| 3 Month Follow Up... It has been almost 3 months since my surgery and I wanted to give you all an update. I am still experiencing the dizziness and not quite sure what is causing it. I go back for a follow up with my doctor in June. At my last check up he said we would wait until June and see what needs to be done. I'm wondering if it is fluid trapped or something. The dizziness is not too bothersome, but it occurs daily. It only lasts for a few seconds and it doesn't make me lose my balance or anything. My head and ear lobe are still numb from the surgery. My hair is growing very fast, but unfortunately very gray as well. LOL As for my hearing...WOW! I have worn the BWP (Body Worn Processor) for about 2 months. After each mapping, my hearing was better. Last week I received my new 3G BTE! I love it! No more cords or box to worry with. I can't tell any difference between the BWP and the BTE because I didn't wear the BWP long enough to become very familiar with it. I also received a new map when I got the BTE so everything is different because of that as well. Sounds are louder (sometimes too loud) and I think its because I took my C-levels up higher. Cochlear gives you a year supply of batteries with your processor. I received the Varta batteries and they are not powerful enough for my mapping. The way I understand it, the Vartas are more energy efficient and will last longer than the Toshibas. But the Toshibas are more powerful and sometimes needed for those who require stronger programs. They gave me one pack of Toshibas to try if the Vartas didn't work for me. The Toshibas work great and I get somewhere around 2-1/2 days with them. I haven't timed it yet, but I will. Cochlear is sending me the Toshibas in place of the Vartas. The only disappointment I have is that I can't buy them in local stores. I have to order them from Cochlear. They are priced lower than most hearing aid batteries in the stores, but I wanted the convenience of buying them at the stores. I will just have to make sure I have back ups with me at all times. Sounds... I am hearing so many sounds that it gets overwhelming at times. I still can not understand speech like I expect to. I am waiting and know that it will come in time. I always test at 100% on my speech recognition (that's with no lip-reading) but the test is in a quiet environment. With the background noises, it makes it harder for me. Voices are getting better. If I don't have my hearing aid on in my left ear, the voices still sound like the person has laryngitis or is a relative of Darth Vader. But the other sounds...WOW! I can hear birds so clearly. I don't think I've ever heard them so well. I can hear my own footsteps (even on carpet), I can hear water running in the plumbing! I can hear the keys on my computer keyboard, my cell phone ringing, and many other sounds. My daughter plays basketball and when I am in the gymnasium, the sounds are almost too much. If there is a lot of yelling, I have to turn my processor down. When they are practicing and bouncing a lot of balls, it is very loud to me as well. The other day I kept hearing this loud ticking noise. They told me it was the fan. I still have to learn what many sounds are. Everyday is exciting and new for me. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I use to be either. |
| May 30, 2002 |