SURROUND SOUND

My story:
SURROUND SOUND A link to the Hearing Loss Magazine can be found here: HLAA Websiteand the article itself is here.
Tue, Jul 27 2010

Watch for....
SURROUND SOUND ...the July/August edition of Hearing Loss Magazine :) (Photos by Cindy Dyer, who writes about the article here)
Tue, Jun 29 2010

Turning Point
SURROUND SOUND I know it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything here...wow...I was startled when I looked at the date of my last post. Truth is, though, writing here has not been a passion of mine for a long time. I have discovered the simple, fun world of Facebook and that has been where I spend the majority of my time. I still love to write but writing about deaf issues...
Thu, Oct 01 2009

Thank you!
SURROUND SOUND ...for all the support that has come my way over the past few days...here and on Facebook. The decision to make a big change of this nature took a while to wrap my brain around but I feel nothing but relief now that I have made it. I have an appointment made...July 31st at 9 AM I am meeting Susan to try the CIS programming and we will see how that goes. She said that ...
Tue, Jul 21 2009

Just keepin' it real.
SURROUND SOUND Long post ahead! I have had a really hard time coming to and writing on this blog for several months. I know it's been neglected...we've had the Walk4Hearing, the HLAA convention, and most recently, I went to the Northeastern Cochlear Implant Convention in Massachusetts just last weekend...and I haven't written much, if anything about any of those events. I really fee...
Tue, Jul 14 2009

Suggestions please?
SURROUND SOUND With the HLAA convention coming up in a week and a half, I have been offered a really neat opportunity to speak to the employees at the Nashville airport about the influx of hearing impaired travelers that will be descending on them in just a few days. This is my chance to tell them what concerns we hearing impaired individuals have and talk with them about the best w...
Mon, Jun 08 2009

Pictures from the Walk4Hearing.....
SURROUND SOUND ...here and here. Check them out!I want to write more about this soon, but I'm worn out :). I do want to say a HUGE "Thank You!!!" to everyone who has supported me and my team this year...with your help, I was able to contribute $900.00, and at last count the Nashville team had raised $1,990.00...ten dollars short of $2,000.00!! Considering that several of the people ...
Sun, May 17 2009

Unexpected Benefits
SURROUND SOUND You know, when I first started researching cochlear implants three years ago, all I wanted to do was to find a way to recover the hearing that I was rapidly losing. I honestly never would have believed that cochlear implants provided BETTER hearing, and I had no idea of the added benefits that would come along with that better hearing. At my six-month bilateral testin...
Mon, May 11 2009

This just in!
SURROUND SOUND I have highlighted some really big news below :) If you are an Operation Iraqi Freedom or an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran, you can receive a complimentary one year membership to the Hearing Loss Association of America AND a complimentary registration to the convention in June. This is a very nice offer...if you or someone you know is a candidate for this offer, ...
Mon, Apr 06 2009

Please....
SURROUND SOUND Check out my Walk4Hearing Page! I participated in the Tampa, Florida walk last year, and with the support of many of you I raised $1200.00!! I would love to meet or exceed that goal this year. I know that budgets are tight everywhere, but this is such a worthwhile cause. Hearing loss affects people all around us, and HLAA is at the forefront trying to make sure that w...
Fri, Apr 03 2009

Walk4Hearing
SURROUND SOUND
Fri, Apr 03 2009

Sign the petition....
SURROUND SOUND ....to help spread the word about our need for captioning!Check it out!
Thu, Feb 26 2009

Incredible!
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Mon, Jan 05 2009

Early Bird registration ends soon!!!
SURROUND SOUND I hope you all know by now that the 2009 Hearing Loss Association convention, celebrating SHHH/HLAA's 30th birthday, will be right here in Tennessee...in Nashville at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel!If you haven't ever been to a Hearing Loss Association convention, I hope you'll consider attending this one. I attended my first HLAA convention in June o...
Mon, Dec 22 2008

Well, pooh!
SURROUND SOUND I was going to write a post for the one year anniversary of my activation and today was supposed to be the big day. The 22nd, I thought to myself...the big day. So I am tripping down memory lane, looking back in the blog to read what I had to say one year ago today, and pft, it was the 20th. I should have known...I kept thinking it was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving ...
Sat, Nov 22 2008

