new sounds

[Adam]

ok so after activation were there any sounds that really surprised you? been so long you forgot about it, heard a song for the first time in years and didnt realize there were certain instraments.............? How close was your expectation of what the day of activation would be like compared to how it actually was?

 

For me, activation was what i thought it would be like but i have to say, going in knowing you are gonna hear cartoon characters still doesnt really prepare you for ACTUALLY hearing cartoon characters.

[janavandyke]

So Adam.......when I have tried in the past to describe my hearing loss, I always told people that everyone sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher......Whah whah, whah whah.........are you telling me that my first sounds at activation will be of Charlie Brown's teacher?!?  OOhhhhh NOOOOO!!!!

[Knickohr]

Yes, correct !

 

The first impression was :  All sounds like in a big town-hall, some echoes, very mild voices of speech, but there is something new, I hear the high tones better than before. It surprised me that I hear my car "talking", there are some sounds of the electronic devices, the navv, the BC (board-computer), some status sounds. All of them I didn't hear before, it's just like a very weak "beep".

 

An the best thing, I hear my cats purring. Yes I hear it, not only feeling

 

Thomas

[Ivana Marinac]

Some sounds have surprised me, some made me so sensitive in an emotionally way of speaking. I knew it is so nice to hear a full specter of sounds but I did not know it is so gorgeous.

For me, the possibility to differ certain sounds is a great step forward. When we adjusted the timbre - it was everything what I could ask for.

Today I was asked what I could wish for my birthday - I told: I got with BB more than I got in total in all my life. You can not put a value in my previous sentence - because it just does not have it.

Although I am a PRO in this business I did not know how efficient this device can be taking into account my anatomy - but it is doing a great job in spite all odds.

 

The first activation impression was: WHat is this... - because my compressed mode was activated... But after that I got other programes so my heart did not jumped out... Why? This is not just a hearing aid which you put on your head - it is implanted and I had previous disappointment: BAHA did not sound as the headband well (tunneled voices) and my digital HA was great disappointment because I could not understand in spite of good audiogram.

 

Of course, I am still not used to pitches and this all raises my nerves because certain sounds I can not exclude from my everyday - but I am glad on the other side because of their existence. Because I have also the other side of that story - my bright side. 

[Adam]

Jana,

I did not get Charlie Browns teacher. when I was first turned on, it all sounded like white noise or static. the weird thing was the nois was in perfect sync with my audies lip movements so i knew she was talking. then after about 30 seconds or so, I could start to actually pick out words. They sounded staticy but I could pick some out. then out of nowhere my audie was a dead ringer for Alvin the Chipmunk. about an hour into the activation, mid sentence he voice morphed from Alvin to Darth Vader. It was the coolest thing ever.

Different people sounded squeaky, echo, tinny and there were two ladies in the scheduling dept up front that both sounded just like that white noise.

for freinds and family and coworkers, they sounded the most "normal" probably more ecgo and tin effect espcially if they raised their voice. Anybody i hadn't met before? pick a charachter. This actually did not last too long voices settled down for me fairly quickly. environmental sounds were a little on the odd side for a while. understanding music and the phone took the longest for me.

 

As far as a wow moment was listening to my boys for the first time. any clear understanding of them went before they hit puberty. By activation their voices had changed so i basically heard both my boys for the first time. that was emotional. Also being able to hear my wife.

[Sandy]

Jana, mine has been similar to Adam, but it is taking longer. One piece of advice I can give you is to surround yourself with sounds and people, especially those whose voice you are familiar. It makes a big difference.

[jpl2ci]

Jana,

 

let's hope you don't hear Darth Vader, "Jana, I am your father!" or Alvin on helium calling for Theodore and Simon anytime soon.  Sandy's comment is spot on.  you could plan conversations with close friends and family members as they are known vocal quantities. you could plan to discuss the state of your kitchen, hair, job, etc. something familiar in other words. music is probably off the table as music appreciation is something that comes with time and acclimation. remember that your brain is having to process sound in a whole different way! as my haring therapist said, analog hearing, your HA ears hear from the top down. you are learning to hear from the bottom up! familiar sounds, dogs, kids car horns, family member voices will help your brain process the sounds into intelligible speech. you will start hearing environmental sounds that you did not know existed, the refrigerator compressor, the sound of the garage door rollers, the squeaky stair riser....  you will experience highs and lows but remember that we are hear to support you.

 

happy hearing

[Sandy]

It was also suggested to me today to get both the audio book and hardcover book and read along to get used to voices. For me especially as I live alone so the conversations with people on a day to day basis are not consistent.

[Adam]

The audio book really helped me and as John said, you want to practice with those that you know. As i said in my post all my freinds and family sounded the most normal. Lots od practice and John I think I drove my wife crazy asking her all the time "What was that?" had no idea an a/c unti could be so loud.

[janavandyke]

I am wondering about watching the TV and actually HEARING the TV......for the last couple of years as my hearing loss progressed, I gave up TV.  I had a set of TV ears that was programmable to my hearing aids, but my hearing became too distorted for that to work.  I wondered if I will be able to hear the tv with the CI.  I am still going to be using a HA in one ear and the CI in the surgery ear.  Was this a good or a bad thing?  The price tag to do both ears was pretty scary but my Doctor never even mentioned this as a possibility.  I have the same hearing loss of over 90% in both ears.  Any advice on having the HA and the CI as opposed to both CI's?

