In My Head
...Supercalifragilistic S Sounds
18 05 06 Supercalifragilistic S Sounds
After being at P1 about a week, I started experiencing some pain in my ear. I contacted Sharon, who called AB audiology support. Apparently this regression sometimes happens with prelinguals, where the volume of the sound may be OK for a while and then too loud. It was suggested to either turn the volume down or take the CI off. After a few days, the pain went away.Because of the pain, however, I couldn't get beyond P1. P2 and P3 were too loud and I started feeling some of the pain again. I haven't been hearing anything new, and in fact, didn't hear the phone ring this morning. I only knew it rang because Doran - who's only 16 months - rather insistently pointed in the direction of the sound.
As a result, I walked into my mapping appointment today feeling like nothing had changed since I was there two weeks ago. Sharon deviated from protocol a bit, theorizing that the source of my pain was due to a low frequency band being too loud. She had me go through each electrode individually and tell her when the volume got to a comfortable level. I had to balance the volume out again. We put a program together this way.
She also did some manipulation where she increased a few pitches and opened the sound window more. As a result, I was able to hear /s/ for the first time - a big deal. She covered her mouth and went through a list of sounds. I asked if it was a fluke that I heard the /s/, and she assured me that I raised my hand right away each time she said it. During this whole time, my HA was off, by the way.
P1 is now a pairs strategy, P2 is sequential, and P3 is also sequential, but louder. The low frequencies are now lower compared to my past programs, but some of the high frequencies are higher. With the differences in pitch and sound window, hopefully the new programs will be more comfortable and allow me to hear some new sounds.
How exciting! This seems like one of those experiences that doesn’t necessarily progress in a linear, orderly fashion, and that can be frustrating, but apparently all of your perserverance is paying off and you ARE advancing! Great news!
suzy () - 18 05 06 - 22:40
Hi Lisa (and family). I am so glad to be receiving these updates. Thank you for taking the time to do it! 
Looks like things are slowly but surely progressing…I hope as you continue this process there is less pain and more exciting moments/stories! Take Care, Lilly
Lilly () - 20 05 06 - 18:39
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