Intimacy

Jan10

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I was in a relationship with Bob for 30 years and that we broke up four years ago. I started online dating a little over a year ago. In my blog post, “A New Journey for Me” I talked a little about my dating anxieties and I closed the post with this: “Hopefully, I find a guy that likes wearing jeans and t-shirts, eats chili dogs and likes to laugh, will hold my hand and have a good time…” I’m happy to say I found that guy and we even shared our first chili dogs last night. His name is Neil and we met through Silver Singles three months ago.

We texted and talked on the phone for the first week and we arranged a date to meet. I hadn’t told him about my cochlear implants because I wanted him to get to know me first without any preconceived notions. I intended to discuss it on our first date. Throughout our very lengthy texting sessions, we would come upon topics that we thought were better to talk about in person. I had joked that we really needed to make a list of those topics. He then suggested that a scroll “like Santa’s scroll” might be even better. From then on we would just say “scroll” when we came upon a topic we wanted to talk about later. I went back and made a list of all of those scroll items. Then I found an image of an old fashioned scroll and typed the list on it. I also added one additional topic that we hadn’t discussed: cochlear implants. I rolled the scroll up, tied it with a ribbon and tucked it into my purse.

We had built a pretty strong connection even though we hadn’t met in person yet. We shared the same sense of humor and he made me laugh all the time. The conversation just flowed and flowed. I tried not to get my hopes too high, however, because I had been on a lot of first dates that didn’t go anywhere. There just wasn’t a spark. I knew there was a possibility that we might be better off as friends. I hate to say it for fear of sounding shallow, but I wasn’t impressed with his profile pictures. His writing, good sense of humor and personality were evident in his write up and that’s what attracted me to him.

The day came for our first date. When I first saw him, my initial impression was “OMG! This guy is HOT!” When we talked I knew, without a doubt, the chemistry was there–at least on my side. But then he said, “I have a confession to make.” Uh oh. He said that he did a little digging on me (as a security precaution when meeting someone new on a dating app) and found various things about me on the internet and he also discovered this blog. He read a great deal of it before we met. I felt terrible that I hadn’t told him about my implants and he felt terrible that he robbed me of the chance to tell him the things he read. That’s when I took out the scroll and presented it to him. I wanted him to see that I had fully intended to talk about it that night. I gave him a lot of credit for being honest and, more importantly, for showing up to meet me anyway.

That date lasted for many hours with nonstop conversation and laughs. We went on a second date just a few days later and, in fact, went out several times in that next week alone. He hadn’t experienced the full extent of my disability, though, until much later when we finally spent the night together. When I remove my processors (I call them my ears) I am completely deaf. He admitted that he rarely thought about my implants because I did so well with them that he didn’t really notice. But there would be no hiding it when I was completely deaf.

Making love has been magical. I keep my ears on and am grateful to hear his sounds in the throes of passion. It definitely adds to the experience. That first night when I laid my head on his chest, however, my physical ear began to ache. When the lights went out, and I removed my processors, we were not able to communicate. The next morning he tried to talk to me and I tried to read his lips but, I was so out of practice, that it was frustrating for both of us. I knew I was going to have to figure out how we could communicate easily.

When Bob and I were together he would “write” on my body with his finger and I’d have to try to figure out what he was trying to tell me. It was difficult and I didn’t want to deal with that again. There had to be a better way. I went on the Advanced Bionics Facebook group and asked others how they communicated with their significant others in bed. I got all kinds of responses. Some people use sign language, some text, some stop all communication when it’s dark and their ears are off, and many have a small lamp used for lip reading. One of the funniest responses was from Steven Harris who said, “Usually an elbow to the ribs when I snore…” Some people gave the answer that I decided to try.

The next time we spent the night together I wore only one of my ears–the one that wouldn’t be snuggled on his chest. That was much more comfortable. As a side note–I always recommend doing rehab using only your worst ear and to leave the hearing aid or better CI side off. This process allows the brain to get that ear up to speed. I am really grateful that I did that because I can hear well with just the one implant–no matter which side is being used. I kept the processor on until it was time to go to sleep. The next morning while we were cuddled together, I didn’t feel like leaving him to put my ears on. He grabbed his phone, switched to the notes app and did speech to text so that I could read what he was saying. That has turned out to be an easy way for us to communicate in the dark and at times when we don’t want to get up.

There have been times where I haven’t had my ears on and I was able to tell him how I felt about him but we didn’t want to ruin the moment by getting our assistive devices. He later told me that, during those times, he’s felt like he’s the one who had the disability. I was able to communicate my thoughts to him easily but he was not able to respond to me. I had never thought about it from his side before. Fortunately, he is willing to go through it for me anyway.

Neil prefers anonymity, so I won’t be sharing any photos of us. I am grateful that he has given his consent to share this very personal post, as I am sure there are others that may benefit from what we have learned.

I am happy to say that we are very much in love and I have a feeling we will be for a very long time.

Snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands

Jan3

I was able to rediscover just how much fun snorkeling is on a recent trip to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. I looked forward to swimming with the sea lions–that was my number one wish. I was thrilled when that wish was fulfilled. The icing on the cake was swimming with giant sea turtles and even sharks! Of course, the fish were colorful and a delight to swim with as well.

The first time I saw the sea lions I got my own personal show. The rest of the group had swam away but I was enamored and stayed to enjoy my time with one of the remaining sea lions. There was a giant oval ring created by a ribbon of small, yellow fish. The sea lion would dash through the center of the ring and then it twirled around multiple times and came back through towards me. It did that several times and even jumped out of the water at one point. It felt like I was watching a show at Sea World. Another time I was laying flat on the water and a sea lion came straight at me, like he was playing chicken, then he ducked and swam right underneath me. It was so fun to watch them play and I was amazed at how close they got to me.

I was fortunate to get to snorkel multiple times. It’s a good thing, too, because it gave me a chance to get used to the Advanced Bionics waterproof battery. I had never used it to snorkel before and there was a bit of a learning curve with it. I am bilateral (a cochlear implant on each ear). I have one waterproof battery and I have my original processor, the Neptune, which is also waterproof. I wore one on each ear. I don’t go in the water very often and am not used to wearing that configuration. I knew the sound would be different but it sounded much more different than I remembered. That was because I forgot to change my program to the off ear headpiece microphone. I was still using the processor microphone which was on my shoulder. Fortunately, I remembered quickly and changed programs. The sound then came through the AquaMic waterproof headpiece, which is the only waterproof soundprocessor microphone available. That sounded much better.

Also the first time I went out, I clipped the processors too low on my bathing suit and one of the headpieces came off. Fortunately, they are attached to a cable and it simply dangled while I swam. The second time out, I clipped them at the top of my straps but still one of the headpieces came off. I decided it was because my mask kept hitting the headpiece. The third time I went out, I put the strap from the mask on top of the headpiece and that seemed to do the trick. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it worked.

This is how I changed from my normal configuration to the waterproof configuration:

Push the pin through with the special tool. I STRONGLY recommend doing this step over something that will catch the pin if you push it too hard and it comes all the way out. You will need to be able to find it easily if that happens.

I recommend only pushing it as far as you need to be able to pull the T-mic out. Don’t push it all the way through.

Pull out the T-Mic

Make sure the battery is charged and that the AquaMic waterproof headpiece is attached. You can tell it’s the AquaMic by the symbol of three drops of water on it where the cord connects to the headpiece.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures under the water but here are some of the animals I did see while snorkeling:

Here are my favorite sea lion pictures:

It was wonderful to be able to hear while snorkeling. While I was looking under the water I was able to hear my guide and the others in my group. I’m grateful for the waterproof capabilities. Another bucket list item checked off!

PartnerMic in Ecuador

Dec29

I was recently on a fantastic trip in Ecuador. I went to Quito, the Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands. I was on a tour and the tour guides give us “whispers” to wear–which are actually earbuds plus a clunky device that is worn around our neck. If we are lucky, the headphone part fits over the ear and is a bit more comfortable than earbuds. The Advanced Bionics t-mic microphone sits at the base of my ear and the headpiece sits nicely over it. This is what those look like:

Unfortunately, on this trip, I found out that it would be the earbud type. I am able to wear those with the t-mic but, as I said, it’s not that comfortable. I knew that Phonak has a PartnerMic microphone and decided to give it a try. This is what it looks like:

The PartnerMic is actually designed to be used in one-on-one conversations. Basically, you clip it to the shirt of the person you want to hear or have them wear it around their neck. Sound is then transmitted via Bluetooth directly to Luminity, Paradise or Marvel hearing aids or cochlear implants. The person can be 25 meters (80 feet) away and the rechargeable battery lasts for six hours of talk time. It takes two hours to charge it back up. It cost me about $200.

Back when I wore hearing aids, I had a similar device. I had passengers wear it when I was driving in the car and it worked really great for that purpose. You could wear it on walks, out to dinner in noisy situations, have a lecturer wear it, etc. It’s not really designed for what I wanted to use it for but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

I was in Quito and the Amazon for the first half of the trip. I had my regular guide wear it clipped to his shirt. This is my guide, Celso, wearing the PartnerMic plus the microphone that he used for the whispers:

It worked great on Celso. I liked it so much that I had the other guides wear it as well. It was especially nice in a museum that had a big echo. At first, I didn’t put it on because the guide was so close to me that I could hear him easily. But the echo made it a struggle to understand what he was saying. I put the PartnerMic on and it was perfect–it eliminated the dreaded echo. Here are a couple of the other guides:

The struggles began when I got to the Galapagos Islands. We went on hikes every day there. If I was more than 80 feet away, I heard an annoying series of musical notes telling me I was out of range . . . and back in range . . . and back out of range . . . you get the point. I did my best to stay within the 80 feet which isn’t very far. Isabela was our guide there and she wore shirts where the PartnerMic flopped around a little bit which made the reception go in and out at times. I remembered the lanyard and had her wear it around her neck instead of having it clipped to her shirt. That helped solve that problem. Here is Isabela modeling the PartnerMic on the lanyard:

Another struggle came in the “panga” boats (rafts) that we used to get from our boat to the islands. We had to wear life jackets and the PartnerMic was covered up by that. That made it difficult to hear her. Once I figured that out, I pulled it out and made sure it wasn’t obstructed by the jacket.

All in all, it was ideal in close range and fantastic in blocking out the echo. I highly recommend it for situations where it is noisy (like a party or noisy restaurant) or if you are in a church with an echo (have the preacher wear it around their neck) or in a car or on a windy hike with someone that you want to hear or even on a walk if you’re having a hard time hearing the person walking next to you. I will bring it with me on future trips. Was it ideal in this situation? No, but it was better than the earbuds.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Listening Practice

Sep12

Make sure to do listening practice every day. It may take some time to figure out what time will
work best for you. Some people practice listening in the morning when their mind is freshest.
Some people like to split their practice times into smaller chunks.
There are different types of listening practice. Most audiologists recommend doing a minimum of
30-60 minutes of listening practice every day. This is “active listening practice,” where you are
only focusing on listening. During this time, shut off your hearing aid and ONLY use your cochlear
implant. Your hearing aid is like a walking crutch. You are used to hearing this way, and your brain
is too! To help train your brain to hear with the cochlear implant, we need to remove this crutch
during your practice session. When you are finished with your 30-60 minute listening practice (or
however long you practice), turn your hearing aid back on. You should now be wearing both your
cochlear implant and your hearing aid. Now you will be doing “passive listening practice” the rest
of the day. Passive listening means that you continue going about your day, doing whatever you
have planned, but you are always listening in the background.
The key with listening practice is that you want it to be challenging, but not so challenging that
you give up. You always want to be successful when doing your listening practice. Being
frustrated will not help. Challenge yourself, but allow yourself to be successful.

Lower-Technology Listening Rehabilitation Ideas There are MANY options for non-technology ideas for practicing listening:

Read Out Loud
Have someone read out loud to you (or read out loud to yourself). Follow along the words
he is reading with your finger. Your brain may not recognize the words you are hearing at
first, but your eyes see the words. Seeing the words will help your brain put it together.
With time and practice, the words will sound clearer.

Read Children’s Books Out Loud
Children’s books are a great tool, as they are simple, easy to follow along, and you often
may know the story you are reading. If you have a grandchild, have your grandchild be
your listening partner. Listen to them learn to read while you read along.

Audio Books/Books on Tape
Listen to an audio book or books on tape and read along with a print copy while listening.
Start with children’s books and progress to adult novels. You can check them out on CDs
at the library along with the physical book. You can also do this right on your phone with
apps like Audible.

Closed-Set Words List
This is the easiest type of listening. A CLOSED SET is where the contents of the set are
present or clearly defined. This could be numbers 1-5, months of the year, names of your
children, continents, colors of the rainbow, etc.
Create a short list of words. Write these words out on a paper in front of you (if needed) to
help you. Have your listening partner read one word from this short list. First, use all the
cues you have: read their lips, use facial cues, and listen through your CI. Repeat the word
out loud back to your partner. When this gets easy, make it a little harder. Use that same
list but have them cover their mouth or walk behind you. Have them repeat a word. If you
get it wrong, have them uncover their mouth or move back in front of you so you can see
their lips, and have them say the word again. Repeat the correct word. Continue doing this
until it gets easier.
You can also use these lists for phone practice. Have someone call you and read words
from the word lists. This is a more complex skill though, so concentrate on understanding
one-on-one in person before the phone.

