“The art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard.”
I’ve been quiet for some time now because nothing has changed in recent years. I have sunk into a routine that suits my life and expectations. I am very comfortable with my hearing. It is not perfect, but then I have forgotten what that is, however I do very well. I am not inside my ‘shell’, I can converse in face to face conversations or even in small groups if there is not too much background noise to distract me. I have accepted the technological limitations of my Cochlear Nucleus 6 processor but would now like to advance. My progress means now I want even more progress but I am so grateful for what I have been given I will not complain.
I have no natural hearing anymore and although I am still
deaf I don’t behave deaf, as I once did. Switching off has its benefits that
hearing people wish they had too. Those around me have forgotten I am deaf and
so do not always give me the assistance I sometimes need to listen well. My brain seems to be slow at times and still needs
concentration to keep hearing words, which means I do drift away sometimes if it is
too much trouble to keep up with the conversation. I notice I am not a casual
listener, overhearing others on the bus or in the street as I pass needs me to concentrate and pay attention if I want to know what is being said (not that that is really my
business) otherwise it is just noise. My brain recognises the pattern of sound
as being speech and so alerts me to it as it did so often when I couldn’t hear
well with hearing aids and I thought I must be missing something. I can hear words attempted in running water and sudden sounds can become name calling. My brain’s
interpretation of what it thinks it might be becomes “I hear what I want to
hear!” Old stuff resurfacing in a different scenario even if not as frequent as
it once was.
When I was
implanted in 2015, I was advised I would be upgraded in about eight years
according to availability and future developments. I didn’t know at the time,
and wasn’t told, that a new processor was in the pipe line. The Cochlear Nucleus 7 was just a few
months away from its launch in the UK. When it came out I admit I was a bit
jealous of its ability. When a friend said he was going to have a cochlear
implant a few years ago, he asked me for advice. His circumstances were very similar
to mine and so I suggested he choose the Cochlear System as well since I knew
how it worked. He of course got the newer N7 after his surgery with
all its bells and whistles.
The policy
has changed after seven and a half years following my implantation and now the
equipment is distributed directly from the manufacturer as are the replacement parts and extras that can be bought. When I wanted replacements for the worn
out rechargeable batteries my hospital CI Department dealt with it themselves.
Now they can concentrate on just me rather than the technology apparatus and just do
the tuning requirements and first time supply. Cochlear UK response time and distribution efficiency is very good.
I have needed very little adjustment in recent years but I did find I was becoming intolerant of higher pitched voices. Not what was being said but how it was been said. The overemphasis of the higher frequencies made female voices (and a few men) and in particular excitable female voices, come across as very harsh and shrill so distracting me from the actual words. High frequency sounds were the first ones to go in my early days of hearing loss and it was a surprise when I got them back. Because I can now detect the subtleties of accents and inflections in speech, which makes it far more interesting, this new development was particularly annoying. The retuning I received helped to sort it out and a new channel was introduced to aid music appreciation. I had long since given up on that but the difference was amazing.
The
differences in brain interpretations of sound is especially noted in catering
for the separate individual subtleties of; environmental sounds, speech, and
music.
I admit I am
still “phone phobic”. I have always struggled with disembodied voices coming
through anonymous speakers. I do well with lip reading a real faces. It can be
fun reading sub-titles and noting they are not accurately portraying what is
being said. If I am familiar with the voice, like that of my family, it works
better. My wife has been making my phone calls for me for years now and I prefer to
use emails. The introduction of Zoom appointments with my Hospitals had a mixed and uncertain response from me. At least the wearing of masks has never been a problem.
Which brings
us to last Christmas.
I received
the communication that I was to receive my upgrade! To be delivered to my door,
preloaded with my personal tuning, and to arrive during the week before the Christmas weekend.
I had
attended a Christmas lunch as a guest with a large group of acquaintances the
week before. There were eight of us seated around a large round table. As
expected the conversation came crossing and mixing from all directions but only
those next to me got any sensible replies. This, I knew, was my normal
performance.
But in the back of my mind was the knowledge of the new Cochlear Nucleus 8.
I had waited so long that I had jumped a whole
new version to receive the latest model introduce to the UK in 2022. Of particular
interest to me was the smaller size, advanced noise cancelling and forward
focus selection on the microphones for better face to face conversations in
noisy environments.
Christmas Day
lunch was with my extended family of nine around the table and for the first
time in many, many years I could participate in a round table conversation.
But perhaps the most refreshing part is the ability to stream Bluetooth sound directly and automatically from my mobile phone. No more fuss connecting wires or remote apparatus to my processor in advance and trying to answer a call before they ring off. Trying to negotiate automatic answering systems with questions about which number to press and access services had always confounded me. You can't ask them to speak slower or repeat the last sentence. Even the answering service on my mobile phone was bad enough to prevent me trying. I had to ask my wife to do it for me.
Now I am able to listen without the background sounds around me in shops,
on the bus, in the street or with the tv on. I can be like everyone else and glue myself to the
phone oblivious of everyone but without the need to increase the volume and annoy those around me. I
have already made calls to arrange appointments with my Doctor’s surgery and
dentist all on my own!
One of the benefits of waiting so long is that the list of mobile phones compatible with the Cochlear N8 processor has now included Android as well as iPhones. My own choice was the Google pixel 6a. By no means the only one but very capable of doing the job.
When it eventually stops raining I will go out and try my new processor more in public and explore just how much of an improvement it will be to me.
It may even raise my expectations for the future even more.
Will they keep up
with me?
What more can they possibly offer in future developments?
