I guess it may be time for an update on my coachlear implant, Allyson.
Dr. Welling's operation was a great success in my mind. I did not get sick from the anesthetic asd I have done sometimes after anesthesia. I was home that afternoon. The maximum pain level was 6 on a 1-10 scale, and that only after a couple of days wnen the pain killers were receding.
Brenda Hall, audiolgist, tuned the device on 9-10-09. That was interesting as she set the threshold and comfotrtable level of hearing for each of the 22 working wires (2 are reference electrodes).
At the moment of turning the cochlear device on, I immediately began recognizing words distinctly, although there was, and still is, a high pitch ringing echo and a low pitch rumbling echo after each word. I definitely need my left digital hearing aid- the cochlear is in my right ear).
I attended church this morning and was able to understand words a little better, but I have a way to go to use the coachlear device efficiently.
I can hear and understand my wife when not looking at her now, with the above mentioned limitations.
Thanks for all of your help,
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: Sam Kegley
To: Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: Hi Sam :)
Thanks and God bless you young lady!
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie
To: Sam Kegley
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: Hi Sam :)
Hi Sam:)
So good to hear from you:) Know we will all be thinking about you tomorrow and wish you the very best--I know everything will go fantastic! :) Dr. Welling is a great surgeon and I know he and his staff will take excellent care of you:) Every clinic/hospital/physician has slightly different protocols as far as how long they make patients wait after surgery to actually have the implant turned on by the audiologist (when you will receive the external sound processor--the part that you can see:), but on average the wait time is anywhere between 2-4 weeks. You can definitely try to wear your hearing aid(s) after surgery while you are awaiting your activation--there is a good chance given that you will be implanted with the Nucleus Freedom with Contour Advance electrode array that you may actually wake up and still be able to hear what you could before surgery out of your hearing aid!:) There is no guarantee that Dr. Welling will be able to preserve any residual hearing that you have and unfortunately no way for him to know if he was able to save any hearing or not, but I do know of several recipients that have been able to wear their hearing aid(s) after surgery and were able to hear just as well with them...so please give it a try, it definitely can't hurt:)
Wishing you all the best, Sam and I look forward to hopefully keeping in touch!
Warm Regards,
Ally
"Sam Kegley"
07/26/2009 09:28 PM
To "Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie"
cc
Subject Re: Hi Sam :)
It was so nice of you to share, Allyson. My Nucleus Coclear unit will be implanted Tuesday morning, July 28 by Dr. Brad Welling at Ohio State University Hospital. I have sought this for years and intensely this year. Everybody sounds like Donald or Daisy Duck to me. I have excellent hearing aids; however, even with the button for crowds, I hear nearly nothing in a restaurant with family or friends.
I am a 76 year old retired metallurgical engineer, originally from Portamouth, Ohio. I moved my family to Westerville, Ohio 42 years ago when our two sons were 12 and 6. I began writing in retirement and now have seven published books. I interviewed people for the first six, but my hearing is so bad now, I can't do that. Hopefully, the implant will permit me to do so again.
I realize that it will be four to six weeks before the audiologist can put the outer piece and larger hearing aid on me. I wonder that I will still be able to hear with my current digital hearing aids in the interim? Mine are behind the ear aids.
I tutor math at Columbus State Community College and these hearing aids and a pocket talker aid me in the one on one tutoring in our math lab.
That is about all for me right now.
Sam kegley
614-882-5991
----- Original Message -----
From: Allyson Sisler-Dinwiddie
To: Sam Kegley
Cc: John Morris-Reihl
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2009 7:16 PM
Subject: Hi Sam :)
Hi Sam :)
I hope this finds you doing well and that you have had a wonderful weekend! I recently received an email from one of my colleagues at Cochlear with the message you sent re: the Cochlear Community and sharing your experience :) Of course, we would absolutely LOVE to have you share your story and your experience living with hearing loss on the Community! :) I thought I’d take a minute to introduce myself and to let you know that I am here to help support you in every way that I possibly can—if you are ever interested in receiving more information about the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant system or wish to talk to other adult Nucleus CI recipients, please just let me know. My name is Ally Sisler-Dinwiddie and I am the Cochlear Awareness Network Manager covering the Ohio Valley and South Central United States for Cochlear Americas. I live a rather unique life in that I am a bilateral cochlear implant recipient as well as a licensed audiologist :) I currently reside in Nashville, TN but frequently travel throughout the states of KY, OH, IN, PA, NY, WV, TN, LA, MS, & AR for my job as the Cochlear Awareness Network Manager in your hometown:) I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have so please feel free to contact me at any time :)
I am 28 years old and progressively lost my hearing over the course of 1 year after an automobile accident in 2004. I was actually in graduate school at the time working towards my clinical doctorate in Audiology and although I had all the resources one could ever dream of at my fingertips, it was definitely the hardest time of my young life thus far! My right ear was implanted in Oct. 2005 and my left ear in June 2006...my journey out of silence has been nothing short of a true miracle!
Now almost 4 years out and my life back to where it was prior to the accident, I have been blessed with the opportunity to continue doing what I have grown to love with more passion than words can describe, helping to support others living with hearing loss on their quest to find the best possible solution that will meet their hearing healthcare needs and helping them return to the things they love most in life:)
As you have already discovered, we have something new at Cochlear called the Cochlear Community- it is an online social network similar to that of Facebook or MySpace, but it is specifically for people living with hearing loss:) There are over 3000 members currently on the Cochlear Community that have either a Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant, a Baha, or wear hearing aids and are making their way through the cochlear implant or Baha evaluation process. I encourage you to check out the Cochlear Community when you get a chance to see all the amazing online support tools and resources that it has to offer, both our Nucleus CI recipients as well as candidates and family members going through the process :) The website for the Cochlear Community is: http://www.cochlearcommunity.com. I also use the Cochlear Community to post various workshop and events that will be going on in your area over the course of the next year, so it's really a great way to not only meet others like yourself, but to also make friends around the country and even in your own backyard with hopes that we'll all be able to meet in person at some point in time to share ideas, advice/suggestions, and to celebrate our many successes throughout this amazing journey :) I also just added a few new groups to the Cochlear Community, one being Ohio CI/Baha Recipients & Candidates...we would love for you to join us on the Community to meet others near your hometown- just click on the "groups" tab once you are on the Cochlear Community and scroll down until you find my group for Ohio! :-)
None of this would have ever been possible had it not been for my new "magical" ears and all the love and continued support of my family, friends, and colleagues that have literally lived this journey right alongside me over the past few years:) Please feel free to contact me at any time as I am more than happy to help and answer any questions that you might have as well as "lend an ear" to the roller coaster of emotions that I remember all too well! I can also connect you with other adult Nucleus cochlear implant recipients in your area and whose "hearing history" and personal story might fit closer to your own personal experience- just let me know how I can help:) My email address is: asisler-dinwiddie@cochlear.com.
Wishing you the very best:)
-Ally
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