| Sun, 22 Dec 2002 18:29:18 -0000 Hi Kaye, I am sorry I have been rather quiet of late, but the flu just knocked me out and I went London on Friday for switch on, coughing and spluttering, Saturday and today we have had guests, I am back to London on Monday its 3 hours each way so the day is gone by the time we get home and the hoards of people for Christmas. I also wanted to reply to Peggy L, about thyroid and immune stuff , but I have had no time. I have enclosed a journal that the audiologist has asked me to keep, it’s a bit waffly, but it shows what’s happening and what you may experience once you get that far, it is a remarkable bit of kit. I have had so many e-mails I am not up to speed at all, I think I may have to hit the delete button and start afresh ! I hope you and family are keeping well and I wish you a very happy Christmas and a better New year, Take, fond wishes, Rob CI JOURNAL Switch on day one 20 December 2002 2.30pm start with the bleeps, four electrodes at a time are done. I start to here them at a low level which apparently is good. There are 16 electrodes and it was only a question of setting the threshold of noise heard that I think really I set very low. Then two noises are played and these need to be set at the same volume. The noises increase in pitch and are not so easy to set against each other. The whole process takes about half an hour. I am the second person in the country to have this new speak strategy called high resolution. I do not really know what this means, but I thing the stimulation rate is higher than the other strategies that are used. Linda and Richard from Advanced Bionics' are there, to give a hand in the programming. Linda was the lady who replied to my Emails, Richard had only recently joined them, he worked for four years at Nottingham CI center with the children. We wait until James, my son returns from shopping I guess about 4 O’clock for the switch on. Two programs are loaded, with a back up of program 1 on the third position. This third program utilizes the built in microphone and is a little quieter than program one. Switch on!, a lot of noise! I do not hear speech, just a bang of noise when a sound is made, a very tinny sound . After about a minute and concentrating hard I heard Shirley the audiologist speaking, not very clear but reading her lips I could just about understand. Linda also I could just about follow, Richard and James were much harder to hear, Richard 2 ( my son) was not too bad. Myfanwy was difficult, she speaks quite softly anyway and she has become used to speaking to me more quietly of the last year. After about 20 minutes I could here Shirley without lip reading, still not clearly but I could do it. She was very impressed and delighted that I could here at such a low setting. Program 2 is quieter and I have to use this on Sunday and Monday, Program 1 I have for Saturday. Outside waiting to hail a taxi is just a jumble of noise, the cars, lorries and motor bikes all make the same indistinguishable noise, not very loud, but not a recognizable noise. I do not hear the taxi engine. At Waterloo the same garble noise, but I do hear the loudspeaker going, I recognized a couple of words, platform and train delayed ! The place was packed solid. people pushing and crashing into me and I start to get very uneasy. I held tightly to Richard and Myfanwy, otherwise I would have been on the floor, absolutely no doubt about that. We have to stand on the train, not an easy task both hand holding onto a rail, it just is not possible anymore to balance on two feet, I felt really quite upset at this. I heard talking but could not make it out. Could not hear the train rattle over the tracks, but could hear the news papers rustling. After half an hour we get a seat and 40 minutes later we got back to Haslemere and a long wobbly walk to the car. I do not seem to hear low notes. The car engine is not heard, but I heard James say ‘Shut up Richard’ ! I hear the car going through the puddles and a few words from Myfanwy as we got nearer home. We popped into the pub, more noise, I could hear the chrisp packet and me chomping on a pork scratching, the glasses banging on the table. Then some one dropped their mobile phone about 15 feet away and I looked up, recognizing a new sound. I could hear a person talking at the bar, not to understand but a flow of different noise. Could not hear the dogs bark, but heard Richard's shoes scraping on the ground and Myfanwys hard heels clattering. I hear the loo flush and the tap running and then a jumble of noise a the kids turn on the TV. Back ground noise of any description particularly and any environmental or speech noise comes in with an immediate distorting and ringing sound, not dissimilar to that silly little robot on starwars if I remember right, never did like the film. I heard the computer keys and modem dial out and even the mouse button click. Then I remembered to turn up the volume and with concentrating can hear Myfanwy talk, still with a ringing but we had a very short talk. I heard Peter Sissions on the news utter a few words with lip reading, but the TV is small and far away so it is hard to see lip movement, but some words I did catch without looking. I can hear two sheets of paper passing over each other, fingers tapping the table, nut just the finger nails, myself breathing, scratching my stubble, the cat purring, and she is very small and quite. I can hear the TV but not understand at level 5, no one else can understand the words at that level either. Battery lasts 4 hours Quite, quite remarkable, Shirley says most people do not hear speech for some time, but with concentrating and in a quite environment I certainly do. Day 2 Saturday, 21st December. I have to keep a diary for Shirley and will adapt this journal. Also I have to get about ticking off environmental sounds. Its 6.30 for once I have woken early ! battery 9 to 1 Sounds mach the same, but the initial booming is going and the sounds are sharper, the keyboard keys crack. Heard the dogs bark for the first time, not as I remember, but recognizable in its own sound. I can hear the joints crack in my knees ! Some saw sounds are similar and some completely different. I am so amazed I can heard so much, but voices are hard, chipmunk tone, especially if there is back ground noise. Battery two 1 to 5.45. Footsteps sounding more normal, not just a bang but two tones to them. hear the soft/medium brush on the wood and brick floor., electric fence clicking. Day 2 Roaring tinnitus on waking, turn processor on a 9 o’clock and set to program 2. Speech is a little more difficult to follow, but have no real problem listing to Myfanwy, although the tinnitus is very noticeable even when I am hearing noise. The environmental sounds are a little better not quite so clangy and my voice is more like I remember it be, but I am still very clogged up from the flu/ cold of last week. I recognize a few more sounds for what they are, like my favorite office chair that squeaks and groans. The sounds are less vibrating. After 2 hours on this strategy, the tinnitus is still awful, coming in waves a bit like after the operation, it’s in both ears and is, but voices appear much more normal, much closer to memory of them. The dogs bark is more life like, the circular saw and bandsaw are much more life like,. Battery goes at 12.45. Sounds are a little more muted but better, the tinnitus is still awful, it appears to get louder when noise is heard. Managed to hear and lip read 5 different people this morning, still a little clangy but possible, there is less of a continual static sound compared to program 1. Do not distinguish any words when there are a group of people talking, but I do know it’s speech and not something else. I hear the dogs outside barking and I now hear the noise when patting them. Walking over shingle is more normal, can distinguish two pitches of sound. 2.45 tinnitus still going, but a little less bad. heard the pepper grinder at the lunch table I could just about ‘zoom in on a conversation ( 2 people talking but not talking to me). but unless they are facing me, it’s not so easy to pick up. I hear the dogs shaking themselves, also heard with head phones 2 people having a conversation on the TV. distinct male and female voices and I could follow a fair bit. I hear my feet scrap on the carpet, the chair scrap on the carpet and Richard bouncing his Christmas cracker rubber ball on the floor. I can hear my thumb and finger rubbing at arms length in front of me and my hands rubbing together on the other side to the implant. Unbelievable ! I can hear the phone ring and a dial tone but not as before, but I clearly heard the voice say’ please hang up and try again’ !! the pitch was very similar to a year ago. What amazes me is that, I can tell the difference between male and female voices and the accents and tones, this machine is so incredible I am exhausted for some reason and off to sleep. (3pm) My eyes are sore particularly the left one and I feel quite wobbly. I would say that the ‘hearing’ is on a similar level to this time last year, not quite so chrisp perhaps, but I have a greater range of sounds coming in. Woke at 6 and sounds have a little more echo. |
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