CI Moments

I am going to visit my mom, dad and sisters in Georgia. It is the first time they will see me with my CIs. I can't wait to experience it all with them. I'm also going to ask my mom some questions on the choices she made for me growing up.

Everyone have a safe, happy week.
 
vallee said:
I am going to visit my mom, dad and sisters in Georgia. It is the first time they will see me with my CIs. I can't wait to experience it all with them. I'm also going to ask my mom some questions on the choices she made for me growing up.

Everyone have a safe, happy week.
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Have a great trip!

We look forward to a report and also (hope not being too nosy) to hear a bit more about your mum's choices for you growing up. I might ask my mother the same when she comes out here in January, although she's already told me that she wanted to increase choices and opportunities for me.
 
vallee said:
I am going to visit my mom, dad and sisters in Georgia. It is the first time they will see me with my CIs. I can't wait to experience it all with them. I'm also going to ask my mom some questions on the choices she made for me growing up.

Everyone have a safe, happy week.
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You'll have to tell us all about your trip. Have fun!
 
Some not so pleasant CI moments

I"m starting to be able to tell cars apart from sound of motors. I can tell if there's a motorcycle nearby and I'm starting to hate the sound of motorcycles. :P
 
deafskeptic said:
I"m starting to be able to tell cars apart from sound of motors. I can tell if there's a motorcycle nearby and I'm starting to hate the sound of motorcycles. :P
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For a minute there I thought you were going to say you could tell a VW apart from a Toyota :eek3: LOL!

Do you have diesel cars in the US? They have a different engine sound to petrol motors and sound more like tractors. In Europe, Diesel in cars is very popular.
 
R2D2 said:
For a minute there I thought you were going to say you could tell a VW apart from a Toyota :eek3: LOL!

Do you have diesel cars in the US? They have a different engine sound to petrol motors and sound more like tractors. In Europe, Diesel in cars is very popular.
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Yes, we do. They're not too common where I live. I don't know if it's just me or if they seem to be more popular with more affluent neighborhoods.
 
vallee said:
I am going to visit my mom, dad and sisters in Georgia. It is the first time they will see me with my CIs. I can't wait to experience it all with them. I'm also going to ask my mom some questions on the choices she made for me growing up.

Everyone have a safe, happy week.
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Have a great time and drive safe!! I'm sure it will be a great experience all around with mom and the family! :)
 
Well enjoying nice warm Georgia. A quick hello! I talked to my mom on her choices for my communications. It was interesting. First, mom said yes my hearing loss was at age 3 from rheumetic fever. She took me to a lot of doctors to find out what was wrong and all said a mild hearing loss. Mom keep taking me to doctors until at age 10, one decided to fit me with a hearing aid.

I asked her did they know it was progressive. She said that they did not have a clue what was going on with me and thought that it was just a little. I asked why she did not enroll me in deaf education and her comment - the resources were not available in the 70's. Also I did not qualify. I also asked about sign language. She said she did want me to take when I was in high school, she also found classes, but me being SO busy in high school would not take the time. I did get the lecture that she has been asking me for 20 years to take sign language, but it was my choice because I was out of the house. I told her I did take a course, but need to take more. Mom said I need to take the course with my daughter so she can communicate with me when I don't wear my cis. Then the most important part, mom said I tried to give you the best I could. All I can say is you did!
 
Vallee: It sucks that back then, there wasn't alot of resources for hearing parents of Deaf children but by the time I came around '78, things got better. My parents was told of all 3 choices, oral, total communication, and state school for the Deaf. My parents went to an oral school and was just so heartbroken by what they saw and decided they'd not do that to me. So I was put at the total communication program. My Mom said while having a child with hearing loss was sad at first, in a way it was a blessing because she didn't want me having to go to the schools in the city I was raised in. She had wanted me to go to the schools in the city both of my parents grew up in. Those cities were right next to each other, so instead of the city I was raised in, I always said I grew up in the city that my Grandparents & schools were at. heh.

