February 27, 2008

Happy Anniversary to Me!! Happy Anniversary to Me!! Happy Anniversary to Meeeeeeee!! Can you believe it has been one year since my surgery??!!! Wow! Where does the time go??

Of course I get asked how things are going. But also if I am happy I had the surgery. Do I regret having the surgery? Would I do the other ear?

Things are going very well. YES I’m happy I had the surgery! No regrets whatsoever. But no plans to do the other ear at this time.

I can truly say that I am very happy I had the cochlear implant surgery. I hear so much more than I used to be able to. It still amazes me sometimes the things I hear. Things I could not hear a year ago. But (there’s always a “but,” isn’t there), I am not where I had hoped I would be. I really thought I would be hearing much better by this time....being able to pick up more things, more words, more music, going to movies without captioning.....I know that things will continue to change and continue to get better. I’m not disappointed, I just had high hopes! One day those things may come.....but then again, they may not.

It’s still an exciting journey!!! At this time I have no plans to do the other ear. That ear picks up the bass sounds that my implant is not getting. The two ears work together pretty good. I think if I took away my regular ear I would not hear as well. So, for the time being, I’ll just stay the way I am. Also, it used to be so weird....I would definitely hear from a particular ear. It was very divided....but kind of cool too! It was like I would hear some stuff from one ear and other things from the other ear. Now, things just blend. I guess my brain has adapted and decided to put the two sounds together. Works for me! However, I can still tell what I’m hearing from which ear, but I have to think about it and pay attention. As I’m strolling through my day, I don’t have 2 sided hearing anymore.

I know things are still gradually changing, but they come on slowly and I don’t really notice them until one day I realize that Hey! I didn’t use to be able to hear that! Or I notice that something has a better sound. Such as music. Music has a looooooooooooong ways to go!…but it is much better than it used to be. I get more variance and more of a tune. A lot will depend on the song. Is it a song with lots of “noise” or more of a simple song without a lot going on? But it just hit me today that not too long ago I wasn’t getting any of it at all. It’s just a sloooooooooooow process....at least for me. I am so jealous of the other folks who get hooked up and can hear so quickly. You know...they kind of tick me off!!! :-)

So, all in all it’s been great! There are still things we need to work on and things that need to be changed. I go back to Meg in a couple of weeks for another tweaking. We’ll have to see what needs to be switched around. I’m also sure there will be testing done. She’ll put me in that booth!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I hate the booth!!! But after it’s all done, it’s cool to see the changes on paper. So, I’ll let you know what I find out.....it could be good, it could be bad, it could be downright U G L Y!!!!

I would have to encourage anyone who has a bad hearing problem to consider a cochlear implant. It can really change your life! Get evaluated, do the research, talk to the doctor, talk to those who have one, but really ponder the idea!!

As always, THANKS to everyone who keeps me on their prayer list!!

I can’t wait to see what is ahead for me in the upcoming year!! WOOHOO!!!