13. A Few Days Later.

I’ve spent a lot of time just using the CI with no hearing aid. With background noise it is difficult but without things are not too bad. I’m beginning to feel that my own voice is less shrill especially when I speak quietly and that’s true for my wife’s voice also.  However there is a lack of consistency and at times the chipmunks are out again.  When I use my hearing aid I obviously hear sounds in both ears but there is a huge difference between the two.  Because the hearing aid produces a more natural sound, even if it is distorted to some extent my brain tends to focus on that sound.  I have to force myself to listen to the shrill, squeaky sound in my CI ear where voices are actually clearer.  I’ve tried turning down the hearing aid and that seems to help.  When I use the CI alone it can be difficult to determine where sound is coming from in part because all sounds are similar. Is it my wife or the TV? If my ability to distinguish different sounds improves then that should assist in direction finding.

I used to be an avid listener of the radio so I’ve been experimenting to see if I can return to all those wonderful programmes on Radio 4.  There’s a brilliant BBC app, which provides all the stations including Radio 4 so I’ve tuned in on my iphone. It’s early days but I was able to hear some of the content especially where there is a single speaker talking on a given theme. The comedy shows are a bit beyond me at the moment but one day, who knows.  As I write this I have music in my implant ear courtesy of my wife. I can just about hear the lyrics but disappointingly the music sounds very flat so my ability to hear pitch is still not there.

The processor rests on the top of my ear and the only physical attachment to me is the magnetic link to the internal receiver. It is very light and I am unaware of its physical presence. So I worry that it will drop off or I will catch it on some object, which will dislodge it. As the audiologist said, I should soon know it was gone by the lack of sound. However, yesterday the rechargeable battery ran out and I did not have a replacement with me. I was leaving my daughter’s house and five minutes from home so simply left the processor in place thinking it was safe there.  As I put on my coat I must have knocked the processor off my head but was totally unaware of this until my wife noticed it at my feet. I’m going to ask for the magnet to be strengthened and will have to come up with some strategies to protect this expensive piece of kit.

12. Switch on Day

Switch on day.

 I was advised that when the processor is first switched on the results can be disappointing and not to expect too much on the first day. There is a lot of sense in that advice which will be obvious later but first something which was astounding.

Sarah, the audiologist activated the external processor and then placed it on my ear locating the transmitter magnetically over the internal receiver. My hearing aid was removed. She then activated the device by sending sounds at various frequencies to adjust the volume.  It started with mid-range frequencies and went up to sounds so high I can’t recall ever having heard them before.  It was then that the processor was switched on to its’ normal mode and in my right ear, which had been dead to almost all sound, I could hear Sarah’s voice. That was astounding!  

However there was a huge mismatch between what I could see and what I could hear because if I say the very pleasant Sarah sounded like a chipmunk I would be understating the case. In an odd way I felt I could hear her better if I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound alone.  When I spoke I sounded just like Sarah except louder and oddly my voice seemed to have a delay in it.  I was invited to take a walk outside to see what I could make of the world so off I went making a first stop at the toilet where the sound of running water was all too apparent and stunning in the high frequency detail. The nearby pelican crossing beeped out an invitation to walk loud and clear and I was now asking my wife to walk on my right where the microphone could pick up her voice better.  I couldn’t hear the car engine but all the switches happily clicked and clattered.  All this with just the cochlear implant.  But now I’m at home and realising that there will be a lot of adjusting to do. TV is not clear and small clashes and bangs are disproportionately loud. I need my hearing aid to provide the lower frequencies and get a more natural sound. I return for further adjustments in a week and in the meanwhile will use the implant as much as I can, some of the time exclusively. So, it’s not really been a disappointing day but one of great promise.  The fact that this electronic device can send signals directly to my auditory nerve, which can then be recognised as a person’s voice is truly astounding.

It’s not yet twenty-four hours since the turn on and my new hearing fascinates me. What seems to me to be happening is that the CI processor converts all sounds to a much higher frequency, which is why people sound like chipmunks. The lack of high frequency sound is a major factor in deafness so it’s understandable that the focus is on rectifying that situation.  But the new sound is far from natural, being very synthetic as if generated by a computerised voice synthesiser.  It requires a lot of concentration to mentally focus on the new sounds, partly because they also sound detached and distanced but when you do there is clarity.  I started the day using the CI only and managed to say good morning to my wife and return from the kitchen with a cup of tea.  I’ve woken to a completely artificial world of sound and it is quite unnerving. Putting in my hearing aid brings back natural sounds and its clear that I will need to use both for a while.