Anyways- she said that she wanted me in TC so I could attend speech classes and have the ability to talk & sign. She knew from my hearing tests that my hearing aids benefitted me very well & I could hear just about everything including speech so she really wanted to work with me on that. Personally, I think that was the decision my Mom made. :)

Getting back on topic - I had a CI moment yesterday. It was my week to carpool my daughter and her friend, who is also our neighbor from across the street. Her Mom and I take turns every other week on picking up our girls and bringing them home 'cause their chater school doesn't have busses & it is a PITA sitting in the parking lot for a good 40 minutes everyday! Anyways, as I was about to drive, I could hear the girls singing and pretending to be screaming [what my daughter's 1 yr old niece does sometimes] - I told them to quiet down so I could drive, they giggled and started doing it again, not as loud as the 1st time. So I decided to say "Fine, I know of a way to tune you silly girls out" and put in one of my CDs - loud. :P That made them giggle even more! It was then that it hit me, that every time it was my week to get the girls - I can now understand their converstations they have while sitting in the back seat behind me. I could hear them discuss what their classes did for the & what they will do the next day. I could hear them talking about soccer. I could hear them talking about going to one's house to play. It is truly amazing being able to do that! Before I could just simply hear them talking but have no clue what they're talking about. Now with CI - I can understand alot of what they're talking about. :)

I have also noticed that I am so much happier since my CI activation. Is this weird? Or did anyone else go thru that too? :)
 
I am much happy as well. My family said they can see my happiness in all I do now. I think it is less stress to try and figure out what others say. I can now just enjoy conversation and not feel so stressed out that I might miss something.
 
vallee said:
Well enjoying nice warm Georgia. A quick hello! I talked to my mom on her choices for my communications. It was interesting. First, mom said yes my hearing loss was at age 3 from rheumetic fever. She took me to a lot of doctors to find out what was wrong and all said a mild hearing loss. Mom keep taking me to doctors until at age 10, one decided to fit me with a hearing aid.

I asked her did they know it was progressive. She said that they did not have a clue what was going on with me and thought that it was just a little. I asked why she did not enroll me in deaf education and her comment - the resources were not available in the 70's. Also I did not qualify. I also asked about sign language. She said she did want me to take when I was in high school, she also found classes, but me being SO busy in high school would not take the time. I did get the lecture that she has been asking me for 20 years to take sign language, but it was my choice because I was out of the house. I told her I did take a course, but need to take more. Mom said I need to take the course with my daughter so she can communicate with me when I don't wear my cis. Then the most important part, mom said I tried to give you the best I could. All I can say is you did!
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This seems unusual where the parents begged their child to take sign language over a period of 20 years and the child resisted. Makes me wonder how Mom and child bonded, etc...did you have good hearing, oral skills? Did Mom not think that was good enough? I am not getting at anything or trying to start something but I find this case unusual because it is usually the other way around.
 
Tousi said:
This seems unusual where the parents begged their child to take sign language over a period of 20 years and the child resisted. Makes me wonder how Mom and child bonded, etc...did you have good hearing, oral skills? Did Mom not think that was good enough? I am not getting at anything or trying to start something but I find this case unusual because it is usually the other way around.
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My oral skills are very good or were good. My mom and I are very close. She felt that sign language should be a part of my life since I was lossing my hearing quickly after age 20. My mom always felt that I should do what I can to be as independent as possible. I felt that I was doing great in an oral environment. I resisted. I'm the spirited daughter.

When I first explored CIs, my mom was my only supporter. She pushed and helped me to find a doctor and look over paperwork. And yes, she still said that I still need sign language. Only this time I agree with her.
 
vallee said:
My oral skills are very good or were good. My mom and I are very close. She felt that sign language should be a part of my life since I was lossing my hearing quickly after age 20. My mom always felt that I should do what I can to be as independent as possible. I felt that I was doing great in an oral environment. I resisted. I'm the spirited daughter.

When I first explored CIs, my mom was my only supporter. She pushed and helped me to find a doctor and look over paperwork. And yes, she still said that I still need sign language. Only this time I agree with her.
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That's interesting! And it's lovely that your mum and you are so close. she sounds like she really cares about your welfare and is good at thinking things through. However, I guess no parent can force a child to do something they are not ready to do. Do you think that knowing that you are now completely deaf without CIs has influenced your readiness to learn sign?
 
That's really great, Vallee; thank you for the clarification. Best wishes to you as you go forth.
 
You guys have some great stories! You brought tears to my eyes describing how hearing something like birds and fireworks affected your lives.

