Went to Vanderbilt today...
*WARNING: beginning of less than cheery post*
...the first thing they did was put me in the sound room for tests. I scored a zero on the speech comprehension with just the implant, and my scores for the hearing aid AND the implant (together) were LOWER than my scores with the hearing aid alone (I have to really concentrate to be able to hear at all because the vibrations take over the hearing in my "good" ear). The audiologist was dismayed by this and we spent nearly two hours tweaking things. I told her that the vibrating sensation is just too much for me. I gave it a shot for the first few weeks, but when the sound didn't improve much at all, and the vibrations not at all, I got really discouraged really fast. I haven't been wearing the processor as much as I should, because it has been a hindrance to communication, not any help at all. I am much too social to not be able to understand folks :( I should wear it all the time when I'm at home, but I kid you not...I turn the TV off in the bedroom when I put it on, make it as quiet as possible, and still literally cringe every single time..it's almost painful, it's that uncomfortable. The audiologist lowered the sensitivity still more and changed the frequencies yet again. When I left, the vibrations were not as uncomfortable as when I came in...I can still feel them, no question about it, but it's much better. I am going to give it my best shot for the next few months (I don't go back to see the audiologist again until April). She said that if it's not any better, we'll have the Advanced Bionics rep come in then and work with me and see if they can do anything.
I hesitate to post the negatives here. I don't want to discourage anyone who might be looking into an implant of their own. There are far more success stories than failures. I have a list of cochlear blogs in my sideline, and you can visit them...they're generally all happy with their implants. They all went through their own periods of adjustment and came out on the other side in pretty good shape. If I could just get rid of these annoying vibrations I would be thrilled...I could handle any kind of noise if I just didn't have the buzz in my head. But I've been told repeatedly that this doesn't happen every time...that I am one of the exceptions rather than the rule. I was prepared for it, but still hoping for the best. I am not giving up...I do think that over time it will continue to get better, but boy, is it frustrating sometimes!!
*end of said post*
In other news....when I came home, we went out for Mexican. I had planned to go to the store and pick up some stuff for dinner, but got home much later than I'd planned, so we just ran out for dinner instead :) Then we went over to my mother-in-law's house and played cards with her and one of hubby's cousins (well, actually, cousin napped on the couch while his wife played with us ;) ). His wife had such a great time that she wants us to play again next weekend...fine by me...I love playing cards and being sociable :)
Came home, watched Monk, am working on the grocery list. I'll probably have to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow...we're out of a ton of stuff (including coffee and bread, so, you know, I'll have to go). There is a possibility we'll get a little snow tomorrow night (the salt trucks have already been out salting the roads, just in case...can you tell that we don't handle snow well in Middle Tennessee?). I kinda hope we do. It will make the freezing cold almost worth it ;) The highs are supposed to be in the THIRTIES next week! *sob* I think I'm buying LONG JOHNS to wear to school!!! Yeah, I'll look stupid, but I'll be warm(er)!
Catch y'all later...grab a cup of coffee and stay warm... <3
...the first thing they did was put me in the sound room for tests. I scored a zero on the speech comprehension with just the implant, and my scores for the hearing aid AND the implant (together) were LOWER than my scores with the hearing aid alone (I have to really concentrate to be able to hear at all because the vibrations take over the hearing in my "good" ear). The audiologist was dismayed by this and we spent nearly two hours tweaking things. I told her that the vibrating sensation is just too much for me. I gave it a shot for the first few weeks, but when the sound didn't improve much at all, and the vibrations not at all, I got really discouraged really fast. I haven't been wearing the processor as much as I should, because it has been a hindrance to communication, not any help at all. I am much too social to not be able to understand folks :( I should wear it all the time when I'm at home, but I kid you not...I turn the TV off in the bedroom when I put it on, make it as quiet as possible, and still literally cringe every single time..it's almost painful, it's that uncomfortable. The audiologist lowered the sensitivity still more and changed the frequencies yet again. When I left, the vibrations were not as uncomfortable as when I came in...I can still feel them, no question about it, but it's much better. I am going to give it my best shot for the next few months (I don't go back to see the audiologist again until April). She said that if it's not any better, we'll have the Advanced Bionics rep come in then and work with me and see if they can do anything.
I hesitate to post the negatives here. I don't want to discourage anyone who might be looking into an implant of their own. There are far more success stories than failures. I have a list of cochlear blogs in my sideline, and you can visit them...they're generally all happy with their implants. They all went through their own periods of adjustment and came out on the other side in pretty good shape. If I could just get rid of these annoying vibrations I would be thrilled...I could handle any kind of noise if I just didn't have the buzz in my head. But I've been told repeatedly that this doesn't happen every time...that I am one of the exceptions rather than the rule. I was prepared for it, but still hoping for the best. I am not giving up...I do think that over time it will continue to get better, but boy, is it frustrating sometimes!!
*end of said post*
In other news....when I came home, we went out for Mexican. I had planned to go to the store and pick up some stuff for dinner, but got home much later than I'd planned, so we just ran out for dinner instead :) Then we went over to my mother-in-law's house and played cards with her and one of hubby's cousins (well, actually, cousin napped on the couch while his wife played with us ;) ). His wife had such a great time that she wants us to play again next weekend...fine by me...I love playing cards and being sociable :)
Came home, watched Monk, am working on the grocery list. I'll probably have to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow...we're out of a ton of stuff (including coffee and bread, so, you know, I'll have to go). There is a possibility we'll get a little snow tomorrow night (the salt trucks have already been out salting the roads, just in case...can you tell that we don't handle snow well in Middle Tennessee?). I kinda hope we do. It will make the freezing cold almost worth it ;) The highs are supposed to be in the THIRTIES next week! *sob* I think I'm buying LONG JOHNS to wear to school!!! Yeah, I'll look stupid, but I'll be warm(er)!
Catch y'all later...grab a cup of coffee and stay warm... <3
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