A hearing update.
Or ‘Rod's Big Adventure.’
CI surgery went as smoothly as it possibly could have. I’ve experienced NONE of the side effects commonly associated with it – pain around the incision, headaches, nausea.
The implant array, the skinny snake-like part that coils into the cochlea, is put in place through the area affecting taste, balance, and facial muscles.
Many people lose their sense of taste for a period of time, often for a few weeks. I’ve experienced a tiny bit of that. The only thing that doesn’t taste like it should is coffee. I’m still drinking it, but it’s not the same.
I had a bit of imbalance issues when I first started moving around, but it didn’t last long – I moved slowly, but I moved!
Some people experience facial tics following the surgery. Thankfully, I have not had a problem with that.
My tinnitus is always present. For the first couple of nights after surgery, it was so intense that I had trouble sleeping. Part of the problem, too, was that my throat was extremely sore from the breathing tube – and I developed quite a cough. Gladly, the sore throat is gone now, the cough is mostly gone – but the tinnitus remains.
CI users in the Facebook support groups I belong to indicate that when they wear their processors (the outside part that attaches to the magnet that is under the scalp), their tinnitus goes silent – but that it returns when they take their processors off at night. My fingers are crossed that I can be rid of tinnitus during my waking hours following activation. [Update: I’ve learned that the processor, along with the battery, is contained in the device that hangs over the ear; the part that is worn on the scalp is the coil].
The incision appears to be mostly healed. I have a follow-up appointment in my surgeon’s office tomorrow morning.
My left ear sticks out a little bit, which surprised me. Folks in one CI support group tell me that is a common thing, that it’s due to swelling following surgery, and that it will return to normal in a few weeks.
Surgery was on Tuesday and yesterday, Sunday, was the first day I have felt like I’m back to my old self again. We ventured out to lunch with friends. It was nice to be out of the house for a little while. We went out for lunch today and dropped by the new Adult Wellness & Education center (AWE) in Norman, which had its grand opening this morning. It’s a fine facility and I think we will likely become members.
My CI device will be activated Dec. 5th, at which time, I’ll begin an extensive aural rehabilitation program, in effect teaching my brain how to interpret the new signals it receives from the implant as sound – whether it be speech, music, or ‘environment.’ I’m hopeful that I will understand speech at some level immediately on activation, but that’s often not the case. It’s not a realistic expectation.
Meanwhile, I’m not hearing much. My left ear is totally deaf. I’ll learn later if there is any residual hearing left; if there is, it’s not enough that I can hear anything from that side, so I only have the use of the hearing aid in my right ear.
I don’t know much about how ears work, but I assume when one loses its mate, it enters into a period of mourning. It seems that the level of hearing in my right ear (which was already much weakened) has diminished by about half since the surgery. Without my hearing aid, I hear only a tiny bit of anything; with the hearing aid, I hear only a tiny bit of anything. Yes, I am (quite literally) deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other!
At lunch yesterday, I could participate in our table conversation and could understand the wait staff. I missed parts of the conversation, of course, and know that I missed at least one verbal cue from one of our friends at the table. She had to get my attention to ask me something. It wasn’t embarrassing for me; not at all. That’s just how we HOHs get by (HOH = Hard Of Hearing person) – ♫ we get by with a little help from our friends! ♫
The sounds at the wellness center this afternoon were intense. I found it difficult to make much sense of anything. We saw a couple of friends there and spoke to them briefly; it was difficult for me, but I was able to understand most of what they said.
I feel like I could resume all my normal activities now. Prior to surgery, I had planned to mostly stay at home until activation, since I’ll be at a major disadvantage in the Hearing Department (that is to say, deaf as a rock). I’m not at all sure that I want to continue the isolation, though. Don’t be surprised if you see Carolyn and me out and about – and don’t be wary of trying to talk to me; I’ll do my best to try to understand you.
I’ve practiced piano a few times, working on some new Christmas arrangements. The sound is so strange, but I can make musical sense of it. I hope that will be the case after the CI is activated.
