What it is like between two worlds with CI'S

What is like between two worlds. When you're between two worlds. The hearing world and the deaf world. The hearing world is sometimes gets frustrating, it gets mad with one who wears a hearing aid or just has trouble hearing but.... it is sometimes asked. "You have a hearing aid? Why don't you turn it up? And then they shout and say,"well, I have to shout for you to hear me" but yet we tried to tell them to look at me! Don't turn your head, don't look down..... just look straight at me so I can read your lips.

And there's times we just want to break down and cry, and keeps saying to ourselves,"why can't people understand?"It's not that we don't want to hear them, we do. It would be nice if people from the hearing world could just take a moment and put themselves in our shoes and think about how we feel. Like I said on hearing journey, people take their hearing are granted and there's times I've wished that they could see that before hearing loss happens to them. Some of us have lost our hearing from allergic reactions, sudden deafness, slow losing their hearing, some were born that way, some have lost their hearing from her car wreck. And so on.

Like the teacher that I did a speech for was telling me. When she was younger in her teen years, the doctors had told her she needed to protect her hearing in the years to come she will lose it and she said I told the doctors not need but now she wished she had h protected er ears.

During that time that I was wearing a hearing aid, I was trying to fit in to the world. The best I can to learn sign language. I was trying to understand them if they were trying to understand me and tell them that I was hard of hearing and that I did know very little sign to help me. But as they knew I'll wore a hearing aid. They said you are a hearing person, and I told them yes. Let on hard of hearing and that I had two use sign language, and lip reading to understand what people are saying. And they said okay.

When I got my first CI. I was really nervous on way is going to be like. I remember when I first met Jennifer Thorpe. She was so patient and understanding, and she knew exactly how I felt. I was so excited about seeing her that I was talking really fast. I realized that I was talking to fast. She was telling me about the implants and how they work. She even put a fork on her head where the CI magnet is, so it stuck for he boys to see. And this was in a restaurant. She had us all laughing and made us feel wanted.

She wasn't there the day I had surgery and she and her daughter Katie came into the recovery room and gave the boy's cookies. She let me know that everything must be okay, But it's going to take time and a lot of hard work. When I first got my CI turned on it was music to my ears. I was so excited that day because I could hear her for the first time after 48 years. My son was with me that day. The audiologist and Jeremy and I were laughing so hard that tears were flowing down our faces. When I got my second CI . My husband was with me that day and he had tears rolling down his face when I heard his words and understood every word.

A cochlear implant is a blessing in that they make lives better through which we can have a normal happy life. To me it's a gift and advanced bionics has given me and thousands of others the ability to have happiness in hearing. I'm able to enjoy my music, to be on the phone , and to be able to understand people in a conversation over the phone and not even knowing that I am hard of hearing. Just to be able to feel like I'm welcomed into the hearing world, but yet between two worlds. The reason why is that a bad is the night, I am in the deaf world in total silence, very lonely world, very quiet and scary, there are times I'm worried if there will be a big fire or someone breaks in, in many other things! Every morning I tell my husband and my children thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to hear them again by that many had the surgeries. I do not know what I would do without my CI'S. I am so grateful to have online friends like Kim, Eric, Sam, Evelyn, Sylvia, and Jennifer and so many others that I have met when I first came to hearing journey. I hope this can help others that are going through the hardships that we all have with our hearing on chat and on the forum

Jeremy playing in the band for the first time

On a beautiful September day, Springfield middle school is having their homecoming game it was Jeremy's first time playing with the band at that game and it was my first time going to the game with both cochlear implants. It was exciting to be able to hear them play at the game.

Jeremy did a awesome job and he looks so good up there with the band. It was amazing to be able to hear the band play. I was especially enjoyed it when they were playing "wipeout". The young gentleman that was playing the full set of drums is in the eighth grade and he will be leaving and it will be going to high school next year. Jeremy is learning how to play"wipeout"on his drums to where he could take his place and play" wipeout" at the games. James and I were there to support Jeremy at the game and it was his first time. And I am proud of my son for doing a fantastic job.

How thing have been going!

