Today is the day I went back to the audiologist for more programming and to receive my second “backup” sound processor called “Neptune.”  This is the waterproof one.  It can be worn out of the water as well as in water.  It is not worn on the ear.  There is still a headpiece (the magnetic part) that is attached by a cord to the processor.  The Neptune processor can be worn on a clip and clipped to a collar or bathing suit strap or a hat or whatever you want basically.  It also can be worn in an armband or a lanyard.  There are a few other options, but those are the ones I chose.  The headpiece is white or black and the Neptune base is white.  I have an aqua blue piece that I can snap on to jazz up or change up the color and also a purple one!  I figured this is the one I can have some fun with and go a little crazy with color.  That would seem appropriate in a beach or pool setting.  The box that my Neptune came with that contains all of the parts, accessories and tools is seriously about the size of an airline carry on bag (the one that has wheels and comes in a set of suitcases!)It is HUGE!  It will be fun to try it out sometime soon.  

I did a little more “testing” this morning with Chet over coffee to see if I still favored one program over the other.  The result was the same as what I concluded yesterday.  I am definitely getting better clarity and understanding more words with Program 2.  The other one still sounds more natural and a little more pleasant to me, but once again, I could understand some words without lip reading (if they were spoken slowly and distinctly) with the second program but couldn’t make out much at all with the first.  When I talked to Dianna (my audiologist) today about it she said she tends to recommend going with the program with the most clarity even if it sounds more distorted.   She told me to take a few more days to decide (we meet again on Tuesday) and once I make the decision, we’ll go with that.  She said it will be better not to keep going back and forth between programs at that point.  It is quite obvious how much more distorted this is when I first switch from Program 1, but then I get used to it.  I can understand her point.  

She told me that I have all of the sounds now that the implanted electrode supplies.  On the first activation day, she tested my comfort level on these sounds in groups of 4 – today she did some in groups and some individually.  It just keeps fine tuning things for me.  The volume level that was most comfortable for me today was louder than it was last time.  She told me that at this point the goal is not to get used to louder and louder sounds.  It is just about what is most comfortable for me.  It still amazes me to hear sounds that I haven’t heard in years.  I can’t wait for my word comprehension to improve.  I think I will be one who finds the sound with my CI to be very close to natural sound.  It already is in some ways.  I used Program 2 almost all day today.  It doesn’t seem all that distorted right now.  I’m sure if I switched back to 1 and then came back it would be obvious again.  We did the process of adjusting the comfort level for me for both programs again today.  After that she was able to load those onto the Neptune, and then we tested it out.  She did have to increase the volume for both programs for me on the Neptune, but once she did that, it all sounded exactly the same as on the Naida.  We spent the rest of the appointment going over the equipment, parts, maintenance and care of this sound processor and how to tell the difference between the waterproof parts and the regular ones and how to use a different set of controls.  It all went great.  It is unbelievable how much this device does for someone deaf or severely hard of hearing and their quality of life.  What a blessing!

Chet and I were out and about for most of the day again today.  I have been wearing my Naida since about 7:30am and it still is comfortable more than 16 hours later!  Yesterday I used a smaller battery.  Today I tried my larger one.  The smaller one lasts about 10-12 hours right now on one charge.  Dianna said that will go down a little as we add more to my programming.  The larger battery lasts about 20-24 hours.  I got 3 rechargable batteries with my processor and had the option of sizes to choose.  The smaller one is completely hidden behind my ear and is slightly lighter weight to be wearing all day.  The larger one is still mostly hidden, but it does hang down far enough that you can see the bottom corner of it from behind my ear.  Not a huge deal, but it is just a little large for my ear size.  I wear it more than 10 or 12 hours per day, so both evenings I used the smaller battery, it died in the evening and I had to switch.  What I am thinking now is that I might wear the bigger one most of the time, but use the smaller one when I am more dressed up or out and about.  I am not usually gone for 10 hours running errands or going somewhere else, so I could just switch batteries when I got home and not have to carry extras around with me.  

This morning I also tested out my bluetooth device (called a ComPilot).  It worked with my cell phone.  I couldn’t understand what was being said on the phone, but am hoping that will come with time and practice.  That would be phenomenal if I could use a cell phone again!  I like being able to use the ComPilot as a remote for my processor also.  I put it around my neck when we were getting ready to leave and when I turned it on, there immediately was a sound like a phone ringing and then when I tried to answer it it sounded like talking (not intelligible to me, though) and then it gave me the impression that it was some kind of recording.  The thing was that my phone did not have bluetooth turned on and did not receive a call and neither did Chet’s.  Our home phone did not receive a call either.  I have no idea what I was picking up!  Chet suggested that maybe this was one of those situations the doctor warned me could take place with my brain coming up with something that didn’t happen because it doesn’t know what to do with the input.  If that’s what this was, you’d think I would have “imagined” something I could at least understand (like the recording!).  Oh well.  Dianna said she doesn’t know what that could have been, so maybe Chet’s right. I guess we’ll see what happens in the future.  I think the bluetooth features will be amazing once my word comprehension improves.  I can see a day in the not too distant future when I might prefer what I hear with the CI over what I hear with a hearing aid.  I asked Dianna if the improvement I had with my hearing on the left side changed my hearing levels enough to  disqualify me from being a candidate for another cochlear implant eventually, and it does not.  We don’t know about the word comprehension yet, but we’ll see where we are when the time comes to consider it again.  You have to have hearing levels that meet a certain criteria and also have word comprehension that meets a certain criteria in order to be a cochlear implant candidate.  Right now I’m just going to focus on getting the best result I possibly can with the one I already have.  I’m not really much more tired than I normally would be from working harder at communication.  As I mentioned yesterday, I really am well prepared for how I can function best at whatever hearing level I am at.  I think I probably am a little more tired than I normally would be, but it’s not a huge difference, at least today.  I continue to give God the credit and to thank Him for carrying me through the surgery safely and giving me such a successful result.  It is turning out to be so much better than I could have imagined!