6 month report

It is now almost exactly 6 months to the day that I had my initial stimulation with my HR 90K. So much has happened since my last posting...

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At my 3-month appointment in March 2006, we did my first testing in the booth since my initial stim. Needless to say, I was blown away!

Here are my scores with my HR 90K/Auria alone:
Listening for narrowband noise (sounds like "white noise") in the 500-4000 Hz (main speech frequency range) = 15-25 dB
Speech Reception Threshold (the softest level that I can hear and repeat back spondees [two-syllable words with equal emphasis on each syllable...e.g., "cowboy", "hotdog", "baseball", etc.]) = 15 dB
HINT sentences in Quiet = 95%
HINT sentences in Noise (+10 S/N) = 52%
CNC (single syllable) words = 46%

YAY!

We also did some testing with my C-1/Platinum BTE:
HINT sentences in Quiet = 99% (ceiling)
HINT sentences in Noise (+10 S/N) = 74%
CNC words = 92% (ceiling)

So, it's evident that my C-1 side is still doing a great job for me.

Where I see some of the most benefit being bilaterally implanted is in noisy situations. This was shown when my audiologist tested me in the bilateral condition (90K/Auria + C-1/Platinum BTE):
HINT sentences in Quiet = 100%
HINT sentences in Noise (+10 S/N) = 92%
***note the significant increase compared to 90K/Auria alone and C-1/Platinum BTE alone***
CNC words = 90%

Awesome. Looking back at my previous posts, there are numerous real-life examples that show the same thing...bilaterally, I am doing so much better in noisy situations.

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Let's move on to March 23, 2006. On this day, I took Maddy with me and met some friends in Chicago for a performance of the Broadway musical "Wicked". I have seen this show live 2 times previously and have been listening to this soundtrack since 2004. When I got my second CI, it was amazing to me how much fuller the sounds were and how many notes and instruments and lyrics I had missed and not even really realized it. It was like listening to an entirely different piece of music. On the car ride up to Chicago (about a 2 1/2 hour drive for me), we listened to the music over and over...and over and over...on "Maddy's iPod", as she likes to call it. This would be my first performance hearing "Wicked" IN STEREO.

It blew me away.

We had seats in the 4th row and so in addition to getting the full effect of the 15 foot tall speakers, Maddy and I also got to enjoy seeing the facial expressions and the up-close actions of the cast members. During the performance, I would reach up and turn off one CI and just listen monaurally and there is NO comparison. It sounded so much better with two!!!!

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June 4, 2006 - My audiologist e-mailed me a few weeks ago and asked me if I would be interested in participating in the AB in-house trials for the new 120 speech processing strategy. OF COURSE!!!! So, on this day, I got to try it for the first time. It has been amazing for music and listening in noise.

As an example, just when I thought listening to the music from "Wicked" couldn't get better... I will refer to one of the key songs in the musical, "Defying Gravity". Ever since I started listening to this music, there was one word that used to frustrate me...the main characters talk about being "unlimited", in reference to the future. The way that this word is sung; however, is that the syllable "un-" is sung in a low register and then "-limited" is sung in a higher register. I could never hear the syllable "un-"...all I heard was "limited". Since getting the 120 strategy, I am now hearing "UN-limited". YAY!!!! That's kind of how I feel sometimes - "unlimited" in my potential.

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End of June/beginning of July has been pretty hectic for me in terms of work. I was at the AG Bell conference in Pittsburgh from June 22-25, came back home for a day and a half, picked up Matt and Maddy and then we all headed down to the HLAA (formerly SHHH) conference down in Orlando. It was awesome having them with me and I'm glad that they got to relax a bit and enjoy the pools at our hotel. On Sunday, we all headed down to Disney World and did the full day (14 hours!) at Magic Kingdom. Matt took some great pictures and they can be found at http://web.mac.com/mattchildress/iWeb/Site/Disney%20World%20Summer%202006.html

AB had a pre-workshop before the start of HLAA and the topic was bilateral implantation. As a sequentially bilateral recipient (meaning there was a lag between getting my 1st vs. 2nd CI), I continue to feel that I do pretty well with my first implant, especially when it comes to the phone. I thought it was because I was not devoting enough time to Aural Rehab. Comments made at this talk made me feel better:
- It takes time for the 2nd implant to function as well as the 1st (for me after all, I've had my first one for 6 years and my second one for about 6 months)
- The 2nd implant lags behind the 1st for about a year (that explains a lot to me...)
- There will be a long-term dominance of the 1st implant - less though if the delay between 1st and 2nd implant is <6-10 months As I've said before, though, the benefits of being bilateral are most evident to me in noisy situations where it SO much easier for me to listen. I'm also enjoying hearing Maddy no matter what side she's on.

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A few months back, I was contacted by Paul Dybala, editor for Healthy Hearing - an audiologist trade e-magazine - to do an interview about my bilateral experience. If you'd like to read it, go to http://www.healthyhearing.com/library/interview_content.asp?interview_id=739 I think it came out pretty well!

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OK, here's some non-audiology related news...Matt and I are pregnant!!! Yep, I took a pregnancy test in early May and results were confirmed in mid-May. At that point, I was...er... already at 14 weeks. Whoops! Yes, that's 3 1/2 months. First trimester is over!!! We are absolutely in shock and thrilled at the same time. It took so long for us to get pregnant with Maddy and we've been trying for a long time for a second one, that we kind of gave up hope.

Matt's hypothesis is that my cochlear implants are actually secret fertility devices . I got my first implant in August 2000, became pregnant in January 2001. I got my second implant in December 2005, became pregnant in February 2006. Hmmmmm...

We are having a girl and are calling her "Mia". She is due in mid-November. Maddy is very excited to be a big sister and can often be found barrelling towards my belly to plant a big kiss on my belly button for Mia. Matt's nickname for me is "Mama Mia".

That's all for now. I hope to post more news soon!