Thanks for taking a look at my journal. The only reason I'm keeping this record of the changes taking place in my hearing is the hope that it may encourage others to consider a Cochlear Implant. The technology is truly amazing! From what I've been able to learn from others, no matter which company's implant you choose your hearing will be improved, but it will take place over time as your brain relearns what "normal" sounds like.
Older post, back to a couple of days before my implant surgery are on the right side, along with some information about me on a separate page - top right.

July 23, 2018, THEN SINGS MY SOUL!
    If you look back at the post for July 2 - 3, you will see that I began to hear music for the first time in years, not just the rhythm and percussion. Each day since, I've spent time - sometimes hours - listening to music on my car radio and computer, allowing my brain to relearn what music sounds like. Every day has been better. The real "breakthrough" has just occurred!
    Last Thursday my Audiologist made program adjustments to my CI and hearing aid. I turned on my radio to my favorite Classical station and felt immediately that I was hearing a more vibrant sound.
    When I could hear and enjoy music - thirty-five years ago - I became friends with an exceptional family. The Ditchfields were members of the church I began to attend soon after I made the life-changing decision to become a Christian. They were outstanding Christians as well as exceptional musicians.
    Stan, the "patriarch" of the family, although not a musician, was also a talented painter who over time became my best friend and a bestselling artist in the art business I was starting after my income and "early retirement" disappeared.
    Today, Stan's son, Steve, is the "patriarch" of The Ditchfield Family Singers, now numbering nine virtuoso members - all family - and not including a non-singing daughter, Christin, the author of more than sixty books! There are, besides, six grandchildren.
    Just goes to show what can be accomplished when you really set your mind to building your own choir!
    The Ditchfield Family Singers are renowned from coast to coast for their close harmony and unique family blend, highlighted in the mastery of their a capella repertoire.
    As the years progressed, along with my hearing loss, I could no longer hear the amazing harmonies that characterized their many appearances throughout the country and on TV, but the visual beauty and energy in each show still made attending worthwhile.
    I watched their performance schedule, which you can see on their website, and knew they would be presenting a production: And Sings My Soul on Saturday, July 21st, three days after the programming appointment with my Audiologist - and four days before my eighty-seven birthday on the 25th.
    What if the new programming allowed me to experience a concert in the way I remembered - able to hear every word and every note? Would that be too much to ask - even of a loving and attentive Lord and Savior?
    The new programming went well. I knew as soon as I left the office. Over the next three days, my hearing improved by leaps and bounds!
    On Saturday, thirty-five years of hearing loss was pealed away! I not only saw my friends - my brothers and sisters In Christ - I heard them in the glory I remembered!

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

- Carrie Underwood

    My God just keeps piling on the blessings! What more desirable birthday gift could I have wished for, or received, than to hear again?
    The technology that, day-by-day, is opening my forgotten worlds is truly amazing. It's the result of work by many gifted scientists, researchers and technicians working independently and together = human intuition, ingenuity at genius levels.
    In my device, there are eighteen electrodes extending from the receiver implant just behind my ear into the cochlea. They can be programmed individually as I watch my Audiologist manipulate the digital "sliders" on her computer.
    Sounds are picked up by the microphone in the audio processor which analyzes and codes them into a unique pattern of digital information. The implant interprets the code and sends electrical pulses to the tiny, inch long, electrodes in the cochlea. The auditory nerve picks up the signals an sends them to the auditory center in the brain. All of this happens instantaneously.
    That's when my supernatural God takes over! The brain He "implanted" in each of us recognize these signals as natural sound.
    As miraculous and life-changing as this technological gift is for me there is a more excellent gift available to "whosoever will" accept. It is recognition and submission to the Creator of all human intelligence - the one and only God. It is not a religion. It is a relationship - not one that will only last a lifetime, as my CI, but one that is eternal with infinite benefits for all who accept the free gift.
    Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
    How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