Closed-Set Restaurant Menu List
Use 2 copies of a restaurant menu to practice listening with a listening partner. Have your
partner read one entrée from a short list (like appetizers). Listen and read their lips and
repeat the item out loud. When this gets easy, have them cover their mouth, but still use
the same list. Have them repeat a word. If you get it wrong, have them uncover their
mouth and say the word again. Repeat the correct word. Continue doing this until it gets
easier. The key to this is to have a short list to choose from.

Limited-Set Word List / Category Word List
When a closed set of words gets easier, use a limited set of words or category of words.
This is one in which the context is clearly established (such as a category), but the specific
items in the set are not clearly present or defined. This is more difficult than a closet set,
but you still have an idea of what the person may say. Examples include picnic foods,
breakfast foods, animals, clothing, colors, etc.
Again, start in an easy situation (using all your cues: facial expressions, reading lips, and
auditory through the CI), and make things more difficult as it gets easier. Remember to
always allow yourself to be successful!

Open Set Word List
When a limited set of words/category of words becomes easier, use an open set of
words. This is where the person can say anything! This is what a real conversation is like,
where you don’t know what the other person will say next.
Take the same steps as above, and always allow yourself to be successful! If something is
too challenging too fast, this can lead to frustrations and giving up. You will likely need to
repeat practicing often for success.

Sign Game
Have someone you are driving with or walking around in public places with read words
from various signs that you can both see. Look for the words and repeat them back. As
you get better, have them give you words that are giving you trouble such as words that
begin with “R” for example.

Radio
Listen to the radio in your car. Pay particular attention to commercials. This is a good
gauge for seeing how well you are progressing. Talk radio is also good.

Higher-Technology Listening Rehabilitation Ideas There are lots of resources online and through apps for listening practice.

Facebook Group: Cochlear Implant Daily Rehab.
Join AB Mentor Julie Husting’s Cochlear Implant Daily Rehab Facebook group. Search for
the group name or go to: https://tinyurl.com/CIDailyRehab

HearingSuccess: AB’s RehAB Portal
HearingSuccess.com is a great place to find all of Advanced Bionics’ resources that are
available to you in one spot. Resources available through HearingSuccess include:
SoundSuccess, The Listening Room, Hearing Journey, and Musical Atmospheres.

On the HearingSuccess page, the numbered list at the top suggests an order in which you
could progress through the resources on the page. The colored boxes give more
information on each resource. For example, if you go to SoundSuccess, there is a quick
summary of the resource. Clicking on the ‘Learn More’ button pops up a description of the
resource and you will see the icons that show what areas the resource supports. The ‘Go’
button takes you to the place to find out how to access the resource.

Advanced Bionics’ Listening Room
TheListeningRoom.com
The Listening Room has free resources and activities to support the development of
speech, language, and listening skills of children, adolescents, and adult cochlear implant
recipients.
Once you are registered in The Listening Room, you can filter your search to choose Adult
lessons. I would recommend that you filter your search for beginner and intermediate
lessons, depending what level listener you are. There are lots of activities to work on
listening to sounds, listening to words, and listening to sentences.

SoundSuccess
SoundSuccess is AB’s interactive, online functional listening program to help you gain
confidence in your ability to hear. This online resource provides adults opportunities to
gain confidence and improve understanding of speech and conversations using
functional, everyday topics. Access SoundSuccess through our RehAB portal:
HearingSuccess.com.

When you are in SoundSuccess, you can choose your speaker. Some speakers are easier
to understand than others. Some have accents, facial hair, or confusing facial
expressions. These are things that you will find in the real world, so why not practice in
those same situations to help yourself gain confidence.
For each speaker, you can listen and lip read, or make it harder by just listening, and then
even harder by adding noise.

WordSuccess TM Listening Practice App
This free program (formerly known as AB CLIX) is for adults wanting to
practice listening for word differences in both quiet and noise. The ability
to discriminate between vowels and consonants is a skill that improves
with practice. This app is designed for self-study or work with a friend
(referred to as your “Listening Coach”).
After you take the placement test, the app will suggest areas to visit where you can
practice listening for words or words within phrases in a 45-level hierarchy. You can
choose to add noise at any time to increase the difficulty.
WordSuccessTM is easy to navigate and is packed with useful features, including:

A 45-level hierarchy of word differences
Over 2,300 recorded spoken words to test discrimination skills
Options to practice alone or with a friend acting as a “Listening Coach”
Download WordSuccessTM on your IOS device or Android. If you already have a
HearingSuccess account, you can use that login information to use WordSuccess.

TED Talks
Go to http://www.ted.com and choose a talk to listen to. There are
thousands of short videos of a person giving a lecture, so
choose a talk interesting to you. These talks are captioned
after the talk, so the captioning is accurate and has no delay.
Ted Talks enable you to practice listening to a variety of voices
(men, women, fast talkers, slow talkers, people with accents,
etc.), which translates well to hearing in the real world.
Repeating a talk over and over (with and without captions) can be a great tool for aural
rehabilitation and to improve speech understanding. Take baby steps. Watch the talk you
chose using all the cues you can: listen through your CI, read the subtitles, and read lips.
Do this a few times. When this becomes easier, take away the subtitles. You have context
now, as you know what the talk is about. You still have audio through your CI and can read
lips. When this gets easier, look away from the screen and solely rely on your cochlear
implant. Baby steps to get to where you want to go.
Please note that on the Ted Talks website, once you open a video to
play, you will have an option of turning on/off captions, as well as the
option to slowing down the rate of the speech. In the bottom right hand
corner of the video, you will see some icons:
Speaker Icon: Volume (suggestion: set volume wherever it is most comfortable)
Text Box Icon: To turn subtitles on/off (suggestion: do it both ways)
Cog Wheel Icon: Change the speed of the talk (suggestion: .75 is slower/easier than

normal speed)

Diagonal Arrows: To make the talk full screen (suggestion: make it full screen when you
want added visual information, as you will be able to better see the
speakers face/mouth)

Angel Sound Computer Program / App
Go to http://angelsound.tigerspeech.com/angelsound_download.html to get the free
download.
Angel Sound is a free, self-paced, and interactive listening rehabilitation and functional
hearing test program for adults and teens. This allows you to practice and perfect your
listening skills at home. It includes basic to advanced training modules. The functional
hearing test module provides a tool to self-assess your functional hearing with a variety of
speech and music recognition tests including auditory resolution, phoneme, music,
speech in quiet and noise, auditory cognition, etc.

Project Gutenberg
Free audiobooks available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/categories/1.

Librivox
Free audiobooks available online at https://librivox.org.

Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab Website
http://www.esl-lab.com/index.htm
This website has general listening quizzes to allow you as the listener to hear everyday
conversations with adult and children’s voices. There are pre-listening exercises,
discussion questions, online investigation tasks, and vocabulary practice. This website
provides listening quizzes at easy, medium, and difficult levels.
Choose a quiz to listen to. At the very top you will see “Quiz Script”. Click on that to read
along with what is being said.

Daily ESL : Conversation Starters for English Students
http://www.dailyesl.com
This website has audio recordings of various topics that you can listen to as well as read
along with the written text. There are vocabulary quizzes and discussion questions that
provide you with opportunities to check your understanding of comprehension of audio
recording.

English Language Listening Lab Online
http://www.elllo.org

This website has lots of listening game activities. You can select from beginner,
intermediate, or advanced lessons at the top of the page. A lot of lessons come with a
video or audio, a text transcript, interactive quizzes, or fill in the blanks.
Build steps into your listening practice by first using all the cues you can to be successful
(i.e., use the video, audio, and text). Listen a few times to the same activity. When that gets
easier, make it harder by taking the text away (but still using audio and video cues). Listen
a few more times to the same activity. When that gets easier, listen again with just the
audio.

Website for Hearing in Noise
http://www.sensesynergy.com/readmyquips/live/go
Click on Play Now. Click on a white box. Listen to the video (watch along with it if you are
still reading lips) and then fill in the missing words in the boxes at the bottom. If it’s too
noisy you can click on “Make Easier”, likewise, if you want a harder challenge you can click
on “Make Harder”. Each time you replay the video, it automatically gets easier. Play the
video as many times as you can to fill in the sentence. Note–this puzzle is free. If you
want more puzzles, you can buy the service.

Cochlear Limited® Telephone with Confidence

https://www.cochlear.com/us/en/home/ongoing-care-and-support/rehabilitation-resources/resources-for-adults/telephone-with-confidence#english

Cochlear Limited® has listening exercises to practice listening on the phone. Every day,
you can call 800-458-4999 to listen on the phone to a recording of a daily word list, short
passage, and longer passage.
Before calling, go to the above website. Find and click on today’s date to follow along with
the word list, short passage, and longer passage for that day.

Hear Coach App by Starkey
Five different levels that help you to listen in quiet and various background noise
situations.

Audio concentration games
http://www.manythings.org/ac/

Clips of many sounds to identify and practice with
http://www.findsounds.com/types.html

YouTube Videos for Speech Comprehension
Go to https://www.youtube.com/user/VOALearningEnglish and choose a video to watch.
They are captioned and the narrators speak slowly.
Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/ListenAndReadAlong?feature=watch and choose a
video to watch. You can read along to them as well.

Music Videos
Go to YouTube and put the name of a song you remember plus the word “lyrics” in the
search field. Listen to your song daily or weekly to see how it changes.

Musical Atmospheres by Advanced Bionics
Access Musical Atmospheres through our portal HearingSuccess.com. Free to AB
recipients, Musical Atmospheres is an interactive software which has been specially
designed to help adults with cochlear implants fully appreciate the music embedded in
everyday life. Musical Atmospheres is also a rehab support tool to help users gain
confidence and maximize their use of using AB’s technology with their wireless
accessories. There are many different music exercises on this site.

Online Community Group: HearingJourney
https://hearingjourney.com/
The best website to connect with other AB CI users, family members and friends for
information and support is the AB Hearing Journey. Many people got their start here as
they begin the CI journey- it’s a classic, and always recommended.

Activation Tips

Sep12

Your activation is coming soon! Here are some tips to help you prepare for your big day and the days afterwards. Keep one thing in mind–your activation day is going to be the best day and worst day of your whole journey. It will be the best day because you will finally be turned on. That will bring relief that it works and excitement for what’s to come. However, it also happens to be the very worst day of what you are going to be hearing. Remember that your ear hasn’t heard this way in a long time, if ever, and the brain needs to relearn how to hear using this new method. What you hear when you are activated is like a newborn baby coming out. It has a lot to learn!

It’s a good idea to hope for the best but expect the worst so that you won’t be disappointed. It is not unusual NOT to understand speech when you are activated. You may hear beeps or tones or even “waa waa waa” when people are talking to you like Charlie Brown’s teacher. That is completely normal. My brother told me I sounded like R2D2 from Star Wars when he was first activated. A few days later I turned into C3P0. A couple of months later I was Princess Leia, so it does get better. When I was activated, I heard chipmunk and munchkin voices.

You will need to do rehab exercises to train your brain to listen with the CI. I highly recommend getting audio books and the physical book so that you can read along with it while you listen. You can get both from the library. You may need to start with children’s books and work your way up to novels. If you try to listen to the audio without reading along, you likely will not understand it. However, when you read along, your brain will soon pick up the speech.

I also recommend that you use this time before activation to make up a list of “closed set” words. Closed set words are when you have a category and a list of words that go in that category. For example, the category might be “days of the week” and the words would be Wednesday, Friday, etc. Mix up the words. Months, holidays, family names, numbers, and favorite TV shows or other things that you like (flowers, animals, etc) are good closed set words. Have someone tell you the category so that you understand what the category is and then have them read the words in random order without you looking at them (close your eyes or have them stand near your ear but where you can’t see them). Even if you are only hearing beeps, you might be surprised that you can actually get the words right. The brain is an amazing thing!

Another fun game to play is what I call the sign game. When you are in the car with someone, have them pick out words from signs that you can both easily see–choose only signs on the right side of the road, for example. You won’t understand what they say but you may very easily pick out the word on a sign. This also works during the “beeping” stage. You can even do this on the way home from your activation. It may surprise you.

I have a Facebook daily rehab group where I post four exercises each day– an audio exercise, an Angel Sound program exercise, a phone exercise and an “extra credit” exercise which adds some variety. Go to this link to join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/421783617910242/  I highly recommend an hour of rehab a day using only your CI ear–no hearing aid. It’s important that you give your new ear stimulation. If you are used to a quiet house, turn the TV or radio on just to have something for your ear to listen to. The more you can go without your hearing aid, the better.

You are about to embark on an amazing journey! Get ready to cross items off of your wish list!

Surgery Tips

Sep12

Here are some surgery tips for you–keep in mind that everybody is different so some of these things may or may not happen to you. For a couple of weeks after my first surgery, my mouth would not open very wide so I couldn’t eat things like hamburgers, for example. Sometimes people have sore jaws for a short time. You might want to stock up on soft foods just in case.

