Streaming music!!!

Well today as I was unpacking my sewing room, I finally had time to try streaming music at home. I was a little apprehensive of this, but thought- "what the heck, I'll give it a try."  So I grabbed my iPod out of my car and plugged it in to my roger pen, made sure I was wearing the battery with the roger receiver on it,put on some old music and let it go. I picked stuff I knew well and an artist I knew I wouldn't have any problem understanding just in case. Amazingly- it worked! I had a little trouble adjusting the volume at first until I found a comfortable level, but I was able to go about the business of unpacking while letting my iPod and roger pen sit in a safe corner of the room.
The range is great, too. I was able to walk through most of my house and keep signal. Now I know how far away my kids have to be before they lose me in school too. Good thing I take my mic off to visit the teacher's powder room! Admittedly, I don't think that's actually a problem at school with the thick, cinder-block and brick construction- but it does give me a better idea of true range with the roger system.
I did notice that using the roger system didn't seem to exclude everything else out there.. but again this could be odd circumstances. As I was listening and unpacking I occasionally turned on the vacuum cleaner and it drowned out EVERYTHING while it was on. This could be a combination of things, such as my proximity to the noise, the mic picking up the noise, or my good ear (with regular aid) hearing the noise and ignoring the signal coming from my processor.
So my second great try will be for using my phone on a bluetooth setting with my roger pen as a streaming receiver. I'll let you know how it goes.

On the sad side- it seems I am mildly allergic to my new house and have a never-ending case of sniffles *annoyed growl*.

post audiologist visit

Well I went to my audiologist appointment and we seem to have solved the problems I was having with the Auto Ultra Zoom program. We turned it off completely and fussed with my settings a bit so I could hear those softer sounds I was missing. I did another aided listening test and got about 50% of the sentences correct using only my implant/processor. We decided that my left ear was giving me more help than we realized- especially in the low tones and so we put an ear plug in that ear for the test. This helps us determine what I am really getting on just the implant.

Now, keep in mind that these tests are conducted in a sound-proof booth in a quiet environment. They are ideal conditions. Also keep in mind that these are sentences played on a speaker with no human reference and no context. They're a very good test of what can be heard and understood in an ideal environment- something that almost never occurs in reality. There is always background noise and usually some context (unless you're my husband- who is capable of coming up with things to say out of the blue  just to confuse the heck outta me).

After adjusting the programming and putting me back on a wide-band (hear it all) mode, I came home with two programs. One with more high-pitched sounds than the other. I think we may have gotten things a little loud. I am finding I turn the volume down when I put on my processor each day. We'll see if I adjust to it or not. I also got permission to wear my hearing aid in the other ear along with my implant.

At this point, my audiologist says they start scheduling programming appointments every 2 months, but because I teach (restricted schedule), and I work with both signers and students using Listening and Spoken Language we scheduled another appointment the week before school starts. Hopefully by that time I will be able to tell how well I am doing in the school environment- teachers go back the week before students- and will be able to have programming adjusted accordingly.

For now I seem to be doing MUCH better at hearing things! My only complaint has nothing to do with my implant/processor and more to do with the construction continuing around my house- ALL THE NOISES! I have no idea what they are...

AFK- moving

Well I've been off for about a week- we've been moving! Yes, you read that right. Amongst all of the other crazy, my husband and I have purchased and moved into our first home. It's been 6 months in the making. Before I even decided to be evaluated for an implant, we bought a house. We knew we'd be moving in June- there was no avoiding the timing.
So on top of teaching my first year, being a full time graduate student, getting a cochlear implant, and  taking several required district classes during spring and summer, we bought our first home and moved. It's been a crazy year!

So later today I will be going back in to see my audiologist. I'll admit I've been bad and used my other hearing aid for the last week. I haven't been able to hear almost anything unless someone is right in front of me, facing me. This is a problem when we are hauling and moving boxes and packing/unpacking. It's simply not ideal for having to be facing the person you're talking to every single time you speak. Both my husband and I were getting frustrated and with all the stress- it wasn't worth it. I think the culprit is the Auto Ultra Zoom function we put into my processor last time. We also seem to have solved the problem with sound randomly cutting out on me. I think it was the cord that links my headpiece to my processor. We replaced that last time to see if that was the problem and it seems to have been. We will have to order a replacement cord.

I've also learned that I can't hear our doorbell unless I'm in the hallway with it. *SIGH* how aggravating!! I think I'm gonna have to break down and buy a doorbell flasher... GRRRR...

I'll update as soon as I can with how we fixed the problem this afternoon at my appointment. I'll probably be a bit sporadic in the next week or so- I will be doing (yet more still) unpacking and finishing up the 6 modules I have left for my ESOL class and doing a little side work for my parents' company as they move into shiny, new, not-in their house offices!

