Not Listening

(NL-0057) CI Story - Who's a piece of work?
Not Listening I was standing in a hot-dog line in the early afternoon. Not really paying attention to too much around me. Had my CIs off (it was a noisy place and I have really wanted to have some quiet solitude these past couple of days.(I know I said I was not going to publish here anymore, but this seems like a good exception! It's also at my newer blog : [link...
Mon, Sep 06 2010

(NL-0056) Moving my CI story to a new Blog
Not Listening After more than a year of being a CI-Enabled person, I want blog less on the CIs proper, and more on daily life and other events / topics that I find relevant (and that I hope you find relevant too!). I have appreciated all the comments (good, bad, and ugly!) over the last 18 months, and it's been a blast to write this blog. But it's time to move on ... And so ....
Tue, Aug 31 2010

(NL-0055) CI after 1 year
Not Listening Wow. It's been one year, today, that I had my first CI procedure., and it's been four months since I had my 2nd CI put in. Boy-howdy, I have some kind of ears now, let me tell you!( _NOT_ Dan's real ears! ) Off topic slightly, I don't know how much longer it can make any sense to call my blog "Not Listening." Seems to be the exact opposite of what I am doing these da...
Sun, Mar 21 2010

(NL-0054) Excuse me, is that a CI?
Not Listening I've decided that being hairless-of-head is a good thing. At least as far as my bilateral CIs are concerned. Having a clean noggin means that both of my BTE (behind the ear) processors and transmission loops are clearly visible to anyone and everyone. This is good. It's a great way to meet total strangers because many people stop me and ask about my CIs and I am alway...
Fri, Mar 05 2010

(NL-0053) The CI works? You must be dreaming!
Not Listening I see now that I was dreaming concerning my CIs. I was off in fantasy land and not anywhere near real life. I fully admit it.I had been having such a pleasant time these past few months and thinking that "hearing" could not possibly be any better. I was listening to some music and then, as I made a slight adjustment to my BTEs (behind the ear processors), I was rudel...
Wed, Jan 27 2010

(NL-0052) CI - Bilateral Experience
Not Listening Nearly 2 months since I went CI bilateral. What a difference.I had, pretty much, become very happy just hearing with my right CI. I thought I had been doing well, learning to re-hear, learning basic Chinese, and so on. I thought I had made some great progress, but now I see that it was all just a thin shadow of things to come.How can I describe this; the sensation o...
Mon, Jan 18 2010

(NL-0051) CI Whack Jobs
Not Listening There's nothing like a little controversy to encourage the CI whack jobs to come out of hiding (see my last posting).I had a huge number of insulting, off-the-wall, totally strange, and biased comments (none of those were published).So, want to say something nice about your own CI in your own blog? That's like rubbing yourself in sugar and honey, and laying down naked...
Tue, Jan 12 2010

(NL-0050) CI Disaster – A very long Rant.
Not Listening My honeymoon with Cochlear is over, that’s for sure.Here’s my opinion: The N5 BTE really sucks. At least it does for me.It’s Christmas Eve Day (is 1:26 AM daytime?) and I’ve finally (finally!) gotten around to posting here. Many apologies to the folks who have been after me for updates. Last anyone knew, I was doing just dandy. That changed some-what.This post is lo...
Thu, Dec 24 2009

(NL-0049) CI Surgery One week Later
Not Listening It's been one week since I became a dual implantee. This time around the surgery and recovery seems a lot easier.It also looks as if I've joined an elite club. As far as I can tell, there are only about 3000 bilateral CI folks in the world (see Wiki source). If anyone knows a more current/correct number of bilateral CI folks, please comment. (I admit to being lazy h...
Tue, Dec 01 2009

(NL-0048) CI Surgery Day
Not Listening Surgery went ok. This time around it seemed to be easy. No rush, no fuss, no problems at all. And in the after effects, I don't feel anywhere as near dizzy as I did after my right-side implant. And I have no pain at all and have not taken any pain medication. That seems very good to me.Here's the review of yesterday's events:Arrived at the hospital around 5:35 AM. ...
Tue, Nov 24 2009

