OperaJoyce

- Blog Posts

Almost 3 weeks since A day - sounds not normal

May 23, 2010
posted by  OperaJoyce



Questions about hearing.

 Pink Dot sent me a message about how I am hearing now and are the sounds normal. This is my reply to her that I believe may help some others waiting activation or awaiting surgery.

 

No, the sounds I am hearing do not sound normal. Mickey and Minnie are still with me even tho I have told them I do not need them anymore. Stubborn little buggers! Even the birds have a squeaky sound. But then I had not heard birds except for the loud squeaky ones for several years; so even the Minnie birds are welcomed by me.


I went shopping yesterday and found it difficult to understand the Minnie salespeople. But there again, I have not been able to hear in a noisy environment for about a year. I have not had any other programs installed; just have 4 everyday until my next mapping on June 17. So my happiness is based on the knowledge that it will all get better. Before CI I did not have any hope. I cannot talk on the telephone at all. I just get a bunch of noise. The telcoil seems to make it worse. Any suggestions, anyone?I was a little concerned by a blog I read yesterday. It was from a man who is going to get CIs. His message was so positive that I felt he had not really taken in all the negative aspects. My message to his blog was an attempt to say whoa, man, it is going to be great, but there will be much time and patience needed. Hope I did not come across too negative.

All in all I am very, very happy with my CIs. I can carry on conversations with my family in relative quiet surroundings; couldn't do that before. Tonight will be my "debut" with friends in a noisy environment. I have tried to tell people what to expect of me, but I don't think they get it. In addition, there will be an hour long opera concert. This is a command performance for Bill and me as we are being honored for our years of volunteer work with the company; otherwise I would skip it until later in my CI development. Oh my, I shall turn my Sensitivity and Volume as low as they will go and just imagine I am in an insane asylum! Patience, practice and perseverance: that is what I am trying to follow. It seems to be working. A month from now if my mice friends are still with me, I may not be so patient, might even set mouse traps. For now I am very happy and want to rush out and hug life. Joyce
Bookmark and Share

Comments

 
OperaJoyce

May 23, 2010

Oh no - when I hit upon my blog to see if it went through correctly, an ad for Kids Zone came up on the left featuring a mouse with big ears! I think I am being attacked by mice.
 
Iola

May 23, 2010

Congratulations to you and Bill for being honored by the opera company this evening. I pray you will have a memorable night. I agree with everything you wrote about too much optimism on this community. We need to be honest all of the time and not be afraid to mention the negatives that come along with this process. Have a great evening. Am sending you a big hug. Iola
 
SharonC- Cochlear Awareness Volunteer

May 23, 2010

Ha Ha Joyce yep there coming to get you. (lol) Yes getting the desired performance out of our CI's does require work. None of us on here have been afraid to do that. I was told from the very beginning that a tinge of the robot could stay so I have come closer to normal than I expected. But Like you said is the great thing is we can hear and carry on one on one conversations which we were not able to do before. It is such an awesome world compared to the one we were in. I am so thrilled about that.. Hope you had a wonderful evening. SharonC
 
BobbieNavone

May 23, 2010

Joyce, after reading your comment on Iola's post, I of course had to read what you had to say. Oh my gosh! You have only 3 weeks of activation! I have to go back to my journal to see how I was doing at 3 weeks....Actually I don't....nothing but most ungodly shrieking and the sound of everything was just horrible. All sounds and noises blended together so nothing was natural at all. So many mappings before anything sounded halfway as I thought it should. As I mentioned to Iola, after one year and 3 months, do I feel as if I realize the reason I made decision to have the surgery. I really appreciate how I am able to make comparisons with regard to how someone's voice sounds from different times I have been in contact and even things like how much better the plane sounds from the first time I flew after surgery to a couple of weeks ago. I have flown 6 times since surgery and last time was most comfortable yet as far as noise of plane not being overpowering where I could understand voices. So I bet in another year, you will have so many good things to tell us about. But also, of course, everyone progresses at different pace. Maybe some people can hear and understand after 2 weeks, so perhaps I should tone down my cynicism.
 
gatorfan

May 23, 2010

Joyce, It sounds like you are having a very normal experience that most of us have had during the early part of our new hearing journey. I think in the beginning my biggest problem was my impatience because I was hearing so much better that I wanted everything too quickly. I continue to have to work on my patience but like I told my audiologist on my last visit with her a couple of weeks ago if I knew my hearing would not get any better I would still be happy with my CI. The exciting part is we KNOW it will continue to get better and better!! How lucky we all are to be on our improved hearing journeys!!! Wayne
 
tee11

May 23, 2010

Mickie and Minnie will go away. Adding new programs will also help. Best regards
 
PinkDot

May 23, 2010

Joyce, I appreciate your honest feedback on your new experience with your CI's. We all need to have realistic expectations. Learning from others' experiences is very, very important in making a decision and serves as a guidance as we move forward in our journey. Thank you!
 
