Catching Flack and Hearing Complaints

Alright already!  I've been catching some flack from my friends because I haven't blogged since February.  What can I say?  Life happens.  What better come back subject to write about than my recent leap into the hearing world.  It's not that I couldn't hear anything before, it's just that I heard very little.  I have worn hearing aids since I was eleven years old.  That, plus my expert lip reading ability, allowed me to get by, just barely.  Just enough to keep me from being part of the deaf community.  Not that I'm complaining.  Struggling to function in the hearing community has honed my skills of overcoming obstacles.  I'm an over-comer, a compensator. 

On July 1st I had cochlear implant surgery on my left ear.  On July 14th it was activated.  Though the whole acclimation process will take over a month, the immediate benefits were obvious.  For those of you who don't know how a cochlear implant works, here is a short form.  During surgery, the surgeon makes an incision behind the ear.  He then "threads" an electronic, plastic coated wire with many electrodes into the cochlea which is very much like a spiral shell.  He then places the internal processing device under the scalp, behind the ear, about half way between the ear and top of the head.  There is metal in this part because the processor that is worn externally, and sits on top of the ear much like a hearing aid, has a cap that has a magnet in it.  This connects the two parts of the processors.  That's basically how it works. 

Now, back to it's immediate benefits.  The first day I was activated I was able to hear the car shifting gears as we drove home.  While cooking breakfast, cracking the eggs on the side of the bowl sounded really loud.  I could hear the bacon sizzling in the frying pan, but more amazingly, I could hear the paper towel sliding on the counter as I moved it.  I could hear my husband running water in the bathroom on the other side of the apartment.  All these sounds people with normal hearing take for granted, I was discovering for the first time.  What a joy!

As I said before, the acclimation process will take at least a month.  Voices are not yet sounding normal.  You have to remember that the sound I am hearing is electronically produced sound, not amplification of normal sound.  It actually feels like I am hearing on two different levels.  I'm hearing the bionic sound, and at this point, frankly everyone sounds like a robot.  But the brain is an amazing creation of God, because it remembers what the amplified normal voice sounds like, so I can "hear" the memory.  Everyday, the two get closer and closer to the one phenomenon. 

I have been given "homework" to do in between appointments to make further computerized adjustments.  It all has to do with word recognition.  I'm to respond to a coach who says words or sentences.  The company I chose to purchase the processor from, Advanced Bionics, has a wonderful website where I can get involved with a myriad of exercises.  The on-line support is amazing, even providing an on-line community I can be a part of. 

As I go through this process, I will keep you all informed as to the improvements, plus the emotional ramifications of becoming a "hearing" person.  I just bought a new coffee cup yesterday.  It says "just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly".  That's me.  I can hear, I can "fly"!  Excuse me while I go listen to some roses breathe.

Comments

[Mike Baldwin]

Thanks for letting us into your world. Now you hear better than me. hehe

Mike Baldwin