Cheryl's Nine Day Post-Activation Update....

I am sitting out here on the screened patio with the rain pitter-pattering the roof, it is so cool!! I heard it before but right now it is with more clarity...I love it!!! Right now, I don't regret a bit that I had the surgery as I know I will improve in a few months.

Since activation day, I have been hearing so many sounds, some of them I recognize from the past when I heard "well" with my hearing aid. But this time around, it is different. It is so much louder, clearer, etc., it is hard to describe it. I am actually having a ball with this, but at the same time it is very overwhelming.

As of day 9, I am on switch #2 and the volume control is nearly at 4 o'clock. So likely later tonight or tomorrow, I will turn the control back to the 12 o'clock position and flip it to switch #3. I think I am progressing very well and up to par. Knock on wood...

Over the long weekend, we went to a friend's cottage in Pugwash, NS, a place we really enjoy staying annually. It is right on the basin, so it was a very relaxing time. Here are a few things I have heard for the first time ever:

- heavy dog breathing -> a large beautiful black lab has lung problems and he was sitting next to me and breathing heavily. I looked at Raymond, pointing at the dog and said, "What's that noise???" Too cool. It made me realize that I have never heard the clarity of my late dog, Lucky, breathing like that as he did breathe loudly at times as folks said.
- next door neighbor of cottage was chatting away and I could hear her from a distance, I was like, "whoa!"
- cottage is 106 years old, and the floor squeaked each time a person walked across it.
- wind blowing
- our trailer, we have a propane stove - heard fast boiling of water with clarity. As well, the boiling of a kettle and the warning it was done!
- hearing folks take a deep sigh or deep breath

Before, with my hearing aid, I could hear the rain pitter pattering the trailer roof, but the sound was always very dull to me. One evening, it rained so hard and to my excitement, I could hear the rain on the trailer roof alot more than I could before, really an awesome sound!

In the town of Pugwash, we did a little bit of sight-seeing, visiting a gift shop and art gallery. After I went through the gallery, I went outside to sit on a bench with Lois and watched the action on the street. I could hear something from a distance but was not sure what it was. Lois is completely deaf, so she was unable to assist me to find out what the sound was. I kept hearing it over and over, and I wanted so bad to know what it was... I knew it was coming from "that-a-way". Concentrated for a bit and looked in that direction.... BINGO.... it was a wind-chimer on a tree, wooha!! I was soooo excited!!! Raymond came along and confirmed it for me and turns out I was correct :)

(I am hearing BIRDS from my patio now! Never heard this before. Man, I am happy! :)

Raymond's "annoying" sound is the ticking of a clock run by a battery. I can't hear this just yet, but I put my head near it one day, just to see if I could hear it, and I could. Listened to it for a few minutes, and I could see how it can be annoying. I told Raymond he needs to learn to tune it out. He seems not able to tune out this one for some reason.

Back home, here are two other things I have never heard before - one is the back-up beeping warning on the truck. It beeps as you get closer to an object when you back up the truck, 4 beeps to begin with means you are 4 feet away, 3 beeps means 3 feet and so forth. Lastly, a long beep means now is the time to stop. I LOVE this!!!!

Second is the water filling up the back tank of a toilet after it flushes... wow! And the sink making a funny noise while water is going down the drain once the tap is off... I have always called this the "fish is burping", don't ask me why.

Dave came here for the weekend and he is seeing me for the first time with the processor on and he is loving every minute of it.... looking at me everytime he does something, sigh...I really hate the crinkle of a bag of chips, oh!! No wonder his nickname is "Chip", as known by all of his friends and co-workers. lol...

Here are the things I hate so far:

- crinkling of the newspaper - oh, this is the worst!!!
- loud voices
- Bonnie's high pitched laughs, sorry lady as you read this....I said I would be honest on this blog. (Tobie/Laurie/Ginnie & Laura, I can see you laughing as I write this....)
- voices and noises from TV
- forks/knives scraping on the plates... this one is a challenge to get used to

(ohhhh, it is pouring so hard right now - listen!!! ;)

I am disappointed to learn that I can't wear my headpiece while wearing my motorcycle helmet. The headpiece falls off as I put on my helmet and I tried holding on to it while putting the helmet on, it is snug fitting, so forget it. I will have to put the processor and headpiece in a container and put it in the trunk, while I wear the helmet. I guess I have a big head :)

I have a habit of playing with my hair, combing it back with my fingers... and the wire connected to the headpiece and processor is in the way and I keep forgetting about it. The headpiece would flip off and hang down. Argh.... I am thinking..."Should I get a new short hairstyle or stick with what I have?" We'll see as time goes by.

Signal light of the truck, I am getting used to this one. Does not bother me as it did 9 days ago, so it is good to know I can have the ability to tune things out.

There is only ONE thing I miss about the hearing aid.... is the battery will die down gradually and you are aware of this as sounds are becoming lower and duller - knowing it is coming soon to die. With the CI, it is a completely different story - it is powerful all the way to the end and then poof, it is off without a warning! It can take me by a surprise sometimes... I am talking away or listening to someone and then all of sudden, I don't hear anything at all - 100% deaf. This is something I have to remember if I go to team meetings at work, is to have a spare battery with me.

I return back to work on August 18th, and kind of looking forward to it now. I am glad Dr. Morris requested for me to be off work for 6 weeks as I was not feeling well for majority of July and it took alot of time to get back to my old self. It was a big operation, as we CI users know. And as well, I am glad I did not go back to work once I got activated, oh my, where I work is pretty noisy and I would only just be so overwhelmed and frustrated for sure. I know I am still in my early stages and I know I still will be overwhelmed once I go back to work as the "work noise" is still unfamiliar to me and will need to re-learn them all over again. One thing I am terrified is to hear the fire alarm as I am told it is very loud. It was suggested to me previously that I have my team manager to let me know ahead of time when they have one of their practice fire drills. Good idea!

Second mapping is soon.... the audiologist will increase the volume of my processor and make some adjustments.