Longer period of observations

Thursday and Friday with SPrint: I was mostly at home experiencing the SPrint. I have also done some listening to the CD on the computer using the TV/HiFi cable. On the other hand, with the Personal Audio Cable connected to my Walkman CD, the sound is still too soft. I also was able to follow the news and talk shows with the combination of lipreading; that was something I could not do with hearing aids! I had music playing in the background while at home, and over time it sounded better. Ambient noise was bothersome, but by end of day Friday I was able to "tune it out" and focus on the sounds I wanted to hear.

Saturday through Monday with the BTE: Over the weekend I was mostly outside and around lots of people in noisy situations. Today I worked at home. Since I didn't need to use any of the features only present in the SPrint, I switched to the BTE. The convenience over the SPrint is considerable; no wires dangling around or the bulk of it against my side. I was amazed at how well I could understand people in noisy environments! Even on the dance floor, I could distinctly hear the voices of people over the loud background music, sometimes even more than my hearing friends. :-) The one drawback of the BTE was the noise of air against the microphone; it's really noticeable even walking in a quiet street with no breeze. Today when alone in the house I would switch occasionally to the higher mapping to build up my tolerance for the increased volume. With both programs, I no longer notice the computer fan noises.

With both the SPrint and BTE I do find that reducing the sensitivity to minimum helps with listening to the radio in the car and minimizes outside noise. I can enjoy music, but don't understand much when listening to talk radio.

Second Day

The mappings were significantly boosted upward. I also received the BTE (behind the ear) unit to try out.

First day hearing with the cochlear implant

This morning, after the initial mapping (calibration of each channel/frequency for minimum and maximum volume) the CI was turned on with all channels. At first everything sounded very high pitched and monotone; voices sounded like Minnie Mouse on amphetamines. My audiologist said I was the first to describe the initial impression as such; others have used cartoon characters like Porky Pig and Mickey Mouse.

Toward the end of activation, the audiologist had me use the phone plug accessory (directly connects the CI to the phone) and dialed up her voicemail. I could hear the dial tone, the individual keypad tones and even grasp a few words like “you have reached the “voicemail” and “thank you.” I was able to do this with the hearing aid, so it wasn't a new experience for me. She was floored, explaining that most CI recipients don't gain that kind of discrimination so soon after activation, so I'm pretty excited by the potential.

Now a more full range is coming in, but still biased toward high frequencies. This effect is normal and will fade over the next few days as my brain adjusts. I was given the SPrint, the body processor to take home.

I've been experimenting with watching TV: I'm able to understand newscasters by lip reading and the CI, whereas I couldn't do that with hearing aids. I also listened to a couple of songs from Les Miserables. I am able to track along with the lyrics more easily even now, than before. The voices come through more distinctly than with hearing aids, but I don’t hear the music as much yet. Listening to classical music is a disturbing experience: it sounds like gurgling and trilling, not relaxing at all.

I go back tomorrow for modifications.