(NL-0047) CI Surgery, the left side
Not Listening Left-side CI surgery is all set for tomorrow morning. Just like last time, I have to be there about 5:30 AM to get ready for 7:00 AM surgery.And, like the last time, I had a heck of a time with the pre-register people (see my previous post on Suffering Fools and be sure to check out the photo of the Admin Staff). This time round, I would have no part of the foolish...
Sun, Nov 22 2009

(NL-0046) Going CI bilateral
Not Listening It's official.I'm going CI bilateral.Surgery is set for November 23, 2009. That happens to be the day after my 5th wedding anniversary. Heck of a present for my weary Doctor/Nurse wife; having to take care of me for an anniversary present.Guess I'm going to really owe her a few extra favors (and a few new credit cards) at the start of next year !Took me a while to de...
Fri, Oct 30 2009

(NL-0045) CI at 150 days
Not Listening It's been 150 days since my CI was activated. Things have been going OK. However, I went in to my audiologist for a tune up. I just wanted a bit more volume and I wanted to have an audiogram (hearing test). Strange, but no one had yet suggested that I have my hearing checked since the CI was activated. Many other CI blogs relate that hearing tests were done a coup...
Sat, Sep 19 2009

(NL-0044) China Sounds
Not Listening More sounds from China. Right now, it's raining and much cooler than it has been. I'm in my home office here in Tianjin City, China, with the windows open. Just listening to the bus's air brakes and the auto's honking horns at the many bicycles crossing the traffic lanes. In the background, I still hear the insects chirping in the trees. Noisy here.I went on a tour ...
Wed, Aug 19 2009

(NL-0043) CI : Crickets in China
Not Listening I'm in Tianjin City, China right now. I'm here to visit family, friends, and most of all, to see my little boy (who is going to school here). He's grown a bit. Well worth the 24 hour 7000+ mile trip. I wanted to take a bit of time and blog about my hearing impressions with my CI.I was able to watch movies and programs on the flight out here. This only by plugging m...
Sat, Aug 08 2009

(NL-0042) CI - which is best?
Not Listening One of my blog readers, Susan N, wrote an e-mail to me and asked me the following:“Which CI do you have and how did you come to select that CI? How can a person know which CI is best for them? This decision isn't like purchasing a new pair of jeans that you can return if the fit isn't exactly what you wanted.”I think this is one of the best questions anyone has aske...
Sat, Jul 25 2009

(NL-0041) Sounds only Dogs can Hear
Not Listening In some strange twist of fate, I've realized that I hear more and more sounds that other people cannot hear. This is from a person who was stone-cold deaf four months ago. And these are not imagined sounds. They are real and identifiable. Very unexpected that after the CI process that I would have better ability to hear sounds than most people around me.An interest...
Thu, Jul 16 2009

(NL-0040) CI Pre-linguistically Deaf
Not Listening In follow up to yesterday's blog post, I want to continue my thoughts on discovering that I am a CI implanted Pre-linguistically Deaf person. This in spite of the fact that I already know a couple of languages, both aural and not (ASL and English).In yesterday's blog posting, I mentioned that I was taking Chinese lessons just three months after my CI activation. One ...
Wed, Jul 01 2009

(NL-0039) Chinese Lessons and CI Vertigo
Not Listening I have a cold right now. First time I've had any ills in about 5 years. Not the piggy flu though, just a regular, but quite bad, cold. The interesting thing is that the day before I started hacking, I had a wicked case of vertigo. I couldn't walk 10 feet with out looking like a drunk guy. It's not as bad as it was right after the CI surgery, but still, enough to...
Wed, Jul 01 2009

(NL-0038) Mock-O-Polo (mock the deaf guy)
Not Listening It's been one of those weeks.  This has been the week of delusional and irrational people. In addition to being told to "pity the poor deaf people" (see NL-0037),  I had another very interesting experience earlier in the week.I was totally mocked for being deaf and nearsighted while getting some exercise at the local fitness facility in San Jose.   The story requires ...
Sun, May 31 2009