Another tune-up! :)
SURROUND SOUND I went to Vanderbilt today for another "tune-up", as I call them. Susan asked if I wanted to do both ears again and I told her that I thought we really needed to as my "good" ear was starting to sound flat. It's amazing that that little bit of sound that I had coming in with my new ear was enough to change the entire balance. She adjusted the good ear until we had it ...
Fri, Nov 14 2008

Don't try this at home!
SURROUND SOUND My eight-year old, Claire, asked me before I left for Chicago if I would eat lunch with her at school one day. I promised her that I would when I got home, so yesterday I kept my word. When I arrived at the school I was seated at the visitors' table, which coincidentally is the hooligan table...the table where the troublemakers sit. One particularly adorable little ho...
Fri, Nov 07 2008

One year ago today...
SURROUND SOUND I woke up at my friend Shari's house, got dressed, and was at the surgical center in downtown Nashville at 6:30 AM. A couple of hours later, I was out like a light and my newest onboard computer was being installed. I woke up with an earache but it was quickly alleviated by some awesome pain meds and the nurses had me on my feet and out the door ASAP. I felt pretty go...
Wed, Nov 05 2008

A busy week ahead!
SURROUND SOUND Sorry I haven't updated in entirely too long. It has just been so busy here! I'll try to keep it brief (BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!) and just sort of let you know what's been going on! My newest ear is staying busy. I still don't get a lot of volume with it, but I am wearing it faithfully...if I have on one ear, I have on the other. I don't have much comprehension with it, but ...
Sat, Oct 25 2008

Can you help?
SURROUND SOUND The end of this month I am planning to be in Chicago for the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) conference. I have wanted to check out ALDA for over a year now and had a rare opportunity given to me this year...I obtained a scholarship and my expenses are all paid. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be able to go. I am so grateful for the opportunity...these c...
Wed, Oct 08 2008

Two out of three ain't bad :)
SURROUND SOUND
Sat, Sep 27 2008

YouTube videos are up!...
SURROUND SOUND ...here! I have the first one captioned, and am working on the other two. I will try to get them posted here tomorrow night :). I had my second map today. We set my first program at Hi-Res P, Fidelity 120...my second program was just a louder version of the first. Then I asked Susan to set my third program at Hi-Res S in hopes that a simpler program with less stimulat...
Sat, Sep 27 2008

Surrounded by sound!
SURROUND SOUND Sorry it's taken me so long to get this post up. We went to lunch after activation and when I got home I started working on the video. That has been largely unsuccessful so far...the model of Handycam that we borrowed isn't compatible with Windows Vista (I am stating for the record that I hate Vista, argh) so I had to go kick the old laptop into shape, install the Han...
Wed, Sep 24 2008

Quick update....
SURROUND SOUND (you know me well enough to know this will be another epic, right?)Five more days until activation...*whew*. I'm quite frankly a basket case about it...this could go either way. We will tape it, and I'll probably post it no matter what the results are, although how fast I do it depends on how quickly I remember how to upload it from the camera :). Interesting side not...
Sat, Sep 20 2008

ASL Classes...Part 1!
SURROUND SOUND I took SEE (Signed Exact English) waaaaay back in 197something when I was a little bitty thing. There wasn't a lot of need for me to use it, as I could hear well enough with my hearing aid to get by in a mainstream school environment (if I remember right, I didn't even get a teacher's aide until second grade). Signing is one of those "use-it-or-lose-it" things...very ...
Wed, Sep 10 2008

A first!
SURROUND SOUND This morning I woke up late...entirely too much so, honestly. It's dark and cloudy outside and the weather was just right for sleeping. Usually, that's a bad thing...my morning headache is always worse than usual when I sleep like that. However, this morning I woke up with NO HEADACHE AT ALL...and I was sleeping on my new ear when I opened my eyes!!The past few nights...
Sat, Sep 06 2008

Brain dead!
SURROUND SOUND ...that's how I feel :). These pills that I'm on have slowed my brain down to a crawl. The past few days I haven't done much besides sleep, play on the computer, and read...anything requiring serious concentration has been out! I took the pills faithfully for a few days...the first day I fell asleep and let the medication run out and was sorry when I woke up in a lot ...
Tue, Sep 02 2008

On the road to recovery! :)
SURROUND SOUND I would have updated sooner, but last night after the surgery I was just about unconscious. I went to the pre-surgery holding room around 1 and went through all the routine questions, the bloodwork, the IV, the oh-so-adorable compression stockings. Around 1:50 they informed me that Dr. Haynes was in the building and started pushing my bed towards the OR. The anesthesi...
Sat, Aug 30 2008

