Q: What is different now compared to when your implant was first activated?
A: "Well, obviously the level of hearing with a cochlear implant (CI) has changed. When my CI was first activated, everything was so new -- asking questions about those sounds was almost an everyday occurrence. Today, over a year later, I'm used to many sounds and can pick them up. Some sounds have even become like white noise because I have gotten used to them.
"Tuning sounds in and out is easier than it was. The clarity of hearing since the CI was activated is unbelievable. I can hear the birds, faraway phones ringing, lawn mowers from miles away, cars going by on the highway that's probably a thousand feet away from where my house sits. Everything is different, of course, and the sounds are better, clearer. New sounds are fewer though.
Physically, the numbness of the surgical site has gone away. My hair has completely come back and the surgical site is not noticeable. I do have a small hole that is from a mastoidectomy, about the size of my pinky finger behind my ear that often needs to be cleaned out with a cotton swab. I still get tired every once in a while, but it's not painful. Other people with CIs often complain that it gives them a headache, but I haven't experienced that problem at all.
My taste buds have returned, and my hair has grown back. I've had to obtain new batteries and I've also experienced a few breaks (mostly of the external components). But the implant manufacturer has been pretty good about replacing them free of charge.
I remember facing something challenging with the implant that I did not expect. Back when I was going after my Emergency Medical Technican (EMT) training certification, I had an incredible amount of twitching in my face. Twitching I could not feel, but that everyone else could see. I still get that twitching on rare occasions, but it has been fixed mostly through re-maps."
Q: What is different now compared to six months ago?
A: "Not a whole lot is different. The new sounds I picked up on early on aren't as new sounding anymore. Even at six months post-activation, I was still picking up and asking about new sounds. Today, I'm not asking as many questions about the sounds I'm hearing."
Q: What kind of things can you hear better now?
A: "It's unbelievable the amount of environmental sounds I never knew existed before! Birds sound so pretty when they sing and I can tell different birds nearby simply by the type of tweet they have without even seeing them.
Voices have gotten better. I can now use almost any type of phone. At six months post-activation, there were still some types of phones I could not use. I don't know if it's because I'm more used to using the phone itself and that might help my confidence level, but it could be a reason why there is a difference now. I can now tell the difference between a female voice and a male voice. I have also gotten to the point where I can almost tell who the person is that I am talking to just by their voice. My test results have gotten considerably better over time. I have taken the noise and voice tests and have gotten close to 98%.
One thing I could do that other EMTs had trouble with was taking a patient's blood pressure by listening with a stethoscope while the lights and sirens were going off. I had a map that allowed me to block out all those extra noises and to just concentrate on blood pressure and lung sounds."
Q: How is it in group conversations?
A: "I've found that everyone (even hearing people) have their challenges in group conversations. However, I sometimes hear things that even hearing people can't hear, and that can be more difficult. I hear the doors closing outside, chairs scraping on the floor, papers ruffling, phones ringing from downstairs, all kinds of different noises (from very far away) in closed door group meetings, and it's very distracting.
I still require the use of a remote computer assisted realtime translation (cart) service provider for very large meetings. It is a personal choice I have made because it's what I need to do my job well. You still have the right to accommodations if you need them! Don't let a cochlear implant allow you to think you are hearing. You will never be considered a hearing person, even with a cochlear implant.
People interrupt other people, and several people can talk at once. Even hearing people have difficulty with this. Hearing one voice with a cochlear implant is challenging. Hearing several at once can almost seem impossible, and I do get frustrated. But, it's a different kind of frustration than what I had with a hearing aid. It can be about hearing too much, too little, or not being able to balance what you need to hear. You have to train yourself to close off sounds you don't want to hear versus the ones you do. Hearing people can do this easily, but cochlear implantees cannot."
