Thursday, July 23, 2009

CI 3 month Review - Hearing Like a Bat!

Just been to my three month review. Very little changed, my map is staying very stable which is really nice. After tweaking the high pitched electrodes in a very minor way, I was given did an aided audiogram test. The results of this was amazing. Maybe I'm not Robyn any more, maybe I'm Batman!!! Take a look...



This is pretty amazing as I don't think that at any time in my entire life, have I had as good hearing as this result today. This is like having 'normal' hearing - whatever normal is!!

But before you get really excited about this, remember this is just the test of hearing sound - at what level the sound is coming into the implant. It's not the test of my understanding of sound. Understanding of sound is revealed in the HINT setnence tests and CNC words (single words) test. Unfortunately the equipment wasn't being very well behaved today, so I go back next week for those tests. Watch this space!! Last test I got scores of 98% in the hint sentences and 62% for single words. It will be interesting to see if they have improved over the last month. Anything is possible!

But on the whole - I'm feeling very happy with the results of this. I have my Implant team to thank for the result too. My surgeons - Robert Gunn & Bill Baber, who placed the electrodes so carefully to give me maximum benefit. I'm sure they know the inside of my head there very well by now! My audiologist - Ellen Giles - without her expertise I wouldn't have such a great map. And to Gayle - who teaches me how to listen and hear with it all over again. Without them all I'd still be as deaf as a doorknob!

15 comments:

FLY said...

Congratulations on your recent Mpas and hearing tests. The audiogram results look great. Your Sentences and CNC results are also outstanding and I am sure there will be no stopping you now. What a fantastic result and I can see the smile from ear to ear on you now. Lets hope this is the beginning of a new chapter in your life back in the hearing world! Yay!

Unknown said...

Robyn, this is looking good, as we both know, it is not the real world but hopefully when the machines are woking they will also tell a great story. I am so happy for you. It is way past time for this.
All the best,
Donna

Kim said...

I'm SO jealous! You hear normally. It's amazing. (((BIG HUGS)))

Nabeel said...

Wow that's impressive! Did you have auditory memory before or after you got your implant?

Nabeel said...

Wow that's impressive! did you have auditory memory before or after your first implant?

Anonymous said...

@Kim - Well - I hear sounds coming in at normal level, but the brain still has to make use of those sounds, so it's still not 'normal'. However, regardless - this is an excellent result :)

Anonymous said...

@Nabeel

I wss born with a mild loss, so I I acquired language and sound before I started losing all my hearing at the age of 10. However, this is the level I hear when the sounds come in, not the clarity I hear. To get those results, I need to wait til next week when the equipment is working again :)

deafdude said...

Steller results! I am honored to congratulate you on my blog! You deserve recognition and be on the records!

I will follow your blog and hope to learn more. Do you have any plans for your other ear? Do you wear any HA(s)?

Anonymous said...

Hi Deafdude,

Thanks for including my results on your blog - that was interesting.

There are no plans for my other ear as there is no way a cochlear implant would work in that ear. It's totally deaf and I have had several tests to see if it would work in there - but no go.

I don't wear hearing aids as my other ear is totally dead (even at 140db there is no sign of any hearing)

That means without my implant I'm totally utterly deaf.

Cheers
Robyn

Bionic Wombat said...

awesome stuff - I love it

Michelle said...

YOWZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You deserve a big woot! :-) I can't wait to see how your CNC scores come out this go round! That test gave me some major performance anxiety when I took it yesterday. I panic too much to relax when trying to repeat all of those words. Seriously though, can you hear the bat signal calling you? ;-)

Morgan said...

da na da na da na da na da na da na da na da naBatman!

That is awesome news!

MKChaikof said...

Robyn,

Rachel's left ear was totally dead, absolutely no residual hearing at least from age 18 months on and likely never much of any in that ear from birth. She received her bilateral implant in that ear when she was almost 17. Five years later, she is able to hold a conversation using that ear alone. If your deafness in that ear is due to the absence of or damage to hair cells, then you might very well be able to benefit from a CI in that ear, albeit likely not as well as in your originally implanted ear. If the nerve is truly damaged, that would be another story. However, given the success of the CI in your one ear, I'd be willing to bet it's hair cell damage in both ears. Now, getting the New Zealand health care program to pay for a bilateral implant I suspect would be another battle entirely...

Melissa

Anonymous said...

Hi Melissa,

Unfortunately my left ear is totally dead and unable to have a cochlear implant on that side. I had an EABR test done on that side and the ear picked up nothing.

So even if the NZ program started doing bilateral implants, I would still not be able to get one done based on that test, which was done under a general anaesthetic in January last year.

I had extensive surgery in that ear about 6 years ago that destroyed everything.

Cheers
Robyn

wiewiĆ³rka said...

I'm so happy to hear/read that. It's fantastic that you hear so well :)

cheers and hugs :)))
Wilithin (from dA )