Some people get dizzy and/or nauseous. My surgeon had me wear a prescription seasick patch the night before the surgery and I took it off a couple days afterwards so I never had any of those symptoms. But it’s a good idea to be prepared for it. Maybe keep some 7-Up and crackers on hand and even a bag in the car for the ride home. You might not feel like eating. If that’s the case, you might want to have some clear soup on hand. You will likely be told not to bend over for awhile and you won’t be allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds I think it is. It’s a good idea not to make any sudden movements, too.

Some people are uncomfortable sleeping in their bed the first night or two. It helps to keep your head elevated. I slept on my recliner for the first few nights. Some people get a travel pillow like you would use on a plane, for their bed.

Be prepared to rest, nap, and more rest! Your body is going to be really tired and it won’t be unusual for you to get very sleepy. Be sure to allow yourself time to heal and listen to your body. It’s not unusual for this to go on for a week.

Sneezing can be painful! Here’s a goofy tip but it really works! To stop a sneeze do this–as soon as you get that tickle that indicates you are going to sneeze, flick your tongue back and forth on the roof of your mouth–start practicing now! If you do it too late you won’t be able to stop it in time. If that happens, do a full blown sneeze with your mouth open–don’t try to stop it.

You will hear strange sounds between your surgery and activation. Don’t worry about that–it’s completely normal. I heard a lot of weird creaking noises. I liked to imagine that my ear was waking up after a long nap! Occasionally I would hear really loud blasts like a horn honking, but fortunately, those were very short and didn’t happen very often.

You may have some loss of taste. Go and eat your favorite foods between now and your surgery! Live it up! I had a slight change in taste after the first surgery and more after the second. It’s kind of like a metallic taste in my mouth. Some foods like bread were very dry and I did get thirsty but it’s not that bad–I could still taste chocolate! Your mouth feels very dry–almost like when you feel like you need to brush your teeth when you wake up. These are not supposed to be permanent side effects, btw, so don’t worry too much if this happens to you.

I had been told by many people that the third day was the worst day so I kept expecting the worst but it never came. I was lucky that I didn’t have to take any pain medication either. I took a Tylenol now and then before I went to bed but that was it. I could eat easily with no jaw problems after my second surgery, too.

I hope I’m not scaring you. I just want you to be prepared for the possibility of any of these things happening and to know that if any of them DO happen, you shouldn’t panic.

You will need to wear a button down or zippered shirt when you go in for surgery. You will wake up with a goofy cone over your ear and you won’t be able to pull a regular shirt over your head.

Have you started your wish list yet?? It’s time to start walking around as a hearing person would–look around you and make a list of the things you hope to hear/understand some day. It’s fun to check them off.

Funny “Wow” Moment

Jun14

I was at the Walk4Hearing last weekend. I was mentoring at the Advanced Bionics table. They had a program with different people speaking but I stayed at the table in case anyone came by that might need me. Our table was a little way down the path–not right in front of the stage. All of a sudden I heard music, so I listened to see what they were singing. At first, I couldn’t make it out but then I realized it had to be the Star-Spangled Banner. The notes threw me off a little bit. Of course, once I realized what it was, I paid attention. Part of the way through the song I thought I might be going crazy. Was I hearing things? Did I not actually know the real words to our national anthem? When the song was over, I asked a friend that was with me if she actually sang about “sunshine”. Yep! She did! And no, there are no lyrics with sunshine in the song. I can’t believe she messed that up but maybe she was nervous and forgot the words. In any event, I actually did understand all of the words to the song even though I couldn’t see who was singing and we weren’t very close by plus they weren’t even the right words. I could even understand the other presenters and I wasn’t paying too much attention.

Do you think maybe she was just checking to see who could actually understand her??

Dating

Apr4

I’ve been single for a little over three years now. I’ve been in long term relationships pretty much my whole life, so the dating world is new to me. I was dating an old friend last year but that wasn’t going anywhere. I decided to try out online dating. I signed up back in October. My cochlear implants gave me the confidence to give it a shot. I knew I could have conversations in restaurants and on the phone now. I know, for sure, it would have been difficult to do that with my hearing aids.

I met five different guys in October. All of them were unique and all were very interesting. They all lived very different lifestyles as well. One raced sailboats. One was into camping and off-roading. One was actually in a very popular punk rock band. He was famous. I didn’t realize just how famous he was until I got home and googled him. The other two were great guys, too. My heart just wasn’t in it at the time, so I took myself out of the dating game.

January rolled around and I was definitely over my old friend and was ready to get myself back out there. I guess I must be attracted to Southern gentlemen because I matched with a couple of them. Talking to both of them on the phone proved to be very difficult. Cochlear implants make words clear IF the person is actually speaking clearly. Both of these men had very heavy accents with typical Southern drawls. I knew relationships with them would just be too much work so that was the end of that. Fortunately, neither one of them were great catches anyway, so no problem there!

I talked to another person with cochlear implants not too long ago and they said they had a hard time understanding a person with a thick accent and couldn’t wait for the CI to take care of that problem. I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. There are rehab exercises that let you listen to people with various accents and those do help but, just like people with normal hearing, comprehending accents is not always easy.

I met another guy that I really liked. He was originally from Slovenia and he had a thick Russian accent. The first time I talked to him on the phone I was disappointed because I knew it was going to be too difficult. I gave him bonus points, though, because he said I would get used to it and he would talk slower. I figured if he was willing to give it a try, I would, too. Sure enough, he did speak slowly, and I could understand him fairly easily when he did that. It turns out that I was being catfished. He was an imposter trying to get money out of me. That was really disappointing because I liked him a lot! Of course, that was the whole point. I call him my unicorn and I actually had a very pleasurable few weeks talking to him. Here’s an important dating tip–do not spend more than a week talking on the phone and texting people without meeting in person. You need to know they are real humans and living in your area. Of course, they can still be scamming you, but this is a good first step.

I met another guy that I really liked but he was a quiet talker. I was a bit worried about that, but I needn’t have worried. My Advanced Bionics cochlear implants switched programs and I could understand him very well when we were in noisy environments. We met once for coffee and the second time we had an actual date. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel a spark so that was the end of that one. Dating tip number two–if you like the person but don’t feel a spark yet, give them a few dates to see if anything develops. It can take time.

I signed up for a six-month subscription to Match.com back in October because it was cheaper to do it that way. Dating tip number three–by the fourth month you are going to start seeing the same people pop up on the app over and over again. Don’t get more than a three-month subscription. I will be switching to another dating site soon. I’ll be “fresh blood” on there and I’m hoping there will be more prospects that weren’t on Match.

I decided to take a dance class through the local community center to see if I could meet any men there. It’s a four-week class that started last week. We are learning the waltz and the swing. There are two solo men (not sure if they are single yet, although they weren’t wearing rings) in the class that I’m dancing with. I’m attracted to both of them in different ways and it’s a big bonus that they both like to dance. I can understand the instructor very well even when my back is facing him, and the music is playing. It’s funny because, for once, I’m actually trying NOT to listen to him. A good female partner will let her man lead. One of the men is a great dancer and knows exactly what to do. The other one is struggling a little more than I am. He counts out the steps out loud and I can tell he’s really concentrating. I think it’s cute. He told me the exact sequence that we were going to do the dance. I told him that it’s probably best if he keeps that plan in his head and not tell me. That way, if he makes a mistake, I won’t know about it. I told him I’d just follow his lead and he can do whatever he wants to. He seemed to like that idea. Hence, that’s where I have to try to ignore what the teacher is telling us to do and go by however my partner is leading me.

I wish my cochlear implants had superpowers and enabled me to see if the guy I see in the produce aisle is single and looking or the guy I see on out for a walk is single but alas, it doesn’t seem to help me with that any more than it makes accents disappear. Go figure! I am grateful for what it does do though as it has given me the confidence I need to be able to navigate the dating scene without having to worry about whether or not I will hear someone. Wish me luck!

Assistive Devices I Use

Nov20

I was sound asleep at 6:00 am when all of a sudden it seemed like someone was flashing a light over and over again in my face. At first, I thought it must be part of my dream but then I realized I wasn’t dreaming anymore. I opened my eyes and, sure enough, a strobe light was flashing in my room. It was my smoke alarm! Of course, once I realized what it was, I jumped out of my bed. It’s funny what actually goes through your mind when you are faced with something like this. My first thought was that I really had to go to the bathroom. My second thought was that I should probably see if the house is on fire first. Then I figured that if the house actually was on fire, I should probably put some clothes on. I threw on something really quick, put my processors and my glasses on and then I went to investigate. There wasn’t any smoke upstairs. I noticed that the strobe light was flashing downstairs, too, so I checked around down there. No smoke there either.

I got the ladder out and tried to turn the alarm off. I pushed the button and held it in, but it didn’t turn off. I had no clue what to do next, so I called my poor brother and woke him up. He suggested I push the button. I pushed it a couple more times and it finally went off.

I was relieved there was no actual fire. I was ecstatic that the alarm actually woke me up. It was a good fire drill. I figured out, too, that I probably need to be better prepared in case of a real fire. I learned, too, that you really can wait to go to the bathroom when you really need to!

My smoke alarm is a First Alert BRK 7020BSL Hardwired Hearing Impaired Smoke Detector with LED Strobe Light. It costs about $90 on Amazon and it is good for ten years. It was easy to switch out my regular smoke detector for this one. This is what it looks like:

You may be wondering what other assistive devices I use. I have an alarm clock that has an attachment that I put under my pillow. It vibrates when the alarm goes off. I don’t think my model is sold anymore but this is a similar one. It is called Sonic Alert Dual Extra Loud Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker. It is about $50 on Amazon. This is what it looks like:

I am completely deaf when I don’t have my processors on. The smoke alarm is crucial for my safety and I wouldn’t be able to wake up on time without the vibration. I highly recommend both devices.

Old Habits are Hard to Break in Italy

May4

Two of my passions are traveling and photography. Four of my trips had been canceled in 2020 and 2021 so I was ecstatic to finally be able to travel again. I just returned from a trip to Holland and Italy. I spent the first three nights in Amsterdam on my own.

I then went to Italy to join the Overseas Adventure Travel tour called “Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites and Lombardy”. I was a solo traveler. There were ten people total in our group. Our days were full of adventure, scenic beauty and learning. Claudia was our Trip Leader. Every day on the bus she would talk at length on the history of the area we were going to or of what we would be seeing. Claudia had an Italian accent . . . and a mask . . . and she sat in the front seat facing forward. I could “hear” her ok but “understanding” her required concentration. I was reminded of my hearing aid days when I was in conversations that just were too difficult to grasp. On those occasions, I would let my own mind run free as I chose to ignore the conversations going on around me. Mostly I did try to listen as she spoke, as the information was usually interesting and enhanced the day. But now and then I would catch myself thinking of other things instead.

Every day we would have a local tour guide join us. Some days we all wore “whispers”, which was a single earphone. I am fortunate that I have Advanced Bionics processors that have a patented t-mic. It is a special microphone that sits at the base of the ear canal. The earphone fit right on top of the t-mic and, if I paid attention, I was able to understand what was being said. This is what it looked like:

Unfortunately, there was only one which meant that there was plenty of environmental noise coming in through the other ear. Sometimes, I would simply remove the CI headpiece from the other ear so that it would be silent. Other times, I left it on if I was near the guide.

As I mentioned earlier, my other passion is photography. When I had hearing aids, I normally couldn’t understand the tour guides or it required too much work. It wasn’t unusual for me to just wander around and take pictures or read information instead of paying attention to what the guide was saying. When one sense is lessened, other senses are heightened. I definitely preferred visual stimulation.

Old habits are hard to break, and I found myself not listening when I was wandering around looking at things and taking pictures. Evidently, when the circumstances aren’t ideal, it’s hard for me to do both. I guess it’s like when a well-behaved dog sees a squirrel–all of a sudden, his attention is focused elsewhere. There are over 3300 statues on this Duomo in Milan. You can imagine what a feast that was for my eyes.

A tiny portion of the detail. Did you notice the tiny heads?

I discovered that I was noticing details that my fellow travelers missed. Being from California where there is always a water crisis going on, I noticed the free-flowing water fountains all over Italy and Holland. The water is drinkable and people use them to fill up their water bottles. They aren’t just ordinary water fountains. They, too, have a lot of detail, which caught my eye.

I guess I am like the above-mentioned dogs. If I see animals, everything else ceases to exist. That was unfortunate as we were visiting a dairy farm and I would have liked to have known what the guide told us about the cows. We didn’t have the whispers on that day. We were just supposed to be paying attention. I did listen as he told us how they turn the milk into cream, butter, and cheese though. Any mention of cheese can hold my attention!

On another day, the alpacas that we came across stole me away.

