Re: Gayle's Hookup

[Guest guest]

Gayle,

Wow... I can't believe that you had the staples taken out AND, AND,

AND gotten hooked up on the same day, only two weeks later!?!.

Fantastic story that you wrote, thank you for sharing. It was good

for me to understand what it is going to be like -- getting the

beep-beeps, C and T levels and then balancing with your processor.

Interesting that you thought it sounded electronic to you, hearing

things with your CI. Is that due to your being hearing before (you

mentioned you were post lingual)

so that you have a semblance of what " normal " hearing sounds like?

How are you doing with birds singing, environmental sounds? Any

" sound " that you NEVER HEARD before?

Excited for you,

10/20 surgery pending

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 13:19:06 -0000, Gayle <gayle227@...> wrote:

>

>

> Good Sunday Morning, Everyone!

>

> Today I'm writing about my hookup which was done Wednesday,

> October 6. It was a full, busy day. I arrived at the Atlanta Ear

> Clinic where my first appointment of the day was with my surgeon, Dr.

> Steenerson, who removed 20 metal staples from my head. That felt

> rather like someone pulling my hair...ouch! Once done, I was

> pronounced fit and ready to go.

>

> My second appointment of the morning was with the balance therapist.

> We proceeded to various balance tests while she checked for any signs

> of dizziness or unsteadiness. My balance was actually better than

> before the surgery and I've not had any dizziness since the surgery

> at all. So, now I'm fit for driving according to the doctor and the

> therapist. Now, all I need to wait for is my actual hookup and yes,

> I'm getting rather excited and worried all at once.

>

> I took a break and went for a quick coffee and when I returned my

> best friend, Pat R., had arrived and was looking for me. Pat was

> brave enough to allow me to spend a few days recuperating at her home

> with her husband and family. We were both excited and anxious to get

> started with the hookup. As life would have it, it was two hours

> later before my audiologist was free to work with me!

>

> , is the head audiologist at the Atlanta Ear Clinic and has

> many years experience working with implant patients. She quickly got

> to work showing me the various components of my Nucleus 24C and

> explaining the tests we would be doing. I had elected to use the 3G

> BTE processor and was very pleasantly surprised at how light it sat

> on my ear, especially since part of my incision ran just where the

> processor would perch. It was so lightweight that I couldn't even

> feel it in place! Suddenly, I heard a noise!! OMG!! The first sound

> I've heard since six months earlier when my hearing aid no longer

> worked. had turned on the processor and it made a loud noise

> when first powered up. Oh! Now I know for sure that my auditory nerve

> is working and I'll be able to process sound. I'm so happy at this

> point.

>

> then told me to listen for beep-beep-beep sounds and let her

> know when I heard them. She then tuned in the sounds at a low, soft

> level and when I heard them, I would signal to her. I was amazed at

> the clarity of the tones...it was encouraging to me because I'd heard

> so much about the electronic sounds, Duck speech, etc. I felt

> the tone clarity meant that sounds may seem more natural to me but

> I'll just have to wait and see. Some of the sounds seemed to come in

> right away and others took longer. That worried me. I asked

> why there were long pauses between some sounds; did it mean my

> auditory nerve was not working for those sounds? She explained I may

> need more " volume " and not to worry about it as we would eventually

> get all the sounds worked out. The volume level would also be

> increased as further mappings were done. I'm finding out what I can

> tolerate today in the way of sounds and volume levels.

