How am I getting on with my bionic ears?

It's been a while since I've posted because I'm a busy mum with my three boys and keep trying to find time to do auditory training with my right ear but it's really hard. However , I think it needs a new mapping in both of my ear because I've reached maximum volume again, it started happening since last week and I'm not scheduled until April for the next mapping.

I went to a cochlear implant gathering a couple of weekends ago and it was great fun although over too soon! I travelled for the first time on my own all the way to the other side of the UK - Cambridge! It was a long journey and only stopped once for a loo trip - I was busting! However, I surprised to find that I still had energy for the evening's gorgeous 4-course meal at a lovely old college in Cambridge. Fantastic place, although couldn't see much of it because it was so dark. I really enjoyed my time in Cambridge and it was all over too soon when I had to drive back. I was shattered because this time my driving went into night time driving and had to cope in driving on roads where there was no lights - I wasn't used to that.

On a separate note, I have a friend who is deaf and is doing a race for life running event in Bath and I've got a link shown on the right hand side so that anybody can put in a donation for her. I've started the ball rolling by putting in my first donation. I really hope that it doesn't rain on that day - I think it is 1st June that the event is going to happen.

However, another separate note, sadly my father in law is facing his last few days after battling bowel cancer since about two years ago. It has been a rollercoaster time for him and to see him the way he is at present is so hard to put into words. I couldn't face seeing him when my husband went with my younger son to visit. I had learnt from the death of my parents (they passed away 14 years ago on 1st April - on a Good Friday) and of my grandmother in that same year of August, in that it is best to remember as they were. It reminds me of the poem - a thousand winds - here are the words http://bijolab.com/song/english/poem/wind.html I've always remembered since then - it is a beautiful poem so easy to remember and meaningful too.

See me on Deafness Research!

Click here as it's a story about my bilateral implants.

3 months tuning/hearing tests

Well, I can't believe that Christmas was very busy and also gone very quick. It was a lovely Christmas although it would have been brilliant with my eldest son, here with us but unfortunately he was with his father for the week. However we had him home from the day before his birthday for a week so that was nice as it meant that he was here for my younger son's birthday who turned 3. Two birthdays in one week! But it was a good Christmas because I enjoyed hearing again and didn't miss out on anything.

Well I went for my 3 months tuning session on Monday 7th January and wasn't expecting hearing tests but I should have known really because it happened when I had my first implant but this time it was loads and loads of tests because having two ears for testing and not one ear!

Anyway, the tests were:

All sound tests at level of 65dB

Cuny sentences (lipreading and listening to the man) left CI score of 99%

BKB sentences (listening to man only & no lipreading) left CI in quiet score of 95%
BKB sentences ( -----------ditto --------------------) left CI in noise score of 85%

CUNY sentences (lipreading & listening to the man) right CI score of 75%
BKB sentences (-----------ditto---------------------) right CI in quiet score of 19%

BKB sentences (listening to man only & no lipreading) right and left adptive noise of speech v noise SNR of 0.5 dB
BKB ---------------------------ditto-----------------left adoptive noise of speech v noise SNR of 2.5dB

AB words (listening to man say one word at a time & no lipreading) right and left CI in quiet 81%
AB words (----------------------ditto----------------------------) left CI only in quiet 62%

So all in all the two implants are working together and the right ear having had tests of just listening to the man with no lipreading at 19% might not sound much but having never heard out of that ear ever since I was little is showing that I'm practising hard with my right ear. And to lipread with the right ear on its own is brilliant too. I am so chuffed how well I did in these tests after a hectic Christmas and birthdays!!

I am beginning to enjoy being bilateral more now whereas the last three months was hard because of the sounds in my right ear wasn't very much information but am now making out some words as you can see from my results with the right ear. I shall continue to work hard with my right ear.

I also had some other changes to my mapping in that with the t-coil I've asked for it to include the built in mic which is a 50/50 setting. I'm trying this out but at the moment I'm not that happy with it as it is including sounds around me and I can't fully concentrate on what is said coming through the t-coil. I'll give it another go for a while. Am trying to get around the "hissing" sound that I get from the t-coil.