Some of the guides had great personalities and were a joy to listen to and I held on to every word. Or there were stories that were fascinating enough to give my eyes a break. I paid particular attention at a winery that we went to. I am normally not a wine drinker. But this winery produced sparkling wine, which I really enjoy. The process in making the wine was different than anything I had heard before. I found it quite interesting. After we learned how the wine was made, we then did a wine tasting . . . blindfolded! That was a unique experience. Not only did we have to try to pick out the wine he was referring to, but we had to make sure we didn’t knock over the glasses. Sometimes it was hard for me to figure out what we were supposed to do. I’m not sure if I wasn’t comprehending what was being said or just didn’t get the wine lingo. So, I used another one of my senses and drank more wine!

Another traveler in our group wrote in a journal each day. She made notes on the details that were spoken. She also sketched her surroundings. I would read her journal from time to time to catch some of the tidbits that I had missed. Claudia would quiz us on what we learned now and then and reward those who guessed right with chocolate. I failed miserably but Claudia still gave me chocolate. At the end of the trip, she did a wrap up of all of the places we had been to and gave some reminders on the information we had been told. It made me realize that I missed a lot of facts and that I really need to do a better job of listening. With my cochlear implants, I have the tools needed to understand what I am hearing but now I need to break my old bad habits and sharpen the act of paying attention. The only way to do that would probably be to take my camera away so I won’t get distracted. But then I would have missed the following shots.

I guess we will see what future trips bring. Will I be able to get both my hearing and vision senses in line and pay equal attention to both at the same time? I hope so! I hope it’s not too late to break a bad habit. I’ll work on it.

Long Beach Grand Prix Wows

Apr9

I’m a sportscar enthusiast. I own a Porsche 718 Cayman which is my pride and joy. One of my favorite sounds is the roar of the turbo engine when I floor the pedal. I went to the Long Beach Grand Prix today. It was my first time going to see the races. Last year was the first time I had been at all and that was to watch them practice.

As I sat watching the IMSA race, I was amazed by the symphony of sounds that the different cars were making. We were sitting where we could see the straightaway plus turns one and six. There were so many different sounds that each car was making. I heard the engines roar, screech, thunder, pop like fireworks as they shifted down to go around the sharp turn, whine, snarl and growl like a wild animal, and purr. Some were deep full deep sounds and some were higher.

I had my autosense program on at first and, honestly, I was amazed that it let me hear so much of the variety of sounds that these magnificent machines were making. I decided that if autosense was good then my music program would probably be even better. Sure enough, it was. I was able to hear the announcer as well as the cars and I could even understand my nephew. While it was loud, I’m sure it was nowhere near as loud as it was for him. He said it sounded like sitting in front of speakers at a rock concert. It was pleasant for me.

The car below was my favorite car as far as the paint scheme. It is a tribute to Ukraine. He definitely wasn’t the best driver but I told him I was rooting for him just the same.

It was an exciting day and I am grateful to be able to fully experience the full range of emotion each car expressed.

Mapping Changes

Jan12

I made a mapping (programming) appointment because there were some changes to my programs that I wanted to make. My audiologist gave me the beep test and the AzBio (sentence) test when I arrived. I don’t know about you, but I still have anxiety taking the beep test. I always had such bad tinnitus when I had hearing aids and I never really knew if I was hearing the beeps or if it was my tinnitus. I have to remind myself, now, that when my processor is on, if I hear something, I’m ACTUALLY hearing the beeps and I have to press the button. I scored 96% on the sentence test in noise. She said I did better than most normal hearing people do. I’ll take it! Here are my test results:

My old programs were:

AutoSense
Calm Situation (my old Q70 everyday program)
Speech in 360
Speech in Echo
Off Ear Headpiece Mic

I use AutoSense probably 98% of the time. It’s very rare that I feel a need to change it to something else. I am very happy with that operating system.

I was changing to Calm Situation when I went to the R/C car track because that was a unique situation that AutoSense wasn’t programmed to recognize. Other than at the track, I rarely change to that program.

There have been times when I’ve been with several people and AutoSense has narrowed the focus so much that I can’t hear the people next to me. I can only hear the person in front of me. I had Speech in 360 added, however, that program is switching in and out too often and it was bugging me. I was really missing my UltraZoom program from my Q70 processor. That program was like holding a flashlight beam in front of me. Everything that was in the beam was louder and everything outside of the beam was quiet. Now, sometimes, it is more like a laser pointer and the focus is a bit too narrow. Therefore, I asked her to remove the Speech in 360 program and replace it with Speech in Noise. I realize that the UltraZoom program is not available on the M90, but I am hoping that it acts the same way and that will lessen the noise around me but make the people I want to hear loud enough all around me. There is another program, Speech in Loud Noise, that I think would be too focused for what I want. I can continue to let AutoSense put me into that program when it feels I need it.

I was having a hard time in environments with concrete or tile floors and really high ceilings where there is an echo like in some churches. The AutoSense program is supposed to recognize that problem and fix it, but I haven’t found that to be the case. I had added the Speech in Echo program but I found that didn’t fix it either. Therefore, I had her remove that program. Unfortunately, I’m likely not going to hear very well at funerals. Why don’t churches have carpeting anyway??

Typically, when I’m listening to music, I use the Pandora app on my phone and AutoSense automatically switches to the Music program and streams directly to my processors. I LOVE it! I have yet to actually have a need for a dedicated Music program. However, I have heard from others that sometimes they may be listening to music at a concert, for example, and if someone starts speaking, AutoSense will lessen the music, thinking it is noise, and will focus on the person speaking. If you are with that person, then it’s probably a good thing but if it’s someone else, that’s not so good. It’s also a program that allows the most sounds in. If I want a dose of actual reality and I want to hear everything going on around me, I can switch to the Music program and I’ll hear it all.

I kept the Off Ear Headpiece Mic program as that is needed for my waterproof battery.

These are the programs I have now:

AutoSense
Calm Situation
Speech in Noise
Music
Off Ear Headpiece Mic

I’m curious to see how these new programs sound. Time will tell how much I find myself switching programs. I am hoping that I continue to let AutoSense do all of the work, but it does give me peace of mind knowing that I can be in control of what I am hearing should the need arise.

Las Vegas Wows

Dec7

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Las Vegas. Actually, it was more like one action packed day as I arrived Friday evening and left Sunday morning. My sister-in-law told me she had tickets to see Carrie Underwood and I knew I had to get tickets, too, so I crashed their trip. I discovered Shania Twain was also playing. She’s one of my favorites, so I immediately got tickets to her concert, too. My Advanced Bionics M90 processors with Autosense did not disappoint at both concerts. The music sounded fantastic and the productions were amazing! I have heard from another M90 user that Autosense sometimes switches out of the music program when he’s at concerts so he has a separate music program that he can change to in that instance. I may add that as a backup just in case it happens to me in the future but it hasn’t happened at concerts for me yet.

I had an action packed day on Saturday. It started with two rides at Flyover Las Vegas. If you’ve been to Disney’s California Adventure, you’ve liken ridden on the Soarin’ ride. This was a similar experience. The films we “flew over” were of the Wild West and Iceland. Both had such beautiful scenery.

After that, I went over to Area 15. Think of it as a giant indoor shopping mall but all of the stores are quirky things to do. When you first arrive, you are met with many different sculptures outside before you even go in.

There were many different activities to choose from inside ranging from a ride around the ceiling of the whole area, virtual reality experiences, archery, virtual golf, and several different artistic type experiences. I chose two of the artistic experiences. The first one I went to was Meow Wolf’s Mega Mart. I had been to another Meow Wolf place like this in Santa Fe, New Mexico so I knew what I was in for and couldn’t wait to see it. It’s like a two story maze filled with different rooms with different strange art. I love all things quirky so this didn’t disappoint!

After I saw everything there was to see there I decided I couldn’t resist the amazing ice cream shop I saw. They had waffle cones with cinnamon toast crunch on it. They also had coconut almond ice cream which I had never had before. How could I resist those?? Ice cream for lunch it is!

After my most satisfying lunch I ventured into Wink World. It was created by the man that created Blue Man Group. If you’ve ever been to one of their shows, you know what a wild and crazy imagination they have so I was most intrigued to see what Wink World would be like. Again, it didn’t disappoint. I was handed 3D glasses. I started in one small room with an opening looking into objects in a mirrored display. The doors closed, music came on and the seemingly thousands of objects in the display came to life. When the song was over, I was instructed to the go to the next room. The doors closed and it all happened again but with different objects and different music. Autosense was perfect, again, for the music I was listening to. It was very rich and vivid–just like the swirling, twirling, bouncing, colorful items I saw before me that moved to the beat of the music. Here are some of them but keep in mind, that I was wearing 3D glasses which added to the experience.

My next adventure was a bucket list item that I had hoped to complete two years ago but I broke my arm right before my trip and wasn’t able to do it then. I went to Dig This and I learned how to drive an excavator! It was every bit as fun and exciting as I hoped it would be. I dug giant holes in the dirt, moved 2,500 pound tires around and even played basketball–scooping up the balls and putting them into tire hoops. The “wow” moment came when I was handed a headset. It fit easily over my processors and I knew the t-mic would have no problem picking up the voice of my coach. Sure enough, I was right. There were three of us and he rapidly called out instructions for each of us. I had to listen for my name and had to execute all of the various “left hand push forward” type commands I was given for over an hour. I only had to ask him to repeat himself a couple of times and it was more because my head was spinning for a little bit out of exhilaration and I mixed up my right and left hands due to how quickly everything was done and how many different commands there were. Truth be told, I loved every second of it. I actually think I enjoyed it even more than the other two people because, in addition to the actual experience, I was in awe of just how well I could understand the commands and so appreciative that I was actually able to do it. I never would have been able to do it with my hearing aids. Now I need to go back and do the bulldozer!

The Key to Success With Cochlear Implants? Setting Realistic Expectations

Sep25

I was just a presenter of a webinar on the above topic. Go here to watch the recording. It is captioned. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/ci77ojKUhAFJiC2OVZ0g_IlRBdlz6XMwFOahIs5TJjoHeOxtj2sV4NtCOEUdltNs7sUDOXgkSaVB6t3h.CKJ7EAZ9ByRSLkpv?continueMode=true&_x_zm_rtaid=O4edNw19ThaUQpIKfNt2jg.1632598181122.dce614ae28379032afef43a67a8c146a&_x_zm_rhtaid=167

Our LISTEN & LEARN webinar series continued this month with our fifth topic entitled, “The Key to Success with Cochlear Implants? Setting Realistic Expectations”.
We were fortunate to have one of our past speakers, Julie Husting, with us again this month as she walked our listeners through the journey of a cochlear implant patient from implantation to activation and beyond. Julie focused on the importance of realistic expectations for cochlear implant patients by sharing her personal testimony and offering encouragement to appreciate each small success along the road to ultimately hearing better.
In addition to the valuable information presented, Julie answered a number of important questions posed by our listeners, including:

What types of cochlear implant accessories are available to help in noisy situations?
What are the exercises that need to be done to improve outcomes post-implant?
How does music sound with a cochlear implant ?

If you missed this talk and are considering getting a cochlear implant or are within the first six months of being implanted and would like to learn more, you can access a full recording of the webinar by clicking on the link above. The recording includes the full slide presentation and answers to all of our listener-submitted questions.

Getting a CI is Only the Beginning

Sep23

Advanced Bionics asked me to write a blog post for their blog. It was published yesterday. Here is the link if you’d like to read it: https://advancedbionics.com/com/en/home/contact-us/blog/articles/getting-a-ci-is-only-the-beginning-husting.html

Is it Time for a Cochlear Implant? A Patient’s Perspective

Jul30

I was just a presenter in this webinar for my surgeon’s office, Shohet Ear Associates. There is a recording of the webinar in case you’d like to watch. Click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/AqaXjiNSIytsI72pJgkJhFZ40iDqdSCrA0RvUylp1unrrGUKqmRRvyKnxNmQCQehuuyH3BKhfCrxzF1g.u77J4a2qEdwdd7rQ?startTime=1627579979000&_x_zm_rtaid=ZY_AVxC7Q4mFPKlgOcH8CA.1627652983250.3660369a05cb4b947593493f9c750201&_x_zm_rhtaid=883

Webinar Recap & RecordingIs it Time for a Cochlear Implant? A Patient’s Perspective
Presented by Julie Husting and Dr. Jacqueline Bibee

People Who Change Lives

Jul22

Every now and then a person comes into our lives that has such an impact on us that it forever changes the course of our life’s journey. It may be a teacher that believed in you when no one else did. Or someone that gave you a great piece of advice that you’ve used ever since. Maybe someone inspired you so much that it shaped your career path. Perhaps it was the day you met your spouse who has been with you through the good times and the bad times. Children definitely change our lives. Your parents have likely taught you some life lessons that you have used and maybe even passed down to the next generation. Maybe it was someone who was just doing their job like a fireman or a surgeon . . . but their job literally saved your life.

