CI Moment - 20 years later

I've just celebrated my 20th anniversary of my cochlear implant!  Back when it was all new, fellow CI users would talk about our "CI moments" - events that were notable because we could now hear, but would have been impossible before getting our CIs.

Well, wouldn't you know - yesterday, I had a "CI moment" - an experience that surprised me because I was hearing something that was totally unexpected.  This event would have been totally impossible without my CI, but I suspect wouldn't even have been possible without many years of CI practice.

I was in a large drug store, getting a prescription refilled. I had told them that I would shop in the store while waiting for it to be ready.  I was engrossed in checking out all the various make-up and Halloween displays, when I thought I heard "Arlene to the pharmacy please" over a loudspeaker. It wasn't very loud, and I had never been aware that they would make that kind of announcement, but I went back to the pharmacy and asked if they had paged me.  Yes - indeed they had!   Definitely a CI moment, for sure!

There's more to the story, though.  Recently, I have been listening to recorded books while driving in my car - something I hadn't done in many, many years.  I used to listen to "books on tape" as audiotherapy practice, but had given that up long ago.  Just recently, though, I had gotten very tired of listening to the radio - the news reports were so depressing - so I figured getting some books on CDs would be a good alternative. 

I had just finished the 29-CD recording of the biography Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow, that had inspired the Broadway show.  I found it fascinating, and looked forward to driving so I could listen to more.  What I discovered, interestingly, was that I seemed to be hearing "better" in general situations.  It was just an impression, and certainly still not "totally normal" hearing, but definitely relatively "better."  I seemed to be able to get words at greater distances with improved clarity.  And this practice was also forcing my brain to rely only on sound - no captioning or other cues. 

Fast forward to the "Arlene to the pharmacy" announcement, and it fits right in with my recent experience.  Getting better speech discrimination, and awareness.  Just what I had been practicing in my car - and plan to continue doing!

Progress - with practice - after 20 years!

Better Speech and Hearing Month Crossword Challenge

Here it is May, again - which is Better Speech and Hearing Month!  Last year, the HLAA magazine, Hearing Loss, published a special crossword puzzle in celebration of this event.  It's called Hooked on Bionics, and is really fun - well worth bringing back for an encore!

Just click here for the puzzle, and click here for the answer key, as well as bio information about the puzzle constructor, George Barany - and some more info about me, too!

If you're curious about how this came to be, then you might want to check out a great bunch of crossword puzzle enthusiasts here.  There's nothing else about hearing loss at that site, but I think you'll agree that's a refreshing change of pace!

NE Cochlear Implant Convention - persistence of memories

The  Northeast Cochlear Implant Convention 2013 is coming up next week, being held at the Holiday Inn, in Boxborough, Massachusetts on July 26-28.  This year, I am one of the presenters - doing a session on bilateral cochlear implants on Sunday, July 28 at 9 AM, and also doing a booksigning on Saturday, July 27 at 4:30 PM.

The history of this convention runs deep for me - I was at the very first one, held  in June of 1997, researching my own cochlear implant options.   I wasn't alone, either - it was there that I met many of what became a close-knit group of "first generation" cochlear implant users.  We weren't exactly pioneers, but cochlear implants weren't exactly commonplace yet either. 

Those were the days when you had to have very little hearing left to qualify - about 20% using hearing aids.  I didn't have to worry, though - my hearing at that point was just 8% in my "better" ear.  I met people like myself, researching their options - and I also met people who had already gotten their CI's.  I didn't have to be sold, though - I was desperate - my long journey from normal to profound deafness had reached its ultimate destination.

I made a return visit to this convention in 2001, to sign copies of my first book, Hear Again - Back to Life with a Cochlear Implant.  And now, in 2013, I'm looking forward to talking about bilateral cochlear implants, and also signing copies of my second book, Listening Closely: A Journey to Bilateral Hearing.  

 I have to smile at the thought of returning to my "alma mater" once again this year, as a member of its original graduating class.  

Cochlear Implants: Book talks and more

I've been busy talking!  Book talking, that is.  I had three interesting book talks scheduled in the past few weeks - presentations to groups with hearing loss and beyond!

