Tiny steps
So, time for an update. I had the counselling and expectations appointment at the end of January which was really interesting. The hearing therapist went through all of the pre-operative steps of scans etc, the surgical information and recovery process. She went through the rehabilitation process, it seems very intensive with two weekly appointments in the initial few weeks to tune the programming. She then showed me a Medel CI, and detailed how it worked. At this point I queried whether the choice of all three would be available and she said that she would find out.
I had to do this questionnaire which she created, it had all sorts of questions about what I thought I might be able to do with a CI, and how I rated my present levels of hearing. It was reassuring to go through the process as I could ask the random questions I had on my mind, it also gave me an opportunity to demonstrate myself as a well informed candidate as I mentioned things I had learned from other people and online sources of information.
That weekend I went to Nottingham Ear Foundation to attend the Cochlear Implant Information Day. It was informative and made better by the fact that Peter came along, as I thought it was important that he get educated on it all. The surgical information was really reassuring, with the risks being talked through and percentages shown to be negligible. I was particularly nervous about the facial paralysis risk but it was explained that nerve monitors were used and any doubts meant the surgery was usually stopped. At one point, the surgeon who spoke explained that even partial insertion of the electrode yielded good results in patients, which is mind boggling to even think about when you consider the technology!
The lunch period was an opportunity to speak with Cochlear Implant manufacturers. It was rather ironic that the most useful part of the day was held in a small room which was packed out by the attendees of the event! Fair enough they all wanted to chat, but it was flipping noisy and difficult to follow what was being said. As Medel was first choice by Manchester, I spoke with their rep first and it was quickly made clear that an alternative brand might be more suitable. I want to keep my right hearing aid as it provides me with normal sound and one brand has a bimodal option (AB). Cochlear came across well but again I was drawn to AB as it has no less than 4 different mics and to my uneducated eye, more room for technical developments and upgrades within the internal software.
In the afternoon, there was a rehabilitation session with this really lovely, smiley lady with a strong South African accent. She went through likely processes with the tuning, strategies for rehabilitation and referred to research which explained how many CI users spend too much time in quiet environments which means they aren't able to train themselves sufficiently in hearing in noise. The only slightly dispiriting thing was the fact that she explained very carefully that even with a CI, we would have to accept that some difficulties would persist. Ended up bursting into tears this point, I mean, give me a break!
So where am I? I forgot to mention that at the expectations meeting, I was meant to attend another hearing test straight afterwards but since I hadn't received that letter and had to be back in school, I couldn't do it. So that brings us up to date as this Wednesday just gone, I went to Manchester to attend the appointment which would confirm my candidacy. I met another lovely (impossibly young looking) audiologist who tested my speech perception. It frightened me how hard it was to hear sentences with just my left aid. I felt more relaxed but was painfully aware that a lot of my listening was me trying to figure out what might have been said, instead of confidently relaying anything. I was really careful not to fill in gaps and only relayed exactly what I heard. The audiologist said that based on my results, that I would be likely to do well with a Cochlear Implant and that it would be down to a multidisciplinary team meeting as to whether I proceeded with scans and further assessments.
At that same meeting with the audiologist, it transpired that my hearing aids were the wrong way round. That is, that I had managed to stick them into the wrong ears. Mortified doesn't begin to cover it! I must have switched them by accident when I was trying out the Roger Pen for the week after going to Nottingham. Which meant that the audiologist, looking very thoughtful, suggested that I ought to redo the tests one more time with the hearing aids the right way round. Fair point but for a moment I had a horrible feeling as though I would magically be able to hear. Of course, I did just as badly.
The next day, when I emailed the audiologist to explain about the Roger pen, she replied and I quote, "I have spoken to ****** and we have agreed to book some scans as the next step. You will receive an appointment letter within the next 6 weeks or so."
Yikes, I guess I'm officially on the conveyor belt!
I had to do this questionnaire which she created, it had all sorts of questions about what I thought I might be able to do with a CI, and how I rated my present levels of hearing. It was reassuring to go through the process as I could ask the random questions I had on my mind, it also gave me an opportunity to demonstrate myself as a well informed candidate as I mentioned things I had learned from other people and online sources of information.
That weekend I went to Nottingham Ear Foundation to attend the Cochlear Implant Information Day. It was informative and made better by the fact that Peter came along, as I thought it was important that he get educated on it all. The surgical information was really reassuring, with the risks being talked through and percentages shown to be negligible. I was particularly nervous about the facial paralysis risk but it was explained that nerve monitors were used and any doubts meant the surgery was usually stopped. At one point, the surgeon who spoke explained that even partial insertion of the electrode yielded good results in patients, which is mind boggling to even think about when you consider the technology!
The lunch period was an opportunity to speak with Cochlear Implant manufacturers. It was rather ironic that the most useful part of the day was held in a small room which was packed out by the attendees of the event! Fair enough they all wanted to chat, but it was flipping noisy and difficult to follow what was being said. As Medel was first choice by Manchester, I spoke with their rep first and it was quickly made clear that an alternative brand might be more suitable. I want to keep my right hearing aid as it provides me with normal sound and one brand has a bimodal option (AB). Cochlear came across well but again I was drawn to AB as it has no less than 4 different mics and to my uneducated eye, more room for technical developments and upgrades within the internal software.
In the afternoon, there was a rehabilitation session with this really lovely, smiley lady with a strong South African accent. She went through likely processes with the tuning, strategies for rehabilitation and referred to research which explained how many CI users spend too much time in quiet environments which means they aren't able to train themselves sufficiently in hearing in noise. The only slightly dispiriting thing was the fact that she explained very carefully that even with a CI, we would have to accept that some difficulties would persist. Ended up bursting into tears this point, I mean, give me a break!
So where am I? I forgot to mention that at the expectations meeting, I was meant to attend another hearing test straight afterwards but since I hadn't received that letter and had to be back in school, I couldn't do it. So that brings us up to date as this Wednesday just gone, I went to Manchester to attend the appointment which would confirm my candidacy. I met another lovely (impossibly young looking) audiologist who tested my speech perception. It frightened me how hard it was to hear sentences with just my left aid. I felt more relaxed but was painfully aware that a lot of my listening was me trying to figure out what might have been said, instead of confidently relaying anything. I was really careful not to fill in gaps and only relayed exactly what I heard. The audiologist said that based on my results, that I would be likely to do well with a Cochlear Implant and that it would be down to a multidisciplinary team meeting as to whether I proceeded with scans and further assessments.
At that same meeting with the audiologist, it transpired that my hearing aids were the wrong way round. That is, that I had managed to stick them into the wrong ears. Mortified doesn't begin to cover it! I must have switched them by accident when I was trying out the Roger Pen for the week after going to Nottingham. Which meant that the audiologist, looking very thoughtful, suggested that I ought to redo the tests one more time with the hearing aids the right way round. Fair point but for a moment I had a horrible feeling as though I would magically be able to hear. Of course, I did just as badly.
The next day, when I emailed the audiologist to explain about the Roger pen, she replied and I quote, "I have spoken to ****** and we have agreed to book some scans as the next step. You will receive an appointment letter within the next 6 weeks or so."
Yikes, I guess I'm officially on the conveyor belt!
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