Wendy Meyer-Eberhard was my audiologist when I had hearing aids. She is the one who told me there were no more hearing aids powerful enough to help me and she suggested that I get a cochlear implant. To put it mildly, I wasn’t very happy to get that advice. I didn’t want to admit that my hearing was really that bad. I know I went home and cried and probably even cried in her office when she told me. But the recommendation she gave me was spot on and, fortunately, I took it. Getting a cochlear implant changed my life forever. I went to see Wendy the other day to give her a copy of my book and to thank her for the profound impact she made on my life. To my surprise, she remembered me and has told other people who were also hesitant about getting a cochlear implant about my success. She is still changing lives. She has a mobile audiology office where she goes to see patients in their homes. I will be forever grateful to her.

A couple that had a huge impact on me that changed my life is Al and Debbie Vantwist. When Wendy gave me the advice to get a cochlear implant I knew I needed to talk to someone that actually had one. Al and Debbie graciously agreed to meet with me and my brother, Steve. We went to their home and met with them for just an hour. But that one hour changed my life forever. I was excited to get a cochlear implant after talking to them and seeing, in person, just how much Al could do with his CI that I could no longer do with hearing aids. Once I had my CIs, I knew I wanted to help others just as Al and Debbie helped me. They inspired me to become a mentor. I now meet with people at the very start of their journey and I help them along the way until they no longer need me. I have helped Advanced Bionics put on socials bringing other mentors and candidates together to share their experiences and learn more about implants. I have given presentations and webinars to those needing more information. It is all because of that one hour of time that Al and Debbie gave to me. I went to see them to thank them for making such a difference in my life. Al has since gotten a second cochlear implant. It was great to catch up with them.

I still pass on a piece of good advice that I received as a child in the 70’s from Sue McDanald. We were in a department store and she asked if I wanted a chocolate candy. Of course I did! But I told her no as I didn’t want her to go to the trouble of getting it for me. She told me that if someone offers me something and I want it then I should accept it. If the person didn’t want me to have it, they shouldn’t have made the offer. Every now and then I offer something to someone and they politely decline but I can tell they want to take me up on my offer. I then pass along Sue’s advice and they take it. I, too, remember Sue’s advice when I am about to pass up something that I really want.

Think back to those people in your life that made a difference. Have you thanked them? Have you told them how your life has changed because of their influence? I bet they would love to know. Don’t worry if they remember you or not. The important thing is to tell them that you remember them and what they did for you. If you don’t know how to reach them, simply do a Google search. I found my favorite teacher from 4th grade, Mr. Chensky (the nine year old in me still can’t call him Frank), that way. I sent him an email telling him how much he meant to me and, surprisingly, he actually remembered me and answered! It was great catching up with him.

Play in the pool? Heck yeah!

Jul8

I was having a conversation with some long time (hate to use the word “old” when describing friends!) friends the other day. One mentioned swimming in her pool. She turned to me and said, “Oh yeah, you don’t like going in the pool.” I said, “Sure, I do.” She gave me a funny look and said she thought for sure it was me that didn’t like going in the pool. For some reason, I thought about her comment this morning and wondered why she thought that. And then I remembered.

When I was a young child, we had one of those three foot pools in the backyard that you set up on the grass. My brothers were all older than I was and they loved playing in there every summer. I had a toddler pool that I loved. As I got a little older, I got to play in the “big” pool, too. When we moved, there was a neighborhood pool that I went to regularly. I loved it. I even have memories of being very young and swimming with my grandmother in her pool.

Then I got hearing aids. You can’t wear hearing aids in the water. That means, no more conversations in the pool. I also had long hair. You can’t wear hearing aids with wet hair. Wet hair takes a long time to dry. That means not only no conversations in the pool, but no conversations for a half hour when you get out of the pool either. So I preferred not to go in the pool. It wasn’t because I didn’t like the pool. I simply liked being a part of conversations more.

It’s a whole new world with a cochlear implant. My first processor was the Advanced Bionics Neptune–it’s completely waterproof. I could go in water again . . . and hear while doing it! It was awesome! I got to to talk to my mom while swimming in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

I got to go in a shark cage in South Africa and could hear the command to go under the water when the sharks were near.

I had lots of fun at a good friend’s pool party for her birthday.

I even went on the sliding rocks in Sedona, Arizona with my friends.

Am I a great swimmer? Nope. Do I look good in a bathing suit? Uh, definitely not! But I no longer stay on the sidelines when it comes to water. Now I have the new Advanced Bionics waterproof battery. I wonder what new adventures I will have using that??

Advanced Bionics M90 Review – 4 Months Later

Jul3

It’s been about four months since I first started using the Advanced Bionics M90 processors. I’ve learned some things and thought I’d share them with you. (Disclaimer – This is what “I” do. I am not advising you on what you should do and do not take responsibility for your equipment.) First I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about the equipment and then I’ll tell you what I’ll learned about the programs. Here’s what my processor (Lava Red) with the large battery looks like on:

Since I have long hair, I always wear it under my hair so that the magnet stays on. You can’t see it when I have my hair down.

One thing that some people have complained about is that the battery charger only has three slots compared to the old charger that had four slots. I have four batteries (I’m bilateral) and I like to rotate them evenly. I like to wear two while two are on the charger. By the way, the large batteries last all day and all night with plenty of charge leftover so I am not worried about them running out of charge. When I go to bed, there are two batteries on the charger that are fully charged–those are the batteries I’ll wear the next day–I leave them on the charger. I take off my processors and I put the third battery on charge in the empty slot and I put the fourth battery right in front of it. That way I know which ones I wore that day and the other two are the ones I will wear the next day. It looks like this:

In the morning, I take the two from the day before and wear them and then I put the one that’s in front that hasn’t been charged, on the charger.

I do not put my processors in the dry box every night. When I did that with the Q70s my cables got stiff because they were drying out. I don’t know if they’ve changed the cables on the M90s but it kept my cables pliable in the past and I prefer to keep them that way. Keep in mind, I live in California and it is not real humid here so I don’t sweat a lot. When I do sweat or get moisture on it, I put it in the dryer. Instead, I put them in the nice case that came with my kit. I removed the processor molded insert so that I have a large flat surface. This is where I put them when I sleep (with the lid closed so that my cat can’t get to them):

I haven’t used this option yet, but I have the M Wearing Clip. It cost one point in my kit. It’s an off ear wearing option (not waterproof). If I were going to wear it, I would probably remove the t-mic so that it doesn’t get damaged. Here’s what it looks like on:

I went to Disneyland and decided to do an experiment and try out the Retention Cuff (free in the kit) and the Snuggie (free in the kit). I wanted to see if they would stay on while I was on the rides including the Incredicoaster which is a rollercoaster with a loop. I made sure to wear the leash (free in the kit) just in case they didn’t pass the test and came off my ear. Here they are before I put them on (Snuggie on the left, Retention Cuff on the right):

The Snuggie failed my test before I even left the house. You have to cut it to fit your ear and, unfortunately, I cut it too short and it was a bit painful so I took it off. That left the Retention Cuff with the leash. Here’s what it looks like on:

Here’s what it looks like with the leash (without the Retention Cuff):

Surprisingly, the Retention Cuff passed the test! It stayed on my ear the whole time–even upside down on the rollercoaster. While it was nice being able to hear the voices on the coaster (there is a story happening), I forgot about how much my head banged around on the body harness. That was pretty painful with the processors on. So, although the Retention Cuff worked great, I will not wear my processors on any ride that has a harness ever again. Ouch! I was pleased enough with how well it worked that I wore it with confidence on my Zero Gravity flight. See my other blog post on that.

I did get my waterproof battery in but I have not actually used it yet. FYI-the case is actually a battery. The great part about that is that insurance companies will allow you to get new batteries from time to time. If you were not able to get the waterproof battery in your kit, you can ask for it from your insurance, later, as a battery option. One thing I realized, is that I needed to charge it up so that when I DO want to use it, it will be ready to go. If you have it and haven’t charged the battery yet, do it now. Here is the battery charging:

There have been some complaints that you have to remove the t-mic in order to use it. People are concerned about losing the t-mic pin. David Ryan made a great video showing how to change it from regular wearing mode to waterproof battery mode. You can see the video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/213mDT6Fw68?feature=share He leaves the pin in so that he doesn’t lose it. He also changes the configuration over the case that Advanced Bionics gave us. It is a nonslip pad which means that if the pin comes out, it won’t go anywhere. Here’s the tool to remove the t-mic–be sure to keep your finger under the pin so that it doesn’t come out all the way:

Here is the processor plugged into the waterproof battery:

You can see, here, why the t-mic is removed and why the case is actually a battery–it is quite small!

This is with the clip attached. Call me paranoid, but I do not want to press the blue button while pushing the clip to open it. The blue button opens the case. I just push it next to the blue button instead.

I was a little worried that I might get the regular headpiece mixed up with the waterproof headpiece. Advanced Bionics must have realized that would be a concern because they added pictures of water drops on the headpiece so that we could tell the difference. Good idea!

When I go swimming, I’ll clip it to my bathing suit strap. Here’s what it looks like clipped to my shirt:

As far as the programs go, I have made a couple of changes. I have found that AutoSense works fine the majority of the time. However, there are times that it works a little too good and sometimes, if I’m with a group of people, I find that I have to look in the direction of who I want to hear and can’t hear the people on the other side of me. I have added the Speech in 360 program to my processor. I went to dinner the other night and, sure enough, it cut out the conversation that was happening to the left of me while I was conversing with the person on the right. I wanted to hear both conversations so I switched to the Speech in 360 program. That program allows you to hear what is being said all around you at close range, I believe. In another situation, I was actually eavesdropping on the conversation going on behind me (shame on me, I know, I know!). AutoSense decided that was noise, and the conversation stopped. I quickly switched over to Speech in 360 so that I could hear the rest of the story.

I highly recommend that you add the Calm Situation program in another slot. There will be times when AutoSense will mute sounds that it thinks you don’t want to hear. In those times, I simply change the program to Calm Situation and then I hear everything. The Calm Situation program has the hearing in noise features turned off. Sometimes I want to hear the noise.

Overall, I’m truly ecstatic with the Bluetooth streaming. I listen to music all the time. I love answering the phone by just touching the button on my processor and BOOM I’m on the call. Streaming with the TV Selector is awesome! I don’t rely on the captions anymore. Going to restaurants using AutoSense has never been easier. I went over to my friends’ house and sat outside on their patio. They had music on and I thought for sure it was going to be difficult conversing with them. Surprisingly, I heard both them and the music quite well. I like that I am still able to change programs if I feel I need to. I am very glad I made the switch!

Zero Gravity Flight

Jun10

Sometimes the stars align, fate steps in, and you know something is just meant to be. Circumstances told me I really should pay my good friend, Rick, a visit. Out of the blue, I told him I was coming over and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He happened to be watching a Space X flight when I arrived. We talked about lots of things and the conversation turned to space. I told him I thought it would be really neat to be an astronaut and that, someday, I hoped to be able to orbit the Earth. Yes, I have big dreams! For now, flying in zero gravity was higher up on my bucket list. He immediately googled zero gravity flights and what do you know? They happened to have one only 20 minutes from my house two weeks from that day! They only had one flight a year in Southern California and that was the day.

As soon as I got home I looked up the Zero G website that Rick had shown me (gozerog.com) and found that there was a medical questionnaire that had to be filled out. If I answered “yes” to any of the questions, I had to get a release from my doctor in order to go. With my luck, one of the questions pertained to hearing loss. Oh no. A bit of fear ran through my mind. Would the G forces necessary to obtain zero gravity cause my internal implant to shift? Would it make the electrodes in my head come out? I knew the G force was similar to rollercoasters but we would be doing it over and over again right in a row. I sent emails to my surgeon, my audiologist and Advanced Bionics–the company that makes my implant. I also asked Zero G if anyone had flown with a cochlear implant before and the answer was no. My surgeon didn’t recommend the flight and would not sign off on it. Advanced Bionics stated that the G force (1.8 Gs) was similar to rollercoasters, but they couldn’t sign off on it either as it hadn’t been tested and there were risks. Fortunately, Zero G said that I could sign a waiver stating that my doctor wouldn’t sign off but that I would accept the risks. So, I booked the flight! As luck would have it, the flight had to be postponed a couple of months. Hmm, was this fate telling me I was making a mistake? I decided there were simply too many coincidences the day I went to Rick’s house and that it was meant to be.

The day finally arrived–June 5, 2021. I prepped my processors with the Advanced Bionics retention cuffs. They clip on to the processor and there is a piece that goes under the earlobe and bends up to hold the processors in place. I went to Disneyland recently and I wore them all day there–including on the Incredicoaster which is a fast rollercoaster that goes in a loop. My processors stayed in place there so I knew they would definitely stay on for the flight. I also picked out glasses that I knew would not fall off. (Disclaimer–Try it at your own risk. I also used a leash at Disneyland in case they did come off my ear. With the leash on, they wouldn’t go far.)

I drove for 20 minutes and arrived at the private airport terminal. The first step was taking a Covid-19 test. I was dreading that, because I had heard it was painful, but it didn’t hurt at all. We all waited in the lobby until, one by one, we received a text saying that our test result was negative. Then we went into the conference room where a boxed breakfast of a bagel and fruit was waiting for us. They had told us not to drink alcohol the night before and not to have breakfast before we came. Apparently, certain foods help to prevent motion sickness. I gobbled down my breakfast and then put on my flight suit–which we got to keep.

