My very first tune in! = Listening, Hearing and Discriminate!

The start of my day began with a noisy trip to the CI centre in Southampton, a big shock to the system as i hadn't been out for a few days so listening to the people talking in the street, traffic going by was like breathtaking - it was difficult to explain as i had thoughts like ' Wow i can actually hear something!' and 'Gasp' 'its too noisey' - i got in the habit of flipping the magnet off when it became unbearable! But didn't leave off to long for fear of not adjusting!

The journey was traumatic too - catching a train with tannoys, guards shouting whistles blowing( cringe)and train engines was horrifying ! But I did it! I kept on going and i kept the thing on! When i arrived at the CI centre i felt relief and shivery as i had made the journey and also encountered the big wide world out there - gosh we live in a noisy world don't we!!??


I met a different Audie ( Audiologist), this time her name is Roberta - she was very patient and friendly, passed her over my diary of sounds and she encouraged me by telling me that to hear what i had done so far was great ! I suppose i didn't feel it at the time due to my first experience of facing the big world out there! Note to newbies - get some prior listening before making journey to CI centre as that was traumatic for me! Pat on the head to me I should of asked her for a star like you get at school!!

We began my session by discussing the sounds I've heard - which she identified as high frequency, i also mentioned that one of my ears was doing far better than the other - that's how it felt anyway - she then went on to do a hearing field test with my CI on - so she could identify what sounds i was hearing and not. This helps her to work out what level I'm hearing at through my CI and then she can tune in frequency's that I am missing out on. Alot of CI people call this a mapping . Clever stuff i might add, that takes alot of thought and thinking about, especially as they have to look at each electrode individually. The good news was that I was now hearing some things at 30-40 db prior to my operation I could only hear at a range of 120db - what an amazing jump and difference! 

I have 24 electrodes 12 in each ear - for each individual electrode she has to then match and tune me in via a lead which plugs into her laptop and then she would have a programme that could be altered to what both she and i felt was a  comfortable level for me. Crikey i remember when they used  to tune my hearing aid in via a screwdriver - such fiddly things they were! Gosh times have changed so much since i was a child!  I can also remember being so sensitive to sound when i was a hearing aid wearer  when i was moderately deaf which worried me a bit with the CI - but they reassured me this could be adapted to make me comfortable. All i can say is WOW welcome to the TECHNICAL GENERATION !!!

I then explained to Roberta how i was coping and said although i was shattered - i still found it hard to identify the sounds, in that i heard them but still couldn't work out where they came from - she explained that there were three different stages:

1, Listening: My brain would be adapting via the CI how to hear - not quite clear enough for my brain to understand where it was coming from

2, Hearing: Id be able to tell where the sound is coming from and hear the sound clearly- but not quite understand them - this is when id be annoying and keep on asking 1001 questions what the sound was? ,where it was coming from ?

3, Discriminate: Id be able to tell the differences and recognise a range of sounds and know what they are 


I think i also need to thank my husband and family here as I've probably been driving them mad - every time I've heard a sound - I've been asking that what it was and if they could repeat it! When he placed his cup on the side the other day - i made him do it 3 times so i could clarify what it sounded like! When we were in the car - something was clicking and I made him pull over and start the car again to identify what the clicking noise was - it was the silly car indicator! I think my face dropped in awe then as i don't think I've ever heard the indicator in the car, and I've certainly not heard a cup being placed on the side before!!

The bad news was I was experiencing what i described as a buzzy, crackling noise and Roberta discovered via audiogram (a graph they measure sound on) that my high frequency at beginning and end  was dipping at beginning and end so decided to turn this up so my brain would be able to adjust accordingly.

Once again i was asked how it sounded once all electrodes were switched on together  - and the buzzy crackle was till present so Roberta did some tweaking and had a discussion over the phone to the Neurelec Representative - she was able to adjust some other things via her laptop for me. It helped a lot that they communicate and work together so that they can make sure i get the best of my C.I.

 heres there link if you wish to know more : http://www.neurelec.com/

This session lasted an hour and half, but the difference was great , once again Roberta set my 4 setting's on my CI differently at a louder step each go so after my brain adapted to the sounds i could switch on to next stage. Its like this - you r brain hears it the first time and it may be just too loud, but the more and more you hear it and recognise it the quieter it gets so you need the next step - inmy case a setting switch to get more benefit from it ! Strange but it works and also makes me realise how amazing our brain adapts ! I call it changing gear - like a car does in but in different speed or conditions!

Hope this page wasn't too  much to take in - I know the feeling as it was for me that day ! I'm so impatient though - I wanted to hear music cant do that yet but I'm listening to simple things on You Tube ( has videos and music links on it ) everyday and television so each day it just gets clearer and better - will be updating you on my hearing therapy rehabilitation next so watch this space!

Thanks for reading this and look forward to any feedback

Lisa x

By the way MR Tinnitus hasnt completely gone yet but its starting to improve each day xxx