10th entry ~ September 21, 2023

I’m still waiting to get ‘the call’ that insurance has approved the surgery. The cogs in the health insurance machinery seem to move pretty slowly – it’s quite frustrating! Meanwhile, I discovered two online blogs, both very helpful and both by women in the UK. The first one, More Than a Bit Deaf: A Hearing Loss Blog, (https://morethanabitdeaf.com) was written by a woman named Vera, who lives in Yorkshire. She was asked by the Med-El CI company if they could film her during the various stages from evaluation through surgery, activation, and post-activation. They did the film in six parts, available on the Med-El web site (https://www.medel.com/community/veras-journey).

The second blog, discovered only a couple of days ago, is titled From Ear to Eternity: A Cochlear Implant Diary, (https://fromeartoeternity.com), written by a woman named Sarah Chapman. Both women wrote their blogs to cover their entire CI journeys, from evaluation through activation and on to the annual evaluation, one year post-activation. Both are glowing success stories of the procedure and the impact the CIs have had on their lives and their interpersonal relationships.

Additional support comes from four Facebook groups I belong to, listed in the order I discovered them: (1) Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss; (2) Hearing Loss: The Emotional Side; (3) Cochlear Implant Support Group; and (4) Cochlear Town USA. The first two listed offer support for folks with either hearing aids or cochlear implants (or both); the third is specifically for CI users; the fourth is also for CI users, but is intended solely for those who chose the Cochlear Americas brand of devices. I joined that group yesterday, after discovering mention of it in From Ear to Eternity, the blog mentioned above. In addition to these groups, I follow the FB page of Hearing Loss Association of America (an organization of which I am a member).

9th entry ~ September 11, 2023

Dr. Berryhill’s assistant reported to me today (I finally got through to her on the phone) that the holdup is insurance – mine are Medicare (primary) and United Healthcare (secondary). Once that’s received, we can schedule the CT scan and the surgery. I’m hoping they hear from the insurance companies in the next few days – this week, hopefully.

One of the aural rehab strategies I have picked up from some video blogs of other CI users is to download one or more audio books and follow along in the actual book (print or Kindle) as the audio plays, thereby reinforcing the sounds of the words, in ‘real time.’ I’ve not yet selected my first book, but will do so soon. I have several unread books already in my Kindle library, so will order the audio version of one of them.

8th entry ~ September 7, 2023

I had my COVID hair cut this morning – it looks and feels so much better! I doubt if I ever grow it long again. I didn’t do it because of the coming implant surgery, but I think it will make it easier for me to deal with placing the processor and keeping it in place.

I met with a couple of folks at Hearts for Hearing on Tuesday this week. The first appointment was with a CI Audiologist Assistant by the name of Reyna Romero. She walked me through the entire process in a fairly straightforward way, using a cut-away model of the ear and showing me an actual cochlear implant device. I was especially interested in the information she shared about what to expect on my ‘Activation Day’ (a date that will live, for me, in infamy) and in the year following. I mentioned to her that I had hoped to be assigned to Dr. Sarah Cain as my CI audiologist, but that I knew she’s become part-time at H4H, with two babies at home. So that may not work out as I had hoped it would. But I am convinced that I’ll be in good hands with whatever audiologist takes my case.

We completed the paperwork to order the CI devices and accessories, which will include TWO devices – one is considered a back-up in case of any type of failure with the other. I ordered one each of the Cochlear™ Nucleus 8 BTE and the Kanso 2 OTE devices, in order to see which one I prefer. After activation, I will have 90 days to decide if I want to exchange one model for a second one of the other. I’ve heard of some users who keep one of each. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do; I’ll adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach. We were in her office about an hour and a half; the time seemed much less than that, actually.

The second appointment was with a speech pathologist, whose name I have forgotten (I did not get a business card from her). Those appointments usually last about an hour, but I reminded her that I'd already completed the psychological test at my initial evaluation almost a year ago - it was in October 2022; she discovered record of it in my file. So, I didn't have to re-do that series of tests. I did a handful of 'repeat after me' tests of a few words and phrases, some written on a sheet of paper and some not.