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.