Next came the briefing. We had previously been sent a training video, which I had already watched twice. He reiterated what the training video told us. There would be fifteen parabolas. The plane basically goes up and down and up and down in a mountain – valley – mountain – valley type motion. At one end you feel the G force pulling you down and at the opposite end you experience weightlessness like the astronauts do. They would break us in easy to get our brain acclimated to what was happening. The first one would be similar to a Mars landing where we would lose one third of our weight. The next two would be like a moon landing where we would lose half of our weight. The remaining twelve parabolas would be at one hundred percent weightlessness also known as zero gravity. We were to lie flat on our backs when not in zero gravity and focus on something on the plane in order to prevent sickness. We were NOT to jump or try to swim as that would send us careening across the plane or we would hit the ceiling or walls violently or, more likely, we would hurt someone nearby. We were also to listen for the “Feet down! Get down!” command which meant gravity was going to come at any moment and it wasn’t a good idea to be in a position with your head down and your feet up when that happened. We had to be flat on our back when the G force hit. They told us there would be some fun things we could try but that we needed to do the harder ones at the end of the flight so as to minimize getting sick.

After the briefing, we were handed dramamine tablets to help prevent sickness, we went through security, and then it was time to board the plane. This was really going to happen! There were regular airplane seats in the back of the plane. We sat in those. I met two great guys in the seats next to me. Of course, everyone was as excited as I was. They handed each of us “barf bags”–just in case! As it turned out, four unfortunate people DID need those. The plane had no windows and it seemed to take forever for us to make it to the main runway to take off. Finally, we took off. At one point, the Zero G staff set up six video cameras on the walls of the plane–two for each colored zone. I was to stay in the center “blue” zone. They also came around and took our shoes. We had previously been given colored socks to match our colored zones. Then we were instructed to go to our designated zones. The zones had no seats. It was padded all the way around–the floors, ceilings and walls. There was a cord along the walls to help us get “feet down”. There were also lights on the ceiling so that we could at least tell the difference between the floor and ceiling. With zero gravity, there is no up or down.

Once we reached our zones, we were told to lay flat on our backs. I saw that the people around me had their heads towards the wall and their feet towards the center of the plane. I initially had my head where their feet were and my feet were to the wall. I decided I didn’t want my head at their feet and changed positions. How silly I was to do that, I quickly discovered. When they say “Feet down! Get down!” You stay where you land and that’s that! There’s no time to pick and choose where you want to lay.

We lay there for a few minutes and then the Mars parabola happened. I got up and could bounce around pretty easily. We had great fun hopping around. We did that for about twenty seconds and quickly laid back down. Next came the two lunar parabolas. I remembered to try the one fingered push up. That was pretty cool! I then got up and hopped like Neil Armstrong and quickly went up pretty high.

Next up was zero gravity. This would be a good time to point out my expectations going into this. I thought we would rise up and float through the air, gently, like the astronauts do. I thought we would have complete control and would easily be able to do tricks if we chose to do them. Of course, being the thrill seeker that I am, I planned to do all kinds of tricks. Well, in reality and in keeping this blog post “G” rated, I will just say that it was basically mass chaos. Those of you that want an “R” rated version of this blog can think of another couple of words to describe it. And . . . I LOVED IT!!!

I stood up and gently pushed off the floor. The next thing I knew I was at the ceiling and then I was straight upside down aiming towards the floor. I pushed off the wall and found myself at the other side of the plane. All too quickly it was “Feet down! Get down!” and down we all went. Body to body on the floor. And we did it again and again and again. I bounced off the walls, the ceiling, the floor, and other people. I did tricks I had no intention of doing but man was it fun!

At one point, we were going to do a hamster wheel trick. We were to lie on our stomachs with our feet against the side of the plane. When zero gravity hit, we were to push off the wall, then arch our backs when we got to the other side so that we would go towards the ceiling and back down the first wall making a complete circle. I got as far as the opposite wall and couldn’t figure out how to go the rest of the way. I guess I wasn’t meant to be a hamster.

I wasn’t near my coach when she had thrown candy out for people to catch with their mouths. We soon had a three minute break and I asked her to give me some. Then we were to all go to one side of the plane and lay on our stomachs. When we were given the signal, we were to push off with our toes towards the camera man and fly like Superman. That was a blast! I flew a bit too far and wound up in the gray zone. I held the candy out after that but it was then “Feet down! Get down!” and I couldn’t catch it.

Not to worry. The coach in the gray zone squirted water out and I was able to catch one of the floating water drops. That really looked neat! Of course, the drops I couldn’t catch got all over my face. Then he had someone roll into a ball and she got tossed around. I tried to make it back to the blue zone. But the next thing I knew it was “Feet down! Get down!” yet again. The coach told us we had one more parabola and, if we wanted to do any tricks, that was the time to do it. Unfortunately, he was wrong as the parabola, before, was actually our last.

We were then flying back to Long Beach. They gave us a snack and our shoes. I looked over and saw the people who had gotten sick sitting in the seats. Boy were their faces white. What a shame. Eventually, we went back to our seats for the landing. We met the captain when we got off the plane. He officially “graduated” each of us as we exited. We received a nice leather bound flight certificate as well.

Of course, I had to celebrate with Rick after the flight. After all, if it wasn’t for that momentous day at his house, I would never have gone on the flight.

The saying “Time flies when you’re having fun” definitely applied as the parabolas seemed to end too soon. It was definitely the most unique experience I’ve ever had in my life. I’m glad I didn’t give in to the worry and fear and took my chances on my hearing. It’s not the first time I’ve had to choose the safe choice or the risky choice. With risk, comes rewards. If you think about it, we face risk every time we get into a car. Sometimes in order to experience all that life has to offer, you have to accept the risks and have faith that everything will turn out the way it is supposed to. When you do, you can have out of this world experiences!

Advanced Bionics M90 Review

Mar26

I have been able to use the new M90 sound processor for a couple of weeks now. I previously used the Naida Q70 sound processor. I am bilateral and received two M90s. There are three major updates going from the Q70 and Q90 to the M90. The first is the operating system that it uses which is AutoSense 3.0. The second is a new chip in the processor itself. That is the Phonak Marvel platform chip. The third is the AB app. I’ll discuss each of those changes in detail below.

AutoSense OS 3.0

For those of you that currently have one of the older AB processors—we are used to referring to programs that we have been using. I had a program for everyday use, a program for noisy environments that had UltraZoom on it and a program I used to listen to music. AutoSense OS 3.0 is not a program as we currently know it. Instead, it is an operating system that utilizes a person’s newly mapped (called Calm Situation), or in my case, my old everyday program. It uses artificial intelligence to analyze your surroundings every 0.4 seconds and seamlessly adapts what you are hearing to the most optimal sound possible for each environment. It is aware of 200 distinct settings. The processor has different microphones that work in different ways depending on the environment, such as making the person you are talking to louder, for example. It also has multiple ways to adjust by letting more sound in (such as while listening to music) or lessening sounds (such as in a noisy restaurant). It also adapts in and out of Bluetooth situations (more on that later).

I will admit that I was skeptical of the claims that AB was making. How could it know what I wanted to hear and when? I like being in control of what I am hearing. I didn’t want to lose that control. With my old processors, I changed the programs when I wanted to use them. I decided to give AutoSense a fair chance. To my surprise, I love it! It actually does work the way it claims it does. I noticed a difference on the very first day while listening to music in my car. I could hear more instruments and could figure out each instrument that was playing. That was just using my car speakers.

I have also been to several restaurants. I ate outside at a park next to a lake with lots of birds all around as well as other people nearby. I was with one other person. The birds were pretty loud and, normally, I would have changed to my UltraZoom program which would have made my friend louder and would have made the birds and other noises quiet. AutoSense did change. It made my friend louder but I was also able to hear the birds but they did not overpower my friend. She was loud and clear.

I went to another restaurant that was also outdoors. This time there were five of us sitting around a table. My back was to the wall. There was a table behind ours (which I was facing) and there were a lot of noisy girls at that table. It was very loud and again, I was skeptical that the program was going to change, as it didn’t switch right away. However, I needn’t have worried. As soon as the conversation at our table started, I could understand everyone loud and clear. The girls at the other table were not a problem.

I went to dinner with a different friend another night. I am not sure when AutoSense kicked in but I do know when it kicked out! I had been listening to my friend very clearly. She was loud and everyone around us seemed to be whispering. For whatever reason, AutoSense switched and the entire restaurant was very loud. The difference in what I was hearing was like night and day. It was then that I felt sorry for my friend because she had to listen to me with all of that noise going on. Shortly after, it switched back to where everything was quiet again. Maybe it wanted me to appreciate what I had!

I volunteer at an animal rescue organization. Unfortunately, dogs that know they are going to be fed and walked soon are quite noisy! It is usually very difficult for me to hear anyone in that environment. Add masks and it’s nearly impossible. It was still difficult, but not impossible with AutoSense. The supervisor has a soft voice. It did lessen the sound of the dogs and I was able to understand her without her having to go to another room like I usually had her do. The next time I go, I may try increasing the volume when she speaks and see what happens. It sounds crazy, I know, but in especially noisy restaurants, when the microphones are focusing on the person you are speaking to you can make them even louder by increasing the volume.

Another very challenging environment that I go to regularly is the R/C car track. People are talking and working on their cars in the pits, people have music playing, the announcer is talking over the loudspeaker constantly, and of course, the cars make sound as well. With my old processors, I was changing between my UltraZoom and my everyday program off and on regularly. AutoSense, however, switched immediately when I was having a conversation with someone. It was a little slow to switch back out when the conversation ended. But I talk to many different people and it changed each time. My only complaint is that when I was on the driver’s stand racing, the announcer’s voice came through the speakers behind me and AutoSense thought I wanted to hear the cars I was facing instead. Fortunately, I do have my old everyday program and I can easily change to that program if I so desire. I have found out that the audiologist can change the speed in which AutoSense reacts and changes to situations.

I went to a funeral at a church. The church had high ceilings and stone floors. The church was mostly empty due to Covid restrictions. The acoustics, needless to say, were horrendous. Unfortunately, this is one instance where AutoSense did not work for me. It was next to impossible to understand what anyone was saying. The echo was too great. Although AutoSense is supposed to be able to activate Comfort in Noise + Comfort in Echo, it must have interpreted the scenario differently. Therefore, I have added that program so that I can change it on my own if I encounter that situation again in the future.

Marvel Platform / Bluetooth

The new Marvel platform offers the ability to stream calls and audio from any Bluetooth device directly to my processors. For those of you that don’t have cochlear implants, that is like wearing the best headphones you can get. There are no additional adapters needed. With my Q70s, I had to use the ComPilot if I wanted to stream anything. With the Q90s, a special battery with a receiver was needed and it did not stream in stereo. Bluetooth streaming is incredible. Honestly, I can’t get enough of it.

With the Q70 and Q90, a specific mix ratio was set in our programs. For example, if you wanted to hear only the sound coming from the Bluetooth device and nothing else (like wearing noise canceling headphones) it would be set to 100%. If you wanted to hear someone else while listening to music, you might have a 50/50 mix. We could not change them. Now, we can set any mix ratio that we want to and we can change them at any time. There is a phone app where you can make the change or you can do what I prefer, which is to simply press either end of the button on the processor to change the mix. That would normally be the volume button when out of Bluetooth. If you want to change the volume while you are streaming, you have to change that on the app. Once you are out of Bluetooth, it will go back to your normal listening, no need to change the buttons back.

When a phone call comes in, I simply press the button on my processor and answer the call. I do not have to do anything with my phone at all. If I choose to use the phone the traditional way, I can do that as well, although I can’t see myself ever doing it that way again. Streaming the phone to both ears is just that good. I had tried the Duophone feature on the Q70 that allowed me to hear the phone in both ears, but I had to be on a designated program to do that and there was a delay as well. It is instant and truly is seamless now.

I absolutely love listening to music in Bluetooth. AutoSense knows when I am listening to music and it has optimized sound quality in that situation. Music is clear and full. It also plays in true stereo. I am understanding so many lyrics. I thought I did a pretty good job at understanding a lot of lyrics with the Q70 but this is so sharp and clear that I understand them without even trying. As I was trying it out, I found myself singing along. My singing was drowning out the singers that I wanted to hear so I switched the ratio to 100% Bluetooth. I couldn’t hear myself at all. My cat could hear me all too loud and clear. Evidently, she is not a fan. She put her ears back and her eyes widened. She didn’t run out of the room though. She doesn’t seem to be much of a fan of my dancing either. Unfortunately for her, she is not able to hear the music while I’m in Bluetooth mode and she isn’t able to use a mix to drown me out. I should probably give her extra treats when I am streaming music.

