Call for Nominations - the song

Update 26 February - First - I am NOT giving in! It's now three months since the switch-on.
The adoption of the implant is continuing and so far the results have been, well, spectacular. Music remains a problem and obviously a problem for the longer term, maybe after #2 listening will be easier - at the moment all sound is arriving in [what passes for] my brain all at once and with little differentiation. The speech processor is just that, it is geared to speech primarily.
So - I'm going to award the prize for the music nomination, based on memory rather than realistic hearing [nothing would pass in that case]. Now is the time for last-minute nominations. You have until the end of February to get them in either via email, or use the form further down the page. Remember - it'll have to be something memorable, post-2000 and melodic.

Update 26 November - There are now 32 nominations, hearing is not quite right to announce a winner [they'd all fail with this jangly hearing] so keep 'em coming. Remember melody, harmony, pre-2000 is possible. How young do you think I am? The boyish good looks fooled you!

Update 23 November - I thought that I might have a better appreciation of music. It's certainly better than before tune-up#1 but still jangly. Hopefully with time and despite the mono-ness music will become meaningful again.

Update 21 November - As a result of the first tune-up I will start listening to familiar music. This will assist in re-training me to hear music better. Then I can better judge the nominations. So keep those nominations rolling in!

Update 13 November - The Call for Nominations song poll is still open and will remain so until I think I'm ready to attempt to hear music - thats a big step!

So get your entries in, as many as you like. There is a prize!

[Hint - I'm looking for something melodic and harmonic, something I might recognise. I have a few ideas, but I welcome any suggestion]

