HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 I love that I can wake up, put on my CIs and just go about my day hearing everything! This weekend my CIs heard so many wonderful things. -laughter, jokes and conversations of 15 cousins in a noisy pizza parlor -moving music of Carole King in the Broadway musical Beautiful -beeps, traffic, and city noise of NYC -accents of multi-lingual people all discussing how cold the weather felt -moving story in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hanson -conversations with friends in noisy restaurants and while walking on noisy sidewalks -conversations with my awesome audiologist at a MAPping appointment -variety of music on our 5 hour ride home What do you love about your CIs? Megan L., Jewel and Jdashiell 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 20, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 I tag @MallaRuth @VeroNika @Vera @Joan @Nikki @Megan L. @Jewel @sassychele02 @Jdashiell @Mary Featherston @Cara Mia @Dave in Pittsburgh Please join in. Post and then tag some friends too. Megan L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hila Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Love that I forget the sad part that in fact, once upon a time, I completely lost my hearing, and with it a big chunk of things I cared about in life. It was not really long ago but now feels like a different lifetime. From the moment I have my CIs on till the time they go to the dry box at night, I have my life, my music, regular communication, lots of sounds as well as birds song - back. At the end of the day I feel I can accomplish anything. Improved mental health definitely a huge plus. I love my CIs for giving me a reason to love life again. I also love that my CIs made it possible for me play music . Something I haven't done for over 2 decades. Mary Beth and Jewel 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Thanks for joining in @Nikki. I am so happy that your CI journey has given you such great hearing again. And your guitar is beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hila Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 1 minute ago, Mary Beth said: Thanks for joining in @Nikki. I am so happy that your CI journey has given you such great hearing again. And your guitar is beautiful. Aww thank you MB. Still looking for NYC trip report Btw, I've attended Broadway show in norfolk. Wizard of oz. It's was much easier to understand lyrics in songs than dialogues on stage. Overall it was fantastic. If it was 2 years ago, there would have been absolutely no point in going. Jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jewel Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Well I only have one CI but I certainly do love it. It has literally changed my life in the past 5 months since I've been activated. 1. I got my life back! I can be the independent person I was previously. I no longer have to depend on someone to do things for me because of my deafness. 2. I now remember my love for music! For so many years I couldn't enjoy music. Now I play it as soon as I hop into my car. 3. I can follow the storyline and genuinely laugh with the rest of the audience when I go to the cinema or to the theater for live plays. 4. I can make and receive phone calls with no problem. I can call coworkers instead of having someone else make the call for me or me having to literally walk to the person's office! 5. I can hear the ambulance and police sirens which I have not been able to do in over a decade! 6. I can look at a person's entire face and enjoy the conversation and not have to focus on the person's lips and rely on lipreading and hope that the person doesn't realise that all I am doing is looking at his/her lips! 7. I can tune into webinars at work which aren't captioned and which I couldn't benefit from before for work. 8. I can follow along generally with ease when I'm in a meeting. 9. I can hear people talking behind me and actually hear what they say! 10. I can actually carry on a conversation while driving, irrespective of whether the person is sitting beside or behind me. 11. I can hear the raindrops on my car! 12. I can hear the car indicator. 13. I no longer have to say "What?" every few minutes. 14. I can block out what everyone is saying by going to telecoil or removing the processor or I can welcome the sound by using M or MT. 15. I can hear people with soft voices. 16. I sometimes forget that I'm deaf thanks to this amazing device! 17. I can hold a conversation on an intercom at a gate. 18. When I wear the processor, my voice sounds better (so I'm told). 19. I have been able to keep my job (so far). 20. I can enjoy the various sounds all around me, like the birds chirping. I used to think that there are hardly any birds in town cos I couldn't hear them. Now I am hearing them even if I don't see them. And I hear the lizards and crickets too. 21. I can enjoy YouTube vids and audio recordings. I could go on and on and on! 😂 Please chime in @Kara of Canada @Marion nancy @Emily C. @Hicksy @DaveD Hila, Mary Beth, Megan L. and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Well, there you go. @Jewel covered pretty much everything. 🙂 Probably the biggest thing is the impact on just normal interaction at home with my husband. I hadn't realized till I got my CIs how much I was withdrawing and just not communicating. We talk again, and do more together again. Megan L., Mary Beth and Jewel 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Jewel - such an awesome list! Yay! @Mary Featherston - it is that sense of connection with people. Makes me teary just thinking about how much I had withdrawn before getting CIs. Thanks for sharing and for tagging. Mary Featherston 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Nikki The first post in this thread is about our NYC trip and also the thread called most inconvenient dead battery experience! That happened to me during the musical Beautiful! Hila 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Megan L. Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Jewel You made an awesome list!!! Now I’ll add a few specific ones of my own 😁 *I recently went with a friend to see Anastasia on Broadway (for the first time since getting my CI) and could follow the entire story and dialogue. I loved that. *I work in apparel (Technical Design to be specific) and during fittings it’s my responsibility to take fit notes/comments to send to the vendor on pattern and garment fit corrections and I would never be able to do it without my CI. There is a lot of talk during these fittings between different departments (PD, Design, Merch) that if I didn’t have my CI, I’d never be able to follow!! *At work, I’d never hear people calling my name from across the room, now I do! *I love that I can understand accents from around the world with very little effort *Music sounds the best it ever has - like a complete song not half or part of a song *Its been very freeing being able to talk and listen on the phone with ease *I can eavesdrop on conversations at work...hehe so fun! Never could do that before Thats all I have for now off the top of my tired head 😴😁 Mary Beth, Jewel, Hicksy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Awesome list @Megan L.! Megan L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hicksy Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Mine is simply the fact I can talk to people again. I was always an outgoing guy and didn’t let my hearing loss stop me while with close friends despite messing up big time occasionally but I was really withdrawing otherwise. Now I can go into a coffee shop and chat with anyone. Getting my life back! (And some new friends)😀 Mary Beth, Jewel, Hila and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Megan L. Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Thanks @Mary Beth!! You have an awesome list too 😎 Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Megan L. - oh, I know what you mean about the accents! I can talk to people from all over again! Megan L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Megan L. Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Mary Featherston It’s a great feeling being able to understand everybody you talk to (for the most part)!! Jewel and Mary Featherston 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel the Stranger Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 I can understand what my boss talks over the phone in Spanish... he doesn't know it 😂 I can understand what my wife says to our cat in the lounge next to our bedroom. (Yes, our cat likes to chat) I enjoy music more and more everyday during my daily commute. Mary Featherston, Hila and Jewel 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 @Hicksy I am so happy for you! @Valentin I knew your cat would make your list! Smile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Valentin Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 It's no easy to select one sound. Back to sound words is described a very big WOW moment. It's not immediate, but with the time as @Jewel comment, You discover or re discover what you was losing in this world. Perhaps it is stupid but, some sound surprised to me are leaves of trees falling in autumn and roll on the ground. The rain hitting the roof or the ground. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 21, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Hi @Valentin! The sounds of nature.....my favorites. I remember being surprised that there is a sound when we touch our shirts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted February 21, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 5 hours ago, Mary Beth said: Hi @Valentin! The sounds of nature.....my favorites. I remember being surprised that there is a sound when we touch our shirts! Or pull a sweater off over our heads. I keep hearing what sounds kind of like static electricity but may just be friction in the wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jdashiell Posted February 22, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 Well I still have difficulty hearing on the the phone, 😞 working on that. However, I have music back in my life I am able to play guitar and Bass and listen to all kinds of music!! Hila and Mary Beth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 22, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 @Jdashiell I am so happy music is back in your life. If you ever want to discuss tech for hearing on the phone, just let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jdashiell Posted February 22, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 I have found the the Cochlear America site the most beneficial for telephone rehab. I find it and other similar sites easy to use and hear for telephone help. I use the Roger Pen to hear on the iPhone and that helps often. It is the use of the home cordless phones I find most difficult to hear, whether its family or friends. I have a CaptionCall and Captel Phones at home and should use them. I find their text delay TOOO long. For business calls I find it quite difficult to understand people especially with foreign accents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 22, 2019 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 @Jdashiell Have you tried InnoCaption on your cell phone yet? Since they use live stenographers instead of automatic software to convert speech to text, the delay is not bad. It’s free and easy to set up an account. Cordless phones for landlines at home have pros and cons. Pros.... the area that the speech comes out of is larger than cell phones so it is easier to position it over our processor mics and they often have a speakerphone option. Cons....sound quality varies greatly. Telephone With Confidence is great phone practice. And no stress because it is just recordings. But in real life the sound quality on phones varies greatly. The best practice with accents for me was Ted Talks. Many many presenters have accents. It helped me a lot. Also audiobooks of stories by foreign authors. Scribd has quite a selection and is convenient for me for $8.99/month. Others find their local libraries to be great resources for audiobooks online. We have a trip planned and I have been listening to audiobooks from authors in those countries to practice accents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Jdashiell Posted February 22, 2019 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 I have InnoCaption too Technical issues tho. Rings once, disconnects. I need to troubleshoot. I use the cordless phone with speakerphone mostly. I have a daughter who seeks so rapidly and without punctuation or breathing I find id to difficult to stay on, and its usually stuff my wife must deal with. I listen to audio books in the car, currently John Adams bio by David McCullough. Other times I am listening to jazz or blues, or practicing. Just not in the car! Thank goodness I have music. Hila 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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