July 14, 2018 - GOOD THINGS CONTINUE
    I've been practicing "listening" every day - exercising my ears, brain, and each of the three different volume modes my Audiologist programmed into my CI on July 5th. I listen to a variety of sources - TV, Internet PC, Magic Jack Phone and my cell phone.
    One of the apps on my smartphone is the Bible. Every day I receive an email with the Verse of the Day. It's usually the first thing I see after waking up and turning on my phone. Great way to start the day! I can choose to read any one of hundreds of Bible translations from King James, to the Amplified, to the latest paraphrase. My current favorite is the New Living Translation - unambiguous contemporary language. But more than this, my smartphone speaks the words. Then with a click, I can listen to the entire chapter. I can choose to follow the words on the screen as a narrator reads the Scriptures with excellent expression, or I can just listen. Today, I listened to the entire book of Ezekiel. The volume on my cell phone was excellent! It was as if the reader was right there beside me - an entirely "natural" sound.
    Face-to-face conversation with real people is improving. My own voice still has a deeper and somewhat "hollow" sound to me. Some voices are more difficult to understand than others, but that is improving, too, I think. I can carry on a conversation with just my CI and no HA, as I did today while relaxing in the Spa at the YMCA after my Deep Water Aerobics exercise class. My CI is held in place with the magnet. It's also under the cap I wear to shade my eyes so there's little chance I can lose it.     Not so for the HA in my right ear. I take that out and leave it in the locker.
    Next Thursday is my next programming session with my Audiologist. The Technology is amazing. Each of the 18 electrodes that go to my Cochlea can be programmed individually. I can watch as she adjusts "sliders" arrayed across the bottom of her computer desktop. When I'm satisfied that what I am hearing is an improvement, that program is saved, and can be modified at the next programming appointment based on my progress.

July 9, 2018 - PROGRESS EVERY DAY!
    The surprise has been how rapidly my hearing is returning to normal. Part of the reason has been because my Audiologist continued programming my CI last Thursday, July 5th. She added the T Loop setting in Mode 2 and volume settings in Modes 3 and 4. I can switch between these by pressing the mode button on my behind-the-ear CI.
    I was able to test this at church yesterday - first setting my CI to the T-Loop, and then clicking my ComPilot to T-Loop setting. This worked just fine, and I could hear every word, and the music as well!
    If I'm approved by the VA for a Naida™ Link to replace the HA in my right ear, I'll be able to switch modes for both ears using a new ComPilot paired with the Link. Right now, the ComPilot I wear controls just the HA not my CI.
    Here's what AB says: "The Phonak Naída™ Link, is the world’s first hearing aid offering full-bandwidth, bidirectional audio streaming with the Naída CI sound processor. Using shared technology co-developed by AB and Phonak, the Naída™ devices are able to communicate with each other in a way no other hearing aid and cochlear implant combination can match."
    Each day I've practiced listening to a variety of sound sources. I've spent time watching and hearing fascinating lectures on The World's Great Inventions on my Apple computer, tuned to a variety of channels on TV, enjoying music on my car radio and Internet radio using my PC. I've been able to make and receive phone calls on my cell phone and Magic Jack. I'm missing very little.
    Each of the major manufacturers of CI equipment has websites with practice exercises designed to enhance and test specific hearing challenges such as word recognition, sentence comprehension, understanding a story, vowel discrimination and more.
    This is "brain-training," and I've found the exercises both interesting and helpful.

July 2 -3, 2018 WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
    I'm using what I call my "Default Setting" - something as close to "set and forget" as I can make it. The CI is set on Mode One, only mode my audiologist has programmed,  I am listening to TV tuned to a "talking heads" panel show. Kind of like a small group discussion except all voices coming from one direction. I can hear all clearly without seeing the screen, except that it is very loud and hollow. It is on as I type this. My own voice, even if I whisper, sneeze, or blow my nose is HUGE. I'm sure I could hear a pin drop, but it would sound like a railroad spike. Face to face conversation is clear and understandable but same hollow sound as TV.
    I've tuned into local classical radio WSMR using my Apple PC speakers. Wonderful clarity! Even better than on car radio. I can Mute TV or leave on. If both, I can distinguish between the two. I can tune either up or down.
    I've just subscribed to Great Courses Plus for on-going hearing practice with the added benefit of choosing from thousands of courses on every subject imaginable taught by outstanding lecturers. I've watched the first three lectures for Inventions that Changed the World on my Apple Desktop. Sound and pictures are excellent!
    Driving is a new experience. I'm hearing everything, inside and outside. I had been aware of a "flapping noise," outside, right front, as soon as I accelerated to around 60 mph and a "ticking sound" inside. I was sure the "flap" was a loose underside plastic tray. It had happened before, and I'd had it fixed. But now back.
    I took my car to Walter, left it with my list of stuff that I felt needed looking at. The vehicle just back and quiet. Walter was smiling like a Cheshire Cat when I asked if he had put a new bolt in the plastic under-tray up front so it wouldn't make such a racket. "No. Both noises were coming from the stuff you have piled in the rear. I just rearranged it."

