Hi Everybody! I am getting switched on on the 7 & 8th nov (not far away now!!) I wiould like to hear of your experiences with activation. Were you disappointed?, did it go better than you thought?, was it emotional? Who was there with you? What was the 1st thing you 'heard'? I know every-one's experience is different but am interested in reading about it.TIA!
What to expect on Activation?
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LuciaDisturbed
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My activation went well, I wasn't disappointed but that's because I had hardly any expectations to start with, I had NO idea what it would sound like. I will say this, however, the sounds did seem weird. But I accepted them. My fiance Abel came with me, I heard my audiologist's voice, could not hear Abel's voice that day because his voice is softer...I can hear his voice now, though.
Sounds are starting to sound a lot less weird. I want to say "more normal" but well I wouldn't know because I don't know what normal sounds like!
Sounds are starting to sound a lot less weird. I want to say "more normal" but well I wouldn't know because I don't know what normal sounds like!
R2D2
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I would keep your expectations very very low for the activation period. The first stage is to get you used to sound again and clarity will only come later.
What happens (assuming you have a Cochlear Freedom) is that the audie will first put on the external processor and make sure your magnet is strong enough etc. Then she will hook you up to the computer and check that all 22 of your electrodes work. Next she will set your threshold levels for each electrode - the softest sound you can hear. Once she has done that she will then set the comfort level, that being the loudest sound you can hear. And then she will click on the "go!" button or whatever it is and that will be when you go live.
What people experience for the first time can be very different. Some people hear really well right away and go home and use a phone whereas others like me needed more time to figure it out.
When I was first activated I was started off at 2400hz (assuming you have a Cochlear Freedom?) and what I heard was static. My audie spoke to me but I didn't hear her. She kept on turning it up until I realised that the static increased in volume every time she spoke. I couldn't hear my husband who was sitting across from me at all. She then said that it would improve and then sent me off on my merry way. The whole process took about 2 hours.
When I walked back to the carpark I realised I could hear my footsteps and I began to feel more confident then that the CI would work for me. Then voices started to sound like beeps and then like voices, albeit all female ones. I could understand speech quite well although I knew that they sounded really off. Background noises took a while to fade in and I didn't hear cars, dogs barking etc for 2 weeks.
It's been 4 months now and what I hear today sounds absolutely nothing like that first day. I had days in those first few weeks when I felt frustrated and wished my progress would go faster.
Be prepared to have a honeymoon stage to begin with when you revel in the fact that you can hear sound and then a back down to earth period after that when you realise that the clarity is off and that it takes time to work on it. Don't expect to give up on all of your support props in the first few weeks - take a slow and steady approach.
Hope that helps!! And let us know how it all goes.
What happens (assuming you have a Cochlear Freedom) is that the audie will first put on the external processor and make sure your magnet is strong enough etc. Then she will hook you up to the computer and check that all 22 of your electrodes work. Next she will set your threshold levels for each electrode - the softest sound you can hear. Once she has done that she will then set the comfort level, that being the loudest sound you can hear. And then she will click on the "go!" button or whatever it is and that will be when you go live.
What people experience for the first time can be very different. Some people hear really well right away and go home and use a phone whereas others like me needed more time to figure it out.
When I was first activated I was started off at 2400hz (assuming you have a Cochlear Freedom?) and what I heard was static. My audie spoke to me but I didn't hear her. She kept on turning it up until I realised that the static increased in volume every time she spoke. I couldn't hear my husband who was sitting across from me at all. She then said that it would improve and then sent me off on my merry way. The whole process took about 2 hours.
When I walked back to the carpark I realised I could hear my footsteps and I began to feel more confident then that the CI would work for me. Then voices started to sound like beeps and then like voices, albeit all female ones. I could understand speech quite well although I knew that they sounded really off. Background noises took a while to fade in and I didn't hear cars, dogs barking etc for 2 weeks.
It's been 4 months now and what I hear today sounds absolutely nothing like that first day. I had days in those first few weeks when I felt frustrated and wished my progress would go faster.
