A couple of nights ago, I watching tv in the family room when I noticed a rather annoying generator like sound. You know, the rhythmic kind of tapping sound. For some reason, I was really fixated on it to a point where it was annoying!
I went outside and it got louder. I walked around the backyard trying to find the source. I got close to my neighbor’s garage which borders the backyard…it got quieter. I walked towards my next door neighbor’s property where there is a shed; still quieter. I walked towards the other side where that neighbor has a window air conditioner; nope, quieter.
I started towards my garage and it started getting louder! Ahhh….I am getting there but what is in the garage other than Steph’s car??? And surely, my yard equipment does not even come close to sounding like what I was hearing. Still no source! FRUSTRATING!
I went back in the house, upstairs….and I kind of like said to Steph…”what is that $#$#@%@$#@% generator like sounds I am hearing in the backyard??????” Steph is like “whoa Nelly…calm down!”
She went into Mike’s room, looked out the window that borders the backyard, turned around and in a rather educational lecture way, proclaimed to explain to me what I was hearing are summer crickets and they are louder in the summer especially when it’s hot.
D’uh!!!! Ah….and the wonders of my CI and what I have waited 50-something years to hear……*shaking head*
Jul 312010
As we come down the home stretch, its very important to know that there is the huge mess. Seriously, as much as you would think we could do it in a half hour like those home improvement tv shows, do you think the displaced stuff magically disappears? No….and you’ve only seen half the story of stuff piled up in the living room in the last post. Here is the rest…plus some added bonuses…..
View from the basement including the new Dan's man-cave. Notice the old couch and tv got a new life rather than be banished to couch and tv heaven.
Better uses for a ping pong table...all the junk from the family room.
Mike is moving into an apartment with his truly and decided his bedroom AKA mommy and daddy's house is safer than a department layaway bin.
More useless junk...well, its Mike's money so I can't complain!
See the boxes piled up neatly in front of the bike? Mike's! See the bedboard on my old barcolounger? Mike's!
And now for a couple of teaser shots…
A closeup shot of the new carpet
It pays to keep a few AB CI brochures around. The carpet installer was absolutely fascinated by my CIs and wanted to know how they work. So, I gave him these
Jul 082010
Yesterday, I had a mapping session for the first time in six months with Michelle at Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center. As we found out, my left side was woefully in need of adjustment. At the same time, we were concerned about a phenomenal known as “twitching”. This is where the electrical current is so strong it actually leaks through the cochlear and hits the facial nerve. This is a very dangerous condition because there have been cases where an over-stimulated facial nerve will continue to go “ballistic” long after one takes their “ears” off.
My CI’s strategy includes two options for programming called P (paired) and S (sequential). The former is where the electrodes fire in pairs whereas the latter is as indicated…sequential. P is generally more powerful and creates very strong impact sounds. S is much more softer and forgiven. It feels like it is capped to eliminate any spikes caused by the impact sounds.
My right side has always been S because of the twitching issue. The left side wasn’t experiencing any twitching but we knew we were maxed out and any adjustments we tried would bring this on. In order to overcome this, we switched my left side’s strategy from P to S. This resulted in a softer and somewhat muffled sound but eliminated a lot of the spikes caused by impact sounds. To compensate, my IDR was boosted from 60 to 65 and the levels raises across the board. As a result, my stimulation rate was lowered from 55000 PPS to 44000 PPS which means my brain isn’t subjected to as much stimulation as before.
I would never have known that we could reduce the power but at the same time improve the quality of the sound. I should know at the end of the day if this will affect my awareness or not. Overall, I am finding this to be much more comfortable than before because it has eliminated the twitching completely without compromising the quality.
So, whenever you are in doubt about what you are hearing…always trust your audie! At least I know mine ROCKS!
Jun 222010
I take the same route to the train station every morning and despite havng done so for the last seven months, this “sound” never really registered until recently. My route takes me right past the large flower bed that graces the middle of Evans St. right off of Main.