Jettchen Now
Jettchen as a puppy
Laura and me with my family in Maryville, Tennessee ref="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZqjeaPW9-6QJbY0b5QVkaWzlQGln-rAmn6EJ2DAgXEXB_RQ2_iWo02CU3JhBdYF9RgcaNrH2kk3j-seIbD74nd-kkdfFjAK8BIe6kPoonjW0taoVCYlPh_jFnb4KyM5ymhLaPQzIlFY/s1600/Dollywood%252Cpigeon+Forge+and+maryville+007.jpg"> Jean, Rusty and me at the old Mill restaurant
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James,Jeremy and my nephew
in Dollywood park

my niece Grace
this is my Brother and Sister at Dollywood park

It's been a year since I've been on here and I know it is very long time! I have not had time to get on here. I had been doing great, hearing new things all the time. I had been very busy doing listening exercises to improve my hearing since the last time I was on here. I had been having mapping every three months trying to get a balance for both sides and I've been working on trying to find that balance.my audioloist said I was doing great on my hearing and that I was doing better than she anticipated on the left ear. I also have been very busy speaking at the Springfield middle school in 2010 and doing reports about cochlear implants at the school.

I've also been busy with my boys and my grandchildren. I've been enjoying the sounds of the laughter and excitement from grandchildren and our boys when they are having a great time. In July 2010, and I got to see my brother and my sister and my niece and nephew in Dollywood in pigeon Forge Tennessee. This was their first time sent me with my cochlear implants and they were amazed on how well I was hearing.

I got on the roller coasters and I had to push myself up to keep me from hitting my head on the bars that I come to realized that he was too risky to get on the roller coasters but I had fun watching my niece and nephew with my brother and the rest of them get on all the roller coasters. Also went to the old Mill restaurant in pigeon Forge and got to meet with Jean Rymer and Rusty in person and had a wonderful time at lunch. Also got to meet Laura in Maryville, Tennessee for lunch on the way home.

In September 2010 John bought a meeting German Shepherd puppy and she was six weeks old I named her Jettchen. I have been very busy taking her to training at Nashville dog training center for opiates classes and to socialize in the public. She's doing wonderful in her training. Also was worried about not able to understand the teacher in the class as I was working with Jettchen, because we were moving all the time in the ring. I had James or Jeremy go with me to be sure that I understand what they were saying. But I did not have a problem and that made me feel good.

In November 2010 on Thanksgiving I had a wonderful time, able to communicate with my family and to understand everything that they were saying to me. It's wonderful to know that you can hear and understand everything that someone is saying to you. But I do know that we have our good days and our bad on the hearing. And we have to try to let people understand that what they have to put themselves in our shoes and when we don't understand them.

December 2010 was very cold and wintry month. We be in quite a bit and did not do very much. We had a lot of snow days, or we would have snow fights, and we would go sledding. A Christmas time I had made Christmas dinner and we had Lebanese food and spent time with family to spread Christmas cheer and laughter. But this was the first time with all of cochlear implants. It was amazing to be able to hear the laughter and the joy of Christmas music and the children being excited or what they got for Christmas.

In January 2011 it was John's birthday on the 14th and mine was the 16th John decided we would go out to eat for our birthdays. At the restaurant it was amazing that I can able to hear and understand what was being said in a noisy and loud restaurant. After that we didn't get out much in January because it was still snowing and the boys for school for almost 4 weeks due to snow.

In March 2011 I went to diner for a new mapping program because I was having a hard time understanding. One program on my left side was too loud in it was overpowering the right. We figured out that I had Hi Res fidelity 120 paired in my left ear and then we had Hi Res fidelity 120 sequentrial in the right. So we played around with the mappings and come to tribe filed with Hi Res fidelity 123 sequentrial and found that I had better balance. One side was not overpowering the other. I did the replacement has in the listening room and I had gotten a 100% involve cochlear implants. I had been working a lot on listening.

In May 2011 Jeremy got a drum set and start taking drum lessons and James got a new guitar and also was taking lessons. Since then, I have been getting really busy on taking them to lessons. During the summer I have been working in the yard and going on the Greenway and listening to beautiful sounds of birds and crickets and water flowing while I was taking Jettchen and Digger walks.

August 2011 is the beginning of the school year and I have been trying to get it ready to get the kids started in school. James in the eighth grade and Jeremy is in the seventh and in the band this year. It's hard believe. that my children are growing up so fast and they are teenagers.