Be prepared to have a honeymoon stage to begin with when you revel in the fact that you can hear sound and then a back down to earth period after that when you realise that the clarity is off and that it takes time to work on it. Don't expect to give up on all of your support props in the first few weeks - take a slow and steady approach.
Hope that helps!! And let us know how it all goes.
sr171soars
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Ummm....I have to think about this as it was about 1 1/2 years ago. Probably the first thing I heard was my Audi asking if I could hear her. Oh yea, I'm one of those who could understand speech right off. I heard my wife speaking to me and my kids playing quietly between themselves. I remember hearing some kind of announcement over a speaker system. My own voice was ridiciously loud to the point that I had to whisper at first. It didn't sound like my voice either and that threw me off big time (while the others were more or less the way I heard them before). In fact, I had a little tear at that and it was funny that my Audi thought it was tears of joy (believe me I was grateful it worked very well but it was the sheer volume of sound I was hearing that did me in 
). I admit it took me about two or three days to really understand my daughter with her higher pitched voice. My son wasn't a problem.
When leaving the center to go to the car, I heard the vehicles and the buses were far too loud. While driving to a restaurant to "celebrate" my hookup, I could really hear the car's engine. My wife was on the cellphone and I heard her side of the conversation pretty well (speaking with my mom and her mom over the hookup). In the restaurant, I was flummoxed by all the clattering of the dishes, plates, people talking, and the music going overhead. I couldn't believe how noisy everything was and I finally understood what I had been missing all these years. I had used the phone to talk with my brother on day three or four. He was amazed at what I could understand and I wasn't missing anything either.
To sum it up, I had a great hookup even though it was so overwhelming at times. It came out even better than I thought it would (I had thought it would take a couple of weeks). I literally was a going concern with speech by day two and maybe a week will all the sounds in general.
Of course, my experience is probably not the most typical one but it shows what is possible given one's background.
). I admit it took me about two or three days to really understand my daughter with her higher pitched voice. My son wasn't a problem.When leaving the center to go to the car, I heard the vehicles and the buses were far too loud. While driving to a restaurant to "celebrate" my hookup, I could really hear the car's engine. My wife was on the cellphone and I heard her side of the conversation pretty well (speaking with my mom and her mom over the hookup). In the restaurant, I was flummoxed by all the clattering of the dishes, plates, people talking, and the music going overhead. I couldn't believe how noisy everything was and I finally understood what I had been missing all these years. I had used the phone to talk with my brother on day three or four. He was amazed at what I could understand and I wasn't missing anything either.
To sum it up, I had a great hookup even though it was so overwhelming at times. It came out even better than I thought it would (I had thought it would take a couple of weeks). I literally was a going concern with speech by day two and maybe a week will all the sounds in general.
Of course, my experience is probably not the most typical one but it shows what is possible given one's background.
Hear Again
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I was one of those who could not understand speech immediately following the activation of my first and second CI.
However, when my first CI was activated, the first thing I remember is how metallic and extremely high pitched everything sounded. I also remember my audi's laughter as she observed my excitement at being able to hear my own voice. I couldn't help but laugh myself because it sounded so strange! LOL!
Some of the sounds I heard initially following my first CI activation include:
-- The sound of my own foosteps
-- Jingling of my guide dog's collar
-- Microwave beeping
-- Sound of computer keyboard as I type
-- Car turn signal
-- Click of a seatbelt latch being snapped closed
-- Chime clock
-- Birds singing
While it was still exciting, the activation of my second CI wasn't as dramatic. Just as with my first CI, I remember sounds and voices being extremely high pitched and indistinguishable.
The most obvious difference I noticed following the activation of my second CI was how much fuller and richer everything sounded. Voices also tended to take on a more "normal" (i.e. what I remember with HAs) sounding characteristic. Listening to music was a completely different (and amazing!) experience being able to hear it in stereo! I can still remember the first time I listened to my favorite CD with two "ears" -- I played it over and over again while sitting in front of my stereo crying happy tears of joy.
On the day of your activation, go in with a sense of adventure and curiosity. That's what I did and I was pleasantly surprised by how many environmental sounds I could hear. If you go into the experience expecting to understand speech, you may be sorely disappointed.
Good luck!
