HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Today I can say that a big miracle happened to me. Yesterday I'd say that I was just a miracle I am happy, but my home cheerleading team is upset about my result expressing their regrets to me and trying to comfort me. But I am very enthusiastic. Honestly. My appointment took two hours with activation itself lasted for about 30 minutes. I got all electrodes activated with the loudness level a little bit above the Med El default set up. Three additional programs were created with increasing loudness. My main goal for this week is to get use to all that four programs till my next appointment in a week without pushing myself hard. The funny thing happened during appointment. The doc who came check me before activation (it was not my surgeon, we have never seen each other before) tried to check on my husband even he knew that it should be a female patient, but he decided that something was mixed up.... Russian names not always sound gender specific for some people. And my husband was so nervous at that day so he looked more like a patient than me. My mistake: it was not very smart to go at work before the appointment. The next time I will stay home on the day of my mapping. During activation I was confused how to decide if the sound level is enough loud for me and comfortable or not. First of all, I was not sure that it was a sound. it was something mechanical, and it was more like visceral sensation inside my head than a sound. Kind of some introception due to my hearing nerve stimulation. Hard to describe it. At the beginning I heard only THIS THING. So, I asked my audiologist to make each pitch louder to the level where I can say definitely that it's uncomfortable and lower the loudness one step back. Still I felt not very confident about how to decide if I want to go with some particular sound or not because even if I am comfortable with it right now it doesn't mean that I will be comfortable to be exposed to that for an hour or more. And I could not imagine how it is going to sound when all channels will start work together. When Ci was set up and activated all that worries got away. It was not bothersome at all. I just could hear nothing but sensed some mechanical buzzing, humming and something else inside my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 And it is amazing that those sensations will turn into meaningful sounds as you continue on your journey. We have to remember that our close loved ones are on a journey too. Smile. Welcome to the club Cara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 My audiologist asked me to put my HA aside to understand better what exactly I can hear with only my CI. Then I got a beautiful set of ear plugs, as I still could hear something with my good ear. In a minute after my good ear was so brutally inactivated I noticed that that buzzing began jumping together with the rhyme of the voice of my audi (I could not hear her, but I could see how she speaks). Then I got some glimpse of real voice. And I heard it. It was a sound. I even could repeat two words correctly. But then I got back to that mechanical noise. Ok, got instructed to switch to the next program each other day if comfortable with this. My audi asked me not to use my HA if possible and keep my good ear plugged. She believes it makes my brain to work harder in accepting sounds from CI. On my way home with the plugged good ear I started to hear something - my heels on a hard floor, radio in a car - could not distinguish words but I knew if it was male or female voice. Then my mother in low called and I recognized her voice and even picked up a couple of words.... Ha, at home I had a lot of fun listening to running water, working vacoom cleaner, chimming cups and glasses with a fork etc. Oh, forgot to report - I got a magnet # 3. Seems it work fine for me. Perhaps, for somebody my story sounds as not a big accomplishment. But I am so glad that I decided to get CI, and that now I am at the beginning of my journey which, I am sure, will bring me a lot of WOW and Yahooooooooo moments. To be continued about my second day with CI - sorry, I am excited and thus talkative Ivana Marinac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Thank you, Mary Beth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Cara, You are doing GREAT for your first days! I am so happy for you. This is amazing stuff. Catching some words, recognizing male or female voices at times, etc. That's great! It may be difficult for others to understand how profound a experience this is for us. But know that we all understand it very well and come and be as "talkative" on here as you wish. Keep a listening journal. It's fun to read back over it and it was a helpful reference for my second CI journey too. Cara Mia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Today was my first WOW day. In the morning I just tried to compare how the second program differs from the first one. After I could not see a big difference and felt pretty comfortable with #2 I decided to stay on it (yesterday, at the end of the day the harsh sounds on my program one became soft). Ok, about today's WOW - for the whole day I communicated with people without using my HA! And It was even easier for me to hear people that way than when I was with just HA. Weird thing - if I close my good ear I can hear nothing intelligible with just CI. And sounds I got through CI are very hush. I could not imagine that synergy can affect result so much. I talked over the phone with no problem using my left ear without HA - it is something unbelievable for me. I tried to put a cell phone to CI receiver, but could hear almost nothing. And definitely, today I HEARD and I heard sounds, not mechanical something. And everything sounds pretty natural now. I do surprised with that quick (overnight) changes. Afraid that it can disappear..... And everybody noticed today that I started talking with my normal voice. I am not loud anymore like I was for the last several months. Sorry my dear people This is a really big change for me. I tried to control my loudness. But sometimes I could see in my counterparts eyes that I am way too loud. Tomorrow I am going to spend my day in the mountains in a pretty noisy place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 After activation with a big bag with Med El goodies [/url]">http:// Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 20, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Keep a listening journal. It's fun to read back over it and it was a helpful reference for my second CI journey too. I have my journal. I started keeping it following many advices I found on this forum. Remember a post of Angela P. Hill on Facebook page of Med El support group with a funny video when her Sonnet flashed red due to the low battery while Angela was riding the car in a darkness.... I put a note in my journal to ask my audi to disable that lights. It was before my surgery. Yesterday that lights were disabled. I do need to keep the journal for some period of time. When my current existed emotional state affects my cognitive skills pretty badly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Cara, congratulations. I'm so thrilled with what you are hearing. The journey gets better and the WOW moments keep coming. Take it easy and remember not to overdo it. Let us know what happens in the mountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Sounds great Cara! And it may be awhile before you can use your processor on the phone but if you decide to try it again, it helps to change to MT on your Fine Tiner first. I am now able to use the phone just on M, but at first MT was much easier. Enjoy the mountains! Cara Mia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Oh I forgot to mention......after seeing Angela's video with the flashing red light in the dark I also had my audiologist shut that function off! Smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Cara, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Sounds like you are well on your way. I had a similar experience. My Audi was a little more conservative and had me stay at each program for 1 week before switching to the next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Awesome Cara!! I am so excited for you!! I had a similar experience with me changing the loudness of my voice. For me everything was too loud on the first day. I had to tell everyone to whisper!! The journey begins!! Good luck with the new programs. Can't wait for the update!