Re: June 9th CI Hookup - It was OK

[Guest guest]

Hi Crystal:

You ought to read 's journal. Her hookup sounds like yours.

Hal

[Guest guest]

Crystal

Let me say first that your motivation and determination will be the most

important aspects in having a CI. In addition, PATIENCE. Not easy.

But you need it. I do and still do. It's quite a challenge.

I am now in my 2nd month of having a CI hookup. Believe me, this has

been no piece of cake. Like you, I read all these great stories and

optimistic statements, that I couldn't wait for this life changing

experience. Instead, at hookup, I felt like I became deaf. Just

hearing " noises " rather than clear sounds and speech comprehension. I

was REALLy bummed and disappointed.

I am a guy whose is big on clarity and comprehension. It's important

for me to be able to understand people without lipreading and having to

focus too hard. Also, music is important to me. Right now, it's not

where I want it to be. Very frustrated here.

My audiologist and my family/friends are still astounded as to what I

can do and hear at this point. I am not because I have higher

expectations and will no be happy until I can attain a certain level of

hearing and comprehension. But according to the audiologist, I am doing

incredibly well if not phenomenly well at this point. To me, I am like,

thanks but it's not clear. I still have to struggle to put it all

together. That will come with time. yeah yeah yeah.

Try to look at it this way. I have. I almost makes sense. Reading an

article in Times or Newsweek a few weeks ago about the brains of

teenagers helped a lot. It's all about how much sound stimulation you

had in the ear of the CI in the past. I have had a severe/profound

loss in both ears since birth. I only wore a hearing aid in my left for

the past 37 years. The right was left alone and was only stimulated

with loud sounds and when I was listening to music with my headphones.

Therefore, minimal sound stimulation.

With that in mind, as you grow up your body changes and adapts. So do

the nerves and neurons. What works, strengthens, what doesn't weakens.

And this continually happens throughout your life. So the ear that was

not stimulated with sounds will not have strong bridges to the brain as

the ear that was. Since I chose my right ear, the bridges were either

weak or not there at all.

Now that sounds are being transported in, those bridges are busily

building up strength and traffic. It takes time. If you have heard

speech and sounds before in the other ear, you may rehab faster. In my

belief. The brain heard it before, just from a new direction now. It

needs to figure all that out and put the pieces of the puzzle together.

There are times I just want to scream because I know what things should

sound like but my brain/ear hasn't gotten there yet. I am just dying to

hear my music again. Right now it's all white noise. Though I am

grateful that I get get the beat and melody. Still can't do the finer

experience of singing voices and pure music fluidy of the instruments.

Time, practice, constant intake of sounds, motivation, and determination

helps.

As my audiologist says, measurable tests will help. Each progresses on

their own pace. Each had sound simulation different from the other.

Don't compare to others (often hard to do), compare to your own progress

and push towards the goals you want by practicing to listen to sounds.

I often watch TV with the caption. I try to listen more than reading

the caption so that my brain can put one on one together.

Hang in there. You can do it!

Mark

June 9th CI Hookup - It was OK

Hi everyone!

On Wednesday, June 9th (last week), I was hookup with the Clarion AURIA

processor (BTE) and was very excited about being hooked up after

spending a long period of time anxiously waiting till Hookup day.

Initally, upon arrival of the appointment I was very nervous, excited

and a little shaky over the fact that I was finally going to have the

magnet for the CI placed on my head.

My doctor finally gave me the CI with the right colour and hooked up my

CI with his laptop computer to prepare it for programming.

He asked me to let him know when I heard a " pounding " coming from the

CI. I heard it and was very surprised at how it sounded. I was also

aware of a static in the background and told him so but he didn't change

it -just left it.

He then asked me if I wanted the pounding to be more louder or softer,

etc and I left him know of two sounds I was most comfortable with.

So only when he finished downloading the two programs, did he FINALLY

turn on the CI and asked me if I heard his voice.

Unfortunately, I didn't hear his voice. It was like every time he said

something, I heard a " Ping, ping, ping " (like a drop of a metallic nail,

only that it was really loud and uncomfortable -it gave me a mild

headache), for every word that came out of his mouth, followed by a

hearing a tiny sound of voice coming from him. I wasn't too happy with

that.

