And that is even an understatement. Two ears are definitely awesome! The whole way home I am listening to Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same. Let me tell you, it sound so complete. I had to constantly turn off one ear and the other just to make sure I was really hearing what I heard. Just when I thought it sounded good with one ear, this beats the world! Here I am hearing cymbals and vocals loud and clear when I thought I was doing that with one ear. I have to reckon that speech discrimination won’t be too far from becoming reality. As a matter fact, those American Express points and the tax rebate check are now going to be well worth spent. I gonna get me a spanking brand new digital tv with a surround sound system. No more of that monophonic crap I’ve listening to all my life! IT’S TIME TO ROCK & ROLL! And the whole thing is on tape. I need special connectors to transfer the tape to the computer so that will be over the weekend. Even older son Mike was there…I’ll have to find out how he saw me do.

Here is the difference – at least from my perspective. It does sound like the brain discriminates certain sounds/tones/frequencies. For example, cymbals and blocks sounded muffled in the right ear but clear and crisp in the left. The same can be said for the lows of Jimmy Page’s riffs whereas the highs are being processed by the right ear. The beating of the bass drum sounds like an echo in the right ear and a sharp rap in the left. Robert Plant’s vocals are much more pronounced in the left ear and sound like a distance foghorn in the right. Bonzo’s snare drums are definitely coming via the left ear. Actually, I am hearing the cymbals and the snare drum at the same time which is something I have never experienced before. Before, it was either one or the other…now its both, simultaneously!

The only thing I am not sure of is whether the volume is loud or not. To me, I have it basically cranked up but whether that is cranked up to Steph and the boys, remains to be seen. But here is the kicker…I don’t have to worry about damaging my ears because of exposure to loud volume. Why? The cochlear implant bypasses the nerves, the part of the auditory system damaged by loud noise. So, its really a matter of the brain processing information as hard as it can and the consequences of high volume…you simply get tired sooner.

More later and of course, that video will appear here as soon as I can get the right connectors…stay tuned!