Notes at the bottom of this page

Song title	The nominator said...	I said
All You Need is Love	LG suggested it	The Beatles, I can think of a lot of Beatles songs which could be contenders for the ‘The Song’ I’m less-inclined to the Paul McCartney end of the catalog however
any Neil Young songs	You can blame his bad singing	I don’t find NY’s songs terribly melodic or harmonic, even though I did listen to Harvest all those years ago
Anything by The Pixies	The Pixies were the band Kurt Cobain tried to imitate when he wrote Nirvana's best known song, Smells Like Teen Spirit. Why is this good for Couani? Because The Pixies pioneered the quiet-loud-quiet-loud verse/chorus template that is the basis for a lot of alternative rock since the late ’80s. Thus a song such as Monkey Gone To Heaven or Gigantic will test his range of hearing. It will also make him rock like a bastard. Turn it up, JC. Turn it up loud.	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Ave Maria		Best sung by a single female voice with minimal accompaniment. Another song to die for.
Birds in backyards-Top 40 bird songs	For the memory to kick in	I look forward to hearing as many birds as I can, including the mascot. Not really music as required by the poll, but a good suggestion
Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve		I heard this song on too many ads or something for it to be a contender. Didn’t like the lead vocal.
Blessed Essence- Children	It is	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Children (Dream Version) - 7:06 - Robert Miles - Dreamland	Via my friend J.: "It starts off with rain in a forest and then moves onto the piano before slowly going into the beginning of the song. Build up is amazing."	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Eva Cassidy's over the Rainbow	Tony here mate .. late as usual. Try Eva she's absolutely wonderful and that's coming from a guy who doesn't really like vocalists	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Every Breath You Take by The Police	Hit of the 80s which I took a liking to because my son was a great fan of The Police band.	Nominated twice. Do love this song – whether an appropriate test of hearing…
Eye of the Tiger, Survivor	Oh, who cares what happened since 2000. The Best of Britney is her willingness to appear nude, not her music. The Day the Music Died was sometime just after 1990. Nothing's been good since...	Are you kidding? This was suggested by at least two respondents!
Fallen, Sarah McLachlan	cos it is beautiful and describes where you have been, but is also filled with positive energy for the future, enjoy	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Good Vibrations, Beach Boys	The cochlear relies on them	Excellent choice, and God Only Knows, one of my favourite songs. Contenders
hallelujah, jeff buckley	certainly recognisable, definitely melodic, and the bloke has a very good vocal range, could be too high in parts for you to handle but maybe not...	With the right singer, a song to die for. I wish I knew who sang the version which made me melt when I heard it
Hawaii 5-0 theme	To distinguish ringtones	I’ve heard quite enough of Steve’s Theme song in tinnitus. Latest version played on a banjo – think about it.
Henryk Goreckis Symphony no 3	Hauntingly beautiful	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
Hey Jude - The Beetles	Any of the Beetles songs would be good to listen to. You dont want anything too head banging when you start out. Best if you have lyrics also so you can follow as you listen. Even do some from YouTube.	Apparently written by John Lennon as "Hey Jules" and altered by PMcC. A good song, although the na, na, na, na bizzo gets up my nose.
INTO MY ARMS, nICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS	JUST BOOOOOTIFUL	Agreed - another song to die for
John Denver Children of the Universe	I just captioned this song today, so you can follow along as you listen. The lyrics are beautiful and John Denver has an amazing voice. <http://deafmomworld.com/john-denver-song-makes-me-think-of-deafhard-of-hearing-children/>	I don't know this song but John Denver could certainly sing a mean song. Singable usually - have to hear it.
Moon River Audrey Hepburn	Moon river with a Lisa Simpson voice could be interesting.	A song which rips your guts out. Pure, simple
OLD MAN, NEIL yOUNG	YA JUST GOTTA DO IT FOR NOSTALGIA'S SAKE	What is it with Neil Young!?
Praise You Fatboy slim	"I have to celebrate you baby, I have to praise you like I should".....	Where’s the melody/harmony? Not the right kind of song
RockLobster B52s	cant get those BeeHive dos out of my head fun, fun, fun	Good and few more B52s tracks are contenders [Love Shack has great harmonies]
Sadness Prt1	Blessed Essence	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
SiX Million Dollar Man theme	Cause you're bionic	As far as I can recall, was this actually music?
Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkle	Its quite obvious really .....	Ahh the irony, but and excellent choice for harmonies and melody. Singable
Spanish Flea - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass	You know why	Sadly enough this is a great suggestion and a few others of Herbs. Cheesy but good!
the ship song, nick cave	all time beautiful, melodic song ...just listen to it.. deaf or not .. you'll know what I mean.........	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
The Wonder of You	For practice	Elvis – there’s a few Elvis songs which could easily be contenders
Thievery Corporation The Richest Man In BabyloN-	GOOD SOLID BASS	Unknown to me – I’ll have to hear them
this is the end , the doors	one of those never ending all time greats from way before	Agreed - there are few Doors songs which capture the moment…
Us & Them	Pink Ployd. No reason in particular, I just love the song!	Pink Floyd DsotM. Haven’t heard it for a while but I think there might be more melodic tracks.
Valley Girl and catholic girls Frank Zappa	With a tongue like a cow she can make you go Wow!	Unfortunately known to me. Where’s the melody?
walk on the wild side, lou reed	tres kool....feels goood	I saw Lou when he came to Sydney during the Walk on the Wild Side days. I think I can’t go along with this nomination because of that
Yesterday - The Beetles	Because it is easy listening and you can try and listen to the words as well as the music.	Always been a good song, nice easy tune

Higgledy-Piggledy birds in Byron

OK you can stop waiting, or pestering me for the latest cinematic extravaganza.
Forget the Oscars, Heath Who?!

Presenting Butcher Birds in Byron Bay, the movie. Don't wait for the book.

Trip to Byron Bay

13 February
We arrived in Woolgoolga mid afternoon and noticed that there were a lot of rainbow lorikeets around. At sunset there were 1000s of them. And there were some black cockatoos too. And my friends the butcher birds but not so many of them. And kookaburras eating pizza.

14 February
We drove to Byron along the coast - raining most of the way. Booked into the Byron cabin about 3pm. Byron town is overrun by Queenslanders. Must be a public holiday in QLD we think.
Later a butcher bird came by to see what was happening in our cabin...

15 February
We went to Uki in the morning for the 'market'
Later, in Byron, I went into the ocean for the first time since I have had hearing devices - and certainly the first time since I went 100% deaf. The sea bed was not flat and the currents were strong. I found it had to walk into the surf [balance].
At least we had sun after lots of rain over the weekend.

17 February
Another beach outing.
There was no rain, but cloud cover. Tried a different beach and was able to catch a wave!
Heard the butcher birds in the morning and during the day. Beautiful

18 February
Beautiful Tallow beach, too many currents to stand confidently in the water, but splashed around a bit. The roar of the surf was deafening until I took the external bit off. Met a friend for lunch in Mullumbimby. Nice town, nice old weatherboard houses. I hope suburbia doesn't invade too soon!