11. Meet the team

Mr Robinson and the Bristol CI Team

My inspiration for these blogs has been the numerous other blogs written by CI recipients across the world.  Today I came across a blog written by Graham and it attracted my attention because he was treated by the CI team in Bristol under the leadership of Mr Philip Robinson just like me.  And just like me he actually lives in Cheltenham.  Small world.  Graham’s implant was featured on the BBC programme See Hear and his blog contains a 9 minute extract which shows his and my experience at Bristol. The only difference is that he was trolleyed to the theatre and I had to walk!  I hope the outcome for me is as good as it was for Graham.  So with thanks to him, type this into your browser and meet the team.

http://graysdeafblog.wordpress.com/my-cochlear-implant-movie/ http://graysdeafblog.wordpress.com/my-cochlear-implant-movie/

Blog 10. Post Op

Two days after the implant and I’ve not felt well all day.  It’s nothing much but it’s there all the same.  Although I’ve been climbing up a step ladder to paint walls without incident I’ve also not felt as secure as usual. No balance issue in an obvious way but a little uneasy.  This morning I felt my mouth and sense of taste was improved as I ate breakfast but as the day has progressed I’ve become conscious of my tingling tongue and the distorted sense of taste.  My Teeth or gums on the implant side also feel like they are anaesthetised. When I drink water or orange juice the liquid feels glutinous on my tongue. More like drinking yogurt or double cream.  Wine or coffee feels more like a normal liquid.  I’ve noticed that my implant ear sticks out more than the other one and is also more red. There’s a slight ache to it too on the inside but nothing too bad.  All told I feel a bit under the weather and wonder if it’s all a delayed reaction.  All the advice about taking things steadily for a few days or so is beginning to have relevance.

Five days after the operation I’m experiencing most of the things I was told to expect. I’ve mentioned my mouth and that continues but sometimes I feel it’s getting less noticeable.  For instance I have a good appetite and enjoy food and most of it tastes fine. I am getting shooting pains in the vicinity of the cut however.  It’s not continuous and I think that is just part of the healing process. Unfortunately I like to sleep on my tum with my head turned to one side and the down side for my head is where the implant is. So I have to try sleeping in different positions but last night was much better and for quite a lot of the time I slept with the implant ear on the pillow.  I now have a follow-up meeting at BRI and also a switch on date exactly one month from the operation date.

Blog 9. Implant Day.

Implant Day

It was a very early start for us to be at Bristol Royal Infirmary by 7.15am but following the pre-op day everything seemed familiar and we were soon called from the waiting area to a bed in a preparation area where I was put through the usual checks before dressing in an hospital gown, my dressing gown and slippers. During this time I was attended by two very pleasant nurses and met the registrar, the anaesthetist and Mr Robinson, the consultant who would be inserting the implant. Eventually the moment arrived and as the theatre was just along the corridor I followed a nurse on foot to find myself in the high-tech world of an operating theatre.  I was invite to lie on a bed/trolley and the anaesthetist told me that he would send me off gently as he inserted a cannula.  That was very true. I was able to scan the whole of the room as people prepared for the operation and as I did so a gentle sleep overcame me.

I awoke gently too with an oxygen mask on, a blood pressure monitor squeezing my arm and my finger hot with the pulse monitor. It took about fifteen minutes to become fully alert when all of the accessories were removed. I felt no discomfort at all but my head was in a huge bandage.  I was given the option of going home the same day and I chose it. So off to x-ray next to check that all was in the right place and then I was parked in another ward waiting for the bandage to be removed after four hours. I think I was in theatre for two and a half hours. My wife returned from a shopping trip in Bristol and at 3.30pm the bandage was removed and I was discharged with a strange hairdo and a pack of antibiotics. There was a slight ache at the site of the incision but nothing more and I was able to walk easily. All of the people I met were simply fantastic. They were friendly, informative, patient and kind and most of all involved me in what was going on. I felt in a way part of the team and valued as an individual. As I write this on the day after the implant I feel very well. I had a restless night’s sleep because, in my opinion, I had had a good sleep under the anaesthetic so didn’t feel tired.  The only after effect I can record is that my sense of taste has altered.  Things taste slightly metallic so less appetising and my tongue tingles very slightly especially on the right side. Perhaps it will wear off.  It will take a few weeks for the wound to heal completely before I return for the switch on. I’m feeling very positive about that.  As for the incision – it seems to be about three to four inches long and curving round behind my ear.  There are stitches in place and on top some sort of tape.  The weird hair do was caused by the use of gel which was used to sweep my hair upwards away from the cut.  In order to wash my hair I cover the ear with a plastic cup and by doing this my hair was restored to normality. They did a great job of minimising the cosmetic damage and I reckon most people would not notice that I’d had the operation.