My Cochlear Implant - a journal

Yes, lots of readers like me who usually just lurk. You are very brave and determined to master your new hearing devices. Thank you for your story and I hope you continue it. It is extremely valuable to those who haven't decided to take that next step of hearing loss: the high degree of technology that cochlear implants presents to us.

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Thank you, Alice44! I sure appreciate hearing that, pun intended!
Today, I was riding in the back seat of friends car going to lunch. I normally check out because hearing over the noise has been impossible for years. Today, I suddenly realized that I was understanding the conversation going from the front to the backseat! That was a delightful first. Also, over lunch I was part of a complex set of discussions in a restaurant that was very busy and loud. I didn’t feel my shoulders climbing to my ears, I was able to understand and my body felt relaxed. Another difference, I was easy to know when to interject or answer a question, I could understand!
Sound changes every day, it is still quite electronic. In the beginning, voices were monotonous. Today, noticed I’m hearing differences in pitch and tone. Amazing.
This is a NOISY world we live in, I find myself glad to turn off sound at the end of the day. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard keyboard clicks, water going down the drain, the dryer beeping...
Thanks again, alice44!

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Thank you, Alice44! I sure appreciate hearing that, pun intended!
Today, I was riding in the back seat of friends car going to lunch. I normally check out because hearing over the noise has been impossible for years. Today, I suddenly realized that I was understanding the conversation going from the front to the backseat! That was a delightful first. Also, over lunch I was part of a complex set of discussions in a restaurant that was very busy and loud. I didn’t feel my shoulders climbing to my ears, I was able to understand and my body felt relaxed. Another difference, I was easy to know when to interject or answer a question, I could understand!
Sound changes every day, it is still quite electronic. In the beginning, voices were monotonous. Today, noticed I’m hearing differences in pitch and tone. Amazing.
This is a NOISY world we live in, I find myself glad to turn off sound at the end of the day. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard keyboard clicks, water going down the drain, the dryer beeping...
Thanks again, alice44!

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Two week appointment was yesterday. My CA (cochlear audiologist) tested my hearing with my processor on, in the booth, using the ascending beep/noises. At first I couldn’t figure out the noises, they seemed to vibrate or warble in my ears. Once I was able to identify the sounds, the test went very well. Dr. Roberts said that my hearing is already very close to target! She redid the test in my CI ear without my processor and my hearing clocked in at the very bottom of the chart - Yipes.
So, what have these two weeks been like? Stupendous. That’s the word. Wonderous, that’s another one that fits nicely. Let me give you some examples: doves wings slipping through the air as they rise from the ground near where I kneeled, ethereal. How about a concert of lovely high ringing notes when ice hit the sides of the glass in a busy restaurant. How about FaceTime with my grandson and almost understanding every word while understanding my son, who I’ve not been able to understand for 20+ years? And NPR on the radio, understanding the discussion. And hearing while understanding my wife who spoke to me while my back wads turned, behind her face mask she wore while sanding some wood, amazing. Many tearful moments of hearing lost sounds.
When I must remove my processor to sleep, I am bereft. As if I had taken off my right hand or a removed piece of my heart. In the booth without it, I could only feel that encompassing fear I used to feel when getting my hearing tested... fear of failing, looking stupid, being seen as incompetent. I’ve decided to name each of my processors - the black OTE and my blond Kanso. No names have come to me yet, but they will. My processors are now as important as family members or my cats.
I don’t want to take you on a ‘Merry Sunshine’ ride here, there have been difficulties, none concerning the function of my CI though. I have still got pain in my inner ear and itchyness (a sign of low grade pain). The pain arrives in the late afternoon or evening nad persists into the night, so it is helping me to be more mindful about how tired I am - hearing fatigue hasn’t disappeared (yet). On that note, usually I’m so much more relaxed than with my HAs - I don’t have to work hard to understand now. IN fact, I’m writing this in Starbucks, surrounded by conversations and I am not at all bothered by the bangs of the machine or noisy laughter - my processor stops loudness in nanoseconds. MUCH better than my endearing HAs. Tinnitus is still a factor - louder than before the CI but quieter than just after the surgery, so that’s good.
Nuts and bolts. After the processor was turned on and mapped the first time, I was instructed to increase the volume (using my remote) from 6 to 10. Yesterday we re-mapped and I’m starting back at volume 6 again. It’s about building tolerance to sounds I’ve not heard in years. This is such a complex process!
Thank you, friends, for joining me on this magical journey. See you in a couple of weeks.

