The Activation Day

Starting after a few days after Raymond’s CI surgery up to the activation day, Raymond has been missing hearing sounds, really craving for them. He found it very frustrating at times, thus making him really cranky at times, and making me cranky too. The most common word he said over the three week period was, “What?”. I said I would be honest on this blog, and you are getting it. It was his left “good” ear that was implanted, so he had to rely on his poor right ear.

The big day, January 8, 2008, finally arrives! Oh, the anticipation leading up to this appointment was intense… full of wondering if the implant will work, how much will he hear, how clear will the sounds be, what will he actually hear, very excited to hear ‘sounds’, etc., etc….

During this appointment, the audiologist conducted measurements of soft and comfortable sounds, created an initial program or “map” for Raymond’s processor. Also she reviewed the parts and care of the new cochlear implant with us.

First, the audiologist placed the processor on Raymond’s ear and tried to place the headpiece over the magnet that is in the implant which is embedded in his side skull. She was unable to find it so she changed the magnet on the headpiece to a stronger strength. Raymond’s hair is still new and spiked from it being shaved for the surgery. Hopefully it will become softer as his hair grows.

The audiologist attached a wire to the processor from the computer and turned on a program. It begins now :) You should have seen the look on Raymond’s face….it was mixed with different emotions – anxious, curious and excited. They went through four different groups of sounds. Raymond was to tell her when he first hears something, even the tiniest sound and then she would increase the volume of that sound until bearable and comfortable.

That took some time and did some tuning and adjustments. Finally, when it was done, the audiologist “turned” on the processor officially and she talked for a bit to see how Raymond felt. He was really shocked how well he could hear her. These are the sounds he heard during this moment – she snapped her fingers, tapped the desk, and rustled her sweater sleeve. He was able to hear them all clearly. She laughed and then I laughed. When he heard me laugh, he was surprised to hear me for the first time. He became emotional and started to cry. The reason for that is the audiologist’s voice and my voice is different and he noticed the difference and was able to identify the difference. It was the first time for him to “know” my real voice, my real laugh. We have been together for 14 years, so that is a long time for him not to know or hear my real voice.

Then Raymond started to talk and he jumped back a bit. His voice is “loud” to him. To me it was normal, but with the CI, the hearing becomes more clearer and with clarity. All of sudden, his voice dropped and it’s been like that since. I miss his voice already as I now don’t hear it with my hearing aid as he is like whispering, well, to me it sounds like that. He is embarrassed that his voice was loud, so he talks low now.

The audiologist tested some words on Raymond, covering her mouth. First set was days of the week, second set was months of the year, and then lastly were sentences. He got all the days of the weeks, and months right. The sentences were more of a challenge for him but he got it very well considering.

The audiologist then set the processer into three programs – 1, 2, and 3. For the next two weeks, Raymond is to start at number 1 and when he gets used to the sounds around him, and the quality becomes lower, he is to change it to number 2 where it is louder. And so forth. By the time he goes back for the second mapping, he will be on number 3. The first mapping went very well; he was able to hear very clearly and sharp.

Before heading out, the audiologist reviewed the parts of the cochlear implant processor, items and how to take care of it. Next appointment date is January 25th.

Here comes the real world!!!!! The Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres is located in a mall, so we had to go through the mall to get to our truck. He could hear people walking around him so clearly, more so than before. He was in a daze walking through the mall with a silly smile on his face.

Started the truck and he jumped a little shocked… he could hear the motor run. Now we were parked in those indoor parking areas that have several floors, I am not sure exactly what they are called. The ceiling is low and our truck is a bit high. As we drove out, the radio antenna was hitting every pipe overhead causing a clacking noise each time we hit one. It was a bit annoying for Raymond. Finally, got outside and as Raymond accelerated the truck, he could hear the motor run faster and the tires going faster. A dump truck went by us; he watched it go by hearing its entire mechanics running. When it was time to make a right turn, he turned on the right signal and nearly jumped. It felt so loud and right in his ear.

We were to meet friends of ours after they got off work and we were a bit early so we decided to go into Lower Sackville and stopped at A&W just to sit back, relax and shared small fries. Raymond ordered and while he was standing there, he could hear the fast bubbles of the deep fryer in the kitchen! He heard the whine of the foundation soda machine and heard himself “eat” and realized he ate loud. I blew my nose forgetting he can actually hear more, and he jumped and said, “Oh that is gross!!!” Oops.