Denise Portis

May 23, 2010

Joyce, it sounds like you are doing well for only being 3 weeks post-activation. It really will get better! If needed, don't be afraid to ask for additional mappings earlier. Thank you for your honest appraisal of all you are going through! Those first months are not easy ones. It has been 5 years since I was activated, and it is very easy to forget all the WORK involved in learning to hear again with a CI!
 
MargoK-Cochlear Volunteer

May 23, 2010

It sounds like you are doing great for so early in your ci journey. I think that one of the hardest things with a ci is the amount of patience needed. I think that is common for people to want to hear better and faster than what their brain and ci are able to do early in the ci journey. The amount of effort and work(that "P" word practice) involved with a cochlear implant vary. You are doing good by rejoicing in the pleasures you receive from your Cis now such as being able to have conversations with your family in quieter environments. Sure there will be environments that are challenging but what I find helps with those is to ask hearing friends or family if it is difficult environment for them and then to reflect and ask myself, is this environment easier now than it was pre-ci? I also periodically ask family and friends to assess my ci hearing as they often can tell when I need another mapping before I can tell. Congrats on being honored by the opera company and I hope that you had a grand time! with double ci joy, Margo
 
Ilene - Cochlear Volunteer

May 23, 2010

Joyce, it is difficult to have people tell you that you are early in your journey, to give it time, when daily you are struggling to be a part of all the sounds around. Patience is difficult to find when after all our anticipation we fall a bit short. It is a challenge to keep at difficult tasks but for the gift of hearing, well worth the effort. Hang in there. Congratulations on being honored for your work - Ilene
 
Rustycms

May 23, 2010

SO excited for you ~~~ it really does get better Whoo Hooo ~ Hugs, Rusty
 
Kris S

May 23, 2010

I hope your evening goes as planned. It takes a lot of patience and practice I found after my 1st CI. After 2 months Mickey and Minnie went away and with every mapping it got better. I still had problems in big stores that were noisy hearing the checker but found if I used the noise setting it was better. When you get all your programs it will be better. Congratulations to you and your husband!!
 
Karen K.

May 24, 2010

Joyce, I think you are doing fine for three weeks after activation. It will improve over time and sound better. Men's voices sounded like high-pitched monotone robots for two months after activation of my first CI; it was so funny! Your talking to your daughter from 30 feet away and understanding her OK is great! I echo with everyone else on the rest.
 
Darcy - Cochlear Volunteer

May 24, 2010

Joyce, I can only repeat what has been said above, you really are doing wonderful for where you are in the process. Congratulations on yours and your husbands accomplishments, hope you enjoy the evening!
 
OperaJoyce

May 24, 2010

Thanks everyone for you comments. The opera evening was a big success in my opinion. I will write a blog later about my listening experiences, which surpassed my expectations. Must go now to take my daughter on an errand. Love to all. Joyce
 
EllenBR

May 24, 2010

Joyce so happy to learn the opera was a big success and you enjoyed it. I'm still in utter admiration of you embarking on your CI journey and wish you only the best. I hope with your lifetime of wisdom and experience you have accumulated an abundance of patience because as we all know with that comes rewards. Ellen
 
barbw

May 24, 2010

Joyce~ It does get better and for some it is quicker based on how long you have been hearing impaired, totally deaf or how quick your brain responds to the new sounds. Take heart and look ahead. So glad you were able to enjoy the opera and will look for your blog about what you did experience sound wise. Take care. Barb
 
Sk8terMom

May 24, 2010

I am so glad you had a great time. I will be looking forward to your Opera experience. ~Becky
 
grammaK

May 24, 2010

Joyce - I think you are doing quite well and your mindset of not expecting too much too soon is realistic. About the telecoil - I've found that I get a "buzzing" noise with the telecoil if I'm in the room with the television on - I turn off the TV and the buzzing stops. (?) I will be interested to read how your night at the Opera went (listening-wise). ~Karen (P.S. Hope you won't need to set those traps:)
 
Ann in Colorado

May 24, 2010

Joyce, if I compare what you are saying three weeks after activation to where I was three weeks after my first CI, I would say you are doing SUPER. It took a while for Minnie and Micky to go away for me--actually, it took a while for the raw synthesizer sounds to go away so that I could just understand SPEECH. Then, with my second CI, I understood all speech just super from the moment they activated me, BUT I still feel, somehow, that that CI sounds a bit more electronic in certain situations than my older one does. Each person being implanted is different, and each ear is different, too. For me, life before CIs was so difficult--and my eyes still well up with tears just thinking about how hard it was--that I gladly embrace this experience, for all its challenges and successes. --Ann
 
BenR

May 25, 2010

Joyce- I doubt anyone was as impatient and demanding as I was early on. I have been activated 4 months and the ride just gets better and better as time wears on. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to CI'S. Ben R
 
Daniela

May 25, 2010

Glad you had a great night, Joyce, and congratulations to you and Bill. I agree with the others - sounds like you're doing great! The journey is so different for us all. For me, it took weeks before children stopped sounding like Minnie and Mickey. But it got there in the end. There are times when even now I will be listening to a song and notice that the singer has a bit of a chipmunk-quality. It's just going to take a while, don't worry. It is still early days. :-)
Previous   |   Next