CI Moments

Latest CI moment: Yesterday I was at the nearby high school for my daughters' dress rehersal. Their recital is Friday and Saturday. I didn't volunteer backstage as I normally would due to just having surgery. Anyways, I was reminded just how thankful I am having my CI. I could hear and follow instructions from people without having anyone to repeat. I had a 10 minutes convo with a woman I have never met before. Another Mom whose daughter dances with my youngest daughter. I came back in the dressing room to find my daughter but her group has already left to go to the auditorium to watch a few performances before they had to go backstage again. Anyways the little girl said "What's wrong with your eye?" [It was swollen last Friday/Saturday, but has since went away, now it's just a simple black eye, along with alot of yellow'ish area all over the side of my face. Not a pretty sight. heh.] So, I explained to her and her Mom. "Well, I just had surgery last week to receive my 2nd cochlear implant, to help me hear better" The Mom perked up and said "Cochlear IMplant?!" and immeditely wanted to know more about it. I even showed her my processor and the inscision. She was so amazed. That felt really good, being able to educate her about CI's and having a perfect convo. :)

My other moment was in the auditorium. I realized that I still had a heck of a time understanding when someone is giving a speech because I am now where near close and she didn't even have a microphone on [but they will on recital night] so while I could hear her perfectly, I just couldn't understand much of what she was saying. But others around me were saying the same thing. Then, I realized while the kids were doing their songs, I had a flashback from my dancing days and while I could hear music with my hearing aids. I am reminded at how much more I could hear with my CI.

Sorry for typos. I just woke up 20 minutes ago being in alot of pain and my 5 yr old just walked in here to climb in bed next to me. She's such a cutie, snuggling with her "blanky" that has her name on it. :)
 
vallee said:
I had to set up for a special event in the gym yesterday. There was a static sound from the lights. I turned to a teacher and said - what is that sound? She said the lights it is some static. Then I ask, how long has it been making that sound. With a straight face, she said Oh you heard it today, but it been the same for the last 14 years you have been here. We both laughed. New sounds each day, I have been in the gym many times since activation and yesterday was the first time I heard it.
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:laugh2: I bet you were so excite when you heard it for the first time ever.
 
Cheri said:
:laugh2: I bet you were so excite when you heard it for the first time ever.
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I was very excited, but each time I hear a "new" sound the people I am with seem to be more excited. One teacher told me it is like rediscoverying the world again through me.
 
vallee said:
I was very excited, but each time I hear a "new" sound the people I am with seem to be more excited. One teacher told me it is like rediscoverying the world again through me.
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I can relate to that feeling. When I have overseas visitors I really enjoy travelling with them and looking at my country through their eyes. They notice the little things and details that I take for granted. When I first moved to Australia, I was in tourist mode for about a year.

It's also like that with small children too - they notice and take delight in things that we think are old hat.

I think people just find it refreshing to look at things from a new perspective.
 
2nd CI activation!

Hi everyone. I got activated today by my favorite audi, who is sadly moving to FL. So those of you in FL will be receiving a wonderful audi!! :)

Anyways, all I have to say is WHOA! This activation is soooo different from my 1st CI's activation. First off, when they turned it on, everything sounded odd but it went away almost right away. I was picking up speech right then and there. So my audi decided to go ahead and do a sentence test without lipreading and I did awesome. I don't know my score though.

