Right now I am listening to that old 60s and 70s rock group – Traffic.
Today marks two weeks, two days since activation. It was also the first testing I had done since becoming bionic. While I am waiting for the report, I thought I would share with you a generalization of the results.
Prior to the implant and without my hearing aid, the hearing levels in both my left and right ears averaged 105 decibels in the frequency range 200 to 2000 and then nothing above 2000 Hz. That means I heard basically nothing but lows and the low end of midrange. Basically, being up front at a rock concert right in front of the speakers would probably be comfortable for me.
With the hearing aid in my left ear, my hearing level was between 50 and 55 in the 500 to 1500 Hz frequency range – all lows…no highs. No wonder spoken speech is difficult because pronouncement emphasis is mostly in the highs. With the hearing aid, a hiss or “ssshhhhhhhh” wouldn’t even register.
With the implant…..
So what that means…the cochlear implant has given me back MORE hearing than I ever had and at frequency ranges I have never heard! No wonder music sounds so complete and wonderful and no wonder I am able to understand conversational speech even with lip-reading. I am hearing sound frequencies that are probably much more important than the lows I was accustomed to.
OK…enough of the standing ovation….Joanne, the audiologist was pretty pleased with the results and even told me to slow down as it seems that only after almost three weeks activation, I am ahead of where I am suppose to be. We did work on refining my primary program and then using that to set the other two programs. What we did was “open the window” a little more to allow more sound to come in. Kind of like, expanding the range of tones which hopefully will alleviate the difficulty I am having with male voices. And allow me to hear conversations 10 feet away, more clearly. We also got rid of the twitching in my eye. We also tried the headpiece that comes with my processor but with a stronger magnet. Unfortunately, I must be really thick-skulled as it would not stay on. At least for now, the one I have one works although it doesn’t exactly match the color of my processor. As long as I don’t grow gray hair, I should be ok!
So all in all, it was a great day with great progress! And of course, looking forward to even more progress as the days go by…
You said: Right now I am listening to that old 60s and 70s rock group – Traffic.
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What a horrible waste of hearing ability. 😉
Try a little Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven – or if symphonic music isn’t your thing, try some Glen Miller, Stan Kenton, Les Brown, Benny Goodman, etc.
Ears are meant to hear harmony and melody, and understandable lyrics, not just rhythm and beat.
Many rock aficionados,especially those who crank up that god-awful hip-hop will be shopping for CI’s a few years from now.
I was implanted on Jan. 19 and will be “turned on” on March 1. Looking forward to hearing MUSIC again as well as being able to converse with people.
Welcome Don! I am sure you are going to want to explore all forms of music especially that of which you think sounds “god-awful”. I do hope to get out to the philharmonic soon. If you come back to visit, leave me an email address so I could correspond with you! Good luck!
Don, you’re using a little to broad of a brush here… Traffic’s music had a lot of instrumentals, sometimes sounded more like jazz than rock, and it was easy to understand Steve Winwood’s singing. Comparing Traffic to hip hop is like comparing Mozart to “chopsticks”… Hope things go as well for you as they have for Sam.
That is awesome news about Tony!
Sam- see you at Shamrock?
Greg
Traffic was one of those early groups that fused blues into rock. So thanks for backing me up on the music “our parents loved to hate”! And Don…would it help if a trio of 60 plus year old men could still play rock as if they haven’t reached their prime…ever hear of Cream? I also love jazz particular Dave Brubeck.
I am picking up my Shamrock stuff tomorrow. Diane better be at the finish line with a new PR certificate!
Hmm, I struck oil on that post. Would it help if I told you I AM (or was) a musician. Spent 3 years in a large Army Band, taught music in high school for about 15 years and played bass (upright and electric)and tuba (In Dixieland and a bar band in KC MO)semi-professionally in everything from “Big Bands” to 4 piece combo’s. I admit I have never heard “Traffic” (other than when I drive during rush hour) but even so, wouldn’t compare them to hip-hop. NOTHING even approaches being as unmusical as that trash. I’m from a different era gentlemen. An era when musicians had to study and practice for YEARS before setting themselves up as a musician rather than spending 6 weekends in a garage.
Wonderful news, I am really happy for you sam. Just one comment – you should find classical music very, very difficult to handle. Since the processor squashes sounds across a limited number of electrodes, and each electrode caters for a range of frequencies alas certain instruments that have a wide range such as a harp or a violin may sound, well, flat.
Ivan, are you using “flat” in the sense of being below pitch or in the sense of being rather dull?