A reason to be grateful — I can hear the birds again!!

 Great Blue Heron looks pensive at day’s end.

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Last Saturday I visited my favourite Florida wetland rookery for more than one reason. Yes, it has been months since the last time I drove out to see which species were in residence and to enjoy the little Eden that Wakodahatchee is when  your days are consumed with work and deadlines and windowless office spaces disconnecting you from the crying birds or ocean breezes. But, I also wanted to see if I really could hear the birds again.

I have slowly lost most of my hearing probably since my late 40’s and no one really knows why. I always suspected my slow thyroid. The cochlear doc says maybe I have the gene for it. Apparently it is not entirely age related loss even if the demise of the hair cells in the cochlea is not uncommon with aging. But, over time hearing aids no longer made any significant difference. My trips to the rookery were always beautiful but even my footfalls were too quiet to hear. Actually, I felt rather stealthy but turns out not as much as I thought. When I first visited Wakodahatchee I was mesmerized by the cacophony of bird sounds and loved the chorus of hungry Great Blue Heron chicks crying out for a little fish. So cute. I missed those sounds and I missed the rustle of wind through the palms. And, of course, being able to have a conversation with friends and family. It really was all gone!! And, what was left wasn’t understandable. And at my office no more phone duty!! Well, ok, possibly a plus! CapTel was kind enough to provide me with two free caption phones, one for the office and one for the house which was a wonderful gift and enabled very smooth “conversations” all in all.

So my audiologist recommended I get evaluated for cochlear implant. My type of loss with the dead hair cells in the cochlea was just the right kind to be a great candidate. And, with my residual hearing in the low ranges for a hybrid type system with a shorter array in the cochlea to both preserve low end and stimulate the high end. I ended up choosing the University of Miami’s Health Program as they are  world renown for cochlear implant and people come world over to be there. Luckily near me and my Alma Mater to boot. I looked carefully at the top three brands, Cochlear Americas, Med-EL and Advanced Bionics. AB wasn’t approved yet for the hybrid system (I think maybe they are now though) so I focused on Cochlear and Med-EL. All three you can’t really go wrong but I chose Med-El as their stats I thought were just enough better on preservation of residual hearing. Dr Telischi I know works to preserve residual with every surgery regardless of brand, but from what I can tell, I think  he saved most of what I had left.

My surgery was at the end of September and I was “turned on” or activated a month later on Halloween!! I’d been cautioned not to expect to understand right away and that it might sound rather electronic like beeps at first and there would be a learning curve. But, whether I am lucky, or had just enough left, or my loss was later in life rather than childhood, or I hadn’t forgotten what things are supposed to sound like, for whatever wonderful reason, once all the frequencies were set the very first session, I could hear and understand all the conversation. It has only gotten better each day. Even music…not bad at all. Kind of modern anyway…they make music sound a bit electronic these days after all. Voices sound mostly normal.

And, so….Saturday…I heard the birds and everything. It was like Christmas and I kept looking around to see where sounds were coming from. I remembered what I had forgotten. Could hear the cormorants and the krack of the big herons and the racket the grackles make. And, I could talk to the other photographers around. Before I could carry on only so long and missed most of what was said and hated to make the other person work so hard at it so would just retreat.

The Great Blue Herons pictured here really just prove my day and remind me that I could hear them!!

Below you will also see just a couple of images I plucked from the Med-EL site to give the idea of what I have installed in my ear.

I am beyond grateful for this technology and feel someone just handed me my hearing back all wrapped up and tied with a bow. I would like to say that if anyone wants to know more of my particular experience who may be considering cochlear implantation, I am happy to share. Everyone is different and I talked to a lot of people before deciding.

Birds and medical devices below 🙂

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Great Blue Heron preens in this early season nesting scene. Its breeding colors are already in evidence with reddish tints to its legs and the lore becoming blue.

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In a somewhat awkward pose this Great Blue Heron still stands in its wing spread sunning posture, yet turns to begin preening its back feathers in a contortionist body position. Ahh, to be so flexible!

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This image from Med-El shows both the internal and external portions of the cochlear implant. The part on the right is installed under the skin behind the ear with that slender tail portion with the electrodes curled within the cochlea. My particular array is the Flex 28 which doesn’t go all the way to the apex of the cochlea to try and save the low end hair cells and residual hearing. The normal CI array is 31mm or so. The outside processor hangs on the top of the ear with the circular part magnetically attached to the under-skin magnet. The chip is in that square shaped area under the skin. If I undo the circular outer piece then hearing goes away just like that. The beige piece in the image I do not have. It is an alternative processor which is placed on the magnet with no cord or cable. I was sure I’d knock it off. 🙂

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A good view of what is inside.

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This shows the pitches and tones in the cochlea in an arrangement known as tonotopicity. So my array electrodes are adjusted or mapped to optimize getting all those frequencies. When I get the add on portion for the low end, I should really have a complete range. It feels complete already. I am now enjoying the clack of the keyboard keys as I type. So cool!!

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A Very Happy Thanksgiving to All!

I have many reasons to be thankful this year, but the gift of hearing makes me positively euphoric!!

Judy

~ by Judy on November 20, 2017.