Counting down the hours....
SURROUND SOUND ...until re-implant surgery. Right now, it's just a little less than 24 hours to go. I have to be in Nashville at 8:20 for a pre-op appointment, then drive over to Baptist Hospital for my surgery at 2. This will make my third venue for as many surgeries...I am slowly becoming familiar with every hospital in town! ;)I saw Dr. Haynes last night at an open house for the ...
Wed, Aug 27 2008

Weekend at Abbie's! :)
SURROUND SOUND I took a little trip over the weekend...to New Jersey! I had been really missing Abbie and my hubby kindly suggested that I go visit her. He didn't have to ask me twice :). We started planning this trip about a month ago but it took this long to find the right weekend...we had church activities, Katie's birthday, the beginning of the school year, and the Nashville HLA...
Thu, Aug 21 2008

Wow!
SURROUND SOUND I really, really, really didn't realize that it had been that long since I posted anything until last week. Then I noted the date of that last post and thought, "wow...too long!" I had a few things that I wanted to wait about before I posted, so I decided to just hold out.First of all, surgery is confirmed for the 28th...I have all the paperwork and everything. I have...
Mon, Aug 11 2008

Slacker! :)
SURROUND SOUND I've been called a slacker lately...I've neglected both of my blogs! Sorry about that...it has been a bit nutty here. Good news first...yes, it seems that the August 28th surgery date is a go. I still have not heard THE FINAL WORD but I e-mailed them the other day and they said that the date isn't the issue anymore...it's deciding how to bill everything to insurance, ...
Fri, Jul 18 2008

Some good news! :)
SURROUND SOUND I may have a surgery date! For now it looks like it will be on Thursday, August 28th....at 1 PM (it is not 100% definite at this point...but I'm being optimistic). I wish it were sooner...but that's OK...July is really a busy month and I have a lot to do to get the kids ready for school (they start August 8th). The way that day falls, hubby will only have to take one ...
Thu, Jul 10 2008

The lecture circuit! ;)
SURROUND SOUND Tuesday morning found us up and at 'em again...Gloria met us down in the lobby at *ack* 7:30. She came bearing coffee, though, so that helped ease the transition into my day. We took the rental car since we were checking out and wouldn't be back the rest of the day, and Evelyn and Norm followed us in their car.Advanced Bionics has a very special "lecture circuit" call...
Tue, Jul 01 2008

Sylmar!
SURROUND SOUND Several months ago, when we started getting serious about our plans to go to Reno, I mentioned to my friend Gloria Garner, who is a Web education specialist at Advanced Bionics, that while I was out west, I would love to travel just a little FURTHER west and visit the Advanced Bionics production facility in Sylmar, California. I knew that the plant did tours and basic...
Sat, Jun 28 2008

Hellllooooo California!
SURROUND SOUND So....I got checked out of the hotel, which was an ordeal, because I had packed one of my bags incorrectly and couldn't carry it but was running behind and couldn't redo it. Finally straggled out to the curb and had missed the shuttle by five minutes, and the next one wasn't due for another 20 m9inutes. Rather than wait with all my bags I decided to just pay for a tax...
Fri, Jun 27 2008

The journey continues!
SURROUND SOUND This morning started out rough. I carefully printed out directions to the surgeon's office last night and left in plenty of time to get there on time this morning. When I got to the office, the parking garage there was just cavernous...I had a horrible time figuring out where to park, and then I had to look for the doc's office. My appointment was at 9:40, and I got u...
Thu, Jun 26 2008

Saturday........
SURROUND SOUND We got off to a groggy start the next morning...three and a half hours of sleep made getting up at 7:30 really hard for this girl (although Laurie was up and sparkling already!). We took personal responsibility for our own hair that morning since Abbie had to run downstairs for a quick meeting. Mike Royer, who is an extremely sensitive and emotional young man, spoke o...
Wed, Jun 25 2008

...and then...
SURROUND SOUND ...as soon as we left the bilateral panel, Abbie and I ran to the CI Forum in the exhibit hall. This was a bit different. Wayne Roorda was the moderator and he had six people on his panel. He had recipients from all brands and a parent of a child with a CI. They all told their stories briefly then they took turns answering questions from the audience. This was suppose...
Tue, Jun 24 2008