(NI-0037) Pity the poor deaf people
Not Listening I had some disturbing experiences this past week that really make me wonder how people can be so delusional. I fear for mankind. Really, I do.I'm not saying that I personally don't have some delusions. I do. Everyone has them, but they are usually harmless.  For instance, I have a mental self image that is many pounds lighter than the reality of my bathroom scale woul...
Sun, May 31 2009

(NL-0036) CI comes with an "off" switch
Not Listening For me,  the time before breakfast is a truly horrible time to be hearing.When I first wake up, I am totally useless.  And I mean I am as useless as a screen door on a submarine. Oh sure, my body works, I can get dressed, and I can walk. My brain can (somehow) find the newspaper and drive a vehicle to get my breakfast, but as far as communication goes, or as far as ge...
Mon, May 18 2009

(NL-0035) CI Music Calibration Part 2
Not Listening I went in for a new mapping today. What a difference that made. I actually feel like I have “normal” hearing again. It’s not “perfect” mind you, but I’m amazed at how everything sounds so much better. An order of magnitude. Easily.  I took Roxanne with me to the mapping.  Also I took my laptop with the “keyboard” program (see NL-0034 CI Music Calibration Part 1). Rox...
Wed, May 06 2009

(NL-0034) CI Music Calibration Part 1
Not Listening Yesterday I borrowed an 63-key electronic keyboard from my pal, Kirk. It's a very nice keyboard and will emulate many different instruments.  I tried playing a few scales and couple of songs.Horrible, just ghastly in fact.I asked Kirk if he could tell if the keyboard was in tune or not.  He said he could not. He is just beginning to learn to play and mostly follows th...
Fri, Apr 24 2009

(NL-0033) Musical CI Experience
Not Listening The best way to describe how I hear music is “The good, the bad, and the ugly.”  I took a liberal sample of music from every genre I could find. Jazz, classical, modern, rap… you name it, I am pretty sure I tried it.   The Good – aside from some very odd flatness (see “The Ugly” below), music with a single instrument is not hard to follow at all.  In fact, I was com...
Wed, Apr 22 2009

(NL-0032) CI-to-Cell-Phone Update
Not Listening As a follow up to my post from Saturday about the CI-to-Cell-Phone cable:  check out this very nice post at Sound of Cochlear Implant by Vivie.  [click on image]Seems Vivie found a LG hands-free cable that is already modified.  Her cable came with her cell-phone as part of the OEM package. Drat!  She got a cheaper deal than I did!  I hate not being the most miserly!Ir...
Tue, Apr 21 2009

(NL-31) 97¢ CI-to-Cell-Phone Solution
Not Listening I am truly impressed that my CI gives me the ability to fully understand people in such a short amount if time (23 days so far). I am awed that I can watch TV with no captions. I am stunned that I can make phone calls. I have no words (yet) for being able to hear some types of music again (I’ll blog about the music in a later post - for today, I'll stick to Cell Phone...
Sun, Apr 19 2009

(NL-0030) CI - The Union of Mad Engineers
Not Listening The CI is starting to sound more and more like my old Hearing Aides (HAs).I went back to the Audiologist on Tuesday and was able to refine my mapping much more to my liking. She had set the auto squelch (sensitivity) and some other automatic settings. I also re-enabled those three channels I had turned off last week. Now I'm using all 22 again.  Last week's mapping wa...
Thu, Apr 09 2009

(NL-0029) CI and Voice Telephone Calls
Not Listening It seems odd to me that my CI package did not come with anything that I can plug directly into a cell phone or land line telephone. There's not even an external suction cup t-coil.  The BTE (behind the ear) has a t-coil setting, but my cell phone and regular phone seem to make a lot of racket/static and I can't follow any audio information. I signed up for Skype servi...
Mon, Apr 06 2009

(NL-0028) CI-Trials
Not Listening I’ve been trying out the CI in a lot of different hearing situations. Here’s what I have so far: It’s hard to tell the difference between a man and a woman’s voice.  But I understand that this is typical for new CI users. It gets better with time.  I find myself wondering if this is how babies learn how to hear?  TV – I can only understand programs that are “audio o...
Sun, Apr 05 2009