Every morning, the automatic sprinklers come on and obviously, the water sprays to the street. Not enough to make a puddle but more like a top cover for the road. Every morning, I am hearing this “newpaper rustling” sound. Because I have never heard it before being implanted, it never registered. I am like…”WOW!” like some 4 year old kid who got his first bike.
These are the kind of moments we live for thanks to the technology of Advanced Bionics!
Jun 202010
Last Thursday, I availed myself as a guinea pig for a research project that is being conducted by the UB Department of Communicative Disorders. The project is headed by Dr. Kristi Buckley and includes graduate students, Christina Lobarinas and Jennifer Pyo. The goal of the project is to determine if 1 ear is better than 2. I am one of those subjects where they are testing bi-lateral CIers.
I arrived promptly at 5:00 for what would be four hours of torture and abuse for me, fun for them! In all seriousness, the three are the most nicest and dedicated researchers I have ever met. Every 15 minutes, they checked to make sure if I wanted a break of not. We did go non-stop except for the break where they had to fit me with a skull cap and load it up with a saline solution. And of course, they ended it with some of the best pizza (Zetti’s) I have had since arriving in Buffalo, 16 years ago. And in between, I got to see old re-runs of Get Smart.
The tests involved the standard tonal hearing test, the HINT test with words and sentences and the single syllable word test. Each ear was done one at a time and both together. And finally, came the brain response test. The tonal testing was done with and without my CIs. AMAZINGLY, I do have residual hearing left!
They fitted me with a skull cap that was filled with a saline solution. The cap is designed to capture brain waves to determine how the brain responses to noise stimuli and whether it behaves differently with one ear at a time vs. both ears. The graph that came out of the test looked like something from an earthquake. In this test, two tones were presented at random. one sounded like “bong” and the other “bop”. I had to press the button on the “bop” tones. I swear, I could have fallen asleep! But they did warn me that it would be quite boring.
Although they said I did very well, I did notice some very interesting observations:
- Two ears are definitely better than one. With the skull cap test, it was much easier to distinguish the “bops” with both ears than with one alone.
- My brain has a hard time trying to figure out words that it doesn’t understand even when I was guessing. Its kind of like trying to look up in the memory bank for the closest match to what I hear.
- Even though I am left handed and I prefer my left ear for hearing, it seems the right ear has an easier time. I am not sure if it is the pitch or the fact that it was implanted first but I was surprised because all my life, I wore a hearing aid on the left side 90% of the time.
- Tinnitus definitely got in the way. But it wasn’t until later in the tonal testing that became obvious. When they switched to pulsulating tones, I had a much easier time and did not have to work as hard to determine if I heard sound or not.
- The researchers appeared quite surprised that I had residual hearing. This pretty much confirmed a time or two where I was riding my bike and an ambulance flew by with its siren blasting.
All in all, I really had a blast and am looking forward to being a guinea pig again especially if they feed me that pizza from Zetti’s!
May 172010
In less than two weeks, I will be running in my first half marathon right here in Buffalo. For those of you who don’t know marathons, a half is equivalent of 13.1 miles.
My longest race was a 15K which translates to almost 9.4 miles. And, I didn’t even run the entire race. That was the Run into Buffalo 15K back in 2007. I think I walked most of the course as my shins and knees were torturing me. Chalk that one up to improper training.
For the half, Steph and I have been following the Checkers AC training program and doing long runs on the weekend. Even though she is doing the relay (6 mile leg) as a member of a females masters team, she is training along with me. We both are up to over 8 miles now mostly through the “hills” and flats of Williamsville and as far east as Clarence.
I am feeling pretty good considering it was 10 months ago when I had the heart attack (see July 2009). I am averaging an 8:40 pace which puts me a little more than the 2 hour mark. My goal is to finish under that. After all, its not the time that I am aiming for but to finish…period!
Meanwhile, a great big shout-out to fellow BEA mentor and CIer, Tina Fifer. She will be going under the knife today to become bi-lateral!