Friday, June 29, 2018: TURNED ON AND TUNED IN!

    It has been an exciting couple of days since my CI was activated (@4 PM Wednesday)! I had no idea what to expect. After my audiologist turned on and did the initial programming, I was able to understand speech correctly and repeat the sounds she had me duplicate, although it has a “hollow” quality. I celebrated with my daughter immediately after with dinner at an Outback restaurant. We could converse at the table. I was aware of TV and conversations at other tables. I had a little trouble understanding our waiter, perhaps because of his voice quality? With the HA in opposite ear, the sound of my own chewing was amplified. With it out, that annoyance went away.

    Here is the astonishing surprise. While driving, I turned on the radio - something I have very rarely done since owning my car. I tuned into a classical instrumental station and actually heard music - actually heard it as MUSIC! I was able to hear melody, recognize the sound of distinctive instruments. What I was hearing had depth, not just the beat I have only been able to hear. Not perfect, I'm sure, compared to what it will become over time, but a true auditory revelation! I had forgotten what music sounded like. More than that, I had forgotten the Joy of being able to enjoy music! I was also aware of the sounds around me along with the music - car/traffic noise, the sound of windshield wipers - all at the same time. With time, my brain should begin to discriminate and “tune out” distracting noises???

    I am practicing listening. I have kept the TV on. By turning the volume on the TV to over 50%, up to 80%, depending on who or what, I can hear and understand without the HA. Add the HA, and its increased volume allows me to turn the TV down. I can hit TV mute and kill the CI leaving only HA. Or I can turn off the HA using the ComPiloit. All of these work. The HA adds volume and makes speech more understandable. (None of it has improved the programming - not even God can do that.)

    And now a new set of questions: I have always been blessed with the ability to relax and sleep no matter what is going on around me. You’ve seen those people nodding off sitting up or curled on the floor with their head on a rucksack in a noisy airport. That’s me. I fell asleep twice in the dental chair while having my teeth cleaned.

    There have been studies on “ Learn while sleeping.” Is it possible that I can do Listening Practice by keeping the TV or radio on while sleeping - deep state sleep- which I’m a Master at? Will it speed my journey toward normal?

    

Monday, June 25, TWO DAYS TILL TURN-ON
    Just ran my fingertip behind my ear. The stitches are gone! According to Science How Stuff Works: Dissolvable stitches are made from natural materials, such as processed collagen (animal intestines), silk and hair, as well as some synthetic materials that the body can break down. This allows the body to dissolve the stitches over time. Usually, by the time the stitches are dissolved, the wound is completely healed. For me, that means back in the swimming pool I think. But I'll wait for my doctor to comfirm on Wednesday.
    Stitches used to be made of Cat Gut. When I told this to House Cat George, he said “Me? - OWWWWW!” I think he understood. Although catgut sutures may actually be some of the oldest forms of sutures used in wound closures, there are still many applications that favor the use of this material. Catgut has changed in several ways since the earliest use which may date back as far as the early second century AD. It was an early medical practitioner named Aelius Galenus that is credited with the first use of catgut in suturing wounds and, as a personal physician to emperors, the practice quickly became well known.

    There are also other uses for cat gut because it is so strong, and George is not so happy about this one either. Here's an original limerick by Helen Meikle, a versifer in Australia:
    There once was a pussy named Dennis
    Whose hubris was truly a menace,
        Till his unseemly pride
        Blew a gasket inside
     And they salvaged his gut to play tennis.

JUNE 19 - 22, 2018 - AND SO IT GOES
    Not much going on here in Nokomis as I eagerly await Turn-On-Day, now just 5 moons away as Nokomis might say. Nokomis was Hiawatha's grandmother. As in:
        By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
        By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
        Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
        Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
    Thanks to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Lake Superior is The Shining Big Sea Water. I guess Nokomis got tired of the cold and white stuff. Like so many other Michiganders she headed south and ended up here. Good choice, Girl!
    I'm still following the First Two Weeks Post Op instructions even though I feel as if I could easily be on my usual schedule. I did phone the Hearing Center and asked one of the doctors if I could resume my exercise program - at least the Silver Sneakers three-days-a-week. Any of the exercises can be done sitting down, with or without hand weights or stretch bands. All the movements are in time to music, four/four time. I don't hear the words or music, just the beat. It will be a new experience for me to be able to catch the tune.
    The answer was No! And of course, the swimming pool is a No-No until stitches are out and incision healed.
    I'm following orders - kind of. Some of the restrictions are impossible. "No nose blowing for a minimum of two weeks." Oh - come on with that. Tulane University says that, on average, a person produces about 1.5 liters of mucus per day. 1.5 x 14 days equals twenty-one liters which is a little over five and a half gallons. Some of that has got to exit through the nose.
    When you gotta blow, you gotta blow. Just do it gently and press the little flap of flesh called the Targus against the opening into the ear. Stops the pressure out. I think that's what the instruction is all about.
    There are restrictions on lifting, bending stooping. Don't lift more than ten pounds for six weeks after surgery. Walking is good. Does that mean don't bend over to tie your shoes?
    I am walking, but doing it at the Y in the shallow end of the beautiful pool. The resistance walking in the water provides a plus. Then a relaxing soak in the luxurious hot-tub spa next to the fountain and coconut trees.

