Originally Posted by SkullChick

I'm different, I never really listened to music all my life only watched music video or heavy metal/rocks to feel beats so I didn't learn to listen to instruments, vocal, etc so I don't like listening to most music with CI, I only like soft music, simple music, good beat music or clear female voice singing with slow music. I can't understand what they are saying while singing its too hard for me because of guitars, drums mix the sound up. So I need caption or lyrics then I can catch some words with CI.

I understand what you mean. I shouldn't be exciting. Thank you for sharing with your experience.

I can't use phone because I don't speak well enough and I need lipreading with sound to understand people. I can only communicate with people if one on one right now but in group I have really hard time only can catch few words.

Darn it. Do you think it will take 5 to 10 years later to speak on phone? It's your first time to get CI since last Feb.

But I can hear clock ticking, cat purring, meow, rain, ocean waves, stair creaking, everything! And the speech comprehension listening and lipreading combo increased from 40% to 80% in 3 months for me. So I consider myself successful.

That's good. I will learn it when I receive CI.

Since you were born deaf and doesn't speak or listen well with ha for speech you are more likely not being able to use phone because its very hard I can't do it. Its ok.

I never hear on the phone with HA because I'm profound deaf. It's okay if I can't speak on phone. Maybe in 10 years later? Who know..

And it will take a lot of work to understand some of speech you will need a lot of therapy, practice listening to people, tv with caption to follow what you hear, read book and listen to book on cd same time to try match up word you hear and reading book, use lipreading to fill in some blank you can't understand with CI, music will be confusing and you might not going to like it or you might will like it I don't know every one is different.
Important to keep your expectation low and not to get too excited about CI because it will be hard and frustrating process. Like first activation it will sound too weird, beep, sound like feedback, whistling, a lot of very weird noise it will go away if you learn to know what sound you hear so it improve and sound different

You're right. I think it's beginning to learn first step. I will test if i like to listen the music or not. I will see it. I don't want too loud on music.

for example you watch tv in black and white everyone look same until you saw all 10 people eat black balls then a man tell you number 1 is eating red apple then black ball change to red apple because you learn what it is and number 2 is eating orange it change into orange because you learn what it is and number 3 is eating grapes it changes into grapes so after you learn what all 10 people are eating it don't look all same anymore its all different because you learned what it is.
Its same way with sound at first everything sound kind of same but when you learn what bird sound like, what voices sound like, etc it change and now all sound different.
Understand it now?