I give up here's some pics

Byron Trip 02 2009

On the way back

Tamworth - home of the bogan

This Blog is Viewed around the World

I'll add to this list as I see them.
Down on the right hand side of this blog there's a panel [Feedjit] which shows which country the audience comes from and which page they came from. Many come from deafvillage.com, a reciprocal linked site in the USofA. The little flag denotes the country. I'm amazed at the range of different countries. Lots of websurfers out there.

Here's some I've seen

Australia of course
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong [China]
India
Indonesia
Iran
Pakistan
Phillipines
Russia
Taiwan
Turkey
United States

notable exceptions
Switzerland

Facilities available

Here's a list of known facilities for those using electronic devices to enhance their hearing experience.
Those listed as bad will be written to, so they may correct their non-provision of appropriate services.

Those with telecoil devices [hearing aids, cochlear implants] might care to make a positive or negative nomination by commenting below [or email me]. Give your nomination a rating. Entries will be added to the table.

Rating	Location	Notes
Excellent	Museum of Sydney, AGL Theatre	Check with staff first
Good	Palace Cinema Norton St, Leichhardt	Ask for the telecoil to be turned on
Good	Better Hearing Aust [NSW] Concord	Excellent use of telecoil public address system - the PA is better than for natural hearing people!
Bad	Dendy Newtown King St	Asked for the telecoil to be turned-on - Apparently out of action

There are three ratings [final arbiter - me]
Excellent
When the loop works as it should - as if you're hearing the speaker
Good
Applies when the service provided works for those who can't hear properly

Bad
Applies when there are no facilities or service is non-existant. Letters will be sent.

Ugly
Applies when the experience is more than negative, like if a service is offered, for a fee or disdain is shown toward those not suitable for their precious system. Luckily not experienced yet. These will be reported to relevant authorities

3 month tune-up

Today it was time for the three month tune-up.
More personalisation of the settings [there are four modes plus telecoil only], refining the settings I do have to suit my hearing experience.

I also underwent the Speech Recognition test in the soundproof booth.
It consisted of four tests
Individual words
Sentences
Sentences with noise overlay [in which a recorded voice speaks sentences with a raucous noise playing at the same time]

I found that letters such as F and S, M and N, and D and T were the trouble areas but I think that is to be expected. Overall results were good with 60% above average in the 'individual words' test.

Next scheduled tune-up is May 2009.

31/01/09 - 31/07/08 = 6mths

Yep it's six months since that fateful day when I awoke totally deaf.
Who'd have thought then that I'd have the hearing I have now? Who'd have thought I'd be going to Speech-Reading at Concord [not Burwood]? Who'd have thought I'd meet the people I've met?

Don't forget to check the hearing diary for up-to-the-minute [well, fortnight] reports of the latest hearing spectaculars.

Now, how to celebrate the semi-anniversary?
Crack a half-bottle of champagne or other sparkling beverage over the speech processor? Too messy
Lottery tickets? Can you buy half a lottery ticket?
Maybe go and have a look at half an iPhone [front half, more interesting] in anticipation of the day…

Make a suggestion!

Tune-up #4

So I have had re-mapping [I call them tune-ups] number 4 on the 8th January. The settings I have settled onto are now arranged thusly

Setting	Purpose	Note
1	General Purpose	This is the setting that is on when I turn on the device. I use it for general day-to-day listening.
2	General + Telecoil	This is the same as #1 telecoil is on as well. This allows me to hear something on the phone but also in the nearby environment. So I can speak to someone on the phone and someone nearby too.
3	TV	This is meant for watching television with but I find TV noisy and annoying. I prefer subtitles/captions I think.
4	Noisy	This one is for noisy situations. However the situations I find myself in are SO noisy I asked Monica to turn it down. It's not an antidote for aeroplanes and traffic
Telecoil	Phone	This setting is for standard [not mobiles or cordless] and at the movies. Theoretically it's able to be used at banks and other counters where the coil is in use but I ain't found none.

Higgledy-Piggledy Birds movie

After my tune-up of 8 January 2009 [Happy Nude Year by the way] I thought "maybe I can hear them". I went to the park in the early-ish morning, a couple of times but couldn't tell if they were there or not.
Then I thought I'd heard the mascot Butcher-birds. I grabbed the camera and went scurrying up to the park to see if I could hear them, see them and record them. Yes is the answer and the result appears below. All made on a Mac.
The background is a bit noisy but when they sing they sing it out LOUD!! Be patient and you can see one of their silhouettes - they're difficult to see, let alone photograph! It's a bit shaky - I'll use a tripod next time. There were at least two having a good ol' sing-song.
I hope you enjoy it.