Finally, we went to friends of ours and chatted some. Raymond was downstairs in the bathroom looking at his new cochlear implant in the mirror for the first time. Admiring it, shall I say. Our friend sneakily put the bathroom fan on and scared Raymond for a second as it was loud. He flushed the toilet for fun and was amazed to hear the sound of the water flushing, sounding like waterfall, and then for the first time, he heard the water tank in the back fill up.

Instead of cooking supper, we decided to go out to a restaurant later that evening. Never thought it was a bit overwhelming for Raymond’s first day, maybe we should have gone to a quieter place or even stay home. However, it was an experience for Raymond as he could hear everything, such as utensils hitting the plates, overlapping of people talking, banging of things around him, etc. During that evening, he went to the washroom and heard the music overhead, it had no words and it was very soft. He soon washed his hands and was enthralled with the sound of the water as it sounded like “air”. The paper towel has an auto-sensor where you place your hands over the sensor and paper towel will roll out. Raymond heard the mechanic roll running and the paper sliding out. He thought that was amazing. Like a child, he tried it again about 3 or 4 times until the paper hit the floor. He grimaced when he ripped the paper from the dispenser and was surprised to hear how loud a paper towel sounded while drying his hands. He had to force himself to easily dry his hands.

Getting ready to leave the washroom, there was a spot on the floor that was sticky and he never noticed. When he left and as he picked up his feet from the floor, it stuck a little bit and sounded like tape on the bottom of your shoes peeling off. He could hear that “peeling” sound and thought that was neat and tried it again a few times :)

My friend and I were in the back seat of the car on the way home and Raymond was able to identify who was talking or who was laughing without looking back. He was never able to do that before. During this time, it was dark, so he could not see us so it was absolutely amazing he was able to identify our voices.

Over the next few days, it was all new sounds; however, once he recognized them, he was able to tune them out. I will name a few, and remember, most of these he never heard clearly and with clarity:

- the rustle of the newspaper, he hated this one the most but now is getting used to it.
- heard the wet snow slush while walking outside, heard it go whoosh whoosh.
- overhead fan of the stove. This was loud to begin with but now can tune it out.
- the click clacking of a computer keyboard.
- heard the sound of hitting the touchpad of the lap-top and also heard the dings, etc., when clicking on “Inbox” of e-mails, etc.
- his own breathing, it is strong sound when breathing out very clearly.
- he made chicken fricot and was able to hear the “very” beginnings of boiling. He never heard that before. It was very small bubbles at first and could hear it gradually boil faster and faster. When it really boiled, he was able to recognize that now it was time to turn it down before it over boiled. He could hear it boiling steadily from the living room.
- I peeled and diced carrots, Raymond found the dicing a bit annoying as it was repetitive.
- Raymond was sitting in the living room and I was in the kitchen. I had a glass of water on the island and normally I always “pick” up the glass but at that moment, I slid it a bit before picking it up (not thinking what I was doing) and Raymond looked at me. He was able to hear it from a distance! He said that it sounded like that I was dragging the glass across the island.
- the low fuel alarm came on (rarely) and this really scared him as it was pretty loud
- his son loves to sneak into chips when he knows he has had enough. In the past, he was able to take some more without our knowledge. Last night, this failed ;) Raymond was able to hear him trying to put his hands into the chip bag lightly and Raymond said, “I hear you!”. His son was really surprised and also disappointed at the same time, ha!
- when he tapped his hand on the chair arm, he was able to hear the 'click click' of his wedding band.
- heard me use the water cooler behind him. I did not let him know that I was there and he heard the stream of water going into my glass. He was able to identify the direction of the sound as he immediately turned around and looked at me. Amazing!
- we have a phone booster on our phone for more volume. With his CI, he has to turn it all the way down and thinks will need to remove it and use the normal volume control on the phone itself. He hears a lot more and with the booster, it is too high. :)

Right now, he is able to hear sounds around him and afar too. The only thing is people’s voices on TV, radio and also music are very vague right now. He says it sounds like the person has a cold, with a coarse voice. This is partially blocked for now and that will eventually come to him in the next few months while he goes through these mapping processes with the audiologist.

I will leave here as it is, as there are many other sounds he is learning. He is doing extremely well and loves the cochlear implant.

Next is the second mapping on January 25th. Stay tuned.