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 20, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 My audiologist asked me to put my HA aside to understand better what exactly I can hear with only my CI. Then I got a beautiful set of ear plugs, as I still could hear something with my good ear. In a minute after my good ear was so brutally inactivated I noticed that that buzzing began jumping together with the rhyme of the voice of my audi (I could not hear her, but I could see how she speaks). Then I got some glimpse of real voice. And I heard it. It was a sound. I even could repeat two words correctly. But then I got back to that mechanical noise. Ok, got instructed to switch to the next program each other day if comfortable with this. My audi asked me not to use my HA if possible and keep my good ear plugged. She believes it makes my brain to work harder in accepting sounds from CI. On my way home with the plugged good ear I started to hear something - my heels on a hard floor, radio in a car - could not distinguish words but I knew if it was male or female voice. Then my mother in low called and I recognized her voice and even picked up a couple of words.... Ha, at home I had a lot of fun listening to running water, working vacoom cleaner, chimming cups and glasses with a fork etc. Extraordinary! - I don't remember that I've had read such a vivid description of touching colors... Enjoy the mountains - Cara Mia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 23, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Cara, congratulations. I'm so thrilled with what you are hearing. The journey gets better and the WOW moments keep coming. Take it easy and remember not to overdo it. Let us know what happens in the mountains. Thank you, Candy. I do remember not o overdo. But thanks for reminding it to me again. I hope my auditory nerve finds me very reasonable. About mountains - my youngest son takes ski lessons. So, each Saturday our family enjoys snow for about 5 hours - walking around, playing snowballs, making snow angels. We had a lunch in a resort restaurant/ It was a very crowded place. I am not ready yet to hear anything in such setting. But I was definitely better in understanding what my son's trainer told us after the class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 23, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Sounds great Cara! And it may be awhile before you can use your processor on the phone but if you decide to try it again, it helps to change to MT on your Fine Tiner first. I am now able to use the phone just on M, but at first MT was much easier. Enjoy the mountains! Thank you, Mary Beth. I will try MT. So far I used phone only to speak with my husband. And I cannot hear anything through the processor on M. But something has happened to my good ear - now I can hear without HA better than with HA before implantation. To be honest I am afraid to speak over the phone..... I was so frustrating, even to speck with people who are ready to repeat and talk slowly each word apart. Need to restore my confidence. But I will collect myself (just want to slow down a little bit with everything to take my breath), switch to MT and start trying. Today I am on 4th program, It is louder but still very-very quite, but it is real sounds for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 23, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Cara, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Sounds like you are well on your way. I had a similar experience. My Audi was a little more conservative and had me stay at each program for 1 week before switching to the next. Thank you, Adam. Yes, I hope I am well on my way. At least I feel that. I was trying to be conservative too and stay at each program at least for two days to get on the 4th program by this Thursday for my first mapping. But It was too hard not to try one step up, and so easy to adjust to a new level.... Perhaps, I was too indulgent to myself during activation - should ask for more But you know, when you at the beginning of that experience it is hard to decide because you don't have any comparisons to make a correct decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Cara, It's early days yet but when you are ready check out Telephone With Confidence. You can practice listening to what sounds like science articles on the phone while you read along. Mary Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 23, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Awesome Cara!! I am so excited for you!! I had a similar experience with me changing the loudness of my voice. For me everything was too loud on the first day. I had to tell everyone to whisper!! The journey begins!! Good luck with the new programs. Can't wait for the update!! Dear Kara, thank you, too. I will post my updates. It is much easier for me to be on the track when I know that I cannot disappoint my peers I don't remember that I've had read such a vivid description of touching colors... Enjoy the mountains - Thank you, Ivana. I was so excited that day! I have some questions I am going to discuss a little bit later. Perhaps, you can help me to figure out what is that considering your professional experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Cara Mia Posted February 23, 2016 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Cara, It's early days yet but when you are ready check out Telephone With Confidence. You can practice listening to what sounds like science articles on the phone while you read along. Mary Beth I will try, Mary Beth. So far, with only my implanted ear (with the good ear plugged) I can follow the text of a kids book when listening to CD only because O get the rhyme (sound/pause). I tried hear/read the last book of Harper Lee (a book for adult). But so far I am not even ready for preschool level That telephone with Confidence is in my hearing journal. Will work with this for sure when ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hi Cara, I still haven't mastered the telephone. I find it too stressful. I prefer texting or email. It will work when the time is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 My wife and I will usually text. The phone for me was the last to come back. One thing that really helps is switching to telecoil. This will make it much easier to hear as it turns off your mics. You hear no background noise, just the person on the phone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I disagree. I tried telecoil but it was making a buzzing noise. I think it's my phone but it works ok for tele training without telecoil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Different phones have different telecoil ratings and some phones do not have telecoil built in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 23, 2016 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 That is correct Mary Beth. The Tatum is T1-T4. The higher the number, the better the telecoil will work with your hearing device. There also is an M-1 through M-4. This is for the mic on the phone. You want to buy a phone as close to the 4 number as you can. Also the environment you are in can also cause feedback as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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