(NL-0027) Going all Baghdad
Not Listening CI Day 3 - Voices do not sound completely "normal" (what ever that is).  My voice sounds normal to me through the CI (at least it sounds like I remember it should sound). Mostly, things sound like I am listening to a radio broadcast from the 1930's or listening to those old 78 RPM 1/4 thick records that you would play on a wind-up-phonograph.  Scratchy, low fidelity, ...
Sat, Apr 04 2009

(NL-0026) 2nd CI Mapping - Pleasant Chimes
Not Listening I couldn't wait until Tuesday next week to do the 2nd mapping. Those CI-banshees would just not let me be.  Also, I didn't seem to have any volume adjustment. The audio always sounded too loud Although the loudness was not uncomfortable, it really messed up my ability to concentrate on things. I called and got myself in for a tune up at 2:30 PM.Pam, the CI specialist,...
Sat, Apr 04 2009

(NL-0025) CI Activation - Crickets in a cave.
Not Listening My CI was first activated and initially mapped today.  (sorry , no photos, I forgot to take the camera today.... I'll get some photos at next week's mapping).  It was what I expected and it was not what I expected. But it all makes sense to me, and, of course knowledge, is the beginning of wisdom.Not having done this before, and just having the CI procedure 12 days ag...
Fri, Apr 03 2009

(NL-0024) Goofy Sounds - CI Activation Date
Not Listening 11:30 AM, April 2, 2009 (tomorrow) is my activation date.  It appears that the CI specialist and I have mutually exclusive schedules next week and I can't see spending several thousands of dollars to rearrange flights and client appointments. I think I've dissed enough people already.Anyway, it seems agreeable to everyone in the medical field to go ahead and map the C...
Wed, Apr 01 2009

(NL-0023) Cochlear Implants - Indulge Yourself & Lose...
Not Listening I went to my Surgeon's office today for a check up. He said everything looks great and that I can go to have my implant activated in one week! Wow, that was fast. I was under the impression that I would have to wait 30 days. But my doctor seems to think that I have made really good progress. I'll have Roxanne call the CI specialist and try to schedule for next Monday ...
Tue, Mar 31 2009

(NL-0022) Pre-CI Audiogram
Not Listening One of my blog readers wanted to know about my pre-CI audiogram. I saw an audiogram recently posted on another good blog ( Sarasera - The Era of Sara ) and I had thought about posting my audiogram before now, but it slipped my mind (probably slipped out through that new honkin' big hole behind my right ear).  Anyway, here's my audiogram below. The black dotted line re...
Sat, Mar 28 2009

(NL-0021) Run Silent, Run Deep – A CI Class Submarine
Not Listening When was the last time you were in a submarine? I’ve been in at least 30 different subs, mostly non-operational museum units, but also a few “live” vessels. Today, my new Cochlear Implant reminds me of those submarines in several compelling ways. Underwater.  Like a submariner, my newly implanted ear feels like it’s under water, and very thick water at that.  Maybe li...
Fri, Mar 27 2009

(NL-0020) CI Procedure Side Effects
Not Listening It’s been four days since the CI procedure and I know I’ve been painting a pretty rosy picture of my surgery and recovery experience. Those descriptions are overwhelmingly true.  However, there are some side effects I have noticed. Although these effects seem minimal to me, they may be more annoying to others, so in order to be as open and objective as possible, I’ll ...
Wed, Mar 25 2009

(NL-0019) Strange Sounds
Not Listening I must have the strangest ears on earth.  While my recently implanted ear is now completely silent and awaiting initial activation, my non-implanted ear is now hearing sounds that I haven't heard in 15 years!  I've only been able to hear very low frequency sounds (very dimly) for a long, long time. To make matters worse, my ears (before the CI surgery) would perceive ...
Mon, Mar 23 2009