Because I had to " struggle " at hearing him. He told me not to worry and

that the sound would get so much better with time.

Also, when I did hear (slightly) his voice, I didn't hear any cartoonish

or robotic sounds coming from him and I think this is due to wearing my

BAHA implant and hearing aids a few years ago with knowledge of how one

is to sound like (acquired hearing loss when I was 5-6 years old).

Also, because even before I received the CI, I was listening to music on

my left side normally (still do now).

When my mother and I left the hospital with me wearing the CI, I noticed

the sounds lacked " clarity " -too much " ping, ping, ping " for every

sound, voice made and heard followed by a weird static (more like a

" metallic humming " like - " hmmmmmmmmm " ) heard in the background. So that

pretty much made it REALLY hard from me to hear my mom, what she was

saying and to comprehend the noise around me.

The best thing that about the CI that day, was hearing the sound of the

wind blowing. I never heard that in a long time, but I can't say that

the sound of it was very pleasant (especially when u are hearing it with

(the metallic humming, I'm hearing it with). I was just happy to know

that in a way, it sounded a lot like how " wind " is supposed to sound.

A few hours of wearing it and realizing that my mom was trying to call

me by my name and used other words and phrases to see if I could hear

her and didn't was when I started crying tears of frustration and

disappointment.

Oh, God!! .(I'm even crying right now as I type this). She called my

name (and asked me test tiny questions to respond back) from behind and

I heard a voice but didn't know what it was. I couldn't even hear my own

name!! Like how bad is that!?! I was very disappointed at this and

didn't take it as a good sign.

My mother then when she saw how I was reacting, hugged me and told me

not to worry and not give up. She told me that like the doctor said it

will get better in time and that this is just my first day hearing with

it regardless of how many annoying loud " pings " and static I was hearing

that was distracting me from hearing the sound and voice that I should

ONLY be hearing.

When we finally got home, I suddenly noticed a change in the tone and

quality of my mothers voice. Surprisingly, she sounded a lot louder than

she was when we left the hospital and used public transportation to get

home. I told her and she was pleased but I also told her that the

metallic " pings " and the static was still there and that it felt like I

was hearing 3 DIFFERENT SOUNDS all at once.

So I warned her, if she was going to practice testing me again, that I

would likely not hear much of what she said because due to hearing those

3 sounds (pings/static/loud quality of voice & sound).

You can imagine now, how frustrating and confusing that was for me (it

still is!) But to be honest, the next day of (Day Two) wearing the CI

did she ask me some questions and was I able to respond back (but the

quality of the sound was still poor).

I noticed that even if I turned up the volume that it would not help at

all because the sound of the metallic pings and static would only

increase while the sound of a persons voice or other sounds would remain

in the background. Hearing the pings/static even louder by turning the

volume value as higher as I could only makes my chest and heart " throb "

uncomfortably by any sound/noise being made. So I don't have the option

of turning volume louder, if I want to hear the sound of my mom's or

friends voices louder---otherwise, I'm asking for the " pings/static " to

go EVEN louder as well.

To be honest, with you all, at this point, I can't say that the CI has

been a life changing experience for me. I still have an obstacle

standing in the way and that's only the metallic " ping, ping "

(drop-of-a-nail-like sound), followed by static. But I want u all to

know that I'm in now way giving up.

I want to see what the options are in eliminating this " noise " so that I

can hear people's voices and sound that I should ONLY be hearing. Right

now, those sounds including people's voice remain in the " BACKGROUND "

while the metal " pings " and the static remain in the " FOREGROUND " . So

really it's supposed to be the other way around. But was of now, I'm

hearing the pings/static 1st and then the voices 2nd.

Voices and voices coming about of the television sound like " mumbling " .

They don't sound cartoonish or robotic (Thank God!!) but they just sound

like " mumbling of voices " . I can hear the voices but can't know what

" words " are coming out of them. They're not bad but way better than if

it was cartoonish or robotic. I try to ignore the " pings/static " that I

hear when it comes to hearing voices on TV and in my environment but

it's REALLY hard.

