3 month checkup

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.

1.5 months

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*

More tests

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

More tune ups

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!!

First tune up

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

More tests

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.

Tests

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