HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted July 31, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 After Sandy sharing her experience and thinking about it a bit, i thought it might be a good idea for those of us who feel led to, to add what their activation was like. you can add or leave out as much as you want. I thought it would be a good idea to have a place where the newbies could come to get an idea of what their avtivation might be like. I will have to post a little later. Got this thing called work i'm in the middle of. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted July 31, 2013 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 I tried copying what I said in the "third mapping" forum so all info is in the same place, but am computer illiterate. Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted July 31, 2013 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Per Sandy Coull I have no problem sharing my experience. Like many people getting a CI, I hoped my expectations would be met. The day of activation was very emotional. The audiologist did the mapping and when she "flipped the switch" I was in absolute awe with what I could hear. Her voice was totally understandable but a bit robotic. I was amazed at how much I could hear and what I heard. That was what surprised me the most. I had mostly high pitched sounds up to now with an overlay of chirping. I'm told this will go away eventually. My volume was turned up high for the first activation and I was hoping it would be turned down in the second. No such luck. It was turned up more. It took time to get used to some sounds and with help I started identifying them like water running, rain on the roof of the car and the sound of wind in the trees. My best advice is take advantage of the hearing you've been given and open yourself up to all and every sound you can. Especially make sure the people around you understand that this is not an instant "cure" bit an aid and it will take patience on everyone's part to make sure it works! Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weimar Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 my activation day was a huge disappointment because I had expected to have perfect hearing right out of the gate. When they turned it on, the first thing I heard was my beautiful wife and she sounded like Donald Duck - I absolutely hated it. That pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the appointment so we called it quits early and decided to reassess in the morning. They asked me to wear it as much as I was willing to that evening and I did, but only for about 10 minutes (total). I hated it so much that I was pretty upset.... The next day was a lot better though as it seemed that my brain was starting to figure it out. We got my "sound" to something with some modicum of success and I was sent packing to try it out for a month. I was fortunate enough to have a rehab specialist to see several times a week for the first month and then once of week for a year. I don't remember specifically when but it was several months later when my brain finally realized what was going on and I had my "aha" moment. Therefore, I completely sympathize with those who are frustrated after their initial activations - I was right there too. Today, I love it - best thing I ever did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pilar Bejarano Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Hello! My name is Pilar. My English is not very good... sorry for that. I lose suddenly my hearing 4 months ago, after a severe meningitis and I became deaf. I have recieved bilateral cochlear implant. I want to share my day of activation to see if anyone on the forum had a similar experience. The first day, when audiologist performed the mapping, I was not able to distinguish sounds. It all sounded like blows. When turned on, the noises were not able to stimulate my nerve. 15 days later, she reprogrammed me and got up the volume and now I can hear, but I can not distinguish any sound. They're all like bumps, like vibrations. I can not differentiate a bus from voice. It's been happen a month since my first activation and my only achieve is to differentiate words or phrases of different lengths. I'm waiting for my second cochlear implant activation next week. I hope my nerve is in a better situation, and I expect I can hear sound this time! I'm optimistic! Somebody here began this way and now his hearing is good? Can I expect improvement? Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpl2ci Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 PIlar, what you are experiencing is common and it will take a while for your brain to acclimate itself to the new type of hearing. Amongst the frustrations you will experience will be the realization that you are no longer just hearing sounds but that you are understanding them. The traffic noise, the clock, the refrigerator, the radio/TV. It does get better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leblisa Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Pilar, we all are different and your experience sounds a lot like Chuckie's. Mine wasn't so good as Sandy's but I could make out speech after about 5-10 minutes (with some intense lipreading effort too) - it sounded cartoony, echoy, just plain WEIRD! I certainly couldn't distinguish between running water, crinkling paper, wind in the trees, etc. By one month out things were sounding pretty normal. I put a LOT of time into mindful listening, being social, etc, etc. Doing a lot of the training of the nerve/brain helped me a lot. I just had my 2nd CI implanted yesterday and that one will be activated in mid-June; I'll let you know how that one goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pilar Bejarano Posted May 16, 2014 Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Thank you John and Lisa! I am also trying to estimulte my nerve been social, doing almost my normal life, practising exercises that I do with my audiologist, etc. What more could I do? Probably my nerve is too damage by meningitis... But I think that I have to try it and do lot of effort to get it! Good luck with activation Lisa!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted May 16, 2014 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted May 16, 2014 Hi Pilar, you asked what more to do. I. Got audio books and the hard covered book and read along as I listened to the cd. I made sure I put myself in situations that a normally avoided: family gatherings, restaurants, etc. I listened to TV even when it frustrated me. I asked friends what the different sounds were so I could identify them. This week I went to my niece's dance recital. I could understand some of the music but the singing was like it was in slow motion. I have a great friend who does practice hearing lessons with me. We have lists of words in categories (vegetables, fruit, furniture, numbers, etc) and she says the words but I can't lip read. We do this 3 times a week for a couple of hours. It is following the 3 Ps - practice, patience and perseverance. It is an ongoing journey. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pilar Bejarano Posted May 17, 2014 Report Share Posted May 17, 2014 Thank you very much Sandy! I also do all this things except audio books. It is a great idea and I will look for one and practise with it! I do hearing exercises with my mother, but easier than yours. She says two words or to sentences and I have to say (without lipreading) if they are same or different. I can't do more difficult exercises yet, but I try. Every time I am asking friends for sounds I "hear", listening tv, go out with family and friends... I will follow the advice: 3Ps! It will be my pattern from know! I will tell you how my second activation and my reprogramming are! Good luck for every body! This forum makes me feel better! Shared, sorrow is less and happiness is more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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