Subaru gone

My beautiful car TUZ442 has gone.
Over the past few years I have been unable to hear the clutch and had to replace the clutch about a year ago. I'm going to go for something smaller and automatic. Probably a Toyota Yaris or similar.

I had my green Subaru for about 9 years. It was the best car to drive in the wet and was great to/from Byron and around town too.

Goodbye - enjoy your new life, hopefully rust-free.

What I did

On Tuesday at Better Hearing Australia [where I do my lip-reading classes] I gave a little presentation to the massed audience [of about 20] which consisted of the pictures from my Europe 09 expedition.

I imported the images from the trip from my digital camera into my computer, using a program called iPhoto. [On a Mac]

Then I edited the keywords for the final sets. Once the sets were established I uploaded the sets and pictures to my web album.

They are available on Picasa in the various sets. [link]

The next export was different. I created a slide show from the images, no music, 5 second duration for each image and exported the entire set's slideshow as a quicktime movie, to a file on my desktop.

At this point I might have imported it to iMovie to add captions, titles and other stuff. But I didn't this time.

I imported the exported slideshow to iTunes and then converted it to iPhone friendly. The iPhone friendly version was then synchronised [sent to] with the iPhone and is available on the phone for viewing.

But how to show it to 20 people? Bit too close for comfort.

I have a cable which connects the iPhone to a TV. So, I could play the movie starting and stopping as appropriate, using the iPhone as a wired remote, and giving my commentary.

Also at BHA they have an audio loop so those of us with the appropriate hearing device can hear what's said. That made it all very easy to get the message across.

It all worked quite well!

Head underwater

The operation of August has been pronounced a success as previously reported.
The CochProf has now advised that I may get my left ear wet.

This is momentous

• I don't need to wear earplugs in the shower surf or swimming pool
• I can swim unhindered, although I willbe completely deaf while doing so - no waterproof speech processors for implants
• It has been 7.5 years since I was able to do that
• Grab your boogie boards and let's head on down to surfside!
  

They Made a Mess

On Friday night I spent 3 or 4 hours at Casualty.
I have swelling where the fat graft was taken about the size of half an orange.
It was diagnosed as a haematoma so back onto antibiotics. Grrr!
At least they didn't have re-open me [yet] and remove anything.
[Wikipedia]
This kind of bruising is excessive and shouldn't happen!

A success

Now for the gory bits. Careful - they're in the next paragraphs
Saw the CochDoc today and my recent operation was pronounced a success.

Here's what they did
The bones in my skull near the left ear are affected by radiotherapy. It's called necrosis and the bone is rotting. This means that there is a great risk to having a cochlear implant on the left side, if they'd even do it. The fix is to remove the dying bone and clean the area up so that the implant won't fail.
In the course of that operation they also removed the ear canal, the drum, inoperative anyway, and other parts of the ear mechanism including two of the three minute bones. The third bone was left to avoid risking any balance I may have remaining in that ear.
Once that was cleaned out, a fat graft was taken from my gut, laughingly called a tummy-tuck by the wags, and any space created in the ear filled to avoid infection.
Also they left a plastic tab which the CochDoc can use, kind of like a post-it note - "Sign here--------->"

The operation was performed under a general anaesthetic. Because of my radiotherapy experience I have fibrous tissue in my throat, which makes it stiff. When you're under a GA they want to keep you breathing so you breathe thru a tube which normally they pass down your throat [I was asleep] Apparently my neck is too stiff and my jaw won't open far enough so they passed the tube down my throat via the nose and thus avoided the bruising of last time. [Link]

The operation went longer than they expected and was more challenging than they expected. However they did prevail and the CochDoc did make the 'successful' pronouncement today.

I was able to have a shower after not having one for a week. It was a good one, like when you've come back from travelling and you just want to get clean. Some wag suggested I might have had a celebratory piss in the shower to celebrate! [Decorum was upheld, don't worry]

What does this all mean?
It means I'll be able to get my left ear wet for the first time in about 4 years, that means I can swim without any earplugs for the first time in 7.5 years!
It means that my second cochlear implant can go ahead - I'll be able to have more stereoscopic sound, hopefully I'll be able to discern direction. It may lead to better discernment of sound generally so I can hear you at the coffee shop or just walking down the street - at the moment everything comes to me thru one ear at the same time. Noise covers everything.

I can swim!

Op pronounced a success by the CochDoc. When the water's warm...

Posted with LifeCast

Channel 9 GO!

There's a new digital TV channel (channel 9/2) - GO!
And guess what?! No captions have I seen on their broadcasts. Wouldn't you think after last year's shenanigans they might have not launched something half-baked?

Feel like complaining?
Link - http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/complaints/
Do it long, do it loud!

While you're there check out captioned-cinema times, now at Palace Verona!

Post Blind Sac

Just out of hospital, felling a bit sorry.
The operation has been a complete success, if challenging.
Apparently there was fibrous tissue to negotiate and they remove two of the three smallest bones in the body and the eardrum and, using fatty tissue from my abdomen recreated my ear canal.
I'll be out of action for a bit, no lifting for a coupla weeks.

Posted with LifeCast

Blind sac

On Wednesday I'll be having a blind sac procedure on my left ear. The idea us to settle down the area and prepare it to receive my second cochlear implant.
The ear has been deaf for over a year. I last had an operation in that ear in 2005.

Posted with LifeCast

The ball starts rolling

Just back from a world circumnavigation to find that moves are underway for the second cochlear implant. Blind Sac procedure next week, to increase the stability of the area in the ear. So Acme Computer remains closed for the time being.

Travelling With An Implant

Well got all the batteries and spares together.

