Activation Day Plus Three.
I’m less than a week into my activation, having been activated Tuesday morning. In my package, I got both the Cochlear Americas Nucleus 8 and Kanso 2 processors. I’ve been wearing the N8 all of the time, but today tried the K2. It took me a few seconds to get it placed; regardless of where I put it, it didn’t feel secure. When I turned to walk into the living room, it dropped off my head. I’m done with it and will take it with me for my one-week appointment and exchange it for a second N8. (The N8 is giving me a mild bit of discomfort behind the ear; that’s why I decided to try the K2 today).
By the time of our church choir rehearsal Wednesday evening, it was towards the end of my second day with the N8. Every sound was the same high, squeaky beeping sound (it turned out to be C#, if anyone is interested in that bit of information). I noticed at the end of rehearsal, though, as the director was speaking to the choir, that I could hear what I’ll refer to as ‘vocal inflection’ in the beeps – slight rises and falls in the pitch that exactly mimicked the vocal inflection as she talked. I couldn’t understand a word she said, but it was the first time that speech wasn’t just a ‘speech-rhythm’ of that incessant high C# noise. The rehearsal was pretty awful for me. The piano sounded weak and horribly out of tune and the choir was out of tune and seemed to be singing mostly a handful of notes. I was following along with my music, sitting apart from the choir, using only my CI at times, and also with my hearing aid at times.
With my hearing aid in my ‘good’ ear (it’s bad, but it’s not as bad as the other one), I can still play piano okay – and I can hear well enough to know that my playing is pretty nice. After all, I don’t have to match the pitches; I only have to play the right keys. As has been the case for many years, I am unable to tell how loudly or quietly I am playing, but must rely on the muscle memory and the physical sense of touch I have developed (over many years of playing piano) for the various dynamic nuances required of the music. I believe that I do not play the quieter sections quietly enough, while I play with too much force in the louder sections. At any rate, after practicing a few measures of music after the choir members had left the sanctuary, I told the music director that I would plan to play my solo piece in the Christmas concert we are presenting this Sunday evening.
This morning, mid-morning, I read aloud for the first time while my wife was getting ready for us to go to lunch with a friend. I was able to make out the words, very faintly, in my implanted ear. I believe that if someone else was reading and I was not following along, I’d be unable to understand the words – but this experience was a ‘positive’ for me, certainly.
I meet with my speech pathologist for the first time this coming Tuesday.
Some observations since activation:
- I determined that the high-pitched screeching beeping noise that comes from the CI is a C#. The first time my wife ran the microwave, the pitch began and lasted as long as it took for her coffee to warm in the cup. In those few seconds, I hummed the tone and easily found it on the piano. It sounds exactly like my tinnitus, in that high, squeaky range. I can’t tell exactly what octave range the C# is, but it’s way up there!
- Initially everything sounded the same – that incessant C# responding rhythmically to every sound that came through the CI’s microphones. In only a short while, it took on the effect of constant feedback from a loudspeaker. It’s quite disconcerting.
- Every key on my piano sounded that same C# – also very disconcerting. Today, I am able to play with my CI on and my hearing aid removed and I’m able to play well. For Sunday night’s Christmas concert, I’ll remove my CI and play with my hearing aid in my ‘good’ ear.
- Listening to a news report from my wife's laptop across the room from me this evening, I was able to hear the ‘vocal inflection’ effect of the newscaster’s voice as she made her report. I wasn’t able to understand a word she said, but at least I was not hearing the ghastly C# with every syllable she spoke.
- The worst environmental sound in our house, so far as my personal hearing is concerned, is water running from a faucet. The second is the sound of scooping ice into drinking glasses from the bin in our freezer. The microwave is not at all unpleasant, but rather a gentler sound, more akin to a humming sound than an abrasive one.
