The wind in my hair....sounds like several hundred thousand fairies, each holding up one strand of hair between their cupped hands and blowing on it--like we used to do with blades of grass in the summertime...remember?? Today is windy...ergo, LOTS of sounds to figger out. (Well, I SAID I was hearing EVERYTHING, right?)
Being able to TALK BACK AND FORTH with people....is very RELAXING. I've been going around with this goofy grin on my face all day once I figgered that out. It's just fun.
My voice sounds....less loud, less gravelly (or so I'm told--via the implant, everybody sounds just exactly the same, myself included). Gee.
I can still hear myself breathing and all the rest....if I pay attention to it. I've learned in just two days to ignore it completely!
Some computers....make hissing noises! Must be Macs, cuz mine at home does it, and so does the one here. The others don't hiss.
Sirens sound like....mosquitoes being tortured. Not loud, just weird.
HMMMM.....
Do you suppose babies go through this process of converting all these minute splinters of noise to meaning?
This is so interesting! I can't wait to find out what "comes into focus" next.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it IS what it's what babies go through.
I have been absolutely fascinated reading your reactions and impressions. They have brought back so many memories.
ReplyDeleteBreathing! YES! I remember how LOUD my breathing was! I thought I'd go nuts - it ain't like you can turn off your breathing! And fabric rustling! So noisy!
Also, the clock on the wall of my office ticking drove me crazy. Fortunately, your brain will eventually identify the "ongoing" sounds and file them as "background", so that doesn't last forever.
I also remember one day when a brochure fell off my desk and hit the floor on its edge. It sounded like a gunshot! I jumped out of my chair - I couldn't believe it when I realized the sound had been a brochure falling!
Oh, yes - sirens. The first time I heard one after activation, I could not figure out what the hell it was. Now, they sound much as I remember them before I went deaf.
One sound which, to this day, I find simply unbearable since activation is a small child or baby crying. There's something about the frequency that makes it almost physically painful to hear. If I am in a place where a toddler or infant is crying, I must find some way to politely make my exit. I just cannot stand it. I wonder if you will have the same experience.
I am so glad that you can hear birds. One "happy sound" can help keep you going through the early confusing days of noise, confusion and even frustration. It sounds to me like you're on a perfectly good and normal track, from my own experience and from the reports from people I know who've also gotten CIs. I am so happy for you!
One further comment -
ReplyDeleteYour description of the sound of the wind in your hair as:
"several hundred thousand fairies, each holding up one strand of hair between their cupped hands and blowing on it--like we used to do with blades of grass in the summertime...remember?"
is, literally, sheer poetry.
ronnie:
ReplyDeleteso far, I have not heard a clock. or a kid crying. there are lots of babies and short folks where i work, but i've never seen the babies cry. the 2- and 3-year-olds, yes. they can work up a good howl when they're tired or irritated.
the birds were indeed been a saving grace on the first two days, when i thought..."why the hell did i get this friggin' implant if all i'm gonna hear is 35 mosquitoes with their tits in a wringer?" but then i heard the birds, day one, and again on day two. and then other things...sally talking across the table in amtrak's cafe car coming back from bal'mer, the doorman's brass whistle, cathy's laugh....it just keeps getting better.
who KNEW you could hear all this crap? walking down the hallway this aft, there was all this RACKET. I stopped, and the racket stopped. It was me and all my various parts...shoes, pants, keys, papers shuffling along. gee...just like a parade, we were.
this is really SO MUCH FUN. I have you to thank especially for knowing the process will improve and continue.
tonight i figured out how to turn on the telephone coil, and i called cathy's cell phone. i could see her hollering "hello?" "hello?" and hearing it faintly at the same time. that'll take some improvement, but it's coming....
This is amazing. So incredible. And it really is fascinating how your brain is able to rewire itself when presented with the opportunity of hearing again. I'm so happy for you and look forward to all the details of the journey.
ReplyDeleteLove, H
H:
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing and incredible. I'm very grateful, also, to the commenters on this blog. I live alone, but you all feel very near. As Ishmael said, "And so the universal thump is passed around. All hands should rub each other's shoulder blades and be content."