Yesterday was one week from turn-on. I went to the audiologist with some questions, all mainly having to do with how to get MORE VOLUME from this thing?! Ryan, the audiologist, mainly told me to have PATIENCE and to quit fiddling with the processor!! He said my BRAIN is gonna do all the heavy lifting from now on, and that I should just stick with the standard program (as he set it). He said that some day in the future I would arrive at that happy place where I would not have to STRAIN to hear anyone talking, and that I would be able to identify (and subsequently ignore) background noises. Wow.
So I've been good. I went and got a new permanent last night after wurk. I was soooo tired to seeing my fine hair sprawled all over....like Flannery O'Connor's "her hair was like ham gravy trickling over her skull" (think I've mentioned THAT before). Anyway, everyone seemed to like the curls today, including me. I woke at 2 a.m. this morning to the sound of something FRYING in my right ear, and I was worried that the permanent fumes had penetrated to the implant and was cooking it to death. But then this a.m., the frying sound was gone, and the implant worked just fine.
Meanwhile, I can distinguish BETWEEN voices now (including my own North Dakota accent), and I am hearing a few more variations in the birds' songs. And I could TALK with people: the guy in Georgetown Optician, where I picked up my new glasses after work, and the young woman in the wine shop down on P Street. I can't say I liked the wine all that much, even though she said it was "GREAT!" It was a Bastianich wine, and I told her how much my daughter loved Becco in NYC and admired Lidia Bastianich. That conversation would never have happened last week. I also got her to order some Frascati for me, which now is available only at Rodman's and Litteri's here (well, probly lots elsewhere, too, but you know....I am just a little old lady in tennis shoes, and I don't rod around much). But, gee....thanks, dear universe, for that CONVERSATION! what a great treat that was!!!
And you thought you'd never have a "conversation" again.... I'm glad it's working for you. :-)
ReplyDeletePerhaps the frying sound was what the permanent chemicals on your brain! They're so strong!
ReplyDeleteDid the dear audiologist tell you where to find all this patience you're going to need?
I'm so pleased that voices are starting to separate enough for you to distinguish between them.
Oh, dear M.E.,
ReplyDelete"I woke at 2 a.m. this morning to the sound of something FRYING in my right ear, and I was worried that the permanent fumes had penetrated to the implant and was cooking it to death. But then this a.m., the frying sound was gone, and the implant worked just fine."
How I laughed, and laughed, and laughed at this! Because I did the same thing (for various reasons) so many times!
"Holy crap! What's that? Oh, crap, I've broken it!"
I was totally laughing with you.
ronnie
hey, y'alls...i'm so glad i got this permanent, frying noises or not...now the magnet thing sticks to my head better. before it kept sliding off my fine hair!
ReplyDeletepeggy:
patience? no, he dint have anything smart to say bout where to find that. it's always been in short supply 'round here....
feel so lucky to be following your progress. know i would never have the patience for the uncertainty. are you sure you're truly a little old lady in running...
ReplyDeleteNDB:
ReplyDeleteswear it on a stack o' bibles!
XEnglish