It turns out the lady who initially set up Cliff's cochlear implant is not his regular audiologist; Kristen, the one who met us on our first visit to St. Luke's before the day of surgery, is our regular person to see. She had a meeting she had to attend before, and that's why we had her that day.
Cliff is really happy now! Kristen spent a lot of time getting everything set for the way it will probably stay, with perhaps minor changes if necessary. Our next visit will be February 1. People now sound like real people talking instead of cartoon characters. He was having problem with the "S" sound whistling in his ear, and that's corrected now. He is understanding a LOT better now. What a wonderful world we live in!
Any of his family and friends should now be able to have a conversation with him, either on the phone or face to face. Once we get someone smart enough to help us, he'll be able to pair the cochlear with the television, his phone, etc. Granddaughter Natalie came over and got the app working on his phone, and she'll likely have to pay us another visit to pair things for him. She brought her kids over with her, too, and still got the job done. So we got to see great-grandkids in the deal.
When I took my very brief walk Tuesday I snapped a picture of my walking buddies.
I can tell it's cold outside: Blue-the-cat has been in the house since 5 A.M., only going out twice to eat, drink, or do his business; then he is right back at the door, wanting back in.
Blue loves belly rubs. He'll gladly turn over for scratches any old time.
Good thing the kids have skills we don't 😉
ReplyDeleteThis is fabulous news, Donna! I bet this is such a life-changer for Cliff (and you)!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that Cliff is hearing better now they tweaked it. What a gift to hear again.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have to set up my technology things for me too! Wendy
Wow. What a difference someone in the know can make. That chili sounds good. I may make that tomorrow. You have best best ideas.
ReplyDeleteHooray! Kristen is my audiologist too! Be sure and have her check, or re-check the "pairing" of the implant to the smart phone. At first, I wanted to keep changing the volume sometimes with the implant, but Kristen showed me how it's much easier to do with the cell phone. Hearing directly into the implant for phone calls is a whole new experience! It sounds MUCH better than speaker phone. With the same capability in my matching hearing aid on the left, my son is totally jealous. Grown kids have those ear buds to hear from their cell phones, but I automatically have very ritzy ones to hear directly via the implant and coordinating hearing aid. (Gosh, I didn't know there was that much difference between the audiologists, but some work with some brands of devices and their detailed start-up programs more than others.) The implant industry is hoping to get the technology to where you can get an adjustment done from the audiologist without leaving your home!) I still can tell, and hate people using speaker phones that are talking to me from their office desk cuz it's all distorted, whether you have devices or not. Have fun! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteOur granddaughter paired the app with the implant Saturday, so he's already using the app.
DeleteHow wonderful his hearing is so much better!
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief to have some progress on the hearing! Chili is wonderful on a cold day.
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