See, last year, everything sounded like this awful band/music going on every time people spoke. It was hilarious. I didn't experience much of that cept for the first few minutes of being turned on. It is really odd! I asked her why am I picking things up so fast this time and she said it's cuz my brain is already used to knowing what things sounded like from having my 1st CI for 11 mos now, plus the 27 yrs of wearing hearing aids. :)

I noticed right away the huge different in getting my 2nd CI. I am soooooo excited every time I'm using both CI's and realizing just how much of a difference it made! I'm not supposed to use both CI's unless I am having a convo with somoene. My audi prefers that I only wear the new CI for one week then wear both CI's next week, June 4th when I in for my 1 yr mapping of old CI and my 2 wks mapping of new CI. She's doing it early cuz I'll be on vacation the following week. She said the reason for this is because she wants my left ear to get used to the CI and to prevent my right ear to have a "preference" or a "better ear" over the other. If I had both CI's done at once and both CI's activated at once, then I'd be wearing both from day one but I didn't go that way because I thought I'd just use one CI/one hearing aid but obivously, it didn't turn out that way. heh. :)


This is now a bit off topic -- While giving me my box full of CI stuff from Cochlear - She also handed me this Cochlear Implant journal thingy that Cochlear just recently startSorred giving out to all new CI'ers. I told her that it really sucks that I didn't have that last year, that would've been sooooo useful to write down everything last year!!!! She suggested trying to go back and remember things and write 'em down, which is what I may do. :)
 
vallee: This is great that you posted that, it reminded me of last year when I was newly activated and went up north to my in laws' cottage for the 1st/2nd time as they had just offically brought it the day I was activated. Anyways, I noticed that I was hearing something but figure out wtf it was. It was driving me nuts so I asked my husband, he couldn't hear it, I asked my mother in law, she couldn't hear it. . . I told her that when i go in my bedroom the sound I was hearing fades a bit but i could still hear it well enough and when I go back in the living room, it gets louder. We all walked around and realized that what I was hearing was this certain clock tick tock'ing which is really difficult to hear unless it's so quiet there. Everyone was amazed that *I* could hear that and they couldn't but they did say that they must've just tuned it out since it's nothing new tot hem while it is new to me which makes sense cause now when I go there, I'm not noticing it as much anymore as I've learned to tune it out. heh. :D

vallee said:
I was sitting at the computer typing away and kept hearing this sound. I thought the oven was on or the microwave. I could not place the sound. It took over an hour to figure out it was the clock on the wall. I don't think I have ever heard that before.

I just might have to take all the batteries out of my clocks like Abbie did. The interesting thing is that even when it is a "quiet night" no tv, no music nothing it is still so noise.
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Today a guy jump started my car - He says, "Okay you can go ahead and start your car now." Heard it very clearly, even when he was looking down. I *know* for a fact that I will never catch that if I had my HAs on. I know i probably would hear it if I was lipreading...but it's really cool to be able to pick up words without relying on lipreading only.

I know it's a little CI moment, but sometimes I just forget that I do have moments all the time....and it's just feels so natural to have CI, I can't wait for activation for my second one!
 
Hi all,

I noticed this thread has been delisted as a sticky for some reason that I don't know about and thought others should know in case they are wondering where it went too. I couldn't even find it and posted a query here http://www.alldeaf.com/forum-feedback-suggestions/53208-ci-moments-thread.html#post998468

I'm hoping a mod will get back to me soon about asking to have it made a sticky again or at least give an explanation if it cannot be done.
 
I just noticed - I guess they figure the thread has "lived" long enough....I hope we can get enough posts to keep it on the front page at least, so others can find it.
 
Well..... I'm sure there are plenty of moments to keep this thread going for a long time.
It's inevitable.
 
Luckliy for me, I still have one ear with a digi hearing aid and the other ear with a CI less than 2 months. There is pro's and con's for either one. I am SO GLAD I didnt got bilateral at the same time.WHEW. When I am on the phone with my HA side I take the coil off my other ear so I don't have conflicting sounds with the HA and CI on the phone. Almost like a feedback sound so annoying. Since I have MEdEl CI, I am on the basic mapping of CIS and will request to go to the advance mapping called FSP on the next mapping in a few days. I do find it cool to hear both with a HA and a CI at the same time. Lot's of interesting moments.
 