Let's start with the National Court Reporters Assn convention, held in Philadelphia last month.  I was asked to present on "The Basics of Hearing Loss and the Need for CART and Captioning Services."  I was really looking forward to doing this one, as court reporters are the wonderful folks who do realtime captioning (CART), something I desperately needed to function prior to getting my cochlear implants - and that I still use depending on the event and environment.  I had intended to speak and answer questions for an hour and then do a booksigning with the remaining 30 minutes.  But the discussions got so intense and meaningful, we overflowed to 90 minutes - and then continued with the booksigning in the hallway!  A few days later, I was delighted to see an NCRA member review of my session posted on the NCRA website - calling my session "beyond inspiring."  Made my day!

And then a few days later, I learned that one of the court reporters, who had attended my session, lent a copy of my book Listening Closely to one of her neighbors, whose daughters have Usher's Syndrome (deaf/blind).  Again, I was delighted to learn that the mother had written a blog about my books entitled "A special book and author"!  I wrote those books to help others, so it was such an incredible feeling to know that goal was being met once again.

The second book talk was at my temple's Book Club.  They had chosen my book, Listening Closely , to discuss.  I was looking forward to this discussion too - new territory for me - as I wanted to delve into the spiritual aspects of my book, not just cochlear implants as miracles, but the interesting circumstances that surrounded the events and writing of this book. We began with the title - that it refers to more than just hearing. Two hours later, we were still going strong, with many opinions and perspectives - but had to stop then because they had to close the building.  I'm looking forward to addressing other groups on this topic. After all, a device that allows the deaf to hear is a miracle - with much to discuss if you listen closely.

And the third book talk occurred yesterday, when I addressed the Morris County (NJ) chapter of the Hearing Loss Assn of America.  Since this group included people with hearing aids, cochlear implants, as well as spouses, I made sure to cover the entire landscape. And that is what is so incredible about my 40 years' experience with hearing loss - it encompasses:

• normal hearing
• a slow degenerative hearing loss that provided experience with all degrees of hearing loss - mild, moderate, severe, profound
• using a cochlear implant in one ear - vintage 1997
• enduring a device failure after 10 years
• understanding what sudden deafness is like - as a device failure plunged me from hearing into silence
• being reimplanted, and comparing and contrasting new technology to old
• using one CI was like having single-sided deafness
• the benefits of bilateral hearing with two CIs - particularly from the user's point of view, not just booth testing

With that as background, I mentioned why my blog is called ASK ARLENE, and why my Walk4Hearing team is also called ASK ARLENE !  And ask they did!  And I also did a booksigning - and I know those books will help others understand hearing loss and cochlear implants.

That's what's been keeping me busy - speaking and connecting with others - on hearing loss, cochlear implants, and beyond.

Cochlear Implant Realities - even in elevators

This week I attended the New Jersey Governor's Conference for Women, held in the Atlantic City Convention Center.  It was my third time attending this event, and I looked forward to it. The focus of this conference is to empower, with a full schedule of networking receptions, workshops and inspirational speakers.  With my bilateral cochlear implants, I'm much better equipped to "work a room" at the networking receptions - something impossible to do if you can't flit from one person to the next seamlessly and confidently.  I could also function quite well at the workshops, but used an assistive listening device at the huge plenary sessions in the cavernous convention hall with 1000 other women.

One of the workshops really struck a chord with me - "Creating Your Personal Elevator Pitch" - a how-to of making a good first impression in 30 to 60 seconds.  As the panel presenters gave their helpful tips, it dawned on me that all of them were making a big assumption - being able to hear.  I'm not shy at these events, so I jumped at the chance to explain to the packed room that "elevator speeches" had particular relevance for me.  I wrote about talking to people in elevators in my first book, Hear Again.  When my hearing was at the profound level, whenever I entered an elevator, I would hope that people wouldn't talk to me, simply because I wouldn't be able to understand them and respond.  I would actually avert my eyes away from the people in the elevator, as I tried to avoid communication - and embarrassment.  My cochlear implants changed that - with my first one bringing me back to communicating with people, and then my bilateral CIs, allowing me to connect to the people around me.  No "better side" anymore, and that, too, is empowering.

I felt obligated to bring my personal perspectives to the attention of that roomful of hearing people.  I'm sure they all probably take their normal hearing for granted, but perhaps I opened their eyes a bit.  I also described my books and advocacy - and got a round of applause.  As usual, someone came over to me after the session, asking for help in coping with her own hearing loss - a perfect example of networking and empowering.