My CI moment would be when my son was turned on and turned around when I called his name. I cried like a cartoon character! I kept going in another room or behind a piece of furniture and calling him. He would come to find me and peek his cute little face around the wall grinning. *sigh* Man, that was the first most touching moment.

Another would be (fast forward) when he graduated from elementary school. He had a speech to do and rocked it!

PRESS PAUSE: Though my son has been implanted for 8 years, his language/ speech is severely delayed. He didn't have language before he was implanted. We learned ASL for like one year then we were told to "sit on our hands" because of the CI. But that is another thread. PRESS PLAY!

Anyway, he is a performer, so when everyone applauded after his speech, he started to cry. He kept saying, "I'm not sad! I'm not sad! Why are my eyes crying?" I had to explain to him (the best I could) that he was emotional. He was "moved" or flattered by the response to something he did. He was like, "Oh. How do I make it stop?" LOL

My son never really payed attention to the lyrics of music, so you can imagine my surprise when he started singing the words to Outkast "The Whole World". We were in the car and I dang near crashed trying to turn around and see who was singing! After that, it was on! I was trying to teach him the lyrics to everything I was listening to! Had to eliminate DMX from the CD rotation though! LOL His current favorite song is We Will Rock You by Queen.:bowdown:

Last one (might not be funny to some, but it was hilarious to me): He loves to quote lines from movies. So, he got a "good" one from some movie he saw (obviously something he watched without me). We were in WalMart and a friend of ours held up this awfully horrid shirt that was for sale. We're all giving the ill-face and saying ewww, my son turns around and says (in his unaware of his own volume tone) "What the he!! is that??" It took us hours to recover from laughing at him! He's like, "What's so funny? That is what the man said in the movie!"

Guess I have to teach him about bad words and swearing! LOL
 
Hahaha, that cracked me up, Keanusmom! You mentioned about his being language and speech being severely delayed. Do you have a plan of attack for those issues?
 
Awww Keanusmom your son sounds gorgeous. How old is he?

If you want to start a thread about his language issues then we'll do our best to give support. I just hope it doesn't turn into a war though as people have strong feelings on this website about CIs, languages etc on here.
 
hahahaha Keanusmom, he sounds soo cute...I enjoyed reading your story there....
 
Tousi said:
Hahaha, that cracked me up, Keanusmom! You mentioned about his being language and speech being severely delayed. Do you have a plan of attack for those issues?
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Kind of. This is a critical year for my son. He was implanted at age four and was made to function in the hearing world. So this year, I sent him to a school for the deaf and he realized that THIS is where he belongs. So along with puberty kicking in, his psyche going haywire, having to leave his friends from his last school (oral program in a public school), realizing that he is part of the DEAF society! At the school for the deaf, everyone MUST sign at all times, so he is learning ASL at a super rapid pace. I feel like such a bad parent for not realizing that was the issue for so many years. I was convinced that his "miracle ear" was gonna kick in one day and make him talk right! But, as I said. This year was a big reality check for the both of us (he will be 13 in December). Now I am in ASL classes every weekend just trying to keep up with him!

Thank God for things like ASLPro.com, Sorenson VRS and Jr. NAD! All big aids in getting us comfortable in our new society.
 
Keanusmom said:
Kind of. This is a critical year for my son. He was implanted at age four and was made to function in the hearing world. So this year, I sent him to a school for the deaf and he realized that THIS is where he belongs. So along with puberty kicking in, his psyche going haywire, having to leave his friends from his last school (oral program in a public school), realizing that he is part of the DEAF society! At the school for the deaf, everyone MUST sign at all times, so he is learning ASL at a super rapid pace. I feel like such a bad parent for not realizing that was the issue for so many years. I was convinced that his "miracle ear" was gonna kick in one day and make him talk right! But, as I said. This year was a big reality check for the both of us (he will be 13 in December). Now I am in ASL classes every weekend just trying to keep up with him!

Thank God for things like ASLPro.com, Sorenson VRS and Jr. NAD! All big aids in getting us comfortable in our new society.
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Glad that the new direction in education is working well for you both and it sounds like you wish you had the confidence to do it sooner. I think that with your son being implanted at the age of four and having no spoken language before that, he was always going to struggle in an oral only program and it would have been prudent for the professionals to have recommended a program with ASL in a Bi Bi or TC approach at that age.

By the way, your son has a lovely smile :)
 
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