After you get a cochlear implant from Cochlear America, you are not on your own to figure out how to deal with your new hearing world. Cochlear has what they call "Cochlear community chapter events" throughout the U.S. In Boise the meetings are held the third week of the month. People who are already implanted and those that are interested in gathering more information are invited to attend.
The meetings are led by a regional manager who develops the agendas. When all discussion is wrapped up, we are free to mingle and get to know each other. I have been to a few of the meetings and have already connected with a
lady who is doing really well with her implant. Like me, she has one
ear implanted and wears a hearing aid in the other. In February she went to the Cochlear Celebration that was held in Orlando. Every two years Cochlear America has a big weekend extravaganza where they bring people together to share their stories, attend educational sessions and to just have fun with other implantees who share the common thread of having a hearing loss. It sounds like she had a blast. These Celebrations alternate between the east and west coast so the next one, scheduled for 2017, will be on the west coast.
If you are thinking about getting an implant, there are many avenues in which you can connect with others who have already been implanted. The other two cochlear implant companies, Advanced Bionics and Med El, have forums for their recipients. In addition to specific cochlear implant websites, there are other avenues in which to learn more about what life is like with a CI. Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), SayWhatClub (SWC) and Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) are three organizations for people with hearing loss. They offer great resources and information as well as opportunities to network with people who know what it is like to live with a hearing loss. If you have a hearing loss and are currently not associated with any of these groups, I strongly encourage you to look into them. I learned more about cochlear implants from fellow members of the SayWhatClub than I ever could have doing my own research. There is comfort in knowing you aren't alone in dealing with your hearing loss.
HLAA: www.hearingloss.org
SWC: www.saywhatclub.com
ALDA: www.alda.org
Monday, March 30, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
A Hearing Breakthrough
I mentioned in an earlier post that at each mapping my audiologist goes through each electrode and I tell her how many beeps I hear. After this she tests my thresholds, to see how loud it can go at each frequency (electrode) and still be comfortable. At my recent mapping my thresholds were higher so there was a bigger difference between where I heard beeps and how loud I could comfortably handle the volume. From the very beginning my audiologist said my mapping looked so different than those of her other patients. But not anymore! For whatever reason, my brain started getting used to this new way of hearing.
My audiologist can set up to four programs on my CI. At this recent appointment she set up my first program with what Cochlear America calls SCAN. In this program, the processor constantly evaluates the surroundings and automatically adjusts to what it thinks the listener needs in their current environment. My second program was set up with what we call "home", just my basic go-to program that was established from the results of my testing. The third program, called Cafe, was set up to help me hear in an environment such as a restaurant or coffee shop. My fourth program was set up as the SCAN again, but adjusted with higher volumes.
Once the programming was complete my audiologist transferred the information to my processor. Immediately I could hear remarkably better. My audiologist no longer sounded like Minnie Mouse, and neither did I. Our voices sounded much more natural. I also heard the clock ticking very loudly as well as a whirring sound I couldn't identify. We figured the whirring sound was the fan in her computer tower. Wow, was it loud! I had never been so excited after an appointment.
As I sit in my home office writing this, I can hear the robins outside the window chirping very loudly. And the window is closed. How do I know it's a robin? Because it's the same sound I hear when I walk outside. Some people may think it's an annoyance, but not me. I love hearing all these sounds. After all, if a sound gets on my nerves enough, I always have the option of taking off my CI. It is just one of the few perks of being hard of hearing.
My audiologist can set up to four programs on my CI. At this recent appointment she set up my first program with what Cochlear America calls SCAN. In this program, the processor constantly evaluates the surroundings and automatically adjusts to what it thinks the listener needs in their current environment. My second program was set up with what we call "home", just my basic go-to program that was established from the results of my testing. The third program, called Cafe, was set up to help me hear in an environment such as a restaurant or coffee shop. My fourth program was set up as the SCAN again, but adjusted with higher volumes.
Once the programming was complete my audiologist transferred the information to my processor. Immediately I could hear remarkably better. My audiologist no longer sounded like Minnie Mouse, and neither did I. Our voices sounded much more natural. I also heard the clock ticking very loudly as well as a whirring sound I couldn't identify. We figured the whirring sound was the fan in her computer tower. Wow, was it loud! I had never been so excited after an appointment.
As I sit in my home office writing this, I can hear the robins outside the window chirping very loudly. And the window is closed. How do I know it's a robin? Because it's the same sound I hear when I walk outside. Some people may think it's an annoyance, but not me. I love hearing all these sounds. After all, if a sound gets on my nerves enough, I always have the option of taking off my CI. It is just one of the few perks of being hard of hearing.
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