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March! Gosh, It’s been 6 weeks since my processors were activated. It would take hundreds of words to describe how much my life has changed. Things I could never do before - talk with my friends on the phone, talk with my grandkids on FaceTime - I now enjoy. A pine warbler was outside the RV window and the sound was so interesting, detailed and rich.
I am an immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipient - 20 years out - and this Covid-19 has me scared. I’m self-isolating to prevent exposure. I wasn’t able to do a huge shopping trip because the number of people in grocery stores. I normally shop at odd hours to avoid the crowds. Barb shops and we use bleach to clean packages coming in to the RV. Oh, yes. We finished renovating our house and it gets listed today. Our goal before the virus was to sell the house and move closer to our grandchildren. Now, we’re trying to decide what to do at all. Sticking in this lovely state park seems a good bet at least until the house sells. So not only have I been learning how to hear again, but the rest of my life is topsy-turvy.
The cochlear implant surgery didn’t go as well as it could have, I’m still experiencing taste bud issues. A persistent metallic taste throughout my mouth and reactivity to salt and sugar that blow both flavors up to an intolerable level leave me not so hungry.
Aural rehabilitation has been a blast. I use Angel Sounds, listen to audiobooks, talk on the phone, and was talking to anyone who would stop a minute when I was out - not now with the virus, I’m home.
With hope you are all social distancing etc. I read a good thing, “Don’t do social distancing because you could get the virus. Practice social distancing as you HAVE the virus and protect others in your community.”

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March! Gosh, It’s been 6 weeks since my processors were activated. It would take hundreds of words to describe how much my life has changed. Things I could never do before - talk with my friends on the phone, talk with my grandkids on FaceTime - I now enjoy. A pine warbler was outside the RV window and the sound was so interesting, detailed and rich.
I am an immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipient - 20 years out - and this Covid-19 has me scared. I’m self-isolating to prevent exposure. I wasn’t able to do a huge shopping trip because the number of people in grocery stores. I normally shop at odd hours to avoid the crowds. Barb shops and we use bleach to clean packages coming in to the RV. Oh, yes. We finished renovating our house and it gets listed today. Our goal before the virus was to sell the house and move closer to our grandchildren. Now, we’re trying to decide what to do at all. Sticking in this lovely state park seems a good bet at least until the house sells. So not only have I been learning how to hear again, but the rest of my life is topsy-turvy.
The cochlear implant surgery didn’t go as well as it could have, I’m still experiencing taste bud issues. A persistent metallic taste throughout my mouth and reactivity to salt and sugar that blow both flavors up to an intolerable level leave me not so hungry.
Aural rehabilitation has been a blast. I use Angel Sounds, listen to audiobooks, talk on the phone, and was talking to anyone who would stop a minute when I was out - not now with the virus, I’m home.
With hope you are all social distancing etc. I read a good thing, “Don’t do social distancing because you could get the virus. Practice social distancing as you HAVE the virus and protect others in your community.”

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Hi @lizzy102, I didn't realize that you are a transplant recipient. You may be interested in the Transplants group on Connect here https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/transplants/

In this discussion, members are talking about the virus and how to stay safe:
- COVID-19 and Transplant Patients https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-19-in-transplant-patients/

In fact, we created an entire group dedicated to COVID-19 to help people cope, find connection during social isolation and get answers to questions that seem to be changing by the minute.
- COVID-19 Support Group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/covid-19/

Lizzy, it sounds like aural rehab is going well. I'm curious about the taste bud issues. Can you explain the relationship between the Cochlear implant and taste? Anyone?

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In response to Lizzy 102 and others worried about Covid-19: Avoid all processed/packaged foods. Instead, cook from scratch. I've done this forever, and we never have colds or flu, nor did my kids when they still lived at home. Look at the labels on foods. If the ingredients list is more than the actual food item and contains any chemicals, put it back on the shelf. Stay away from salt, especially in canned foods. You can tell how much salt is present by looking at the sodium content. You only need, at most, 1,200 mg. of salt/day. Cooking from scratch is not necessarily difficult or time consuming. My husband is a brittle diabetic who had a kidney transplant over six years ago. Until he was forced to go on dialysis before the transplant, he sold boats at nine trade shows each winter, with everyone around him coughing, sneezing, etc. I precooked his meals and sent them with him to heat up in the microwave in his hotel room. In spite of working long hours at the shows and driving to/from them, he never had even a sniffle year after year. Although we did all the excess things with hand sanitizer, masks, etc. following the transplant, we stopped doing that after a couple of months and rely on simple hand washing. I prepare everything, using very little salt, sugar, or fat.

Lizzy102, thanks so much for your posts about your CI! It's very helpful for those of use thinking about getting one.

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