Hi all!
Things have gone just great for me, I feel so incredibly fortunate. I am now 8 months from activation. By the three month mark my scores were in the 90’s (in quiet). Voices seem quite normal for me again - though some female news presenters seem rather whiny and little girlish, but I think some of that is actually for real. Elocution no longer seems important on television! But at least I can hear them!
I can speak on the telephone again - either by Bluetooth streaming, or by holding the phone to my ear - I have an Advance Bionics processor which has a T-mic right at the ear canal which facilitates “hearing” on the phone. Being able to hear on the phone is an absolute game changer in my life. I can now advocate for myself and handle my own affairs once again. It’s a thrill to just pick up the phone to book a hairdressing appointment. That said, I do still have a phone phobia. I went so long with texting and emails, that I tend to stick to them. Lengthy phonecalls still require a lot of effort - it’s not that I can’t hear, but the brain needs to still process what I am hearing without the aid of visuals. Sometimes I just have to tell my friends I am maxed out and bid them goodbye. I have had to do the same at social gatherings - just too much auditory stimulation, I guess.
Do I have any regrets. Absolutely not!. It miraculous to have this implant - I am still in wonder at the technology.
I remain bimodal for now, by choice. I do have some hearing in my other ear, though I cannot make out speech. It does help with listening to music and the television - kind of rounds out my bionic hearing. I imagine there will come a time that my residual hearing will be of so little use that I will opt for the second implant. Getting implanted really drove it home to me how deaf I was. I would be in very big trouble if my implant or processor failed me, so that is always in the back of my mind.
Cheers for Bionic Ears!!!