Basic Tech part 2- The rechargeable battery

So my ability to hear hinges on the life of my batteries- as my hearing devices run on batteries. For years, my husband and I have held a Sams Club membership solely for the discount at which we can buy hearing aid batteries in bulk.  I remember as a college student getting my first set of hearing aids and realizing that I would have to budget in the cost of hearing aid batteries within my already meager earnings. In the end it wasn't a huge burden- but I have got hearing aid batteries stashed EVERYWHERE. As an interpreter for the deaf- my ability to work depended on my ability to hear for my clients and interpret auditory information correctly and efficiently. I have batteries stashed in a cabinet at work, at home (desk and medicine cabinet), and in every purse, bag, or box I have ever used as well. I can't afford to be at work without batteries for my aids.

Well they've finally gotten over the love of zinc-air batteries for cochlear processors, thank goodness as they go through them like water through a colander. Now days they recommend rechargeable batteries for use with a cochlear processor. With my processor I received 3 rechargeable batteries which go into a charging stand every night.

 As you can see here, the green light indicates these batteries are charged. If the battery is still charging, the light at the base will turn blue until it is done charging.



Each battery lasts between 10-25 hours depending on the size and use. I have two batteries that the roger receiver will hook onto- which are quite large with the receiver attached. I have one smaller battery that will allow my processor to fit into a small, specially made waterproof box made by Advanced Bionics.  I'll admit I was a bit leary of a rechargeable battery because they tend to eventually stop taking a charge. This happens a lot with my students - And this is still true of these rechargeable batteries. After about 3 years of use, they stop taking a full charge- as this is the nature of the rechargeable battery. The batteries can be replaced as long as they are still under warranty.

While you can purchase a zinc-air battery case that will hook onto your processor and work just fine- I don't really recommend it unless it is a back-up option. Processors are pretty high-tech these days and they go through batteries really fast. Several of my students go through batteries every 2-3 days and this at 2 batteries at a time per processor. That's kinda pricey as they also tend to use the larger, size 675 batteries.

Now ask me what I plan to do at Gulf Wars next year? I'm not entirely sure. We are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA.org) and camp for a week every year in Mississippi at a war event in a canvas tent. I won't have much access to power during that week. I guess I'll have to see whether I can appeal to a powered spot like constables or possibly to friends staying in the hotel on site to plug my charger in.  This would have been one of the times a zinc-air battery case as a backup would have been smart. Oh well- maybe if I save up, I can convince my husband to just forgo the camping and get a hotel nearby for the week. Thats my kind of camping! He may be able to use a marine battery to run his CPAP all week, but I think it might just fry my delicate little batteries.

End of my first week on...

Well I've been officially turned on for a little over a week now. I went in yesterday to see my audiologist to add in some programing with the roger receiver and roger pen. This neat little do-dad lets me use a microphone that looks like a pen as a personal microphone and also allows me to bluetooth sync with my phone so I can use my implant as a bluetooth phone receiver for phone calls. It is also what allows me to stream music to my processor.

First of all, let me say that apparently I am an unusual case when it comes to being able to distinguish speech so early on with my implant. While the background static is making me somewhat irritable, most people hear ONLY that fuzz for the first couple of weeks.  (And for the record, I'm listening to what is apparently my front loading washing machine go through its spin cycle at the moment... it sounds like white static...whee!) My audiologist assures me the static will back off eventually and that she is pretty amazed with my ability to hear with the implant so early. We did an aided hearing test to see what I am getting and how we need to adjust things.

After doing the aided hearing test in the nice little sound proof box, we went in and hooked me up to a computer where my doctor ran some more beeping tests and adjusted how loud or soft various frequency bands are like an electronic equalizer or soundboard. Then, we got into the "other stuff" category of programming.

We added a program called "clear voice" as well as a program that softens sudden loud noises. Another program added is one that helps to dampen background noise in places like the car and restaurants. We talked about a few more, like echo block which I told her I would consider if I needed it regularly and my gratefulness for the wind-block program which helps dampen the sound of wind blowing past my microphones.

Next we put the roger receiver onto my battery (you need a specific type of battery to add the roger receiver shoe to your processor) and turned on the roger pen. With this I can stream calls from my phone via bluetooth. I've tried it once or twice and had utter fail. I cannot yet use this feature to distinguish clear language from an unknown person. I had to give up and have my husband call my doctor back to reschedule my appointment. Grr.