I received the TV Selector in my kit. The TV Selector allows me to listen to the TV via Bluetooth. It, too, streams directly into my ears. TV was the one area where I was still feeling my hearing loss. I continued to use closed captions when I watched TV. The speakers on TVs face backwards and the sound quality just isn’t great on most TVs these days. Yes, kids, TV speakers used to actually be in the front of TVs back in the day. I am absolutely amazed at just how clear speech is using the TV Selector and also how good music sounds with it. I am using the closed captions very rarely now. I highly recommend getting it. Some people are using the Roger Select to stream TV. I’m sure that is a close second. I believe the difference is that the TV Selector actually streams in stereo and the Roger Select streams in mono but to both ears. One cool realization came as I was debating on having a bag of potato chips while I was watching “American Idol”. I wanted to be able to hear the singers but eating chips is really loud. Then I remembered I could change the mix ratio and not hear the chips at all! I had my chips and ate them, too.

I am behind the times in my TV watching. I have cable TV and a DVR. I do not use Netflix, Hulu, etc. There are four musical notes that sound when changing between AutoSense and the TV Connector or other programs. When I fast forwarded through commercials on the DVR, it kicked me out of the TV Connector program and back to AutoSense, which means I heard those four musical notes every time commercials came on. I have since had the musical notes when changing programs disabled to save my sanity.

AB App

There is now an AB app for the phone. As mentioned above, you can use the app to change the mixing ratios while streaming. You can also raise or lower the volume (which can also be done on the processor button). A great feature that I think everyone has been wanting is the ability to see how much battery charge is left. The processor still gives you a tone to tell you when the battery is running low. But you can check the app to see the percentage of battery life that is left at any time. It also tells you how much you’ve used. Just for your information, I have the largest batteries. After 17 hours I still had 10% remaining. You can change programs using either the app or the button on the processor. The old program change button on the processor is gone. Now you hold the button down for three seconds and it changes to the next program slot. For me, the app is easier to change programs—especially if it’s not the next program in line.

Overall, I am very glad that I decided to get the M90. It lives up to its promises and yet, I still have control, if I want it. I was very content with what I was hearing with my Q70s. Fortunately, I did not have to sacrifice anything that I was hearing. It has simply been greatly enhanced.

Cochlear Implant Daily Rehab Group

Mar16

When I got my first cochlear implant I was told that doing rehab every day was an important part of the process. I was lucky enough to be invited to join a very small rehab group that posted via email. Each day I received several exercises to do. We emailed back to the group what our experiences were. We all became pretty close and the rehab and fellowship helped me immensely. There came a time when the group kind of fizzled out because none of us needed to do the rehab anymore. It was at that time that I thought that, since the exercises helped me so much, maybe others could benefit, too. It was then that I started the Cochlear Implant Daily Rehab group on Facebook.

I post four exercises every day:

1) The first exercise varies. I post different apps, websites, and other listening activities to do;

2) I post an exercise using the Angel Sound website and phone app. Angel Sound makes the listener concentrate on the sounds of individual words, as well as voices, tones, and environmental sounds;

3) I post an audio recording from Randall’s English as a Second Language (ESL) website. There is a script that users can read along with what they are listening to;

4) I post a telephone exercise where users call a phone number and listen to a word list and passages. They are able to read along with a script.

The group is for anyone with a cochlear implant. Audiologists have also joined the group in order to have ideas for their patients to try. I keep individual postings to a minimum–they need to be related to rehab or they will be deleted. This keeps the group unique and focused on rehab.

In order to join, go to the group page and answer a few short questions. If the questions aren’t answered properly, the person will not be approved, as I try to keep the spammers out of the group. I never expected the group to reach 100 members. The group has just reached 3,000 members from all over the world! I am truly amazed and grateful that I am able to reach so many people.

Steve’s Initial Reaction to the M90

Mar12

My brother, Steve Husting, was mapped with his Naida M90 processor today. Here is his experience in his words:

On the morning of March 12, 2021, I went the offices of Dr. Lee to upgrade my processors to the new Marvel CI, M90. Dr. Ullah from Los Angeles (Advanced Bionics) was there to help Dr. Lee with the process. Here are my impressions. I brought all the equipment, and had charged up all the batteries of all the devices.

We wore masks for safety throughout. Dr. Ullah has a thick British accent and I could not understand her at first. When the M90s were turned on, the sound overall was crisper and slightly louder, yet still a comfortable volume. Speech was very clear.

Dr. Ullah’s speech became understandable right away! I picked up perhaps half of her words, more than before, enough to understand her better.

They also set up the Phonak Roger Select iN. Dr. Lee walked out of the office and spoke into it and I thought she was right behind me, it was so clear. She said it has a range of 66 feet, so it will be useful throughout the house.

They also set up the AB app and got it working. I turned on the Pandora radio app, and the music streamed to one ear then the other automatically. Much more convenient than using the ComPilot! In the AB app, I moved a slider left to hear the others talking more and the music less; then slide it right to turn off their voices and hear the music 100%. Worked great!

There were two kinds of retention cuffs. I asked them to show me how they work. Dr. Ullah slide the two loops around the processor (not the battery), put the M90 on the ear and wrapped the tube around and fitted it to the other end. It was loose, so she took it off and snipped off one end of the rubbery tubing of the M Snuggie. She put it on and fitted the ends together. It fit well and comfortably and should keep my M90 on the ear during any running or jumping.

When I drove home, I lowered the windows to 1/4 open because it was hot in the car. I turned on the Waze driving app on my phone. When I drove out of the parking lot, the spoken directions were clearer than I have ever heard them. At Ms. Waze voice, the background sounds cut out completely and I heard only her directions; when she stopped, the sound remained off for about three seconds, then the background noise came on.

I drove on the freeway to get home. The outside background sound was barely noticeable. I lowered the windows completely and there was no change in the sound, just a whisper! I rolled them up completely and then could hear a whisper of the ground noise. I pushed on the rocker switch on the processor several times to raise the volume and the ground noise increased. I tapped on the other side of the switch to reduce it again.

When Ms. Waze spoke, the background noise cut off to give her voice full range. When she stopped, there was silence for about three seconds, the background noise came on for one second, then it dropped to a whisper again.

I tried out the Phonak Roger Select iN. I plugged the stand into the outlet and the TV plug into the TV (it goes in only one way). With the TV news on, I slid the Select into the holder. It powered up automatically; I didn’t need to put the On button. In the AB app, I did the pairing. The news anchor’s speech was clearer than I’ve heard it before. I was even understanding her when I wasn’t watching the TV, which was unusual for me! (I’m profoundly deaf, having gradually lost my hearing over the years. I got my first hearing aid at 7 years old. I stopped using the telephone and radio in my early 20s. I got my Naida Q70s five years ago.) When I turned to other stations, I did not understand the actors interacting with each other, which is normal for me; they were talking too fast.

Based on what little I’ve tried so far, this has been a great upgrade!

My New Sky CI Ms Arrived!

Mar6

I currently have the Advanced Bionics Naida Q70 processors. I am bilateral, which means that I have a cochlear implant on both of my ears. I was thrilled to find out that Kaiser Permanente approved my request for the new Advanced Bionics Sky CI M sound processor. The Sky CI M processor comes in vivid colors as opposed to the Naida CI M which comes in the neutral colors. It was really difficult choosing a color because they are all so beautiful. After much debating, I chose the lava red color and I love it. My brother, Steve, chose the sand beige color and it is really a pretty color, too.

The new processor uses the revolutionary Marvel platform. There are two versions of the software–one for adults and one for children. It should be noted that the Sky and Naida M processors are exactly the same other than the colors. It’s the sound platform (software) that is different for children and adults. My processors will be programmed on March 12. I will do a review of the new technology after I have had a chance to try it.

I was notified that I would have to sign for the FedEx package. Of course, with my luck, it was scheduled to arrive on a day that I was to be home for only an hour. I panicked then discovered that I could redirect the package to many nearby locations. I went to the FedEx site and chose the option that was closest to me which was Walgreens. My package took an extra day to arrive but at least I didn’t have to worry about not being home. It was great to find out this option was available.

I went to pick up my box today. It was a big one!

I opened it up and there were two backpacks. If you’ve read my blog, you know that I travel fairly often. This backpack is very useful because it expands. I have a feeling it may be doing some traveling with me in the future.

All of my new equipment was in the backpacks. Keep in mind that I have twice as much because I am bilateral.

Each processor has it’s own high quality hard cover carrying case. There is a designated slot for the processor and headpiece, the battery charger, two batteries and an open compartment for anything else you choose to put in there. It comes with an extra headpiece cover, the tool to open the headpiece, and the tool to change the T-Mic. Although this case is fantastic, I will not be bringing it with me when I travel, as it is a bit too heavy for traveling.

As for the processor, it has a new shape to it. The length is pretty close to the same as the Q70 but the batteries are narrower and curve and hug the ear more. The headpiece is flat compared to the Q70 which is has a curved bump on top. Therefore, the M headpiece is smaller than the Q70. The T-Mic is also shaped a little differently as well. It should be noted that, unlike the Q70 and Q90 processors, the M cannot be switched from ear to ear, ie one will be programmed for the right ear and one will be programmed for the left ear. I had chosen different color headpiece caps for my lifestyle kit so that I could tell which headpiece was waterproof and which one wasn’t. But now I’m thinking that I might use the different color caps to designate the right side and the left side. My Neptune processors were also designated for a specific side and I had different color cables to help me figure out which side was which. Of course, you can also tell by which way the headpiece is turned but if you want a quick way of determining, choosing different color caps are the way to go.

The battery charger is different. The charger for the Q70 and Q90 have four slots. The M battery charger has only three charging slots. Those of us that are bilateral are going to miss having that fourth slot. Yes, we do get two chargers, so technically, we now have six slots. I have decided that I will keep only two on the charger at a time. When I am wearing two, the remaining two will go on the charger. That way I can be sure to cycle through the batteries evenly. There are some nice changes that were made. The plug that goes into the wall is sleeker. It also plugs in a different direction which makes it easier for using the plug next to it. The old charger was definitely used as a nightlight as it lit up the room when the lights were off. The new charger has very small ready indicator lights and the room stays dark. That is good news for those that charged their batteries in another room due to the brightness of the charger. Although some of you may need to get a new nightlight!

The drying kit is vastly improved from the Zephyr. The Cedris e100.DS is notably smaller. It also does not require a drying brick. There are two different settings depending on how wet your processors are. Two processors (without the batteries attached) plus the cables and headpieces will fit if you put them in the way I’ve shown below. Normally, I do not like to put my cables in the dryer as they become stiff which causes them to break quicker.

The kit comes with a backup T-Mic, battery and headpiece. In addition, you have three points per processor to spend on various other accessories. I chose the large batteries as I like them to last all day and night. Plus, that’s what I’m using with my Q70s. The new large batteries last longer than the large batteries on the Q70s, I believe. However, I know that over time the batteries last a shorter time than they did when they were new. Having more capacity than I need now means I will still have what I need as they get older. For one of my extra points, I chose an additional headpiece, color cap and cable. If you look at the cables below you will notice another new feature on the M. The cable is attached to the headpiece. On the Q70 and Q90, the cable and the headpiece pulled apart. It is worth noting that there are no magnets included in the kit. The audiologist will add the magnets at the first mapping aka programming appointment. I am going to bring my aqua headpiece, too, in hopes of getting magnets put in that one as well. You may also notice that I have different lengths of cables. The shorter cables will be used in the on the ear configuration. One of the longer cables is a waterproof cable that will be used in the water configuration. The other long cable will be used in a different off the ear option. More on that later.

I used one of my points for the Phonak TV Connector. The TV Connector streams directly to the processors — much like wearing headphones. With the new phone app, you can decide the ratio of where the sound is coming from. Ie, if you want to hear only the TV and no outside sounds, then you would choose 100% of the sound to come from the TV Connector. If you wish to hear someone else that might be watching TV with you, then you might choose a 50%/50% configuration. The beauty of the app is that you can change that ratio any time you want to.

Since I do travel to foreign countries, I chose the M Zn-Air Battery Pak as one of my point options (1 point). It also comes with six Zn-Air batteries. These are disposable batteries as opposed to the rechargeable batteries that I normally use. There are times when it can take over 24 hours from the time I leave home until I reach my hotel. Some countries and hotels that don’t have outlets easily accessible. If you are a person that likes hiking or camping in remote areas, the disposable battery option might be something you may want to consider. Likewise, if you live in area where the power may go out for long periods of time, this is a good option for you. To my surprise, it came with a spare cartridge that the batteries go into.

My processor also came with a Pediatric Kit. It includes a large stuffed animal, a small zippered pack that has pockets, plus two of the stuffed AB monkeys in it. There are a couple of sticker sheets, which I’m assuming are to be used to decorate the processor. The pack is nice and light and would be good to use to put your CI equipment in while traveling.

One item that’s included that is designed for kids is a clip with leashes on it, much like leashes that you might put on glasses. You put the processors through the loops then clip the leashes to your shirt. I tried it on and it clips very tightly. It has a cute lion design but, I have to say, I really like it and will likely use it myself. I think this would be ideal to wear while doing an activity like horseback riding. I will also likely use it on carnival rides. If the processor flies off, I know it won’t go far as those loops are very tight and the clip is strong. This option should give parents peace of mind for every day use for their young children. Disclaimer: This is just what “I” would do. I am not responsible for what you do with your processor.

