Valentines Day sound?". Thats a TERRIBLE date, I'll be back at work by then and I wanted it done 2 weeks after surgery (as she said I could last week!!) so I could have a few days to adjust BEFORE I go back to work. She wanted it on that date so some kind of representative from Cochlear (the company) could be there, they are flying in from South Australia. I asked did they HAVE to be there, she said no, so I said I really wanted it done before I head to work. This is about ME, not some damn representative! (I didn't say that bit, lol)

So she's supposed to double check with this representative to see if they can make it earlier or something and then ring mum with a date. Please God, let it be between the 6th and 10th of Feb.

1 week to go!

2006-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

1 week! I'm trying not to think about it too much or I will freak out. I've started dreaming about it already, how sad is it to dream about understanding what people are saying with your eyes closed. ;)

Ariane (Carls sister) has sent me lots of emails about the whole process and its SO useful and encouraging :)

1 week, 1 week, 1 week!

Audiologist appointment on Wednesday, to go through the whole process and what to expect... and hopefully I'll get my switch-on date!! I'm not sure why I'm so excited about the switch-on date when I'm apparently going to hate it.

Tests

2006-01-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

This morning I had to go to the Audiologist for more tests. This involved normal hearing tests, speech discrimination tests (ie, how much speech I understand without lip reading) and then just testing my hearing aids.

I'm not off the chart anymore, I can't understand that but the Audiologist said it does fluctuate, its not really completely reliable but gives a general idea and previous audiograms are off the charts too.

Then I had various speech discrimination tests. Im glad I wasn't graded because I failed so miserably I can't believe it. I can not understand a damn thing without lip-reading. One part of the test DID let me lip-read and I blitzed that bit :P

My hearing aids are apparently not at optimimum performance for my loss so she turned them up. Everything is Really Loud now.

She had the actual speech processor in the office so I got to see what it looked like and tried it on. Its SO huge. I'm very good and didn't cry but god, its massive (ie, bigger than my hearing aids anyway).

I don't have a switch-on date yet, I have another appointment before surgery which we'll make a date. And we are thinking 2 weeks after surgery so I can get used to it before going to work! YAAAY!! This might be a good thing considering I've been told I'm going to want to throw it at the wall during the first week, its so bloody terrible. Apparently I'm going to HATE it. So at least I can be mentally prepared for that.

I know I have to be careful about walking through airport security but she didn't know if I'd set off LIBRARY security! HAHA. Omg, I could be stuck at work forever :P

Sounds I'm looking forward too

2005-12-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

I’m going to make a LIST of all the things I’m looking forward to hearing/doing again if this CI works.

* using the PHONE! I’m not sure if I’d be able to use a mobile.. but WOW, that would be UNREAL
* going to Gold Class (or really, any normal movie)
* hearing the car indicator, keys rattling, birds, the FFSSHHTT when opening fizzy drink bottles
* group conversations
* conversations in the dark
* conversations that don’t require lip-reading
* understanding speeches!
* TV without subtitles
* dvds without subtiles (bring on Joan of Arcadia!)
* understanding the radio
* hearing my mobile go off
* hearing the punchlines of a joke the FIRST time
* cyclists who ring their bells behind me while I’m rollerblading (hahahaha!)

God, I can’t believe that’s all I can think of. There should be billions of things. I'm seeing the audiologist in the new year, I'll have to find out what day I get switched on!!!

Surgery date

2005-12-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

I HAVE A DATE FOR SURGERY!

*drumroll* ... 23rd of January!!!

Write it down folks, then there are no excuses not to send a get-well card :P

I had a bunch of tests this morning, one of which was the most relaxing hearing test ever. I just sat there and had some things taped to my head and the machine worked it out for me. Wicked. Though, I did discover my favoured ear (the one NOT getting implanted) is actually not as good as my non-favoured ear. Oops. I wonder how that happened.

Then I had some balancing tests with involved looking at dots on the wall with things strapped to me so a machine works out the information. Then another test which had me lying down with my eyes closed while the audiologist poured water in my ear. This makes you SO dizzy! And the audiologist make you think of other stuff (like, girls names beginning with each letter of the alphabet), probably so you don't be sick everywhere coz its not fun being that dizzy. Anyway, the audiologist is going to be dealing with the actual CI ajustments and that sort of thing.

