A hearing update.
I’m a few days away from undergoing surgery for a cochlear implant (CI). Nov. 7th is the day and I’m eager for it to happen, so I can get started with the months-long process of ‘aural rehabilitation’ - that is, teaching my brain how to interpret the new sound signals it will receive from the device.
The CI will be on my left side. I’ve long said that the only purpose that ear serves is to hold my glasses on my head - and that it mostly true. I’m told that there may be a small amount of residual hearing left in that ear, though the audiologist thought it was more likely that the ear will be totally deaf after the surgery. I will still have a hearing aid in my right ear (that’s called “bi-modal” - two modes of hearing).
Activation Day is already scheduled with my audiologist, four weeks following surgery. During those four weeks, I’ve mostly emptied my calendar of things. I’ll effectively be ‘incommunicado’ during that time. I’ll be at home and can communicate with friends via email or text (email is preferred) or Facebook.
Activation Day will be exciting. My hopes are already high that I will be able to understand some speech immediately, but that’s often not the case at all. Some patients require several weeks of therapy, often as much as six months to a year of effort before they achieve the ability to understand ‘speech in quiet.’
Musicians have reported that an additional amount of time is necessary for musical understanding to return. Some say that musical instruments all sound alike initially; that there is no distinguishable difference between the sounds of intervals - octaves, fifths, fourths, thirds, sixths, seconds, and sevenths - all sound the same. Some musicians have persevered and have been able to return to singing or playing an instrument - others are never able to sing or play again.
I told our church choir at rehearsal last evening that I will be absent from choir until my CI is activated. The day after activation is our rehearsal and I intend to be present. My plan is to use the rehearsals as part of my rehab work. I’ll sit apart from the choir and listen as they rehearse, following along in the music score to see if I can make sense of the sound.
I’ll be doing the same thing at home on my piano, playing a number of elementary-level teaching pieces at first (Bach, Clementi, Kabalevsky, and others). I’ll start the piano work, though, with interval training, then simple one-line melodies (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; Row, Row, Row Your Boat - yes, all the kids’ tunes that I can recall!).
I asked our church director of music and our pianist if I could play one last church service prior to surgery. Of course, they agreed to my request. I’m playing this Sunday and will accompany the choir. It’s entirely possible that this will be the last time I ever do this. I guess I’m ready to accept that, but will work as hard as I can to continue life as a musician. My first piano lesson was in the fall semester of 1955, at age six - some 68 years ago. I simply cannot imagine my life without music!
Keep a finger crossed for me Nov. 7th.
