After a good night’s sleep since I was totally exhausted from the first day, day 2 started out with the usual morning run at the gym accompanied by congratulations from wonderful friends. I didn’t wear the implant while working out since I sweat a lot and I don’t think sweat and electronics get along well. As I was leaving the gym, walking back to my car I could actually hear the crunching of ice under my feet. You know, it sounded so good, almost like you’re popping the bubbles on bubble wrap. I probably could have spent the whole day walking throughout the parking lot!

It turned out to be a typical day at work except it seems like there was a contest going on as to who would ask the best question. Out of 50 some odd people, 49 asked me “Can you hear me?” But the winner….Kristen, who started the same day as me almost 3 years ago, asked the most unusual question of the day….”What are you hearing?” Obviously, I was tired of all the “Can you hear me?” questions that I decided the next person who asked any question related to my hearing was going to get a “meanest SOB in the valley” stare-down from me and Kristen got it. So congratulations…you won first prize…you own special paragraph in a posting on Welcome to Sam Spritzer’s Web Site!

Overall, the day was pretty much the same as day one. I switched from Hi Res S to Hi Res P. I don’t feel like there is any difference between the two. Other than the crunching ice, I also heard the click of keyboards in the cubicles on both sides of me but conversations still are nothing but a bunch of garble. I also had difficulty hearing if the person was more than 5 feet away. High pitch voices were more difficult than lows. I even had a meeting that consisted of three other people but the conversation was flying too fast around the table, I simply had to swap out to the hearing aid in my left ear. I also played the radio on my way home from work and I was able to hear tones/pitches that I never heard before which probably sounded like sticks and voices. But again, these were pretty much indistinguishable. I did have one concern….

One of the reasons I didn’t like wearing the hearing aid in the right ear is because of tinnitus. This was pretty pronounced throughout most of the day. I was able to confirm it by removing the headpiece yet the noise, a humming buzz, persisted. So that is something that I am hoping will be addressed tomorrow when I go for mapping session #2. At the most, I am hoping to increase the volume or sensitivity to a point where it neutralizes the tinnitus.

My older son and his girlfriend came over to dinner and we celebrated my newfound hearing. I wasn’t really able to follow the conversations but I was able to hear what Mike was saying and he does happen to have a very soft spoken voice. For once, I didn’t have to ask him to repeat himself. And of course, Steph….with her usual looks about my salty language especially around Mike’s girlfriend who is very primp and proper!

So for day 2, with the exception of the tinnitus, everything continues to meet my expectation. I also want to share an e-posting from the Episcopal Church in Western New York to its members. With their permission, I am reproducing part of it below. Thank you again, Paul!

February 7, 2007
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And the Deaf Shall Hear

Paul Schwartzmyer, a parishioner at St. Peter’s, Eggertsville has a deaf friend named Sam Spritzer who recently received a cochlear implant that will eventually enable him to hear. Paul wrote about this modern day miracle for St. Peter’s newsletter, The Rock. Sam and his wife were so moved by it, that Sam included the text on his personal blog. To read it, go to http://www.samspritzer.com/ and scroll down to the posting for January 28.