February 4,2010 I went to get my first bilateral mapping.... Well here is what happen that day! I got there at 10 am CST and John could not go with me and that was OK! I understand with the type of job he has! While I was waiting to be called back, there was a new CI patient I was talking with. He asked me how I was doing with CI and I told him that I was there for a tune up and he and his wife laughed. There was one other person asking about the Chochlear implant and I told him how it works.
The new CI patient was telling me that Donna told him to go to hearingjourney.com to the listening room and that he can work on the clix to improve his hearing. He said that it look like something a kid would use. I told him that your brain is like a newborn baby and it is relearning and you have to work hard at it and if you do not work at it you will not get better. As I was talking, Donna came out and asked if we are having a party and that she would join us and we all laughed and said yes. She asked what we were talking about and I told her that I was telling the new CI patient that he needs to work hard to retraining the brain to hear better; that it is not a quick fix and that it take time and a lot hard work. Donna said you have heard it from someone that knows and that she had been there and that she had her first implant for one year today!!
Donna called me to the back and she ask how things were going for me. I told her that I hear better with Hi Res 120 then the regular program. I just could not understand speech at all without the 120. So she put me on the P Hi Res 120 on all 3 slots. We talked and she was telling me that I was talking to her without looking at her to read lips and the (left)processor was not in at all. It as awesome and we were getting excited that I was doing so well.
She was concerned about changing the radio frequencies and that the (right)might not stay locked. Well we tried it to see what would happen and it stayed on with no problem. She thinks that I was swollen where the magnet was. During this time we had the(left)processor on and each time she turned on the (right)ear the (left) would have a static sound. It finally stayed static long enough so we could try figure out what was going on. When we put on the body processor it stopped. The problem was the processor itself. Donna called AB to tell them that the processor they sent is bad. And what was next. Will there's more. She said that the number on the processor did not match the number on the box at all. Then Donna kept looking at the (left) ear and ask if my ears hurt at all and I told her that the right did I figured it was from the surgery.
She had me go to see Dr.Schwaber (her husband) to see if everything was okay. They looked in my ears and he said that Donna was worried about the left ear and come to find out that the right had a small infection in it but, not to bad of one. His nurse told him that she was trying to get the wax out of my ear and that she seen dry skin flips in my ear. she was trying to get them out and he told her do not do that they will come out on their own. He gave me ear drops to put in my ears and told to put them in twice a day for four days. He said I should come back to get my new processor from Donna on Monday Feb 8Th at 3 p.m. and that we will try to do a mapping. Donna and Dr.Schwaber were shocked on how will I was doing with the right ear alone.
On the way home I was listening to music and I could understand the words to the song and it blew me away. I was shocked I could hear that with the right ear alone and I was not to wear the left processor until Monday. Then I got stuck behind a really bad weark. I could hear all the fire trucks, police cars, ambulance coming behind me.Iam thankful that I cound hear them because it was a two lane road. I had to call John so he would not worry and I could hear him on the phone and it was just the second week since activation. When I got home John called on the home phone and I could hear and understand him.
I am so even though not everything has worked. I can hear with the one ear for now and I'm happy to say that as long as I can hear that I'm truly blessed. So that what happen that day!!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Unexpected Appiontment
On Friday January 22, I got up to get John off to work. We were setting at the Kitchen table having a wonderful conversation and laughing and we were both so happy that I could hear so well and things were going pretty good. Later I took James and Jeremy to school and I was hearing very well.
While I was paying for James's lunch in the cafeteria I was talking to the cafeteria manager about the implant and how it works. She said that she had a grandson that has a hard time hearing.I told her how to get in touch with hearing journey.com and Advanced Bionics and to set up an appointment to see if her grandson qualifies for the chochlear implant. Then all of a sudden my right ear a sound and then it was not connecting. The sound was like a sonar ping in a submarine indicating a target. I called Dr.Donna Schwaber and told her what was happening.She ask if I tried changing the magnet and I told her yes, that I even tried the battery and the t-mic and I could not get the environmental sound in the room. I could only hear that one sound. She said that the processor was not working and that she would call Advanced Bionics and see if they can send me a new processor overnight and I told her thank you very much.
The next day the new processor came and I changed the processors out and the new processor was making the same sound and I was getting really worried it might be something serious. I called Dr Schwaber at her home and she told me to come in on Monday January 25 at 2 p.m. and we can see what going on.
