Initial Implant Mapping / Hook Up Appointment Scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th!

Hello! Things are getting better each day. I am starting to sleep in again, which is a good sign that I am feeling better! So far today, I have not taken medicine for pain. Things are really looking a lot brighter. I still have restrictions until Thursday. For two weeks after surgery, I am not allowed to lift anything more than 10 pounds, bend at the waist (been doing a lot of squats to pick things up), blow my nose and must cough with my mouth open. I am still unable to sleep on my right side, it just feels funny. One of these days!

This morning, I was able to change my initial mapping appointments to an earlier date. It was originally scheduled for the 19th and 20th. I am ready now :), it is hard not to have hearing on both ears. I feel off balanced and tired since I am straining to hear with one ear. I personally understand how it can be a safety issue. Often, I have talked with parents and children with unilateral hearing loss to become more cautious and aware of their surroundings especially when crossing the street or riding a bike.

So, my initial implant mapping appointments are on Wednesday, August 13th and Friday, August 15th at 10:00 am. The mapping will be done at the Rochester Methodist Hospital at the Cochlear Implant Center. I am glad it is a week earlier, so I can train my brain before school starts again on August 25th.

For those of you who are not familiar with initial activation and mapping, this is the second step of the process. It is usually done a few weeks after the surgery. This allows for the incision to heal and the swelling to go down. For the implant to work, I need to get it mapped or programmed so I can take in sound without pain or discomfort.

My implant will be connected to a computer. The audiologist will test the implanted electrodes and adjust the frequencies of each electrode. The goal of the appointment will be finding a comfort level of sounds because at first things can sound too loud. My brain will need to get used to processing the new sounds. It depends on the individual of how quickly sounds can be processed. I have read on a website that people described the first sounds of voices to the voice of Donald Duck. This will be a little funny, I actually loved Donald Duck as a kid.

This past Friday, I was with my brother Scotty and his family. Both my sister in law, Tracy and Scotty told me some stories of when he was first discovering sounds. He was identifying sounds that Tracy had tuned out, such as the humming of the refrigerator, beeps on an oven or microwave and the crinkling of bags of potato chips. I guess potato chips bag was the most annoying. One time, they were riding in the minivan with their three kids and Scotty kept hearing this sound over and over. He said, "what is that?!" My sister in law could not figure it out. They asked the kids (I have posted a photo of the kids above, Ava, Ethan, Emma) to be quiet, then Scotty said, "see there it is, now it is gone, then there it is, now it is gone". After a few minutes they figured out that it was the windshield wipers!

I am sure I will have some interesting sounds to identify as well. I would like to hear the birds chirping, water or waves by a lake and rain. I guess any sounds found in nature!

* After I posted this, my friend Alicia and brother Scotty both asked me if I ever heard the sounds of nature before in my life. My answer...

No, I have not heard those specific sounds of nature before, at least I do not remember it. A few times when I was at Wisconsin Lions Camp late at night and also at my friends Jason and Missy's house on Minnehaha Creek when it is very quiet. I would hear an interesting sound and ask people what it was. Others would tell me I am hearing the grasshoppers putting their wings together, frogs croaking and Minnesota loons looning(?). Also, when I was in the bird cage at the Milwaukee Zoo or when I owned a parakeet, I used to hear some chirping. My brother says he hears it all that time now. Also, he said, "basically, what you will discover is that we do live in a noisy world". Great!