(NL-0018) The Day After The CI Procedure
Not Listening Day one after the CI procedure.  I have off-and-on tinnitus in the implanted ear. It's fairly loud and I'm pretty well dizzy. But no pain at all. I guess not a bad result for someone with a recently cut hole in his skull!I promised a play-by-play of the CI surgery day, so here it is.  My wife (Roxanne) is currently working the graveyard shift (9PM to 5AM) and was supp...
Sun, Mar 22 2009

(NL-0017) Cyclone City !
Not Listening The Cochlear Implant Surgery went OK.  Last I remember is that I was in the OR admiring the 42" flat-screen PC monitor (I'm an engineer to the end, eh?).  Woke up in recovery about 11 AM. Tossed my cookies because of the general anesthetic effects and then went home. Slept a few hours and just woke up. I feel like I'm in a cyclone !  But that's to be expected. Also I ...
Sat, Mar 21 2009

(NL-0016) Cochlear Implant Install - Surgery Date is Here !
Not Listening My CI surgery date is here !Fun facts - I don't have to worry about my head hair being shaved off before surgery. I have not a strand of hair on my head anyway!I removed the right ear support on my glasses.  It looks to me, from other post-op photos I've seen, that I won't be able to wear them with all the bandages. I can't see 8 inches without my glasses, and since I...
Sat, Mar 21 2009

(NL-0014) I Demand A Second Opinion !!! Pre-CI Surgery...
Not Listening My Cochlear Implant Surgery is scheduled one week from today.  I've been reading/scanning other blogs, but not much there concerning experiences with CI pre-operative jitters. I hoping other folks with CIs might post some comments concerning this topic.  I'm having small amounts of presurgical concerns, but I think this is probably normal for most people. When I was m...
Sat, Mar 14 2009

(NL-0013) Jimney Crickets! Virtual Audio Recall - it is...
Not Listening Did you ever get a song stuck in your head and it just would not go away? (I mean other than monotoned tinnitus!).  Today is one of those days for me. Does that sound strange for someone who has not heard or listened to music in about 15 years?I received the genetic-stuff of musical talent from my birth Mother.  I loved music. Then, in a strange twist of fate, I slowl...
Fri, Mar 13 2009

Suffering Fools
Not Listening Yeesh !!  I don't suffer foolish people very well. Must be a character flaw on my part.Background:  Today I am physically located at my out-of-state-office .  My wife is at home in another state (where I will have the CI surgery). My Son is in China visiting his grandparents and going to preschool. Ok. Fine. Good.The surgery for my CI is set for Saturday, March 21, 20...
Thu, Mar 12 2009

Family History
Not Listening This is a long post and, as the title implies, is about my family history of hearing loss.In my first post, I mentioned that I have Waardenburg syndrome (WS).  This is a genetic disorder, and is passed down from parent to child much like hair color, blood type, or other physical traits.The first documented instance of hearing loss in our family, as far as I know, woul...
Wed, Mar 11 2009

CIs and Radical Deaf Groups
Not Listening I've been reading about the  cochlear implant experiences of others for about 6 months now. Cochlear Implants (CIs) seem to be the only medically accepted and mainstream solution to profound hearing loss and total deafness for pre and post lingual deaf folks.  Assuming the CI industry is hiring shills to write glowing reports on blogs, and if only considering that the...
Mon, Mar 09 2009

More about the Implant
Not Listening I thought I'd write a bit more about the implant today. Being an engineer, I am a "gadget" kind of guy by nature, but the technology behind the implant is so simple that it's pure gold.  And I'm not overstating the "gold" part either. The implant is about $45,000 (not including tax, title and registration). The cost of the unit is being picked up (mostly) by our insur...
Mon, Mar 09 2009

Selective Hearing
Not Listening I'm getting a lot of positive feed back from family and friends about my impending implant. And that's good.  I am really hopful that I'll be able to hear better soon.Truth be told, I don't mind not being able to hear so much.  But it is apparent to me that my inability to understand "real-time" voice conversations does make a lot of other folks uncomfortable or just ...
Mon, Mar 09 2009