Quick CI moment during a very sad time in my life. Friday June 13th, I found out that one of my childhood best friends died. Her funeral was Saturday the 21st. My CI moment was during the funeral when my Aunt's pastor came in to talk about my friend. I was sitting in the middle row, so like 10 rows away from the front where he stood to talk about my friend. I understood 95% of what he was saying despite him not being anywhere near close to me and not having ever spoken to him before. It shocked me, so it didn't help that I cried even more, 1st because of my friend, obivously, 2nd was because of how well I understood and 3rd- my friend will never get to see me as a CI'er. She would've been sooo excited & proud for me. Plus she would get to have my old hearing aids. She had a thing for hearing aids. [It's an inside joke between us] :)
 
I got one CI moment today...till now I was just hearing and figuring out what was that but most of the time was wrong...

I was shopping with a friendly couple that live at Hungary..we where at a dress shop , my female friend , wanted a good dress as she's graduating..whe were discussing what to choose and I was hearing her , but couldnt yet discriminate sadly so I was lipreading her..all these at a shop with the usual hubbub and noise..suddenly I heard some light slapping and I turned around and looked right at her bf! was slapping his stomach lightly as he was boooredd....and I located it right away and he was like 10 meters away from me , sitting at a couch and I had my back turned..and my other ear is totally deaf for like..fifteen years..and with my HA even powerful , had a lot of trouble locating sounds..CI is awesome..

I also discovered today that I can discriminate noises..ie I know when someone's talking , even at the noisy bus , and when it's a simple noise that needs locating..I also started recognising my landline phone ringing even when I least expect it...:D

after reading some of the posts of the bilaterals..wishing I could do my other ear....could be soooo nice!!

I had also some relevations like the clock ticking , the fan buzzing etc , but nothing too fun...as I knew them from HA days..but they do sound a bit altered!
 
Hi all, havent been online for a while so lots of CI moments to report, heres just a few.

After a long dry summer we have finally had the big wet over the last couple of weeks, this came complete with thunder, lightening and hail all of which I had never really heard before, and certainly not from inside the house. Of course this meant I spent quite a bit of time running out on the deck to make certain I was hearing what I thought I was and to wonder at the sound of hail falling and rolls of thunder.

A few weeks ago my b/f ( a hearie) was claiming to have perfect hearing, could hear a pin drop according to him, yeah right!....a short while later we were in an empty clubroom where I commented on the loud ticking of the clock, b/f's reply..."theres no clock in here"..hahaha, big joke on him when I pointed to the clock on wall,which he then had to stand right under to hear.

Last Sunday I had to attend the AGM of social club, something that is usually so boring I just zone out, well this time I sat up and listened to whole way thru, got 95% of what was said which is amazing.

Have been picking up quite a few bits of convo without looking at person, made b/f jump when he asked from behind my back if I wanted cup of coffee and I said "yes please"

Every day is a new adventure now.
 
Awww I'm so happy for you Raykat, it sounds like you are doing very well. I was wondering how you were going after your first few posts after activation.

BTW I can't believe how violent storms sound either. I was able to hear storms with hearing aids but used to wonder why people got scared of them. Now, storms sound very close, especially when right overhead. Its certainly put me more in awe of nature.
 
R2D2: I was able to hear storms before with hearing aids and wondered the same thing you did. Now, I know exactly why, as they sound so extremely close especially right overhead like you said. I love storms even more now! I have always loved storms even as a child, but now I look forward to the eveing/night storms. Don't like it when it storms during the day cuz then I freak about driving in heavy rain. :)


BTW I can't believe how violent storms sound either. I was able to hear storms with hearing aids but used to wonder why people got scared of them. Now, storms sound very close, especially when right overhead. Its certainly put me more in awe of nature.[/QUOTE]
 
Went for the third mapping today..and I had CI moment..could hear the downstairs door ring go off...at first I did not knew what it was!
 
That's so cool Vivie! I remember just after being activated, hearing something 'creaking' or 'popping' in my room and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, then realized it was the floor boards above me creaking when people walked around the 2nd floor!
 
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