May 082010
One of the most frequently misquoted claims CI manufacturers make about their product is where do they draw the line between water RESISTANT and water PROOF. Water resistance would imply incidental exposure to water…a splash, raindrops, sweat, etc. Water proof…well, lets just say all you need to do is dunk it in water and see if it still works. MY CI manufacturer, Advanced Bionics, warranties the processor as being water resistant. But PAINT RESISTANT or PAINT PROOF?????? Read on!
I attended the Bionic Ear Association (BEA) chapter leader and mentoring training last week at the new AB corporate headquarters in Valencia, CA. This is the perfect opportunity to show my colleagues how durable their cochlear implants are…..please don’t try this at home though.
Although the t-mic eventually succumbed to the paint or water, the processor continued to work! This happened while I was doing demolishing / renovations / painting work. I went to paint roller the ceiling and bent over backwards. Even though the left ear processor sits inside the top of my ear, the weight of it all keeps it in place. So, imagine what happens when you bend over backwards. Try it!
When I showed my colleagues at the training and the employees of AB, you had to see the expression on their faces. Meanwhile, I challenge anyone with a Cochlear America or Med-El CI to do the same thing and see if it works OR, will the manufacturer replace it free of charge?
So…here is your living proof that AB makes the most durable and reliable Cochlear Implant on the market!
The Blue Heart…this is what the company that makes my cochlear implant, Advanced Bionics, awards to people who have achieved something special in the world of cochlear implants. I was honored to have the opportunity to join 16 other chapter leaders of the Bionic Ear Association (BEA) for a day of what it takes to start and run a successful BEA chapter.
The next day I joined twenty or so other CIers for a tour of the manufacturing facility and all day sessions of what it takes to be a successful mentor. This was something that I had done back in March of 2009 as part of the original class of mentors. So, I am looking at my fellow mentors (who I will decline to name to protect whatever reputation they have left) and I am like “ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz” as in its time for a nap! Actually, the tour was A LOT more entertaining and informative than the first one. I even got to see the most important department of them all – Shipping…..where believe it or not, if the Fed Ex truck has left for the day, AB will send a van out to chase after them to make sure a shipment gets same day treatment the customer service folks promised.
Towards the end of the day, Patti T. finally gets to address the crowd that before we break for an hour of rest before dinner, a couple of the AB chicks including my manager, Katie, get a chance to say a few kind things about some of us. About 20 seconds into her speech, I knew she was talking about me. Trust me…”no” is a word that is NOT in my vocabulary. And finally, she announced that I was the recipient of the Blue Heart. I was literally “speechless”. I did not expect it.
I really wished I had the time to compose myself and say a few words but when I finally came to and thought about it, we were already well into the desserts at the dinner that followed. If I had the opportunity to do it over again, there is one person that comes to mine….Kim B.
Kim was my mentor from day one. She is the prototype cheerleader…the one who is so loyal and dedicated to AB. The one who was part of the original group that started Hearing Journey. The one who gets so little credit for all of the giant steps she has taken for others. The one whose heart is so big there is plenty of room to absorb every other heart that she has encountered in life. If it wasn’t for her, this day would not have been possible. My lifetime commitment and partnership with the finest cochlear implant company in the world would not have been possible if not for Kim…and her husband, Mike. Thank you Kim….words alone cannot describe how I feel but if the picture above is worth a thousand words, your friendship is worth an infinite amount.
I also want to thank the ABers that epitomize the dream that Al Mann set out to accomplish…..Patti, Katie, Beth Ann, Carly, Edie, Christy, Jen and the hostess of the mostest…Linda! To all of those chapter leaders, mentors and AB/BEA kahunas. this was a very special day that I will forever cherish and am glad you were there to celebrate it. To two very special angels…one who was there, one who wasn’t….thank you for all of your support and love.
And lastly, to my wife of 30 something years who put up with my “silence on purpose”, there is no greater meaning in life than that of one with you.
Feb 152010
My left ear was activated thereby completing my life journey of having both ears implanted and becoming a bilateral implantee. ABSO(Bleeping)lutely awesome! describes that moment two years ago..
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