A Nag-Nag Here.....A Nag-Nag There......

....here a nag, there a nag, everywhere a NAG NAG!!!! Yeah, yeah, I know. Cynthia reminds me almost daily that it's WAY past time for me to update my blog. Now I'm starting to get it from others too!! So, I figured I best take some time, sit my beehootie down and find a few words to say!

The last time I checked in was right after a tweaking. Well, it didn't take me long to realize that after the changes, things just weren't as good as they had been. I thought I would give it some time because maybe I just needed to adjust to the new settings. However, after about 3 weeks, things still were not as clear and I was not understanding as much as I had been before, so I emailed Meg and told her about the problem. She set me up with an appointment to come in so we could re-tweak. I'm also having an issue with the sound being "squashed." This happens when I'm in a noisy environment or when something is making a loud or high pitched noise. It's like everything becomes very condensed.

Rick fessed up afterwards that he could tell a big difference in what I was catching after my prior tweak. However, he never said anything. He said that since I knew I was having a problem he never put in his two cents worth.

So, I go back to Meg and she put me back on my prior program. She's only going to make one small change at a time so we'll know exactly what is working and what is not. The only thing she changed this time was trying to open up the program to allow in more sound so I don't get that squashing thing happening so much.

The squashing is caused by a noise reduction program that is built into the processor. They have to be careful about letting really loud noises go through. She says it's one thing for a person to hear a really loud noise and have it fry the hair cells in their ears and it's a totally different thing to have a loud noise go through and fry my auditory nerve. We really don't want to do that!!!! So we have to work on that to see how much we can let through and try to get away from too much squashing.

A couple of weeks ago I had a moment of panic!! As usual, I got ready for work. I put my processor on towards the end of my morning routine. I always check to make sure the volume setting is correct, attach the battery, put it on my head, do the final touches to my hair, get dressed and mosey downstairs to feed the baby kitties. When I went downstairs and was talking to the kitties, I immediately noticed that I couldn't hear much of squat. I'm thinking -- OH MAN, this is BAD!!! Well, I head on to work wondering what in the world has happened!! I was starting to get very concerned. I was only hearing a VERY teeny tiny amount of sound. Not much of anything. As soon as I got to work, I emailed my friend Regina and told her what was up and asked her to say a prayer. Shortly thereafter, Rick called me as he does every morning when he is leaving work. I told him that something was wrong and I was not hearing much of anything. He says - is your volume turned down? I'm thinking, what kind of stupid question is that??!! Of course I didn't turn my volume down! I always keep it set at the same place. He tells me to check it, so I lay down the phone, take my headpiece off and LO AND BEHOLD the volume is turned ALL the way down!! I wanted to stand up and shout HALLELUJAH!!!! I cranked the volume back to normal and told him that he saved the day!! Actually I felt that I got an instant answer to the prayers that Regina and I were praying!! And that answer was delivered through my husband. Who woulda thought??!!!! I suppose as I was finishing up my hair, I hit the volume knob. I was soooooooooooo thankful that it was a problem with a very simple solution. I could go about my day and hear again!!

It also makes me realize how much I depend on my CI and how much it really changes things for me. Without it, I am only a hair above being deaf. At this point I don't know how I would manage without it. Thank the Good Lord for what I do hear and what I can understand at this time. By the way, keep those prayers coming!! I need each and every one!! Thanks!!!