>

> has now asked me to gauge each sound for its loudness and

> comfort zone. I'm given a chart to rate the sound level for each of

> the tones I've just heard. This was easy and we soon had the maximum

> comfort level for loudness established for each tone. We then moved

> on to listening for words...first, one syllable words and then two-

> syllable words. This was not so much speech understanding as

> learning to recognize syllables. We went through various word tests

> and then moved to sentences. I was to tell her which of five

> possible sentences she was saying. Using the rhythmn of her speech,

> I determined which sentence was being spoken. There were more tests

> and more complex sentences...all designed to show me how to listen

> and to begin the process of understanding what I hear. I've received

> homework with similar words and sentences to be practiced. I'll also

> be going to the library to get simple, children's audio books to use

> for practice. I even inquired about attending the library's " Story

> Hour " for children as I thought that might be a good, simple

> listening level and I could check how much I understood as we went

> along. Luckily, the library has a family night where all participate

> in the story reading hour and that will allow me to fit right in and

> not stick out like a sore thumb in a toddler's group.

>

> I'm already very happy with my processor as it has returned most of

> my environmental sounds to me. Life is noisy but I know it's not yet

> at full volume. I don't hear traffic sounds well and am doubly

> careful when driving. I couldn't hear my own car the first day but

> that has improved and I now am able to pick out my car's engine and

> the various sounds from doors closing, tires on the road, etc. Most

> voices sound as though they are coming from a radio control tower!

> There is a definite electronic accent on everything I hear. In

> addition, all those sounds are accompanited by beeps, whistles, and

> screeches... very much like the little robot character in the Star

> Wars movie: R2D2. Sort of ironic as I used to tell folks that he

> was my " cousin " in reference to the hearing aid feedback screeches

> that occasionally occurred. My next mapping will be Thursday,

> Oct. 14 and I am looking forward to losing some of the whistling and

> beeping.

>

> --Gayle

> Surgery Date: 09/27/04

> Hookup Date: 10/06/04

> Post-lingual

> Nucleus 24C, 3G BTE

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

You are right about my schedule....only two weeks between surgery and

hookup. It amazed me too! I was born with a mild to moderate

hearing loss in both ears through unknown causes. I was diagnosed

with sensorineural hearing loss at six years old and received my

first body aid when I was 10 years old. This was a Maico hearing aid

and was the first one available that could help my hearing. I was

mainstreamed in public schools all my life but did have lipreading

class and speech training at a speech school twice a week for seven

years.

I've worn hearing aid(s) for fifty years...graduating from that body

aid to a BTE model...then progressing to two BTE aids. I lost my

remaining residual hearing in the left ear about six years ago and my

right ear " died " 6 months ago. What I hear with my implant is being

measured against my " normal " hearing with hearing aids. I haven't

been able to hear unaided since I was 12 years old. I've actually

done so well with hearing aids that I refused to consider an implant

until all hearing was gone. I've very good, clear speech and it

should improve with time. (I want to lose the worst of my Southern

accent!)

As to what I hear today....I'm not sure...it's not what I expected

yet I knew/know it takes time for the sounds to " float " to the top of

all the noise I'm hearing. My car is an example. I did not hear it

at all my first day of hookup but the next day....I was able to

recognize it from all the noise in my ear...so I need to concentrate

and tell myself..CAR...that's a car...MY car! My brain is learning

and responding quickly, I think. Every day I realize another sound

is there that I had not noticed earlier. Today, I hear a lawn mower

but it sounds more like a buzz than the deeper sound I'm used to

hearing. I also live alone so some of the sounds are a real guessing

game on my part. It helps tremendously to be able to ask: What is

that noise? The rhythmn of the sounds is a good clue as well as any

other sense that helps, ie smell of grass means someone is cutting

grass, so there must be a lawnmower noise somewhere...LOL.

I don't know about the birds....I'm getting a lot of beeps, whistles,

and screeching sounds...any of which might be a bird. I'll keep

listening and when I've identified something, I'll let you know. I

did hear my clock ticking yesterday and I was a good five feet

away....couldn't believe it because I could not hear that with a

hearing aid, no matter how close I was to the clock.

Hope these answers help you and if not, just ask again. I love

talking with everyone on the forum.

--Gayle

> >

> >

> > Good Sunday Morning, Everyone!

