My coclear implant surgery

It is nice reading people's experiences with the ci, this is what students should read when doing ci papers. I was always against them but alldeaf has changed my veiws.
 
Foxrac said:
Yes, right now, I have a lot of drainage from bottom of incision, but it is necessary to reduce the swelling and it should be gone in few days to week.
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That doesn't sound right. Who said it was ok to have a lot of drainage? If not d doctor, I'd say go to a medical aid unit today and have it checked out.
 
Foxrac said:
Yes, right now, I have a lot of drainage from bottom of incision, but it is necessary to reduce the swelling and it should be gone in few days to week.
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You do? Guess its different having a removal than having the implant? Goodness thats rough and for that long. I remember when i had my mastoidectomy,it drained a little for maybe a day or 2 then went to my doc and he pulled the draining tube out,i thought i would be sick!:barf:
 
BLONDI53 said:
You do? Guess its different having a removal than having the implant? Goodness thats rough and for that long. I remember when i had my mastoidectomy,it drained a little for maybe a day or 2 then went to my doc and he pulled the draining tube out,i thought i would be sick!:barf:
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The drainage could occur during CI and CI removal surgery - it is behind the ear surgery that cause swelling.

LoveBlue said:
That doesn't sound right. Who said it was ok to have a lot of drainage? If not d doctor, I'd say go to a medical aid unit today and have it checked out.
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My nurse said it is ok as long as there is no foul smell.

My incision is healing and swelling is down a little.
 
Well, tomorrow is activation day,woo hoo,so excited,and so nervous!! The insision is still a little tender at the very top but the rest is fine,have been getting the feeling back on the top of my ear and all it feels kinda funny! We drive down to birmingham,al today and activation is 8am!! Ohh i just hope it goes even close to how i want it too,guess we'll see huh? !
 
BLONDI53 said:
Well, tomorrow is activation day,woo hoo,so excited,and so nervous!! The insision is still a little tender at the very top but the rest is fine,have been getting the feeling back on the top of my ear and all it feels kinda funny! We drive down to birmingham,al today and activation is 8am!! Ohh i just hope it goes even close to how i want it too,guess we'll see huh? !
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I live about 25 miles away from Birmingham.

I think that tender is related to swelling and it take several weeks to go away after surgery.
 
BLONDI53 said:
Well, tomorrow is activation day,woo hoo,so excited,and so nervous!! The insision is still a little tender at the very top but the rest is fine,have been getting the feeling back on the top of my ear and all it feels kinda funny! We drive down to birmingham,al today and activation is 8am!! Ohh i just hope it goes even close to how i want it too,guess we'll see huh? !
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@LoveBlue Did y'all applied ointment or cream to incision? If so, how long until stop use it?
 
Foxrac said:
@LoveBlue Did y'all applied ointment or cream to incision? If so, how long until stop use it?
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Yes, I applied ointment. I can't remember for how long. Probably a few weeks until the incision started looking more like normal skin/tissue. I think it also helps the stitches disolve/fall out. At 5 weeks, when I went for activation, I still had a stitch at the top. I was told to keep putting the ointment on that area to help work the stitch out.
 
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Ok,boy what a day,and boy do i have questions, yall ready??! Ok so they do the different sounds tell them if too loud,ok we get done with that, do the hearing test and all, it seemed ok,didnt really hear beeps and noises, could hear me talk (which i normally can) hear her talk,a little robotic, what i really hear or sounds like it is humming,non stop,humming,anybody else have that experience? She did drop it once in carpet,but there made to be pretty tough, right? Um things arent as loud as i thought it would be,i thought i did the test right,or should i have told her to go louder? Im so confused,i know it's supposed to take a little time, i just hope nothing is wrong with it! Would be my luck since its a 3 and a half hr drive back there,any help would be awesome!
 
BLONDI53 said:
No, sure didnt they only told me to wash gently,and rinse. They never told me to put anything on it at all,did you?
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Yes, they told me to apply any ointment on incision, also I cleaned my incision as well.

I wish you a great luck with activation day and and it will be loud at first time when CI processor turn on.
 
Foxrac said:
Yes, they told me to apply any ointment on incision, also I cleaned my incision as well.

