2 weeks into new CI and going crazy!

D

DougS

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I hear bells and dings! My voice is a bell and a ding everything is a bell and a ding sound!
They said it takes a year and a half to get use to it.
Don't know if I can handle it.
I'm two weeks in...
Advice on how to make it another year and half. PLEASE!!!
My history: I've worn hearing aids since I was a toddler. My hearing has worsened and my only choice is cochlear at this point. I only have one CI because my other ear receives low tones and so I was fitted with a hybrid cochlear to accommodate the high tones. Together eventually I should have okay hearing.
 
When do you go back for a mapping?
Are you doing aural rehab?
It can take time for your brain to learn what it’s hearing. You’re only 2 weeks in. Be patient.
 
It definitely is something that takes time, but a year and a half is a little arbitrary, don’t you think? Everyone has a different pace to be able to use a CI successfully. In my experience, everyone sounds like munchkins for almost a month, with the following months it was like hearing a boosted treble frequency with the extremes (bass, high pitches) sounding distorted. By the end of the year, I was able to perceive most sounds, hearing speech improved considerably, and I was able to enjoy music again. It’s a work in progress, give it a chance to develop.
 
It's been nearly a month since I was activated. At first I heard very little high pitch sounds. Just last week, the mid level kicked in without any warning and yesterday the low kicked in but now sounds very robotic so just be patience and give it time. Most of all, just keep giving your ear something to hear ( I listen to music all the time even tho at first it didn't sound good) I think it is helping my brain adjust by keeping it active.
 
My cochlear implant was activated on June 27th. This is my first one. I've heard dings and bells, chipmunks, munchkins - as femme fatale says, Donald Duck, musical organ keys......simply all kinds of weird things are going on inside my head. I remember at 2 weeks, I felt learning had come to a standstill. I was getting a little discouraged, but then I heard my cat meow through the CI. That greatly energized me, and I've been working away with auditory training ever since. A cochlear implant is not for the faint-hearted, it is a lot of work, and patience is greatly required. Things WILL improve for you, so hang in there, you will make it! And you are not alone, so take heart. Others are there with you. I wish you all the best!
 
Practice, practice and more practice. Get Angle sounds on your computer.
I listened to almost all of the TED talks just to get my ear used to what I was hearing.
It takes time but is worth it....
 
Behappy said:
Practice, practice and more practice. Get Angle sounds on your computer.
I listened to almost all of the TED talks just to get my ear used to what I was hearing.
It takes time but is worth it....
Click to expand...

I have not used it but think I have read of it being named Angel Sounds. If searching under one name does not bring it up try the other.
 
DougS said:
I hear bells and dings! My voice is a bell and a ding everything is a bell and a ding sound!
They said it takes a year and a half to get use to it.
Don't know if I can handle it.
I'm two weeks in...
Advice on how to make it another year and half. PLEASE!!!
My history: I've worn hearing aids since I was a toddler. My hearing has worsened and my only choice is cochlear at this point. I only have one CI because my other ear receives low tones and so I was fitted with a hybrid cochlear to accommodate the high tones. Together eventually I should have okay hearing.
Click to expand...

I have a love/hate relationship with mine. I was implanted in Jan 2018. Now 7 months in I still love/hate it. I'm Deaf-Blind so it was a huge necessity. I had been going downhill for so long that I finally gave in (hated the idea). The 1st couple month's was extreamly difficult. Head banging difficult LOL. Constant migrains and weird noises. Just pure chaos. Wanted to throw the dang thing out. But I hanged in and now its more ......well for me its difficult to put a % on my love/hate. Lets just say mostly its useless but where it shines and helps is so freakin huge that I love it. I can now hear train warning on intersections ,which is huge for me as where I live the car barrier comes down in the street NOT the sidewalk and have almost been hit 4 times by train. I can now take the train and hear the anouncments of stops so no longer getting lost or spend day getting on and off because I've missed my stop. Being able to use my iPhone and hear music, still cannot use phone though :( . And of course being able to talk and hear people but only when in a small room and one on one. Hopefully that will improve. deffinatly go to your Audiologist for adjustments and don't miss appointments. And like some here suggested. Listen to music or audio books constantly so your brain can adjust quicker. It's a slow progress. Just hate all the Corp. Promo's and bull in the begining before surgery about how this will make you hear "normally" and how wonderful it all is. Not like that at all! You will never be able to hear as a hearie hears and its deffinatly NOT wonderful. Its what it is and it at least for me as a Deaf-Blind person has opened a whole new world. You will still need a combo of tricks and tools to live your life. NEVER think you'll no longer need Sign.
 
Back
Top