The other thing this neat piece of very smart technology can do is plug into my phone or iPod and stream music to me. This was also a total fail. It worked- but the signal was so fuzzy the music was indistinguishable. My audiologist assures me it WILL get better with practice- but I was so disappointed, I nearly sat there and cried.  Why, oh why if I can hear and distinguish music from my car stereo, why can't I hear it directly streamed to me?! I'm still not sure of the answer and I haven't tried since to use it. I'm afraid it will just hurt too much. It may just be a volume issue- It may be that there are additional programs available we can layer in to help with this. I don't know. My audiologist and I will just have to do more research and practice.

At some point, I promise I will get into all the neatness that is the cool technology of the Roger pen... For now though- I continue on my learning journey.

Basic Tech part 1- The dehumidifier

As before, I mentioned that my processor came with lots of do-dads and thing-a-majigs. I've not really gotten into anything other than bare basics. Chargers, batteries, drying machine.

I live in Florida and as the state is basically a giant sand-bar with a swamp in the middle- it's humid. In the Society for Creative Anachronism (sca.org), which I am a part of- the joke is that Trimarans (folk from Florida) have gills. Hearing aids, unfortunately do not have gills. The de-humidifying of hearing aids is absolutely essential here in Florida. Up until recently, I used a dry-aid box to place my aids in nightly. Within the plastic jar, there was a container with silica beads that soak up moisture and help to keep your small electronics dry and functioning. I used this religiously- even with my waterproof Siemens Aquaris aids. This was a handy thing because it also gave me a water-tight  (and cat-proof) container to keep my aids in over night or while camping.With my new processor, I got an upgrade!

As shown below, I Received a Zephyr Dry and Store dehumidifier with my processor:

This uses a combination of a desiccant- Dry Brik II and electronic warm-air movement to take humidity out of small hearing instruments. It works on an 8-hour cycle. It is also cat-proof!

Week one- first week impressions

Well I've been officially turned on for a week!  I've discovered some good points, and some not so great points that I hope will be improved when my programming happens later this week.

I have very much enjoyed the quality of sound- the static is still there, however greatly reduced. This is something that I hope programming will eventually get rid of. Quiet environments are now mostly quiet instead of staticky most of the time, but even as I sit in my house typing this there is background static to the world and not clear sounds. Most voices, including my own, have a slight static to them. As of right this moment, the only programs in my processor are 3 steps of louder which I haven't used much. I find the louder I make things, the more static I get.

In General:

I am understanding most people in a quiet environment with a little extra work on my part. My husband being the exception. He's had a sore throat the last two weeks and is just now finally recovering and his voice is difficult to understand. He has a habit of talking to me while facing the other direction. I'd like to throw a shoe at him at least a few time's a day...*aggravated sigh*
I have found that the background-damping "learning listening environments" software to be absolutely fabulous everywhere but in a car! In restaurants I've had wonderful access to my husband's voice without background noise interference. Even Disney was very pleasant. Holding a conversation in a moving car is tough.

On Music:

I love music- It's aways been a focus in my life and I want to be able to enjoy the full spectrum of it as much as possible. I've been slowly losing that over the last 13 years and this has been one of my biggest personal adaptation issues as my hearing loss progresses. I have found that acquiring new music is even more difficult for me now than ever as within the last year my ability to understand speech has declined drastically. I went from understanding 80% of speech sounds to understanding 28% of speech sounds in one year. Thats in my better ear. I have bought exactly zero new music in the last several years. I have re-acquired a few old, lost albums from obscure artists I enjoyed in my youth, but gotten nothing NEW. Understanding music requires that I listen while studying lyrics until I learn the pattern. I have also discovered I can no longer listen to instrumental music most of the time because I can no longer hear most of it.

Listening to music is by turns awesome and frustrating right now. I expect that this, too will be improved with programming. Right now I can listen to music as usual in my car where I can crank it and no one else cares if I sing on-key or not. Less compression in programming has made it so I'm not so off key anymore and songs don't randomly change keys mid-line anymore. There's still a lot of static- especially with rock music. I am still getting a lot more bass than anything else. I can mostly hear vocals as long as I don't sing along. Singing along produces even more static, and I can't hear myself singing along with the music- because static. I am looking forward to programming that should help with these issues.

What's Next:

I will go in later this week and they will begin programming my processor with all the fun bits that come along side with such a great piece of technology. I am really looking forward to becoming a more advanced user of this tech. As I go I will be posting more about the technology itself and how it works as well as how it works for me personally.

For now, I am off to do homework! Yes, school is out for my students, but I must still take classes required by my district for my "intent to earn" as well as study for my professional educator test and for the re-take of the math sub-test of the General Knowledge exam. I am also a graduate student and need to sign up for my Fall semester classes! I DID mention I'm nuts, right?