Even when I use the CI, I find myself still lipreading like always (even

before the CI) and with television using the captions 95%.

So at this point/stage, nothing has really changed except that I'm

hearing sound. There has been no " BIG BANG " or sudden change as I've

been reading from other CI Hear, Clarion other Cochlear Implant

messageboards and forums on members about how life-changing their

hookup experience was.

I was so happy to read them and wished that I experienced what they did

too. But unfortunately as of Day 1, that's was not the case for me.

If there have been good things that have happened where I found myself

really enjoying about the CI is:

1. Hearing the wind blown (not naturally though because there is

static heard in the FOREGROUND). I love hearing it and being outdoors.

2. Hearing water run (on Day 1 of hookup, water sounded like a

" zapping " and I didn't like the sound but around Day 3 and 4, it sounded

very much as I remembered it sounding like-like " water " )

3. Hearing my mom's voice on Day 2 (1st day was really hard!)-she

sounded very much like I remember her sounding when I had either the

hearing aid or BAHA implant. However, the metallic pings and static that

I hear along with her voice is a BIG problem and an annoyance. Makes it

hard for me to understand what she is saying.

4. Day 3 - wore CI for first time at work (when I felt ready to),

and heard a conversation between my Manager (my boss) and her colleague

4-7 feet away!!! Amazing! No, I didn't understand what was talked

about-couldn't make out the words because of the constant metallic pings

and static rushing thru my head!!

I told my Manager this and she, like me was amazed that I heard her

voice, along with her colleague that far away!! But I told her that I

didn't eavesdrop on her conversation and I didn't mean too. What's more

I couldn't make out what she was saying so she neednt not to worry about

me peeping in on a pretty conversation (laughs so hard).

She is very happy about me getting the CI and knows of the difficulties

that I'm experiencing (the pings/static) at the moment but she wants me

to keep her posted on what goes on.

5. Day 4, I heard my Mom coming home. I was in my room (which is on

the second floor of my home-about 10 - 15 feet up from my main entrance

of my home's doorway) on my computer reading when I heard (with my CI

turned on) a slam of the door. Instantly knew it was my mom and in my

room, I said " Hi, Mom -I know you are home " (laughs). My mother was

surprised to hear that I could hear sound/her presence that far away

while sitting in my room doing computer activities.

So not everything concerning my CI was bad. I believe, that when the

" sound quality " improves with time and the metallic pings/static noises

either go away or is decreased to a comfortable, is when I will FINALLY

get the most of my CI as I've been hearing about from many CI

recipients.

Believe me, I'm not giving up. I'm very determined to make this CI work

and want to utilize any options (in either minimize or eliminate the

metallic " pings " and static I still hear in my CI " ) to maximize my

hearing with the CI to an even better quality should my doctor have or

suggest any.

My next CI appointment (mapping) is on Tuesday, June 15 at 11:00 a.m. so

I'm very anxious to tell my doctor about these weird, head-wrenching,

(usually after 4 hours of wearing my CI, I end up really TIRED and have

a headache because of how many " pings " I've heard during those hours of

hearing sound) annoying sounds that I keep hearing for every sound or

voice (with words) that I hear being made.

I will keep you all posted as to what goes on. My reason for not

telling you what happened on Hookup Day (June 9th) was because I didn't

feel that I should report back to you all because the result wasn't

good.

I believed that it wasn't as " life-changing " enough (like the other

hookup stories I've read) to report back and wanted to wait a few days

of trying to adjust to the CI before saying anything.

I was going thru all kinds of emotions--- 1st hope, than

sorrow/frustration over not being able to hearing things clearly [too

many pings/static noises in between] and then a few tiny moments of joy

that came from hearing some things that were familiar to me. These were

ALL the emotions I was feeling-yes, very confusing. So that's why I

delayed it

I find myself sharing all of this with you really comforting and

refreshing rather than keeping all my thoughts, my hopes and my fears

bottled up inside. It really helps me deal with the issues I'm going

thru with my new CI in a very positive way. So thank you all for giving

me the privilege of sharing my CI journey with you.