Then I had an appointment with the specialist, he looks over the results of the tests I just had and says "That all looks good, do you want to make a date for surgery today?"
So I talk to the receptionist, she gives me a date and I've chosen the colour of my Speech Processor. Its going to be a grey colour (See it here). I figure if I'm going to be considered a cyborg by having this, I might as have a metallic colour :P

I have a couple more appointments with the audiologist for speech discrimination tests (which I'll fail miserably, lol) and just general discussions about it and I'm not seeing the ENT again until the day of my surgery... I'm still in shock that its that soon.

How it will be paid for!

2005-11-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Dear HBF (health insurance for those not in Australia)

After years of fighting tooth and nail to get you to pay a decent percentage of the costs of hearing aids, I forgive you. I am still in shock after finding out you'll cover practically the whole CI device. Not to mention that being a private patient means I go to a fancy hospital :P

Dear Government

Thank you for paying the gap that HBF doesn't cover. I realise that the benefit has only been available since October and the timing couldn't have been more perfect ;)

Dear Work

Thank you for being so understanding and accomodating. It is a real load off my shoulders knowing I can take as much time off as necessary without worrying that I'd be resented for it. I can not imagine my previous employer being this nice OR flexible.

~~~~

So, thats all the outside factors taken care of!! My next appointment is in 2 weeks, it involves a bunch of hearing tests then seeing the ENT again!

How it will work

2005-11-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

As a fair warning, its going to be an emotional process so any ranting and raving isn't intended to milk for sympathy but just more of an outlet. So apologies in advance if I sound like an emotional wreck ;)

For those who have absolutely no idea what a Cochlear Implant (CI) is you can visit this link and that has a picture and describes how it works.
During surgery, they "install" an electrode into the cochlear and this electrode stimulates remaining nerve fibres and makes the brain think its sound. There is also some kind of titanium plate under the skin, I think Dane is looking forward to sticking magnets to my head :P There is an attachment (speech processor) which looks and is worn like a hearing aid which has the microphone which directs the sound to the electrode.

Its also like a hearing aid in the fact that you can't sleep/shower in it, you take it off.

It is better than a hearing aid because all a H/A does is increase sound. I have lost ALL my high pitch so no matter how loud my hearing aid is, I can not hear things like birds. A CI will not only increase sound but will do it across all pitches. I think the idea is that it also increases clarity... with my hearing loss, I can tell there is sound but I can't work out what is being said.

So basically the goal of the CI is to allow the recipient to have normal hearing. Telephones, no lip-reading, understanding group conversations, uncaptioned movies/tv. And still with the benefit of silence at night for a good nights sleep :P

But the CONS! It is NOT guarenteed to work.

One major thing stopping me is during surgery, you lose your residule hearing. I may not have much left of it, but I can use a hearing aid and if it didn't work, I'd be even more withdrawn and it would be even harder to communicate with me than it is now. And I do appreciate the fact that people do make the extra effort to make sure they are understood :)

The other major thing stopping me is that if a face nerve gets hit, that paralyses one side of my face. Great. (Saying that, my surgeon says he's never done that).

It could upset your balance... it could get infected... other normal sort of risks when you go in for surgery. (knowing my luck, it'd be the anesthetic that kills me).

Its VERY expensive but we are hoping health insurance covers that. I find out next week exactly how much it will cover.

Apparently everything sounds different. You have to learn to hear again. Because the technology is so focused on speech, music can either be improved or ruined forever. What would I do without Run to Paradise??

Then the other thing is more about work letting me have time off because they like you having 3 weeks off to recover from surgery. Then all the time off for various tests.

SURGERY: Its DAY surgery, you don't even stay overnight. I couldn't believe that, especially as they drill holes in your head! haha!

Then its 3 weeks for the wounds to heal. After 3 weeks you go in to actually have the speech processer (hearing aid thing) turned on and "tuned". They start you off on a low volume (thank god, I don't think I could handle "normal" loudness) then they turn it up each week.

After all this... there is a 90% success rate. And I like those odds.

Feel free to ask any questions, if I don't know the answer, it'll give me something to ponder!!

Consideration

2005-11-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Specialist appointment this afternoon. He got my money's worth of the x-rays by staring at them for ages before finally announcing my head is all normal (ha!) and that I can have surgery.

I haven't actually made any firm decisions about getting the cochlear implant yet.