I also ordered the free Snuggie. I can’t quite figure out how that works yet. There are loops that obviously go around the processor and then a larger loop that I believe fastens to your ear to hold the processor in place. I’m not sure how to adapt the loop to fit, however. I will find out and will report back on that.

I am a fairly active person and noticed that there were several options to help keep the processor on the ear and also some off the ear options. I have gone skydiving, horseback riding, and a friend recently asked if I’d be interested in doing a wing walk with her. This is the same friend that I went in a shark cage with, by the way. A wing walk is where you literally walk on the wing of a biplane while it is up in the air flying around. Sounds awesome, right? I like amusement park rides, too. The thought of having options to keep the processor on definitely appealed to me. I noticed there was a free retention cuff option. I ordered that. Again, I’m not quite sure how it actually works. I will find out and will report back on it. This is what it looks like and the straight piece actually bends. You can also see the little harness that the processor is in. It feels fairly secure in the harness.

One of the point options (1 point) was the M Wearing Clip, Slim HP Mic and Color Caps. It comes with a twelve inch cable. The clip has a plastic shell that goes over the processor. It has a little latch that you slide to open it. The clip is on the back side of the processor. I am not certain if you are supposed to remove the T-Mic or not. I would imagine that the sound would need to come from the headpiece microphone. I will do some research on this and report back. This is a nice case and the clip seems tight enough, however, I’m not sure I trust the latch to keep it closed in rigorous activity. If I were out gardening or other “safe” activity and wanted an off the ear option, this would do. I would not, however, trust it on something like an amusement park ride due to the latch. If it unlatches, the processor will fly out.

For my remaining two points, I ordered the Active Lifestyle Kit. The kit includes the M waterproof battery, headpiece AquaMic with Color Caps, waterproof battery clip, armband and USB charger. It is currently on backorder so I will report more later on that.

Other accessories options that I did not choose were the Phonak Sky Link M Hearing Aid (3 points), Phonak Roger Select iN wireless microphone (2 points), Phonak Roger (1 point), Phonak PartnerMic Microphone (1 point), extra batteries (2 points), and Phonak Remote Control (1 point). I have not had any need for the additional listening devices thus far. Therefore, I opted for the other options instead.

I will try to take some pictures with the above accessories on once I figure out how they work and have the magnets for the headpiece. I will also report back on my assessment of the new Marvel platform once I’ve given it a good tryout. I’m very excited for the new technology and can’t wait to try it.

Priceless Pets

Jan14

I had a cat, Kenya, who some would say was an evil kitty. I prefer to think she was misunderstood. She was a rescue and pretty much liked only a couple of people in her lifetime. She passed away a couple of years ago. One of the items on my hearing wish list was to hear Kenya purr. Fortunately, that wish came true after I got my cochlear implants.

A little over a year ago, I began volunteering for Priceless Pets Rescue. It is a no kill organization that saves dogs, cats and rabbits.

I walk the dogs and then I pet and play with the cats.

I enjoy listening to the different sounds they make. Some of the dogs make some pretty funny sounds. The cats’ purrs vary from cat to cat. Some are like motorboats, others are more subtle, but it’s pretty neat to hear them all. I also get to share my love of photography by taking pictures of the animals to use on their website.

Last month, I came across a cat, Arya, that was what some would call an “evil kitty”. She reminded me of my Kenya. She hissed and swatted and was scared. This is what she looked like when I first saw her:

I came back the following two Mondays, as I always do, and talked to her. She was still terribly afraid of humans and I could tell it was going to be a very long time before she was adopted. I decided to foster her in order to make her see that humans are not so bad. I brought her home on December 31. She has made a little bit of progress each day. She loves to play. She still won’t let me touch her but I have confidence that she will. I am hopeful that I will get to hear her purr.

I have her in a room with a light that is on a timer. I was sitting on the bed late last night and the timer turned the light off. I sat in the dark listening to her play. Each item that she played with made a different sound. I tried to identify each item as she played with them. One was a ball with a rattle. Another was an empty water bottle. Then there was the paper bag that she pounced on. The high pitched jingle is the one that stumped me. It definitely sounded like a jingle bell but I didn’t remember the toy. I listened some more and was amazed, not only that I could hear all of the sounds so clearly, but that I could place each sound. I knew where she was in the room based on sound alone. I turned on the light and there was a ball with, yes, a jingle bell in the center. I had forgotten about that one.

I have been feeding her first thing in the morning before I put my processors on. She does not “talk” during the day but I could see that she was talking quite a bit in the mornings. I just couldn’t hear her, as I am completely deaf without my processors on. I was curious to know what she sounded like so I began wearing my ears after that. Sure enough, she greets me with a hiss. I believe she must be saying, “What took you so long? How dare you sleep in? Can’t you see I’m starving?!” After that, she gives me lots of different meows, “Can’t you go any faster than that? I’m still hungry! Put it down already.” I’m reminded that, when I had hearing aids, Kenya didn’t speak to me. It was only after I had my cochlear implants that she talked more regularly. I think she knew I couldn’t hear her when I had my hearing aids and gave up.

I have nicknamed Arya “Peanut” because that’s what the coloring on her nose looks like to me. I know it is going to be extremely difficult to return her to Priceless Pets but I know a new family will love her as much as I do. This is what she is like now–she is darn cute if I say so myself!

If you would like more information on Priceless Pets, go their website at pricelesspetsrescue.org. There are always pets that need a forever home and they need donations to care for the animals.

Porsche Fun Run

Jan2

I joined a great Porsche group on Facebook. I did my first fun run with them last weekend. There were thirty Porsches on this drive. We went to the little town of Julian and then to the Palomar mountains. My friend, Marsha, was my co-pilot. All of the cars were given walkie talkies so that we would know when we were turning and so that we always had contact with each other. I didn’t expect to understand anything. I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, I admit I was actually shocked, when I understood the “sweep” car giving the instructions to the lead car. I couldn’t understand everything that was said throughout the day due to static, but I did get a lot of it. Even eight years later, I’m still having “wow” moments that truly amaze me!

As for the drive itself, it was fantastic! Although Julian is a nice little town, the destination was actually the twisty, curvy, super fun to drive Porsche roads. We spent many hours on roads just like that with beautiful scenery all around. Unfortunately, I had to keep my hands on the wheel at all times — yes, Porsche people also like to go fast on those twisty, curvy, super fun roads — and didn’t get any pictures on the drive. Here are a few that were taken:

My Book

Aug30

book cover

I’m pretty excited. I turned this blog into book format in order to help others that are going on this journey. I gave a copy to my surgeon, to whom I will be forever grateful for giving me this miracle. He liked it well enough that he bought some to give to his patients.

If you’d like a copy yourself, it’s available here: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/julie-husting/i-dared-to-dream-my-journey-with-cochlear-implants/paperback/product-166q8w8e.html

Covid-19

Apr26

What a crazy world we are living in! It’s like we are in the Twilight Zone where we sidestepped into an alternate universe. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find out it’s been just a dream.

I count my blessings every day. My family and friends are all healthy. Most of them that had jobs still have them. Those whose hours were reduced or eliminated have peace of mind knowing they have a job to go back to when this is over, and are enjoying the paid time off compliments of unemployment. I do feel terrible for those who have not been as fortunate.

My life has changed a great deal in the past month and a half. I actually went back to work near the beginning of March. I came out of retirement to train a new employee at my old job. I was there for two weeks before everything changed. Then came the meeting where the president told us to gather everything we would need to work from home, as we would no longer be allowed to go back to the office. I work in accounting, however, and we have checks that need to be deposited, and vendors and employees need to be paid. Therefore, I do go into the office a couple times a week, but it’s a ghost town in there now. Fortunately, the freeway is also deserted and I get home in half the time it used to take me. I’m loving that!

Of course, my social life has stopped, as has all of yours. I was supposed to go to The Netherlands and Belgium this month and it was canceled. One after another the fun activities I had planned were removed from my calendar. I had an interesting birthday this month. I got lots of cards in the mail. A few friends dropped gifts on the porch and talked to me from the curb or their cars.

I was reminded, yet again, how lucky I am to have cochlear implants. I normally go to dinner and a movie with my elementary school friends once a month. We decided to have a video chat via Facebook Messenger. Unfortunately, my three friends were all blurry and one of them had a drink with ice cubes that kept clinking until we figured out what that noise was! I was still able to follow most of the conversations, though.

We also had a manager’s meeting via video conferencing at work. I was able to understand that entire meeting. I don’t think I could have done that in my hearing aid days.

Masks, of course, provide a whole new set of challenges. My cochlear implants have saved me, yet again. I have been able to understand the majority of what is being said to me through the masks. Obviously, there is no lip reading happening, and facial cues are almost nonexistent. I can only imagine how frustrated I would have been with my hearing aids.

Another friend of mine with cochlear implants said that his challenge is hearing standing six feet away with the masks on. He turns up his volume, and then has no problem understanding. He is finding that people with normal hearing are having problems understanding what is being said, and thinks that a lot of people are finding out their hearing isn’t as good as they think it is!

Since I’m only working a couple days a week now and can’t go anywhere, I’ve been able to work on projects at home. I have been working on converting this blog into a book and finally finished that project yesterday! Once I get my printed copy and approve it, I will offer it to the public. That should be coming soon. Stay tuned . . .

I hope you stay safe and sane during this time of uncertainty. I’m sending healing thoughts to those that are having a difficult time. This, too, shall pass.

Swimming – Ten Years Later

Sep8

Ten years ago my good friend, Lori, turned 40. She had a big pool party for her 40th birthday bash. I had hearing aids and long hair in those days. Going in the pool meant I couldn’t hear conversations in the water because I couldn’t wear my hearing aids. It also meant getting my hair wet, which in turn, meant no hearing until my hair dried. I chose to hear and forfeited swimming at her 40th birthday party.

Flash forward ten years and Lori had her 50th birthday bash at her new home in Arizona. Hot, hot, Arizona! Seven of us celebrated for five days. On one of the days we went to the pool. This time, I got to join in on the pool festivities! I wore my Advanced Bionics Neptune processor. I got to swim, splash, talk, listen and keep cool in the heat! No worries about wet hair when I got out either. I simply kept my Neptune on.

We also spent a night in Sedona. Lori’s wish was to go to Slide Rock State Park. The rocks are slippery (and we found out they were kind of coarse, too!) and you slide down them and go from pool to pool until you get down to the end. The weather was hot but the water was cold and it was quite refreshing! Again, I got to hear the whole time!

This trip was a lot of fun! I wonder what we will be doing on her 60th birthday??

A New Journey for Me

Aug12

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that Bob has been my significant other. We’ve been together for 30 years. He’s a great guy but I’ve decided it’s time to move on.

I was at the Advanced Bionics’ Bionic Ear Association social on Saturday and one of the ladies, Pat, was telling me how nice it is for her to be able to go out with her friends and talk to people and be social. Each time we have a social, we share “wishes and wows”. The people that have hearing aids share a “wish” — something that they hope to be able to do with cochlear implants or a “wow” — something they can do now with their cochlear implants that they couldn’t do before. I didn’t have any new wows to share this time . . . until I had that conversation with Pat.

In the past, I had wondered what it would be like to be single. My hearing loss was always a primary fear of dating. Would I be able to hear in restaurants? Would I make a fool of myself answering a question that I thought was asked when it was a different question entirely? What if he has an accent, facial hair, or “bad lips” that I can’t read well? Who’s going to want to date a girl with hearing aids?

I realized I had a HUGE wow moment! For the first time, I didn’t think about my hearing loss AT ALL! I thought about plenty of other fears of dating. Am I pretty enough? I’m not a girlie girl — is any guy going to want casual ol’ me? I don’t like dressing up and fancy restaurants. I’ve got way too much cellulite! My boobs aren’t big enough. Am I too goofy? What if I don’t know what to say?

The fact is, my relationship wasn’t working. Yes, we went to counseling so I can say that I gave it 100% . . . and then some. Sometimes, you just have to be a little selfish, take a risk, and hope it pays off. Hopefully, I find a guy that likes wearing jeans and t-shirts, eats chili dogs and likes to laugh, will hold my hand and have a good time. And if he snores, it won’t bother me a bit!

My Hearing Journey

by Julie Husting

Intimacy

Snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands

PartnerMic in Ecuador

Listening Practice

Activation Tips

Surgery Tips

Funny “Wow” Moment

Dating

Assistive Devices I Use

Old Habits are Hard to Break in Italy

Long Beach Grand Prix Wows

Mapping Changes

Las Vegas Wows

The Key to Success With Cochlear Implants? Setting Realistic Expectations

Getting a CI is Only the Beginning

Is it Time for a Cochlear Implant? A Patient’s Perspective

People Who Change Lives

Play in the pool? Heck yeah!

Advanced Bionics M90 Review – 4 Months Later

Zero Gravity Flight

Advanced Bionics M90 Review

Cochlear Implant Daily Rehab Group

Steve’s Initial Reaction to the M90

My New Sky CI Ms Arrived!

Priceless Pets

Porsche Fun Run

My Book

Covid-19

Swimming – Ten Years Later

A New Journey for Me