I look forward to sharing a WHOLE lot more with you.

Have a good Sunday and a great week!

Crystal Bicknell

[Guest guest]

Crystal,

Your hook up experience sounded so much like mine. Before my CI surgery, I

had spoken to a man in town who had a CI., and he had told me he understood

speech right away. I had hoped the same for me, but my experience was like

yours. I was thoroughly disapointed to hear static along with

unrecognizeable sounds, and to be so tired. I persisted in using the CI, and

slowly over time I came to recognize sounds and understand voices. Give it

time and patience and practice.

June 9th CI Hookup - It was OK

> Hi everyone!

>

> On Wednesday, June 9th (last week), I was hookup with the Clarion AURIA

> processor (BTE) and was very excited about being hooked up after

> spending a long period of time anxiously waiting till Hookup day.

>

> Initally, upon arrival of the appointment I was very nervous, excited

> and a little shaky over the fact that I was finally going to have the

> magnet for the CI placed on my head.

>

> My doctor finally gave me the CI with the right colour and hooked up my

> CI with his laptop computer to prepare it for programming.

>

> He asked me to let him know when I heard a " pounding " coming from the

> CI. I heard it and was very surprised at how it sounded. I was also

> aware of a static in the background and told him so but he didn't change

> it -just left it.

>

> He then asked me if I wanted the pounding to be more louder or softer,

> etc and I left him know of two sounds I was most comfortable with.

>

> So only when he finished downloading the two programs, did he FINALLY

> turn on the CI and asked me if I heard his voice.

>

> Unfortunately, I didn't hear his voice. It was like every time he said

> something, I heard a " Ping, ping, ping " (like a drop of a metallic nail,

> only that it was really loud and uncomfortable -it gave me a mild

> headache), for every word that came out of his mouth, followed by a

> hearing a tiny sound of voice coming from him. I wasn't too happy with

> that.

>

> Because I had to " struggle " at hearing him. He told me not to worry and

> that the sound would get so much better with time.

>

> Also, when I did hear (slightly) his voice, I didn't hear any cartoonish

> or robotic sounds coming from him and I think this is due to wearing my

> BAHA implant and hearing aids a few years ago with knowledge of how one

> is to sound like (acquired hearing loss when I was 5-6 years old).

>

> Also, because even before I received the CI, I was listening to music on

> my left side normally (still do now).

>

> When my mother and I left the hospital with me wearing the CI, I noticed

> the sounds lacked " clarity " -too much " ping, ping, ping " for every

> sound, voice made and heard followed by a weird static (more like a

> " metallic humming " like - " hmmmmmmmmm " ) heard in the background. So that

> pretty much made it REALLY hard from me to hear my mom, what she was

> saying and to comprehend the noise around me.

>

> The best thing that about the CI that day, was hearing the sound of the

> wind blowing. I never heard that in a long time, but I can't say that

> the sound of it was very pleasant (especially when u are hearing it with

> (the metallic humming, I'm hearing it with). I was just happy to know

> that in a way, it sounded a lot like how " wind " is supposed to sound.

>

> A few hours of wearing it and realizing that my mom was trying to call

> me by my name and used other words and phrases to see if I could hear

> her and didn't was when I started crying tears of frustration and

> disappointment.

>

> Oh, God!! .(I'm even crying right now as I type this). She called my

> name (and asked me test tiny questions to respond back) from behind and

> I heard a voice but didn't know what it was. I couldn't even hear my own

> name!! Like how bad is that!?! I was very disappointed at this and

> didn't take it as a good sign.

>

> My mother then when she saw how I was reacting, hugged me and told me

> not to worry and not give up. She told me that like the doctor said it

> will get better in time and that this is just my first day hearing with

> it regardless of how many annoying loud " pings " and static I was hearing

> that was distracting me from hearing the sound and voice that I should

> ONLY be hearing.

>

> When we finally got home, I suddenly noticed a change in the tone and

> quality of my mothers voice. Surprisingly, she sounded a lot louder than

> she was when we left the hospital and used public transportation to get

> home. I told her and she was pleased but I also told her that the

> metallic " pings " and the static was still there and that it felt like I

> was hearing 3 DIFFERENT SOUNDS all at once.

