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My appointment with Susan was at 2:30 p.m. and I was so nervous as I waited. She first had to hook me up to the computer and then get my T (threshold) & C (comfort) levels. I had to listen for the faintest beep (Threshold) and then give her my Comfort level. This is a very tiresome process. After that, I had to listen to 4 short beeps and tell whether they were at the same level or not. That went on for awhile as well. And then it was time to turn it on. The moment I had been waiting all this time for! She turned the processor on and I�ll have to be honest�I was very disappointed in what I heard. I had tried to expect the worst, but this just seemed even worse than that. All I heard was loud static sounds. And when she spoke, her voice sounded very weird. I couldn�t understand her words, just this break up in the static sounds I was hearing. As I read her lips, I could make out the words she was saying. Her voice didn�t sound like Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck to me�it was more like a feminine God-Father voice�like something out of a Mafia movie. That�s the best way I can describe it. It was kind of monotone. And then James (my husband) said something and I didn�t think I could hear him talking. Susan went through that exact same process one more time to give me my 2nd program. And the voices sounded worst with it. I then had to walk around the building and go outside and see how everything sounded to me. She wanted me to flush the toilet and see if it sounded too loud. We walked into the hall and I heard a lot of �junk noise� and they told me there was a fan sound out there. Also, someone said something over the P.A. system and I didn�t even know it was a voice. After I went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet (it didn�t sound too loud) I came back into the hall with James. I heard Susan�s voice, but didn�t see her anywhere. I asked James where she was�I thought maybe my hearing was sooo good that I could hear her at a very far distance. But what I was really hearing was another person�s voice. What happened next was the funniest part of it all. James was telling me where Susan was and HE sounded just like her! I can�t tell the difference between anyone�s voice. Everyone has the feminine God-Father voice! LOL Everytime James would talk, I would just laugh. I think it was starting to give him a complex�that I thought he sounded like a woman! LOL

I had to wear the processor the rest of the evening (without my hearing aid on) and then go back the next morning at 8:30 a.m. It was very hard that evening. I started getting headaches listening to all the junk noise and not understanding anything. I noticed that I could hear my footsteps on the stairs and some paper rattling. We went back to the hotel after the appointment and the first thing I did was to get online and try to find someone who was recently hooked up to find out if it would get any better. I know I�ve read that it is bad at first, but will get better�but it just seems too bad! I did email one person who I remember on the forum talking about hating it and almost ready to give it up. He wrote back and told me that it does get better. That really helped me to feel better. Later that evening, we went to a mall so I could hear some environmental sounds. I was fighting depression and headaches so it wasn�t a very pleasant experience. I did notice that there was a noise I couldn�t figure out�James said it was a janitor pulling a cart behind us. I turned my hearing aid on and couldn�t even hear it with the hearing aid. We went to eat after that and I didn�t like being in the restaurant. It was too noisy to me.

I had a really long day�getting up early that morning�the 3 hour drive�and then my doctor appointment and then the 2 hour hook up. At the end of the day�I was tired and not very happy. But I kept trying to be positive and think on the thought that it will get better eventually.

The Next Day...

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March 28th...My Hook Up with Susan!

Here we go...

Susan...My Audiologist

James...My Husband & Chauffeur

Hook Up Day Pictures...