Activation Day

Activation day was today! It went fairly smoothly.

As instructed by the Sunnybrook team, I am trying to keep my expectations low and my hopes high. I did not expect this to be an "Insta-Hearing" day (but I kind of hoped it would be!).  It definitely wasn't...and that's okay. It will take time for my brain to figure out all of this new input, especially the higher frequency sounds.

Positive: All 16 electrodes are firing properly! Oh, and I didn't electrocute myself! ;)

Not so positive: High pitched constant squealing in the background...kind of like this.  It is exhausting to listen to.  Hopefully it will go away soon. It might just be overstimulation of my auditory nerve.

I CAN still hear some voices, and random noises on top of all the squealing. Who would have thought paper rustling and keyboard keys clacking were so loud?!

I will write a longer blog post about today, once I gather my thoughts.  

Thanks everyone for your support. It means a lot! ♥  

Pretty amazing...

Here are the X-rays that were taken immediately after my surgery.  I was able to download them from MyChart.

"Caldwells" (posterior-anterior) view
(front view)

You can see the incision line with staples going across the bottom left of the X-ray.  The big circle is the receiver-stimulator part of the implant, which was set into a hole that was drilled into my skull.  The small circle on top is the magnet.   To see what the implant itself looks like and how it works with the external piece, click here.

You can also see the electrode array which was inserted into my inner ear (line coming out of bottom circle).  According to the report, the "right cochlear implant wire lead is seen taking nearly one full turn of the cochlea".   This is a great news!  This means that they were able to fully insert the electrode.  Sometimes the surgeon is not able to get it all the way in (for a variety of reasons, usually related to abnormal anatomy).  If this happens, sometimes the results are not as optimal as they usually have to turn off some electrodes.

What took so long?

A cochlear implant (CI) is a pretty huge deal.  The decision to go through with it will probably be one of the biggest I will ever make in my life.  

After reading about CI technology (especially marketing material from CI manufacturers), and watching YouTube videos of activation experiences, the choice seems obvious.  They pop it in your head, switch it on a month later...and then it is like magic!  You can hear!

A no-brainer, right?

As with any decision in life, it was important to weigh the pros and cons.  A CI is not an impulse buy.  It is irreversible surgery.  There is no going back and changing your mind.

At one end, I have my safe place.  I have scraped by for many years with my trusty hearing aids, excellent lip reading skills, as well as ever patient and helpful family, friends and coworkers.  Yes, my hearing loss has worsened over the years, which has rendered life and work tiring and annoying, but at least it is comfortable.  I know what to expect, and have a list of strategies to fall back on.  I do not really know anything different.  This is my world - I have come to accept it.  

At the other end, is the great unknown.  Worst case scenario: going through with the CI has the potential to make things much worse (continue reading for more detail...).   Best case scenario: I could be able to understand speech without struggling, talk on the phone, and even appreciate music without lyric sheets.  This seems inconceivable to someone like me who has never been able to do any of these things.  

A person who has lost their (normal) hearing later in life may be more willing to accept and undertake risk.  My comfortable place would probably drive someone else INSANE.  They would be more willing to purchase an one way ticket out of it...no matter what.

With all of this in mind, I set about doing some research.  There is an overwhelming amount of information available on the internet: some biased, some factual, and the rest in between.