Third tune-up Wednesday

Back to Gladesville SCIC I had the third tune-up yesterday.
More of the same, twiddling with knobs and sparks flying out the back of the computer. Monica set more settings and the hearing is a bit clearer if that's possible.
I also tried out a few gadgets. I don't know what's wrong with my phone - whenever I try a new bluetooth device the humming is unbearable!
We shall plug-on until a good combination is found...

I hear Higgledy-Piggledy Birds

Don't get too excited.
[Higgledy-piggledy or "butcher bird"s are one of the mascots of this blog]
I was walking thru the park yesterday and I heard the familiar refrain - 'higgledy-piggledy … higgledy-piggledy'
It sounded like a man with a very hoarse voice saying the phrase. Nevertheless, I heard the rhythm of the phrase - I'll have to hang around the park a bit more and get the pitch of what they're saying.
Hopefully it won't be raining, then I won't get reported as "some old guy hanging 'round the park in a raincoat"

Tune-up, the second

Well after three days using the setting from the first tune-up, the second tune-up came around and off we went again.

As I write this it is clearer - I can hear someone in the other room and it isn't tinnitus!!

Amazing.

Now I'm looking into health insurance so that I can get a second implant to re-activate hearing in the left ear. It's been out of action for over a year, so require a bit more training than the right one. But if the results are as good, or even not as good as the right one, I kind of have to do it.

Imagine what it's like in a mono world - sometimes I cant hear from which direction sound is coming. I can hear it but look the other way.

Sometimes it's like there's a wall running along the middle of me head - I can hear stuff on the right but everything on the left is muffled/blank.

So we start along the path to number two...

A remarkable result!

Today, Friday 21 Nov was the first tune-up session for the implant.

Following on from 'Switch-on' settings were tweaked and settings were set. The diagram on the computer showed that even in the last week my ear has accepted and adopted the implant and is improving.

The Audiologist later asked me to repeat a set of phrases, which apparently is a test for 4 or 5 weeks after 'Switch-on'. I was able to repeat the phrases word-perfect in all but a few cases.
A remarkable result!

Later in the day, after more practice, I found the hearing different. It is more trebley. TV is very noisy. I was able to speak on the phone. It's still fuzzy but I'm able to discern what my father said. No mean feat!

How is this done?

You may be wondering what wondrous technologies are at work, to produce this wonderful blog.

Wonder no more.

Here's a bit of shameless self-promotion.

These are the tools I use to put these pages together

Blogger

This is where it all comes together. 

I have a few different blogs - this one is "Curse of Silence", my experience of cochlearisation.

I write the text you read on the pages, make links to other pages, links to photos and movies and documents. It really enables anyone in the world to have their say, no matter how trivial.

The images and movies and Calendar don't live within the blog - they are outside and brought in by "embedding" them using hyperlinks.

Macs or PCs [Firefox works better for editing]

Picasa

The images you see on the pages are stored at Picasa. It's a web photo album. I took the photographs with my digital camera [or I could scan photographs, or have photographs saved to a CD]. Once I had the images, they were uploaded [saved] to the Picasa web album.

PC users can download the Picasa program which works like iPhoto below.

Google Docs

When you complete one of the polls or use the 'Contact me directly' page you're filling in a row in a shared spreadsheet or database, in Google Docs. It works just like an Excel spreadsheet, except it's on the web and accessible for your comments directly from the blog page. The system also sends me an email when you send me an entry.

In a different application the spreadsheet might also be shared so that the results we collected would be available as-is, or registered users may have editing privileges as well.

Calendar

I keep a Calendar of my up-coming appointments. One part of it I've devoted to this cochlear process - if you're interested, why not share it with you? That's what I've done. I've shared the cochlear calendar with you via the blog page by including some code which says "put the upcoming events in to this blog-page" All I had to do was copy/paste it. The Calendar now appears and it's updated without me having to do anything, dynamically - it's always up-to-date.

Find all these web-based programs via the Google page located in your web-browser.

