For all those who care...

As a lot of you know, I had ear surgery at the end of August to insert the internal parts of a cochlear implant. This very invasive surgery went smoothly. I gave up the natural hearing in my right ear to install a bionic ear. Had a huge S shaped scar on the side of my skull, which had the heal before they could give me the external parts of the implant.

I got them Monday. It was a relief to discover the implant offers sound that is quite natural, and not some kind of soup can acoustics. Not everything is perfect yet -- in fact, it will take three or four months to program the implant for optimal use. I will go to the hospital regularly to have the sensivity and sound parameters adjusted. This is because my brain (what they call the auditory cortex) will progressively adjust to the new kind of stimuli it is getting. Sound is now delivered trhough my skull with a magnetic coil, instead of through the ear itself.

Music, I'm glad to say, sounds better in most aspects. That includes PRINCE... Yeah I know some of you were sort of hoping I would toss my cookes listening to Wedding Feast, but I've heard it before, so I wasn't about to subject myself to it. I did the smart thing and skipped straight to She Loves me 4 me... So nice hearing the acoustic guitar and vocals so much better than I did before. The only thing I want to adjust in a hurry is the loudness level. Cymbals don,t sound as loud as they should, like there's a setting that limits the peaks. I'm able to compensate for that by using my other ear. You can't say I'm not resourceful..

Later on I'll post a pic showing how it looks (not of me, so don't hold your breath)...
[This message was edited Wed Oct 9 16:11:56 PDT 2002 by Aerogram]

I love positivity...Congratulations Aero!

From IceNine and AzureStar:

Cool! We are both VERY glad to hear that things went well and that you are able to hear so much better. Damn, modern techology is great, isn't it?

IceNine said:

Hey, is she enjoying that vacation?

She said, "Yes!"

:LOL:

Aerogram! That's great!

IceNine said:

Much love to her, and you!

Thankyou for sharing Aero, I'm glad everything went smoothly for you.

I'm so happy for you Aero. That's wonderful. My father had surgery on his eyes last year and can see so much better now. I can't imagine how great that must feel.

Cheers babe

OH Aero! That is so wonderful! You must be so happy and I am so happy for you. You've got a lot of wonderful (and wonderfully annoying) things to hear
xoxo

Fantastic news Aero

Much love Pochacco

Congratulations Aero!!! This has been a long time in the works. I'm so fucking happy for you!!!

Great news... I am surprised and delighted for you that music sounds OK through the implant... isn't technology wonderful Anyway enjoy the honeymoon period with your newly working bionic ear!

Thank you all. It means a lot to me.

Now, here's what it looks like... somewhat like this.



My model doesn't have this ratty look. For starters, it's entirely over the ear. The picture you see is of an older kind of implant still being made that include a processor you wear around your belt. My processor is inside a very nifty module that looks like an hearing aid, but that looks much better. I can change its colour to what I want. Today, it's shiny silver, tomorrow it might be purple... or red if if I have power lunch...

I'm getting a lot of stares in the streets. Maybe they think it's miniature shortwave radio with a round antenna attached to my hair%

Technology is amazing!

Congratulations! I'm happy things are going so well for you!

I gave my congrats in email, but I'll add to the chorus of well wishes here, too... And that doohickey in the pic you posted...did Sony make that??

Congratulations

I'm glad your surgery was successful. That is a lot to go through and I know there will need to be healing and your own adjustment. I know you were happy to be able to listen to one of your favorite artists to "test" your surgery's success!
Best wishes to you and God Bless!
AK

Aero

So glad to hear this

I am so happy this has all worked out for you. You deserve it sweety.

Lots of to you all.

Yes, I am very happy, even though all this sound is giving me an headache. Who knew you guys lived in such a noisy world? I could hear lots of noise before, but I was not aware of the full extent. No wonder people are nervous wrecks...

Another interesting aspect of this implant is that I now have magnets inside my head. Because of this...

- I cannot undergo a MRI : the magnets would come straight out of my skull.
- I cannot go through the gates at the airport. I predict that this will one day lead to a strip search.
- My implant can set off anti-theft gates, so I have to remember to turn it off when I go through them or risk a time-wasting and slightly humiliating bag search.
- I have to watch for static electricity. If I touch my implant and shock it with static, I will have to go back to the hospital and reprogram the darn thing. Because of this, I am eliminating all lycra, polyester and rubberwear in favor of natural fibers and leather soles. Thank goodness I already have plenty of leather stuff and never, ever wear lycra or polyester. This implant has the power to keep me on the right side of Taste Street.

But it's all worth it.

I'm so happy for you! What great news!!!

I have had you in my thoughts the last few days hoping that your implant was a success. What a wonderful thing to come home (I've been out of town the last couple days) and see this post from you.

Bless your heart and congratulations to you!

Aerogram

Congrats Aero , happy to read that it seems to work out fine.

Those magnets can come in handy !
- DIY, just stick those screws to your head
- erase someone harddrive by laying your head on the pc
- maybe some real clever electrotechnician can make a radio for you
- fool the ships navigator by showing up on the bridge and screw the compas heading up.

Wonderful, wonderful news! Hooray for you!

Well done.

So, tell me, where do you get one of these cock transplants?

Amazing news Aerogram... that really is wonderful... much happiness to you.

Aero

bkw said:

Are you suggesting I become stereopenile?

AlfofMelmak said:

And I can now adorn my skull with fancy fridge magnets.