That Monday I went in and they called me to the back and Donna hooked me up to the computer. The first thing she noticed was that the processor was cutting itself off and she told me to relax. It was the lock and that the two magnets were not locking. She tried a new setting to see if they would lock and they would still not lock. She said that she had to change the radio frequencies in order to get it to lock. After that , my left ear started having a static sound. I called her back and told her what was going on, She said for me to call Advanced Bionics and talk to them. So I called them and they believed it was that two magnets on my left ear were bad and they sent me two new ones. Well, it wasn't the magnets. I called Danna back, and she said that she thinks she can fix it. That it could be something she can fix and it may be the radio frequency that she changed on the right ear that might be causing it. So I go tomorrow to get everything right. Thanks to my family,Audiologist(Donna), friends from hearing journey and face book for their support.
While I was paying for James's lunch in the cafeteria I was talking to the cafeteria manager about the implant and how it works. She said that she had a grandson that has a hard time hearing.I told her how to get in touch with hearing journey.com and Advanced Bionics and to set up an appointment to see if her grandson qualifies for the chochlear implant. Then all of a sudden my right ear a sound and then it was not connecting. The sound was like a sonar ping in a submarine indicating a target. I called Dr.Donna Schwaber and told her what was happening.She ask if I tried changing the magnet and I told her yes, that I even tried the battery and the t-mic and I could not get the environmental sound in the room. I could only hear that one sound. She said that the processor was not working and that she would call Advanced Bionics and see if they can send me a new processor overnight and I told her thank you very much.
The next day the new processor came and I changed the processors out and the new processor was making the same sound and I was getting really worried it might be something serious. I called Dr Schwaber at her home and she told me to come in on Monday January 25 at 2 p.m. and we can see what going on.
That Monday I went in and they called me to the back and Donna hooked me up to the computer. The first thing she noticed was that the processor was cutting itself off and she told me to relax. It was the lock and that the two magnets were not locking. She tried a new setting to see if they would lock and they would still not lock. She said that she had to change the radio frequencies in order to get it to lock. After that , my left ear started having a static sound. I called her back and told her what was going on, She said for me to call Advanced Bionics and talk to them. So I called them and they believed it was that two magnets on my left ear were bad and they sent me two new ones. Well, it wasn't the magnets. I called Danna back, and she said that she thinks she can fix it. That it could be something she can fix and it may be the radio frequency that she changed on the right ear that might be causing it. So I go tomorrow to get everything right. Thanks to my family,Audiologist(Donna), friends from hearing journey and face book for their support.
Bilateral Activation
Me with my new processor on and to show you a new trick thatDonna show me.
Dr.Donna Schwaber head Audiologist and me with her Husband Dr.Mitchell K.Schwaber M.D. This is the husband and wife CI team that is so good to me.
Two weeks ago on January 21 I had my activation day. John was with that day and in no time they called us back. She asked me how I was doing and if I was ready for the big day! I told her that I was very excited and that I was keeping my expectation low and she said that's a good idea.
She told me that things would sound robotic again, and to be patient and it might go away in a few day or weeks. John asked her if it's almost like a radio transmitting frequencies and she said no. Nothing like that and she explained to him how it works.
She hooked me up to the computer and told me to take the left Chochlear Implant off and told me to be quiet and still while she tested the electrodes. As she was testing them, I could hear the electrode fire up and she turn the computer to where I could see how it works. Each time the electrode was fire up it was a higher pitch. As I was watching, all 16 electrodes were fired up and I was getting excited as I was hearing all the different pitches as each was turned on. It was totally different from the first time because all I could hear was beep beep.
She told me she would be turning the processor on and after she turned it on, she ask me "Can you hear me or understand what I'm saying? I said yes and I broke down in tears. I was so excited because I could understand her and John without the left chochlear implant on and not looking at her all the time.
She had me put on the left processor and she asked me how things sounded with it. Things sounded normal and she was getting excited because she said that a good thing and that I would do really well on that right ear. She had me on three programs and of them are hires P 120 and one is not.
She asked me to try each one for a couple of days to see how they sound and to let her know and we can go from there. She said that I will see you in one week, but the appointment had been change to February 4 at 10 a.m.
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