I wish you a great luck with activation day and and it will be loud at first time when CI processor turn on.
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Wish they had of told me that,its all sill sore,and now the processor isnt helping any? You know it isnt loud at all,i think i may have made a mistake when they did each frequency and asked it to loud or medium,its not loud,or doesnt seem so but boy when i turn it off theres a big difference,very weird! I can hear myself,i sound loud, but people talking to me is not loud,does that make any sense?!
 
You're fine. They don't want it to be too loud at the start. They want it to be comfortable for you as your brain adjusts. When do you go back? Each time you go for a mapping she'll do the volume test and will adjust it - most likely make it louder each time. I was at my 3 month mapping last week and my audi asked me if I thought I could handle some more volume because my tone test did not come out as well as she would have liked (it's good, but she thinks it can be better). I said I thought I could so we went through the volume test. I didn't ask her how much she increased it.

The robotic sound will go away as your brain adjusts to the new input. Be sure to tell your brain what it's hearing if it doesn't seem to "pick up" the sounds (mine sounded like a buzzing when it heard something but didn't know what it was hearing). I remember telling my brain "that's water running (from faucet)" and my brain switched from hearing the buzzing to hearing the water.

I'm surprised they didn't tell you to put antibiotic ointment on the incision.
 
LoveBlue said:
You're fine. They don't want it to be too loud at the start. They want it to be comfortable for you as your brain adjusts. When do you go back? Each time you go for a mapping she'll do the volume test and will adjust it - most likely make it louder each time. I was at my 3 month mapping last week and my audi asked me if I thought I could handle some more volume because my tone test did not come out as well as she would have liked (it's good, but she thinks it can be better). I said I thought I could so we went through the volume test. I didn't ask her how much she increased it.
The robotic sound will go away as your brain adjusts to the new input. Be sure to tell your brain what it's hearing if it doesn't seem to "pick up" the sounds (mine sounded like a buzzing when it heard something but didn't know what it was hearing). I remember telling my brain "that's water running (from faucet)" and my brain switched from hearing the buzzing to hearing the water.

I'm surprised they didn't tell you to put antibiotic ointment on the incision.
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I go back on the 18th of next mth,she said she would then show me how to do the voice tester,the neck loop didnt come in this time but she said when she got it she would ship it to me! Its so strange cause now i cant understand my husband talking and i used to,so thats definetly different to me. Now that i know what buttons to push in my remote, it has helped a little!! Nope they said to keep clean and dry,no sweating for 3 weeks,thats it! So were things more clear for you after the 2nd mapping,did it make a difference other than louder? Thanks for answering my question!!
 
BLONDI53 said:
Wish they had of told me that,its all sill sore,and now the processor isnt helping any? You know it isnt loud at all,i think i may have made a mistake when they did each frequency and asked it to loud or medium,its not loud,or doesnt seem so but boy when i turn it off theres a big difference,very weird! I can hear myself,i sound loud, but people talking to me is not loud,does that make any sense?!
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Back in 1996, my old audiologist activated my CI processor and it was very loud, so I pulled the magnet down and they told me to leave magnet on, so I was 8 years old at that time.

It seems like they are changed now.

LoveBlue said:
I'm surprised they didn't tell you to put antibiotic ointment on the incision.
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When I had CI surgery in 1996, they didn't tell me to put ointment or cream on it, just clean the incision. I had 2 incision - 1 in behind the ear and 1 on scalp.

It was old CI surgery method - N shaped scar, big C shaped scar (including scalp) and 2 incisions - on behind the ear and scalp. They are obsolete now and they are doing on behind the ear only, however scalp above the ear may be cut as well.
 
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Thats how they did mine,cut a little up on my scalp then down around my ear,glad they have changed the way they do it! I have found on remote where i can make it louder,but it makes the humming louder also,its very annoying,so turned it back down again!
 
Well I go back on monday the 17th for my programming,the humming i used to hear isnt quiet as bad anymore,but sorry to say the understanding what people say or listening to music and hear something other than what sounds like static hasnt changed for me. I e-mailed my audioloogist with these questions and comments,still says im where im supposed to be,that it will take like 6 mths before im doing well with my implant, yes things are a little louder but not clear at all. My head is no longer sore,and it doesnt bother me at all wearing it,of course i have knocked it off several times (i run my fingers through my hair alot,or forget and put my sunglasses on my head and knock it off,luckily i always clip it to my hair! Oh and the metallic taste in my mouth is still there 2 mths later,hope it goes away soon,ick! Well guess we will see what happens monday,hopefully i will be better off this time!!
 
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