Travelled via BA to Rome from Sydney via Singapore - three flights over 26 hours or so. (!) The friendly staff of BA were very helpful. All I had to do was let them know and they'd move me up the queue, kept me going. It's hard without a travelling companion to interpret for me.

Coming into Rome I met a woman whose husband has an implant. I was able to guide her to Roma Termini. It was good to be useful.

In terminals and on planes I was pretty much unable to understand PA systems. And the noise! On the planes I just turn the implant off. It's better than earplugs but the tinnitus is there to keep you amused.

Posted with LifeCast

June

Howdy
It's been a big month

• 7 years past treatment
• six months cochlear-equipped
• first trip cochlear-equipped [to Melbourne - trams, Brunetti]
• frequent flyer points discharged!
  
• first trip overseas cochlear-equipped [29 June]
• my partner has finished her study [won't know what to do with herself after the previous point]
  
• too much work!

Keep an eye on the blog for location news as it happens, with a slight delay I'm sure...

New Resources

In the light of failure by at least one cinema to provide adequate telecoil facilities I've been looking around for resources for deaf people.

The Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] has advice and forms for you to lodge a complaint for yourself or someone else being discriminated against

Forms are on this page <link>
or, this being the 21st century, you can lodge online or via email too.

Resources

National Relay Service
http://www.relayservice.com.au/
This is a great service whereby you can use text chat on your computer to make phone calls. The relay officer does the talking for you! Several different forms, depends how you communicate, whether you can speak but not hear or vice-versa. I've have found it a life-saver. Stay tuned - there may be a FaceBook-based user support group coming...

Cochlear Implant
An Australian success story. The first implant was performed on the 1st of August 1978. [I hope you're sitting down] 30 years to the day after I went 100% deaf! So, like, it was the last day of the 30th year. That is freaky!
Wikipedia page

Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre
http://www.scic.nsw.gov.au/

Cochlear Implant - the animated movie

http://au.youtube.com/Cochlearltd

Deaf Village
Deaf websites and blogs from all over the world
http://deafvillage.com/

If you're interested in AusLan check this site. Kind of like a dictionary, it shows the hand gestures. Click the links!
http://www.auslan.org.au/

Deafness Forum of Australia
Resources, links elsewhere

Australian Tinnitus Association
http://www.tinnitus.asn.au/

Hearing Awareness Week NSW page
23 August 2008

Cochlear Awareness Network
http://www.c-a-network.com

CICADA [Cochlear Implant Club and Advisory Association]
http://www.cicada.org.au/

YouTube Switch-On videos
[link]

Jennie's Story

[link]


Movies - Captioned cinemas
http://www.yourlocalcinema.com.au/

--

Rights and Complaints
Australian Human Right Commission
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/
Make a complaint to the AHRC
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints_information/lodging.html

Media Access
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/
Captions [and complaints]
link

More cinemas captioned

As of 4 May 2009 there are more cinemas with captioned screening sessions
<http://www.yourlocalcinema.com.au/>

This brings the captioned cinemas in Sydney to a whopping [wait for it], 3!
Come on Dendy and Palace and mega Hoyts where the hell are you?!

The Results are In Again

Today was my six month tune-up. Yes, six months - I can hardly believe it either.
So my 'exemplary' performance
Sentences, no sound -100%
Sentences, with sound - 55%
Words - 56% [average is 30%]

So, next tune-up in six more months and that's my first cochlear anniversary.

Posted with LifeCast

First Cochlear-Equipped Plane Trip

I went to Melbourne to visit me bruvva. I was able to negotiate security after check-in on the web [no luggage, the only way to fly]

And, while there I was able to get around by fantastic tram. Several trips per day. Why did Sydney EVER get rid of trams?

My favourite café - Brunetti in Carlton [tram 1 from the city]

A successful trip.

Posted with LifeCast

The Song - Announcement

By the way...
No correspondence will be entered into regarding the award of any prizes, other than passing on congratulations to the winner. Comment below if you like.

So, there were 35 entries.
There were many songs I have never heard of - hopefully I will hear and recognise them later...
I'd like to be able to include them but these are out of contention.

There were songs I know which would be too jangly. Thing is, with this implant business, I hear differently to you natural-hearing people.

The killer songs were [based on my memory]
Hallelujah, nominated by a few people, a few anonymous. This is such a beautiful song and there is a version by a woman singer [not kd lang] that is in my mind but I don't know who she is
Moon River by Audrey Hepburn [Breakfast at Tiffany's soundtrack]. Such a naive and charming rendition.
Over the Rainbow a terrific song
God Only Knows - Beach Boys
Ave Maria - a real religious song. Difficult to sing and give the song its due.

Artists
Nick Cave had a large following but he leaves me cold. Maybe when I can hear them...
TV themes - you folks know my failings. Not right for this exercise I'm afraid.
Frank Zappa - you sure about that?
Beatles - not quite right for this

OK the winner is...
Hallelujah, a Leonard Cohen song, popularised by Jeff Buckley and also sung by that anonymous woman [one day], and loads of others.
Nominated by AM of the Eastern Suburbs
Congratulations, AM! [Crowd roaring]

Thanx to everyone who nominated songs - it has been a very interesting exercise.

2 March

Went to the CochDoc today - starting the process for implant number 2.
Before the implant can proceed I need a procedure called a "Blind Sac Procedure". 

Since treatment in 2002 [radio and chemotherapy] the structures within my ears have been affected - one outcome is bone necrosis. The risk with the necrosis is that infection will be able to take hold. The Blind Sac procedure seals the area and makes it less-susceptible to infection.
The procedure will happen in August.

Then, once all that has had a chance to recover we'll be investigating the next cochlear implant...

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