> >

> > Today I'm writing about my hookup which was done Wednesday,

> > October 6. It was a full, busy day. I arrived at the Atlanta Ear

> > Clinic where my first appointment of the day was with my surgeon,

Dr.

> > Steenerson, who removed 20 metal staples from my head. That felt

> > rather like someone pulling my hair...ouch! Once done, I was

> > pronounced fit and ready to go.

> >

> > My second appointment of the morning was with the balance

therapist.

> > We proceeded to various balance tests while she checked for any

signs

> > of dizziness or unsteadiness. My balance was actually better than

> > before the surgery and I've not had any dizziness since the

surgery

> > at all. So, now I'm fit for driving according to the doctor and

the

> > therapist. Now, all I need to wait for is my actual hookup and

yes,

> > I'm getting rather excited and worried all at once.

> >

> > I took a break and went for a quick coffee and when I returned my

> > best friend, Pat R., had arrived and was looking for me. Pat was

> > brave enough to allow me to spend a few days recuperating at her

home

> > with her husband and family. We were both excited and anxious to

get

> > started with the hookup. As life would have it, it was two hours

> > later before my audiologist was free to work with me!

> >

> > , is the head audiologist at the Atlanta Ear Clinic and

has

> > many years experience working with implant patients. She quickly

got

> > to work showing me the various components of my Nucleus 24C and

> > explaining the tests we would be doing. I had elected to use the

3G

> > BTE processor and was very pleasantly surprised at how light it

sat

> > on my ear, especially since part of my incision ran just where the

> > processor would perch. It was so lightweight that I couldn't even

> > feel it in place! Suddenly, I heard a noise!! OMG!! The first

sound

> > I've heard since six months earlier when my hearing aid no longer

> > worked. had turned on the processor and it made a loud

noise

> > when first powered up. Oh! Now I know for sure that my auditory

nerve

> > is working and I'll be able to process sound. I'm so happy at

this

> > point.

> >

> > then told me to listen for beep-beep-beep sounds and let her

> > know when I heard them. She then tuned in the sounds at a low,

soft

> > level and when I heard them, I would signal to her. I was amazed

at

> > the clarity of the tones...it was encouraging to me because I'd

heard

> > so much about the electronic sounds, Duck speech, etc. I

felt

> > the tone clarity meant that sounds may seem more natural to me but

> > I'll just have to wait and see. Some of the sounds seemed to

come in

> > right away and others took longer. That worried me. I asked

> > why there were long pauses between some sounds; did it mean my

> > auditory nerve was not working for those sounds? She explained I

may

> > need more " volume " and not to worry about it as we would

eventually

> > get all the sounds worked out. The volume level would also be

> > increased as further mappings were done. I'm finding out what I

can

> > tolerate today in the way of sounds and volume levels.

> >

> > has now asked me to gauge each sound for its loudness and

> > comfort zone. I'm given a chart to rate the sound level for each

of

> > the tones I've just heard. This was easy and we soon had the

maximum

> > comfort level for loudness established for each tone. We then

moved

> > on to listening for words...first, one syllable words and then

two-

> > syllable words. This was not so much speech understanding as

> > learning to recognize syllables. We went through various word

tests

> > and then moved to sentences. I was to tell her which of five

> > possible sentences she was saying. Using the rhythmn of her

speech,

> > I determined which sentence was being spoken. There were more

tests

> > and more complex sentences...all designed to show me how to listen

> > and to begin the process of understanding what I hear. I've

received

> > homework with similar words and sentences to be practiced. I'll

also

> > be going to the library to get simple, children's audio books to

use

> > for practice. I even inquired about attending the

library's " Story

> > Hour " for children as I thought that might be a good, simple

> > listening level and I could check how much I understood as we went

> > along. Luckily, the library has a family night where all

participate

> > in the story reading hour and that will allow me to fit right in

and

> > not stick out like a sore thumb in a toddler's group.

