Jodi Speaks Her Mind

Initial Stimulation - ON 2/24/2006

Adelina received her external sound/speech processor yesterday, and it was activated at a very low volume level. There isn’t much to tell yet, as the initial stimulation session was pretty uneventful. Adelina did cry briefly at one point but we are pretty sure it was because of disapointment. Her tears were almost silent, whereas if she were expressing displeasure or dislike, she makes grimaces and there is no doubt that she is unhappy. She was just so excited and hopeful to have her “new and better hearing”, but the reality is that in the beginning the neurological stimulation of sounds is nothing like natural hearing. It will take her some time to adjust to it and learn how to listen with this new form of hearing. We go for another mapping session next Thursday where they will likely just up the volume a bit or maybe they will do more. I’m still trying to understand what “mapping” is all about. In any case, her cochlear implant is now “turned on” and it will be a matter of time before we know the results. In the meantime, she will continue to listen and speak as before using her hearing aid in cooperation with her CI. The expectation is that someday she will begin to rely more heavily on the CI than on the hearing aid, especially since it will allow her to hear sounds currently outside of her range of natural, amplified hearing.

More as it develops…