Hear Again
Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with 3G
Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05
Right ear - Nucleus Freedom
Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06
However, when my first CI was activated, the first thing I remember is how metallic and extremely high pitched everything sounded. I also remember my audi's laughter as she observed my excitement at being able to hear my own voice. I couldn't help but laugh myself because it sounded so strange! LOL!
Some of the sounds I heard initially following my first CI activation include:
-- The sound of my own foosteps
-- Jingling of my guide dog's collar
-- Microwave beeping
-- Sound of computer keyboard as I type
-- Car turn signal
-- Click of a seatbelt latch being snapped closed
-- Chime clock
-- Birds singing
While it was still exciting, the activation of my second CI wasn't as dramatic. Just as with my first CI, I remember sounds and voices being extremely high pitched and indistinguishable.
The most obvious difference I noticed following the activation of my second CI was how much fuller and richer everything sounded. Voices also tended to take on a more "normal" (i.e. what I remember with HAs) sounding characteristic. Listening to music was a completely different (and amazing!) experience being able to hear it in stereo! I can still remember the first time I listened to my favorite CD with two "ears" -- I played it over and over again while sitting in front of my stereo crying happy tears of joy.
On the day of your activation, go in with a sense of adventure and curiosity. That's what I did and I was pleasantly surprised by how many environmental sounds I could hear. If you go into the experience expecting to understand speech, you may be sorely disappointed.
Good luck!
Hear Again
Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with 3G
Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05
Right ear - Nucleus Freedom
Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06
tao-man
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Hi there. It is definitely an exciting yet weird experience amd everyone seems to be a little different. I was practically chanting a little mantra to myself "don't expect too much, don't expect too much." 
When they hooked me I could read the audi's lips as she asked me if I could hear anything but I had no sound coming in. Then she fiddled with the board and it turned out something was unplugged!
I could hear things straight away although they were oddly distorted. I put this in another post but the only way I could describe it is that people sounded like they were aliens made out of glass. Voices just had an odd vibrational/echoey quality to them.
That did fade away as my brain got used to processing the inputs sounds became more like what I remebered them as. Do expect to go through an initial period of hearing noises and wondering "what the heck is that?" I remember a lot of wandering around the house (I only hear out of one ear so my sense of direction sucks) trying to track down the strange sound I was hearing. Then I'd slap my forehead "Oh, the telephone's ringing."
When they hooked me I could read the audi's lips as she asked me if I could hear anything but I had no sound coming in. Then she fiddled with the board and it turned out something was unplugged! I could hear things straight away although they were oddly distorted. I put this in another post but the only way I could describe it is that people sounded like they were aliens made out of glass. Voices just had an odd vibrational/echoey quality to them.
That did fade away as my brain got used to processing the inputs sounds became more like what I remebered them as. Do expect to go through an initial period of hearing noises and wondering "what the heck is that?" I remember a lot of wandering around the house (I only hear out of one ear so my sense of direction sucks) trying to track down the strange sound I was hearing. Then I'd slap my forehead "Oh, the telephone's ringing."
Hear Again
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Tao,
I also experienced an "echoey" quality to speech. Mine sounded like a person talking in two different pitches. For the longest time it made speech very difficult to understand. I lived with this for almost a year before it finally disappeared. Now I'm pleased to report that 99% of what I hear sounds "normal." (i.e. what I remember with HAs)
Hear Again
Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with 3G
Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05
Right ear - Nucleus Freedom
Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06
I also experienced an "echoey" quality to speech. Mine sounded like a person talking in two different pitches. For the longest time it made speech very difficult to understand. I lived with this for almost a year before it finally disappeared. Now I'm pleased to report that 99% of what I hear sounds "normal." (i.e. what I remember with HAs)
Hear Again
Left ear - Nucleus 24 Contour Advance with 3G
Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05
Right ear - Nucleus Freedom
Implanted: 2/1/06 Activated: 3/1/06
Ephesians2_8
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you should expect hearing annoying sounds but it does improves as you get used to it, and keep going back for more mapping. If you don't go back for more mapping, you won't get the quality sounds that you need. The reason is because audiologists usually start out slowly so your brain can get used to it.