Kristel Scoresby is the author of “Journey to Silence and Back to Sound”, a blog that she kept from the beginning of her hearing journey through her first year with a Cochlear™ Implant.
In Kristel’s words:
The original intention of this blog:
My world is slowly going silent. And I have things to say about it. So this is the place it’s going to get said. One day, someone else out there will need direction to navigate their own silencing world. May they find this blog and know it’s going to be okay.
The new journey:
Implanted with Cochlear Nucleus 5 on December 20, 2011
Activated on January 5, 2012
Kristel’s 1st year journey in milestones:
Kristel shares her challenges, victories, and hopes for the future in her incredibly honest account of her first year with a cochlear implant. To read her complete story click on any of the titles below or visit “Journey to Silence & Back Again.”
Year 1 in quotes:
Surgery
I know it was 10 days ago, but I still feel like I need to post my version of the surgery for my family members who may decide to get an implant one day. I have dozens and dozens of family members with severe to profound hearing loss. Not one has gotten a cochlear implant. I hope with my success, others will be more willing to consider it.
Activation Day
clink, clink, clink, clink
The ice hitting each other in my glass of diet coke.dip……dip…..dip…..dip……dip
The clock in my bathroom ticking.putter, putter, putter
Joshua’s feet running on the kitchen floor.tap, tap, tap, tap
The sound of my Droid as I am typing.ROOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRRR
The world.The implant works. Oh, happy day.
The sound of the keyboard as I type is actually quite distracting. Well, there are a lot of sounds that are distracting. So much that I cannot listen or focus on someone talking. I’m turning around, to my left, to my right constantly to play a new game called, ‘What’s that sound?’
Her husband’s version of activation day
My other favorite time was when she heard my voice for the first time and gave this big happy sigh, ‘Ahhhh….’ Later, Kristel said that it sounded like home. That made me really happy. – Evan
Watch Kristel’s activation video (filmed by her husband, Evan)
The hardest phase of being newly activated
All those people out there who think this is a quick fix couldn’t be further from the truth! One day at a time!
There are so many things I am hearing SO well. I just really have to make sure I stay in the moment and appreciate how far I have come, not worry about how far I still need to go. Hooray for celebrating.
Back to work
I was nervous to start back today after my new map yesterday.
I just have to give a shout-out to my co-workers. I was just overcome with emotion today at how absolutely amazing and supportive and loving they all are. Truly. I am surrounded by the best of the best.
2 months post activation
Today was my 4th mapping. It’s been almost two months since activation. My audiologist wanted to put me in the sound booth, and I immediately felt the panic rising. I hate being tested. Those awful feelings of incompetency accompany sound booth testing. But I agreed to it. Sigh.
3 months post activation
My 3’s list:
My 3 favorite sounds:
- Listening to the kids breathe
- The chime notifications on my phone
- The sounds of cooking
My 3 favorite hearing moments:
- Catching Evan ordering an expensive meal from the drive-through when we had planned to just order from the value menu. (It was hilarious when I caught him too, he still can’t believe I heard that.)
- My daughter calling me from her bedroom with me responding and answering her question naturally without even realizing a miracle had just taken place.
- Hearing the comments from the women at church when I taught for the first time without my assistive listening device on.
My 3 biggest surprises:
- Already not needing my extra assistive listening devices
- Catching some words on television without captioning
- How quickly I am gaining confidence in social settings
My 3 hardest hearing environments:
- The phone
- Any place that has noise (though I can now hear okay when it’s just my kids making their normal noise).
- Doctor’s offices (With no carpet to absorb sound, it’s like a bouncing echo nightmare in those little offices.)
The 3 words I would use to describe my CI journey thus far:
- Hard
- Miraculous
- Healing
8 months post activation
My phone comprehension has improved dramatically (still just with the neckloop but I’ll take it!) I can now understand the messages on talk radio. The stress has just melted off me these last few months. My hearing is nowhere near normal, but I feel like the richest person in the world right now.
The benefits of having a cochlear implant to a mom
I remember well this time last year, how isolated and anxious I felt each day. So much has changed in the last year for me. I rarely feel lonely. I rarely feel anxious about communicating. I am so lucky! The greatest benefit to my hearing abilities is understanding my children.
Knowing that someone else has been “there” before is sometimes all we need to not feel alone. If you’d like to share your hearing loss blog with others email cochlearwire@cochlear.com.
