This morning, I received an e-mail from Advanced Bionics which also included a release form for me to sign and then the next step will be for them to review my website for inclusion in theirs. To be the fifth blog out of how many “hundreds of others” is truly a honor. Click here is see the other blogs.

I am now at the two week mark since activation. I still get an occasional “can you hear me?” but beyond that, things have pretty much returned to normal. I still have my, and Steph’s, family and that will come next month when we head downstate for her 50th birthday. GET USED TO IT STEPH…YOUR GONNA BE THE BIG FIVE-OH! (AND THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR HER TWIN SISTER, SANDY). Well of course, its only a number.

The cartoon-ish sounds I reported two weeks ago are almost gone. I am now able to hear conversation including with those I used to have difficult with. Even people who have a habit of speaking softly have become easier to converse with. And in some cases, I am able to understand the person without having to first face them. Environmental sounds are becoming more and more distinguishable and easily identifiable – from the clicking of the keyboard, crumbling paper, the kitchen appliances, the turn signal and the wind noise in the car, crunching ice and slush, the copier in the office just to name a few. And even tinnitus has become more manageable. I have also managed without the hearing aid in my left ear. Even at the gym where it is loud noisy and echoy, I am able to follow the conversation with minimal difficulty.

On the flip-side, I am still struggling with conversations that are more than 10 feet away. Sentences and words are broken up and this is particularly acute with male voices. In some cases, background noises overtake voices. I suppose I could wear the hearing aid in my left ear. But I want to get used to my right ear as much as possible. I feel I would be retarding its education by having the left ear assist it.

So in two weeks time, I feel I have exceeded my expectations. On Thursday, I will be going for testing and my third mapping session.