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.
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