Day 3
Today, I went back to London for the second tuning process. Jennifer upped the level of volumes for two extra programs - giving me three in all. For those who know the basics of how the programs are achieved, my volume levels are currently set to 111, 121 and 131. For those who don't, 111 is about 30-40% of my potential volume, whereas 131 is about 50-60% - I think...?
So far, all the frequency range available on the processor (335Hz to roughly 6800Hz) are being received at the same volume as each other. For example, if my volume is set to 111, this means 335Hz will be 'heard' at 111 in the same way that every other frequency bands upto 6800Hz will be heard at 111 also. Having said that, though, I may be talking out of my own bum - I have noticed that some sounds appear quieter than others (especially the low vs high frequency ranges) - it may be my hearing aids didn't pick up the sounds that my Implant does, making perception confusing?
I came away from the Centre a happy man. I managed to stay and bombard Jennifer with lots of questions which I accumulated the day before and not only did Jennifer answer them all but she was as honest as she could possibly be. I was once told to ask Jennifer for a cable that I'd be able to plug the Implant into an I-Pod - Jennifer simply chuckled and said, 'No, boy - calm down, y'need to get used to your programs first'. I was 'slightly' disappointed at that, but as my friend, Ivan, has said on his blog, 'Patience is a requirement'.
On the train home, the onboard tannoy was pretty clear. The first time it said some things I could only grasp words here and there. But then I realised I'm on a train service that I've used umpteen times before so I should know/predict what the tannoy says. The next time the tannoy came on I heard not just, 'Welcome abroad the South-West trains service...' but also '...to Portsmouth Harbour, via Guildford. Calling at: Guildford, Haslemere...' etc etc - to say I was surprised to hear such clarity is an understatement.
The train's rail clicking and general humming become a little bit more distinctive, as opposed to Day 1 where everything sounded as one bad noise. I still couldn't hear the ticket conductor call out 'Tickets, please'. But in all, the general background noise on the train didn't sound so blurry or confusing.
Tonight, I went to see my brother, Leo. He splashed up a nice dinner - just what I needed after a tiring day yo-yo'ing up and down to London and back. In the pre-Implant days, Leo was somewhat the most difficult person in the whole family for me to understand - this was even when I had two hearing aids. Leo doesn't have much of a clear lip-pattern and he talks fast...VERY fast.
Nervously, I turned up at his house and there he was in the kitchen. 'Alright, Russ! How ya doing?'. There I was, thinking, 'Um...am I dreaming? Did I just understand Leo?' This was pretty much how the evening ended, understanding my own brother and gaining confidence as time went on. This is the same with Alex, Leo's girlfriend. Alex and I can finally talk freely again - I am on Cloud 9, yay!
Despite the success at my brother's house, it was still required that I looked at their face/lips as they talked - this helped me hugely. I -can- 'hear' people speak if I don't look at them, but it's a matter of 'understanding' them, which, at the moment, I cannot.
General TV sounds, general house noises and general background noises are all becoming clearer although, at this stage, not all are recognisable.
So far, all the frequency range available on the processor (335Hz to roughly 6800Hz) are being received at the same volume as each other. For example, if my volume is set to 111, this means 335Hz will be 'heard' at 111 in the same way that every other frequency bands upto 6800Hz will be heard at 111 also. Having said that, though, I may be talking out of my own bum - I have noticed that some sounds appear quieter than others (especially the low vs high frequency ranges) - it may be my hearing aids didn't pick up the sounds that my Implant does, making perception confusing?
I came away from the Centre a happy man. I managed to stay and bombard Jennifer with lots of questions which I accumulated the day before and not only did Jennifer answer them all but she was as honest as she could possibly be. I was once told to ask Jennifer for a cable that I'd be able to plug the Implant into an I-Pod - Jennifer simply chuckled and said, 'No, boy - calm down, y'need to get used to your programs first'. I was 'slightly' disappointed at that, but as my friend, Ivan, has said on his blog, 'Patience is a requirement'.
On the train home, the onboard tannoy was pretty clear. The first time it said some things I could only grasp words here and there. But then I realised I'm on a train service that I've used umpteen times before so I should know/predict what the tannoy says. The next time the tannoy came on I heard not just, 'Welcome abroad the South-West trains service...' but also '...to Portsmouth Harbour, via Guildford. Calling at: Guildford, Haslemere...' etc etc - to say I was surprised to hear such clarity is an understatement.
The train's rail clicking and general humming become a little bit more distinctive, as opposed to Day 1 where everything sounded as one bad noise. I still couldn't hear the ticket conductor call out 'Tickets, please'. But in all, the general background noise on the train didn't sound so blurry or confusing.
Tonight, I went to see my brother, Leo. He splashed up a nice dinner - just what I needed after a tiring day yo-yo'ing up and down to London and back. In the pre-Implant days, Leo was somewhat the most difficult person in the whole family for me to understand - this was even when I had two hearing aids. Leo doesn't have much of a clear lip-pattern and he talks fast...VERY fast.
Nervously, I turned up at his house and there he was in the kitchen. 'Alright, Russ! How ya doing?'. There I was, thinking, 'Um...am I dreaming? Did I just understand Leo?' This was pretty much how the evening ended, understanding my own brother and gaining confidence as time went on. This is the same with Alex, Leo's girlfriend. Alex and I can finally talk freely again - I am on Cloud 9, yay!
Despite the success at my brother's house, it was still required that I looked at their face/lips as they talked - this helped me hugely. I -can- 'hear' people speak if I don't look at them, but it's a matter of 'understanding' them, which, at the moment, I cannot.
General TV sounds, general house noises and general background noises are all becoming clearer although, at this stage, not all are recognisable.
posted by nopplish at
9:59 am
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