Next!
SURROUND SOUND OK, so after staying up until 3 AM, I woke up around 6 AM Thursday morning when I sensed that Laurie was awake. She flashed a cheerful grin at my draggy self and plopped a steaming cup of coffee down by the bed. Seriously, what is not to love about this girl?? We took our time getting ready...Abbie was appointed designated hairdresser, and, poor dear, my hair and I ga...
Mon, Jun 23 2008

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!
SURROUND SOUND I got back from the HLAA conference in Reno and the Advanced Bionics tour late last night. I am WORN OUT! I slept until the girls woke me up this morning at 9:30 and then fell BACK asleep at noon for another two hours. At 2 I got a huge black pot of coffee and proceeded to plow my way through it. I started editing pictures around that time and posting them in my Picas...
Thu, Jun 19 2008

Test results!
SURROUND SOUND I got this in the mail a couple of days ago...it has just taken me a little while to get it scanned and up. You can compare it to my audiograms and test results at three months and at one month post-activation. Or you can go to the audiogram album here and see everything I've got so far :). I'm pleased...HINT sentences in quiet were 96%, sentences in noise were 88% (u...
Sat, Jun 07 2008

As I've said:
SURROUND SOUND I don't like stirring up trouble, and I won't encourage it here. However, it's been brought to my attention (it's ALL over the blogosphere, can't go a single blog without bumpin' into it) that Rachel Chaikhof's blog has been booted from DeafRead because they claim that: "Cochlear Implant Online violated...because Rachel didn’t reveal her affiliation with the Cochlear ...
Tue, Jun 03 2008

OK, so....
SURROUND SOUND ...I got the CT scan results Thursday afternoon. I had to absorb the results a bit before I posted them, because I was really shocked...the implant, according to the doctor's office, "looks fine" (message left on my voice mail). I was not in a position to have a good meltdown Thursday because I was with a lot of people when the call came...but Friday morning I made up...
Sat, May 31 2008

Heads up:
SURROUND SOUND I've enabled comment moderation on my blog. If you don't "flippin' care" as one commenter so eloquently put it, about what's going on in my head, that's fine...don't bother visiting. I won't post any comments that are in the least inflammatory, or that I think are suspect. I have five children and I don't let them say rude things to start fusses in my presence. I tell...
Wed, May 28 2008

Spent the day in Nashville.....
SURROUND SOUND My appointment wasn't until 11, but I got to Nashville at 9 AM...to meet someone very special! Valerie and I have been online buddies since probably August or so of last year (that's a guess). My audiologist e-mailed me and asked if she could get us together by e-mail and I was all over that idea. We e-mailed back and forth for a while and then became blog buddie...
Tue, May 27 2008

In just one month....
SURROUND SOUND ...I'll be at the HLAA National convention! I can hardly wait! :) I went to my monthly HLAA meeting Saturday...it was the first time I'd gotten to go to a meeting since DECEMBER because of work! It was so good to see them all again...there were a few new faces (hi, Clifton and Sally!) and the familiar ones were a sight for sore eyes :)! We had a guest speaker from the...
Mon, May 12 2008

The movie...
SURROUND SOUND ...was great! For those of you that missed it, it was announced at the end of last night's movie that it will be released on DVD on May 15th (I plan to have my own copy!). I don't have ordering information but I know that a lot of the Hallmark Gold Crown stores sell those movies. I still haven't seen the first half hour of it...we had dinner last night at my mom and d...
Mon, Apr 21 2008

Two things:
SURROUND SOUND This will be on tonight at 9 Eastern, 8 Central: Hallmark Hall of Fame's Sweet Nothing in My Ear. Marlee Matlin and Jeff Daniels co-star as parents embroiled in a debate over whether or not to implant their deaf child. This story may be hypothetical, but the debate is real and has gone on for years. The movie looks like it will be very good...check it out!Also, anothe...
Sun, Apr 20 2008

Home again...and exhausted!
SURROUND SOUND I got home last night around 11:30 PM...whew! I had to be up to get the girls off to school around 6:30, and had to be at work at 10 so today has been a long, tiring day. Tomorrow I have to be at the orthodontist with Will at 9, and I go in to work whenever we're done with that...so I'm trying to get this posted quick and hop into bed!The walk was AWESOME! I had a bit...
Mon, Apr 14 2008