>

> So I warned her, if she was going to practice testing me again, that I

> would likely not hear much of what she said because due to hearing those

> 3 sounds (pings/static/loud quality of voice & sound).

>

> You can imagine now, how frustrating and confusing that was for me (it

> still is!) But to be honest, the next day of (Day Two) wearing the CI

> did she ask me some questions and was I able to respond back (but the

> quality of the sound was still poor).

>

> I noticed that even if I turned up the volume that it would not help at

> all because the sound of the metallic pings and static would only

> increase while the sound of a persons voice or other sounds would remain

> in the background. Hearing the pings/static even louder by turning the

> volume value as higher as I could only makes my chest and heart " throb "

> uncomfortably by any sound/noise being made. So I don't have the option

> of turning volume louder, if I want to hear the sound of my mom's or

> friends voices louder---otherwise, I'm asking for the " pings/static " to

> go EVEN louder as well.

>

> To be honest, with you all, at this point, I can't say that the CI has

> been a life changing experience for me. I still have an obstacle

> standing in the way and that's only the metallic " ping, ping "

> (drop-of-a-nail-like sound), followed by static. But I want u all to

> know that I'm in now way giving up.

>

> I want to see what the options are in eliminating this " noise " so that I

> can hear people's voices and sound that I should ONLY be hearing. Right

> now, those sounds including people's voice remain in the " BACKGROUND "

> while the metal " pings " and the static remain in the " FOREGROUND " . So

> really it's supposed to be the other way around. But was of now, I'm

> hearing the pings/static 1st and then the voices 2nd.

>

> Voices and voices coming about of the television sound like " mumbling " .

> They don't sound cartoonish or robotic (Thank God!!) but they just sound

> like " mumbling of voices " . I can hear the voices but can't know what

> " words " are coming out of them. They're not bad but way better than if

> it was cartoonish or robotic. I try to ignore the " pings/static " that I

> hear when it comes to hearing voices on TV and in my environment but

> it's REALLY hard.

>

> Even when I use the CI, I find myself still lipreading like always (even

> before the CI) and with television using the captions 95%.

>

> So at this point/stage, nothing has really changed except that I'm

> hearing sound. There has been no " BIG BANG " or sudden change as I've

> been reading from other CI Hear, Clarion other Cochlear Implant

> messageboards and forums on members about how life-changing their

> hookup experience was.

>

> I was so happy to read them and wished that I experienced what they did

> too. But unfortunately as of Day 1, that's was not the case for me.

>

> If there have been good things that have happened where I found myself

> really enjoying about the CI is:

>

> 1. Hearing the wind blown (not naturally though because there is

> static heard in the FOREGROUND). I love hearing it and being outdoors.

>

> 2. Hearing water run (on Day 1 of hookup, water sounded like a

> " zapping " and I didn't like the sound but around Day 3 and 4, it sounded

> very much as I remembered it sounding like-like " water " )

>

> 3. Hearing my mom's voice on Day 2 (1st day was really hard!)-she

> sounded very much like I remember her sounding when I had either the

> hearing aid or BAHA implant. However, the metallic pings and static that

> I hear along with her voice is a BIG problem and an annoyance. Makes it

> hard for me to understand what she is saying.

>

> 4. Day 3 - wore CI for first time at work (when I felt ready to),

> and heard a conversation between my Manager (my boss) and her colleague

> 4-7 feet away!!! Amazing! No, I didn't understand what was talked

> about-couldn't make out the words because of the constant metallic pings

> and static rushing thru my head!!

>

> I told my Manager this and she, like me was amazed that I heard her

> voice, along with her colleague that far away!! But I told her that I

> didn't eavesdrop on her conversation and I didn't mean too. What's more

> I couldn't make out what she was saying so she neednt not to worry about

> me peeping in on a pretty conversation (laughs so hard).

> She is very happy about me getting the CI and knows of the difficulties

> that I'm experiencing (the pings/static) at the moment but she wants me

> to keep her posted on what goes on.