[Adam]

Jana,

you will get there eventually with the tv. TV and music took the longest for me. You can feel you are getting help from the hearing aided ear, you might have to be a little patient. If you dont feel like you are recieving any more benefit from the hearing aid, it probably wouldnt hurt to talk to your audiologist about your concerns. Your audi knows your hearing history and you the best and can help you walk through this decision. your surgeon also knows your medical history and can add his advice as well. I am not sure what insurance you have but My insurance covered both of mine the first go round and I am bilateral sequentail which means both of my surgeries were a few months apart.

choosing one implant is a very personal decision and so is going bilateral. I figured that the hearing I had in my "good" ear wasnt doing me any good anyway so i was all for it. As far as what a difference it made at least for me? HUGE. the best way for me to describe it is that everythgin sounded  CLEARER, CRISPER, FULLER. when I got the first one my thought was, there was no way it could get any better than this. I couldnt have been more wrong. what a difference.

 

as far as dealing with the new sounds, PATIENCE, PRACTICE and PERSEVERENCE is the key. you will get there before you know it.

 

Adam

[weimar]

Off the top of my head - my new sounds were crickets and the sound my dogs' tags make when they click against each other.  I still can't stand the sound of crickets and I've managed to find dog tags where I can get all the neccessary information onto one tag.

 

After activation was a tough period for me but fortunately it was brief. My wife sounded like Donald Duck and I absolutely hated what I was hearing. The first couple of weeks were challenging but "oh so worth it...."

[jpl2ci]

Jana,

 

you are truly thinking forward with wanting to hear the TV.  does your HA have a telecoil setting?  if so, you can use the Quattro neckloop and any number of auxiliary devices to send the TV sound to your Quattro.  I did not have a good experience with a QLink http://www.amazon.com/SOUNDS-CLS-CS-QLINK-Stereo-Transmitter-Bluetooth/dp/B004T0CEBK/ref=pd_cp_e_3 so went to a Sony, http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Two-Way-Bluetooth-Adapter-Players/dp/B000P9CEV4/ref=pd_cp_e_0, either way, in order to get stereo, you will need this: C&E 30S1-01260 2 x RCA Male, 1 x 3.5mm Stereo Female, Y-Cable 6-Inch $1.47

I also leave the closed captioning on as a backup.

Camille Jenkins is bi-modal, like you and you could send her a note asking for feedback on your desire.

you  should ask your surgeon about becoming bilateral. I went that route 5 months after being bi-modal and don't regret it.  your learning curve as a bilateral is much less steep as you have been training your brain to recognize the new sounds.

best wishes

[Sandy]

It's been 6 months and I am just starting to distinguish the words on TV. I still use the close captioning and commercials are muted. Too loud. I also use the FSP program that was uploaded by my audiologist and it seems to work the best.

[Camille]

Hello Jana!  I have more to share than you probably want to hear/read ;-0

 

My hearing loss started 30 years ago and up until 4 years ago I was a really good hearing aid user ;-)  Btw, my aunt was implanted in 1998 and my mother in 1999... both with Cochlear America... I wisely chose MED-EL  and was implanted on one side July 2010; activated August 2010.  I use a hearing aid on my right ear.  Hearing aids by design are best at capturing low frequencies while Cochlear Implants capture high frequencies in a way hearing aids simply can't.  Thus, in theory and according to independent research in Belgium, having a CI and a HA is the best of both worlds to hear sound in a more natural way.  And for 3 years that has worked well for me, BUT my right ear is not benefitting well from my HA.  Tuesday I am being fitted with a large, high end power HA.  If that doesn't work for me, I'm on the road to a second CI.  I've been pondering this for almost a year, and now I feel like I have a plan I can live with.  I think my logic is totally in line with Adam's comments regarding the very personal decision to go bilateral.  I have to exhaust everything else...

 

Next, regarding sound after activation.  The biggest thing I can tell you is that it is truly different for everyone!  For me, I could discern words, but voices did sound like Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse, but only for a couple of days!  Don't let all our experiences scare you for yours will be uniquely yours.  Your experience could be worse or better than ours BUT I can promise you 6 months down the road you will be a happy camper!  Again, Adam is right.... "PATIENCE, PRACTICE and PERSEVERANCE is the key."

 

Now, John is also very right!  I am madly in love with the QLink and the Quattro!  And silly me didn't try them until 6 months ago.  BUT, I would strongly encourage you not to rush all the assistive devices.  Again, patience!  Take it a step at a time knowing there are lots more things to experience down the road.  ClearSounds had a new Quattro device coming out soon so I'd wait on that.  It will cost more, but the benefits are great.  And, even though I love my QLink and Quattro I still use captioning.  I guess it's just a comfort zone for me after 30 years of using it.

 

OK, I've rambled enough... keep asking questions and as John said, "we are here to support you."

 

 

 

[Adam]

Sandy, I know the tv took a really long time. I do pretty well with it now but still use CC as backup.

[Adam]

Camille, I totally agree with you as far as rushing to ALDs (assistive listening Devives. My audi and Surgeon strongely encouraged me to develepe my hearing muscle so to speak without assistance first.  Take your time.