08 February 2017

Implant3

On 20 January I went to hospital for an operation. One operation in my right ear consisting of - Removal of the existing cochlear implant and a spacer inserted
- Removal of necrotic tissue, a result of cancer treatment
- Removal of the spacer and implantation of a new cochlear implant
- A ‘blind sac’ to fill any space created by the removal of the necrotic tissue, seals up the ear canal.

The operation took 4 to 5 hours [I was unconscious] and was apparently successful. No stitches or staples, the ENT doc used something called skin glue to finish off. I think it’s something they use for burns patients but don’t quote me. feels kind of plastic behind my ear.

Third switch-on was on February 7 and was also successful.
I have just had the initial switch-on but no fine-tuning [starts next week], but already I have regained useable hearing. I had chipmunks at first, but just a day later it's waning. AMAZING how quickly the brain has adapted.
Remote - took up were I left off
TVStreamer - operational
MiniMic - works well
PhoneClip - excellent

Hearing thru one device for that period really made me appreciate having TWO implants, functional. Now I’m coming back to how I was in early January, which is pretty good. There will of course be a period of retraining over the next months while I’m getting accustomed to the new implant [same N6 processors]. What an experience!

Thanx Cochlear for the fantastic devices!
Thanx Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre, especially Audiologist Erika!
Thanx Cochlear Implant Experiences for being there!
Thanx ENT surgeon and medical staff at Mater Sydney!


Nearly back to bilateral…

And a switch-on movie


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