This is try number 2 at posting this entry - I've learned from experience what happens when you're writing a blog entry on this site and you lose connection to the Internet - it goes bye-bye. Live and learn...
The challenge of being Hard of Hearing of course has a major impact on my life. Right now, it is placing some limits on what I can do and how I can interact with others - especially my family. Being HOH isn't something that just affects me, it also affects those around me, and that means my family. My family is wonderful, caring, and supportive, but I am sure my wife Josephine gets tired of being asked to repeat practically every sentence she says to me, many times more than once. My kids have gotten used to having a dad that is on the quiet side, who can't carry on a conversation with them while driving, who always has those annoying subtitles turned on the TV. My youngest child is starting to talk, and although some words are pretty easy for me to pick up (water, ouch - they don't really sound like any other words she's saying yet), other ones sound the same - eat and sit for example. She gets frustrated with me if I think she wants me to sit down but what she really wants is that piece of chicken sitting on the table. My extended family has (I hope) gotten somewhat used to me not calling them on the phone that often, and when I do, not being able to understand them that well. Unfortunately, spoken conversations for me can be exhausting, and I'm sure my family feels the same way about talking to me sometimes - I don't blame them; I would feel the same way!
So, for me, hearing-related decisions, whether its getting a new hearing aid, getting a cochlear implant, or doing nothing for now, are decisions that affect more than just me personally - they have a big effect on my family too. I don't know if anyone really understands what they are getting themselves into (or what their family member is getting into) when they get a Cochlear Implant. All we can do is ask questions and try to research as much as we can. My kids' reaction so far has mainly been one of fact-finding: how long will the surgery take? what does the implant look like? will you be able to hear better? My younger son saw me watching a CI surgery video on the Internet (see my helpful links page if you want to have a look) - he came in right before the surgeon started stitching things up - his reaction was mainly "yuck" (I confess I had a bit of that, too). He did go through the Cochlear "build your CI" web pages and picked colors and accessories for me (you can see his result here). Josephine had lots of questions for me, especially because she wasn't able to go with me to the evaluation. She wanted to know exactly what the doctors said, what the potential problems could be, how I felt about the whole thing, etc. I guess to summarize it up in a few words - my family is in curiosity mode right now.
I sure don't know how things will turn out. On the day the CI is first turned on (what they call "activation" day), some people hear nothing but static, beeps, and boops. Other people have the "rock-star" activation day and can hear and understand speech almost right away. It's hard to get any numbers, but I'd guess that most people are somewhere in between those two extremes. One thing I do know is that after the surgery until activation, I won't be hearing anything at all; the other ear is just so poor that it can't do anything for me. I'm sure that's going to be frustrating for everyone - but maybe not - if we know what to expect, we can prepare ourselves. After activation, it could be super (I hear so much better); it could be worse (I can't understand much of anything); it could be about the same; it could be a mix (maybe I understand one person and not another). The one thing we do know is that there's lots of hard work ahead retraining my brain to hear and understand. Lots of "what's that sound?" I am trying to imagine what life will be like for me and my family. I know there are some upcoming community events that are not *too* far from home; we'll try to go to one or two of them to talk to some other people.
Even with all of the doubts about the future, one thing that I am sure of is that getting a CI is something I need to do. My family needs me to do it, too. I don't know everything that lies ahead, but I do know that we'll face it together.
The challenge of being Hard of Hearing of course has a major impact on my life. Right now, it is placing some limits on what I can do and how I can interact with others - especially my family. Being HOH isn't something that just affects me, it also affects those around me, and that means my family. My family is wonderful, caring, and supportive, but I am sure my wife Josephine gets tired of being asked to repeat practically every sentence she says to me, many times more than once. My kids have gotten used to having a dad that is on the quiet side, who can't carry on a conversation with them while driving, who always has those annoying subtitles turned on the TV. My youngest child is starting to talk, and although some words are pretty easy for me to pick up (water, ouch - they don't really sound like any other words she's saying yet), other ones sound the same - eat and sit for example. She gets frustrated with me if I think she wants me to sit down but what she really wants is that piece of chicken sitting on the table. My extended family has (I hope) gotten somewhat used to me not calling them on the phone that often, and when I do, not being able to understand them that well. Unfortunately, spoken conversations for me can be exhausting, and I'm sure my family feels the same way about talking to me sometimes - I don't blame them; I would feel the same way!
So, for me, hearing-related decisions, whether its getting a new hearing aid, getting a cochlear implant, or doing nothing for now, are decisions that affect more than just me personally - they have a big effect on my family too. I don't know if anyone really understands what they are getting themselves into (or what their family member is getting into) when they get a Cochlear Implant. All we can do is ask questions and try to research as much as we can. My kids' reaction so far has mainly been one of fact-finding: how long will the surgery take? what does the implant look like? will you be able to hear better? My younger son saw me watching a CI surgery video on the Internet (see my helpful links page if you want to have a look) - he came in right before the surgeon started stitching things up - his reaction was mainly "yuck" (I confess I had a bit of that, too). He did go through the Cochlear "build your CI" web pages and picked colors and accessories for me (you can see his result here). Josephine had lots of questions for me, especially because she wasn't able to go with me to the evaluation. She wanted to know exactly what the doctors said, what the potential problems could be, how I felt about the whole thing, etc. I guess to summarize it up in a few words - my family is in curiosity mode right now.
I sure don't know how things will turn out. On the day the CI is first turned on (what they call "activation" day), some people hear nothing but static, beeps, and boops. Other people have the "rock-star" activation day and can hear and understand speech almost right away. It's hard to get any numbers, but I'd guess that most people are somewhere in between those two extremes. One thing I do know is that after the surgery until activation, I won't be hearing anything at all; the other ear is just so poor that it can't do anything for me. I'm sure that's going to be frustrating for everyone - but maybe not - if we know what to expect, we can prepare ourselves. After activation, it could be super (I hear so much better); it could be worse (I can't understand much of anything); it could be about the same; it could be a mix (maybe I understand one person and not another). The one thing we do know is that there's lots of hard work ahead retraining my brain to hear and understand. Lots of "what's that sound?" I am trying to imagine what life will be like for me and my family. I know there are some upcoming community events that are not *too* far from home; we'll try to go to one or two of them to talk to some other people.
Even with all of the doubts about the future, one thing that I am sure of is that getting a CI is something I need to do. My family needs me to do it, too. I don't know everything that lies ahead, but I do know that we'll face it together.