> >

> > I'm already very happy with my processor as it has returned most

of

> > my environmental sounds to me. Life is noisy but I know it's not

yet

> > at full volume. I don't hear traffic sounds well and am doubly

> > careful when driving. I couldn't hear my own car the first day

but

> > that has improved and I now am able to pick out my car's engine

and

> > the various sounds from doors closing, tires on the road, etc.

Most

> > voices sound as though they are coming from a radio control tower!

> > There is a definite electronic accent on everything I hear. In

> > addition, all those sounds are accompanited by beeps, whistles,

and

> > screeches... very much like the little robot character in the Star

> > Wars movie: R2D2. Sort of ironic as I used to tell folks that he

> > was my " cousin " in reference to the hearing aid feedback screeches

> > that occasionally occurred. My next mapping will be Thursday,

> > Oct. 14 and I am looking forward to losing some of the whistling

and

> > beeping.

> >

> > --Gayle

> > Surgery Date: 09/27/04

> > Hookup Date: 10/06/04

> > Post-lingual

> > Nucleus 24C, 3G BTE

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Wow Gayle, what a busy hook up day you had! I really enjoyed

reading about it. I'm so happy for you that it worked out so well!

With time and more mappings it should just keep on getting better and

those whistles and beeping you are hearing will go away.

Congratulations on a happy hook up day! Continued success to you!

Patti

Surgery Day 11/25/02 (What A Day!)

Hook Up Day BWP 1/2/03 (A Happy Day!)

3G 1/31/03 (An Even Happier Day!)

[Guest guest]

Hi Gayle,

Thank you for the wonderful account of your hook up on Wednesday. I too was

amazed that they were able to map you the same day that the staples were

removed. It is a good thing that the processors are light as they don't

normally irritate the incision line.

I always recommend that new users just listen for enviornmental sounds and not

try to put too much pressure on themselves. It's easy to want to hear

everything but your brain is now making room for the new sounds and before long,

you'll be saying to yourself, wow - I just heard the blinkers in my car or I

heard the siren on the fire truck or listen to that baby crying. Your next

mapping will probably open up sounds that will challenge you to listen and

identify more. Speech may be clearer.

I recommend pretty much the same to everyone. Listen to the keys on your

computer. They should click - not crash. Listen to your footsteps on the

pavement and even better than that, listen to the rustle of leaves as you walk

thru them. You probably do hear birds and you don't realize it. If you have a

tea kettle - fill it and heat it until it whistles. Of course, water running

should be noisy. The same goes for paper rattling. Rattle your car keys.

Baby steps are part of your therapy right now and it's fine to lipread. You'll

find that you are not having to concentrate on the lips as much and this will

improve over time with experience and newer mappings. You may even get some

nice surprises today so try the television if you are alone.

This was a great report and gave information for those who are waiting for the

experience. Activations differ from person to person. We all go at our own

pace.

Have a wonderful hearing day.

Alice

[Guest guest]

Gayle,

I'm glad you were able to be activated so soon.. You didn't have

much time after recovery to be worried about anything! I had to wait

4 weeks for my activation after surgery. For your first day it

sounds like things went very well and you should pick up speech

pretty easily with some practice and time.

I hope all continues to go well for you as your journey continues

on. I felt like a little kid on Christmas getting everything I

wanted when I was activated and was able to hear all the sounds of

life once more.

Congrats.

Hugs,

Silly MI

In , " Gayle " <gayle227@y...> wrote:

>

> Good Sunday Morning, Everyone!

>

> Today I'm writing about my hookup which was done Wednesday,

> October 6. It was a full, busy day. I arrived at the Atlanta Ear

> Clinic where my first appointment of the day was with my surgeon,

Dr.

> Steenerson, who removed 20 metal staples from my head. >>

> --Gayle

> Surgery Date: 09/27/04

> Hookup Date: 10/06/04

> Post-lingual

> Nucleus 24C, 3G BTE