Companion programs

iPhoto

Included with every Mac since 2000-ish. Allows to to download images from the camera and basically edit them. Then upload them directly to Picasa [or Facebook, make websites etc]

iMovie

Included with every Mac since 2000-ish. Get raw footage from the camera, import it to iMovie.

Add titles, and captions [laborious, especially if you're hearing isn't 100%!].

Export to the desktop in this that or the other format.

Makes it very easy if time-consuming.

Now the shameless promotion part.

Got a project like this needs doing?

Need to know how to get the pics of your camera and onto the WWWeb?

Contact me [email best at the moment - phone coming soon!] and lets talk computers.

You've read the blog now SEE THE MOVIE

Here it is
• you'll laugh
• you'll cry
Captioned for those of us with less than perfect hearing
Got something to say? let me know on the Make Contact Directly page

Make Contact directly

The deadline has come and gone and here are the results, put through the Acme magnifying glass. It was nice to see that the most popular entry was "I'm subscribed and hanging on every post". I hope that wasn't just the donkeys voting.
Also the vast majority of respondents were positive - negatives aren't going to vote, let alone read the blog. Boo, hiss on those negatives.

Even so, THANK YOU to all the respondents!

Although the poll has closed feel free to add a comment as time progresses - Google users can do so using their Google username/password. All and Non-Google users can continue to use this Poll page. I will be notified of all messages received in the system.

Results of the Access Poll as of 6pm 14 November

Overall a reasonable result although I wish there were a few more entries

Of the entries received there were
100% positive
• I'm subscribed and hanging on every post - 45.45%
• I might read it I might not - 9.09%

Of all the entries
Standard, selected entries - 54.55%
'Other' Entries - 45.45%

The Call for Nominations song poll is still open and will remain so until I think I'm ready to attempt to hear music - thats a big step!

Pics from the Big Day

Entry to the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre,
Broadway-musical-style

The before shot, awaiting cochlearisation. Me, not them


Looking over the Audiologist's shoulder, gettin' configured


Appliance installed, being configured still attached to the computer

The Moment of Switch-On - Hearing Monica speak
Father is flabbergasted and he can't even hear her!


Celebratory lunch at the Sydney Rowers'

The News is Good

I can hear!! Yes - today was the day my Cochlear Implant was turned on. I am able to hear

• The Audiologist [Thanx Monica]
  
• partner providing sooth
• parents talking
• traffic as noise
• aeroplanes

It was quite an emotional moment as you may well expect. There will be a movie of the moment of Switch-on. Pics too [coming!]

The audiologist took me, and my entourage, thru the set-up process, direct-connected me up and away we went.
Through the big hearing test, with the "Hear this? - yes" sequence. Then after what seemed like 15-20 minutes she said "OK, ready?" We set up the un-connected Speech Processor and I could hear sound, well noise at first. Monica did a bit more twiddling of settings [that's a technical term], then I could make out what she said. Lip-reading made it a lot easier. And I didn't think I was THAT good at it.

So then we went off for the celebratory lunch at Sydney Rowers' club at Abbotsford - average age was 75, the noise [to me] so loud I contemplated turning off the appliance. But I thought I'd better get used to it - but put it into noise-reduction mode. After an hour of the noise I felt it was making me a bit dizzy but I endured...
After lunch needed some quiet time so headed to the Leichhardt retreat for a quick hibernation.

What happens next

Now comes a season of fine-tuning the devices which make up Cochlear Implant System. Dates in the Calendar. This may mean that the hearing I have now will get better, more usable. It's not as good as natural hearing but it IS better than no hearing.

Further into the future
Is a second implant on the horizon? There behind that swaying palm tree [or is that a volcano?] A second implant depends on the ability to gain hearing, is the existing ear structure capable? The external parts may be once-and-for-all disabled to stop infection and once that settles down a second implant will probably be considered. It may be that I'm just deaf on that side.
We shall see.

PS Dont forget
Nominate a song
Say "I was here" closes this Friday AEST

Calendar

Here's the calendar - see when things are a'happenin'. If you click an entry you can add it to your calendar. How's that for convenient? [Google, iCal, Entourage maybe even Outlook - PC users advise please]

+Even later Change+ ^.-.^

I have received word that we're back on for Wednesday 12 September. Re-mark your calendars/diaries. Put that champagne in the fridge a day earlier!!

Don't forget - poll. You'd forgotten hadn't you?