>

> 5. Day 4, I heard my Mom coming home. I was in my room (which is on

> the second floor of my home-about 10 - 15 feet up from my main entrance

> of my home's doorway) on my computer reading when I heard (with my CI

> turned on) a slam of the door. Instantly knew it was my mom and in my

> room, I said " Hi, Mom -I know you are home " (laughs). My mother was

> surprised to hear that I could hear sound/her presence that far away

> while sitting in my room doing computer activities.

>

> So not everything concerning my CI was bad. I believe, that when the

> " sound quality " improves with time and the metallic pings/static noises

> either go away or is decreased to a comfortable, is when I will FINALLY

> get the most of my CI as I've been hearing about from many CI

> recipients.

>

> Believe me, I'm not giving up. I'm very determined to make this CI work

> and want to utilize any options (in either minimize or eliminate the

> metallic " pings " and static I still hear in my CI " ) to maximize my

> hearing with the CI to an even better quality should my doctor have or

> suggest any.

>

> My next CI appointment (mapping) is on Tuesday, June 15 at 11:00 a.m. so

> I'm very anxious to tell my doctor about these weird, head-wrenching,

> (usually after 4 hours of wearing my CI, I end up really TIRED and have

> a headache because of how many " pings " I've heard during those hours of

> hearing sound) annoying sounds that I keep hearing for every sound or

> voice (with words) that I hear being made.

>

> I will keep you all posted as to what goes on. My reason for not

> telling you what happened on Hookup Day (June 9th) was because I didn't

> feel that I should report back to you all because the result wasn't

> good.

>

> I believed that it wasn't as " life-changing " enough (like the other

> hookup stories I've read) to report back and wanted to wait a few days

> of trying to adjust to the CI before saying anything.

>

> I was going thru all kinds of emotions--- 1st hope, than

> sorrow/frustration over not being able to hearing things clearly [too

> many pings/static noises in between] and then a few tiny moments of joy

> that came from hearing some things that were familiar to me. These were

> ALL the emotions I was feeling-yes, very confusing. So that's why I

> delayed it

>

> I find myself sharing all of this with you really comforting and

> refreshing rather than keeping all my thoughts, my hopes and my fears

> bottled up inside. It really helps me deal with the issues I'm going

> thru with my new CI in a very positive way. So thank you all for giving

> me the privilege of sharing my CI journey with you.

>

> I look forward to sharing a WHOLE lot more with you.

>

> Have a good Sunday and a great week!

>

> Crystal Bicknell

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

HI Crystal. No, to you right now it might not have seemed

'life-changing'. But I am glad that you posted how you felt, what you

experienced, good and bad. You gave a good report and showed that not all

hookups are the same. I too felt 'brain dead' after my first day back to

work. I too don't have the donald duck or robotics voices but everyone

sounds like a whine in their voice and after listening to that all day I am

tired of it also. I still have that whiny voices that I hear and am

looking forward to getting rid of it. I still need to lip read and use the

captions. I haven't even tried the phone (chicken). But like everyone has

been saying. Give it time, hang in there, it does get a bit better, day by

day.

susan & hobbes

michigan

>I believed that it wasn't as " life-changing " enough (like the other

>hookup stories I've read) to report back and wanted to wait a few days

>of trying to adjust to the CI before saying anything.

>

>I was going thru all kinds of emotions--- 1st hope, than

>sorrow/frustration over not being able to hearing things clearly [too

>many pings/static noises in between] and then a few tiny moments of joy

>that came from hearing some things that were familiar to me. These were

>ALL the emotions I was feeling-yes, very confusing. So that's why I

>delayed it

>

>I find myself sharing all of this with you really comforting and

>refreshing rather than keeping all my thoughts, my hopes and my fears

>bottled up inside. It really helps me deal with the issues I'm going

>thru with my new CI in a very positive way. So thank you all for giving

>me the privilege of sharing my CI journey with you.

>

>I look forward to sharing a WHOLE lot more with you.

>

>Have a good Sunday and a great week!

>

>Crystal Bicknell

>

>

>

>