BarbWV Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi everyone! Just a quick update- I had my first CI Activation Friday (right side)! It is definitely a different world! I am starting to understand voices that I hear a lot, my husbands, neighbors, friends I see everyday. Unfamiliar voices, restaurant server, store clerks, family members I don't see not so much. I hear constant buzzing and wind type noises. Everything is pretty robotic, but I am thrilled I can make out some voices- more than I have been able to in years. I imagine the adjustment period will have good and frustrating days. I will be returning to work tomorrow- I work in HR for a global pharmaceutical company. Does anyone have advice on what to say to co-workers as I might be mis-understanding more than before? Something simple and to the point as a lot of them think hearing will be instant. I will be wearing my HA on my left side as needed but would like to give myself the best opportunity to get used to the CI. Thanks for all your help & support! Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Ivana Marinac Posted February 2, 2014 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi Barbara, excellent to hear that you are even so early - satisfied with progress. Tell them the truth - 3P's: practice, patience & perseverance. Who is curious enough will ask and try to understand that you need a period of adaptation, those who won't - I believe won't even bother to ask you. "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Sandy Posted February 2, 2014 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hi Barb, and congratulations. Ivana is correct and those that are interested will listen. I've found that people need to be educated to understand this is not a quick fix, but a journey that will have many WOW moments as well as some stumbling blocks. People will have all sorts of assumptions and advice and at first it bothered me, but now I realize I'm doing the best I can and when someone does make a comment, I thank them for their input and depending on the individual, try to correct their erroneous assumption. Most people are very interested in the CI and are willing to listen. As Ivana says, the 3Ps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weimar Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 just be upfront with your coworkers but also remember, you just might surprise yourself by finding everything to be easier than you anticipated. I suppose something "quick & to-the-point" could be "I've got a new hearing aid and it can provide me with so many new sounds that it might take me a day or two to get used to them." I found it challenging the first month or two when I returned to work because I was hearing sounds that I'd never heard before and needed to figure out how to interpret what I was hearing. I saw a speech/hearing therapist for several months to assist with my development and I swear it was exactly what I (and everyone else) needed. A little into the 2nd month, I had an "aha! moment" and it seemed that my brain was able to quickly adjust and everything went well after that. Hang in there - you'll be doing great before you know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miriam H Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hi Barbara! First I wanted to say congrats on your super quick progress!! You only got activated on Fri and can already understand sentences from your family!? That's really really good! And in regards to educating people on CI's I do have a couple of quick, straight to the point answers for you. My daughter and I (and of course the rest of our family) had about 11 years practice of this... Lol. I find that a lot of people are very interested in learning more and find it amazing how CI's work. We actually enjoy telling and educating people about them. I remember hearing about CI's for the first time, when my child was only an infant, and we sure didn't know much about what it was either... My daughter will simply put it this way; "CI's don't work like HA, the brain has to get used to hearing with it" or "it's not an instant fix, it takes some time to get used to, and it'll get better and better over time". Etc. Hope that helps, good luck, keep us posted on your progress! Miriam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbWV Posted February 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 Thanks Everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leblisa Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Tell them that the auditory nerve and the auditory brain have not received full input for (however long you've been deaf/HOH) and those parts of your body will need to get 'built up' like an atrophied muscle; something that doesn't happen overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Adam Posted February 6, 2014 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Barbara, I'm a little late but CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! My co workers actually thought that I would have surgery on Thursday, come back to work on Monday and be able to hear perfectly. It took some educating on what actually it is like and I still had to remind every once in a while. I am so glad to hear things are going well for you. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.