Following orders – kind of - is not so bad.

    Just inside from the pool, there is a comfortable seating area next to the snack bar. There are four profoundly inviting leather sofas there. After exercise, I often stop to read the newspaper. At least until the paper drops from my hand and I realize I've been reading with my eyes closed.

    It's also a favored place for students from The Sky Academy, a top rated, charter middle school operated by the Y, to relax between or after classes. Every kid from elementary school on has a "smarter" phone. Same as their parents carry - but "smarter" than the parents. I watched a couple of the young ones sitting silently on the lounge opposite, one at each end, each intent with phone in hand. No conversation except an occasional glance and smile if one of the other looked up from the phone.

    It was then I recognized there was a dialogue going on. They were sitting not quite a yard apart texting one another. No ears necessary. I think it should be called Anti-social Media, don't you?

Monday, June 18, 2018 – SERENDIPITY

    I got a nice surprise in the mail today! It was from Strache v. SCI Direct, Inc. Settlement Fund. What in the world can this be I thought as I eagerly ripped open the envelope? It was a check for $129.85!

    No idea who or what SCI Direct is or was, so I clicked on Google. It turns out The Neptune Society, Inc. is a national provider of cremation and pre-planning services, one of the largest publicly traded cremation companies in the United States.

The check is my share in a $15,000.000.00 settlement for a class action suit because the company made unsolicited robot telephone calls. I don't remember receiving those calls. I get lots of them like the one I described in the June 14 squib above. I just can't hear most of them. Thank God for small blessings.

Although I didn't use their services, I have done some pre-planning. If there is a memorial for me, I've thought of what it should look like and what it should say. I've actually drawn a design, which I'm sharing here. It's a nice little metal plaque about the size of a twopenny postal card

    (Oops! Now you see why I'm on the A-list.)

    Considering my age, I'm a prime candidate for cremation service. I had to be on their A - list of prospects. The calls must have been urgent appeals to take advantage of a "Grab it Now – Before it's Too Later" offer because the drop off rate for a phone number list like that has to be really steep.

    I think the check from The Neptune Society will cover the cost to have it engraved - with enough left over for a fine lunch.

As you see, I'm only a few days into my CI voyage and except for email contact, it's a solitary trip. But I do have "shipmates." For many years I've taken my cars to Walter, the best mechanic anywhere near here, whenever something didn't Seem right. For a time, before my hearing really deteriorated, I could say - didn't Sound right. Just a few of months ago as I was exploring whether I should consider an implant, I took my Mazda to Walter to have the brakes done. A lube tech had noted they were worn. A Mazda used to be a light bulb. I'm now driving what used to be a light bulb! How's that for progress?
    That was when I learned, to my surprise, that his wife, Kathleen, has a CI! She has a Cochlear device and took me to a Cochlear chapter meeting. Boy! Did I learn plenty there! Not just from the round table discussion, after some great pizza and salad, but there were mentors willing to help and share. Isn't it funny how God often puts the people you need in your path just when you need them?
    I've sent Kathleen this journal as it has progressed over the past few days and she just got back to me with some comments that have me sky-high about what the future holds.

     Here they are: "I'm very excited for you!! I'll be waiting to hear how things go after the 27th.
I've had my implant a little over a year now and it only gets better every day. I'm sure you will be enjoying your new experiences every day also! I won't be at all surprised if you come around here to have Walter listen to an odd noise in your car just to find out it's normal - you just never heard it.    Trust me, I know as I am still doing things like that. Heck! the refrigerator noise was strange at first, heard a noise in the motorhome that he said it has always been there for the many years we have been traveling in it- it's normal, and even in my car, that engine makes a humming noise I never heard. Anyway, continue to enjoy your journey and after the 27th, your hearing."