Implant One, five years gone

Yep 12 November marks my first five year's use of cochlear implants.

What an amazing device.

Where would I be without it/them?

It'd be hard work, all visual cues and clues. I suppose I might have learnt signing language but I don't know anyone who does it. My clients certainly don't. So I couldn't work, unless I changed jobs. Communication would become almost entirely text-based.

Travel would be incredibly difficult. I could no longer travel alone. People around the world don't sign.

I could see how I could become insignificant. Could I still write things I couldn't hear! Could I sing any more? Maybe I could - when I do, I imagine how it sounds as I do it, but is that enough? You don't see "music by deaf people" out there.

Not that I'm significant now.

When I received the second one in 2010 it filled in a big gap. There's still gaps, not so much physical as usage-related, understanding. Let's hope they can be filled by forthcoming technology.

5 years gone

Yep

Five years since that fateful day in 2008. It seems like a long time ago. Like I've always had these devices on the back of my head. But I still forget them too. 

Maybe it's familiarity breeding contempt for them hmmm. 

But so much has happened. 

Round-the-World

Italy

US

New house

New neighbours

VegPatch, worm farm

Father gone

Subaru gone, the Bluebird has come

New recipes

New computer stuff

What will happen in the next five years?

Featured in a Publication, Me!

The Chris O'Brien Lifehouse at RPA [that big new building on Missenden Rd] have an article with me in their Winter Update! I wrote it actually - "Be positive and write about it"
Of course the magazine is about fund-raising and raising awareness for those 1000s of people who pass thru the RPA facilities every year. Too many.

Some make it, some don't. Thats just the way it is. I'm one of the lucky ones.

The article will be available online soon. And you'll be able to see my ever-hopeful countenance beaming from the virtual page. Jeez I'm handsome. I'll update this page when it's available.

I do have nothing but admiration for the dedicated and generous staff of the Head and Neck clinic and RPA generally. Maybe the Lifehouse is a worthy recipient of any donations you might have lying around the house…

Watch this space

- S P A C E -

Link - http://www.lifehouserpa.org.au/

Five Years re-Hearing

That's right

A few milestones coming up.
June 10 [or 13**] it'll be 11 years since I finished cancer treatment. That seems like sooooo long ago.

July 31 is the day I woke up deaf, this year is the fifth anniversary. Of course this led to being fitted with these devices and amazingly entitled me to the title "cyborg" [Thanx Michael Chorost!]. On the one hand it seems like only yesterday, but on the other, I've been using them forever, seems so natural.

Here's the original letter link - http://ilsordo.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/original-letter-to-friends-clients-and.html

Michael Chorost
Check out the books - very interesting
http://www.michaelchorost.com/

** Postscript - It was actually Monday 10 June 2002. Confirmed. In concrete. That's it.

AND

In October it will be five years since the first wondrous device was jammed inside the right side of my head.

Interesting video from TedMed

http://www.ted.com/

Why bother with captions?

There is a wealth of movies available from the so-called talkies era. The fundamentals of movie production were established well before Al Jolson came along. Names such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Fritz Lang are true pioneers of the entertainment we now take virtually for granted.

The festival is on in Sydney in September, gone for this year but still available in other cities. Keep it in mind for 2012!

http://www.ozsilentfilmfestival.com.au/


^. .^

Videos of the year!

Here's a couple of videos which you may enjoy.
The first a cochlear switch-on movie





And a quick one for a candidate for the Republican nominee, re-dubbed. I think it shows what deaf people experience every day. What do you think?

3 years

Today is the day I went deaf 3 years ago.
Here's a link to the original letter

That seems like a long time ago. I can't say that it seems like forever because I can remember in some past life that I could hear. Hear music. Understand what people said. And understand what they were saying. Thanx for the devices which have made such a difference - I remember the helpless part where there was just nothing.

But let's focus on the positive - been around the world (again, with one cochlear implant), Italy, Acme still going, iPhone/iPad (well you might not think so), Washhouse. The clients who stood by me.

So raise a glass for me today 31 July. Then do it again, this time with some liquid in it. I'll raise my water bottle in return!




^. .^

Accessible Seinfeld

Since you went deaf have you missed being able to watch Seinfeld? Yes it's on the secondary digital TV channels, but without captions.

Now you can get Jerry Seinfeld's wisdom via a new website
http://accessibleseinfeld.com/

And Android users can download an app dedicated to the website as well
here

Like it? Hate it? Leave a comment! They will be passed to the developer for improvement and/or encouragement.

Have a look!




^. .^

100 Pushups

I need to build stamina and strength. The treatment has left me without energy and resilience. Even now 8.5 years after treatment. I have no balance and [I think] a bit more fitness might help me around that loss.

Then I came across 100pushups [http://hundredpushups.com/]. I started with 5 - I didnt even think I'd do that and I'm now on Week 3! The goal is 100 pushups and it takes 6 weeks of the program to get to the 100. It's a bit difficult [so far] but I expected it to be.

You can even record your progress on another website "pushups logger" and Facebook, if you want to.

Last session I did 46 total!! Unbelievable!!

More outstanding results as they come to hand.

Tinnitus is the result of the brain trying, but failing, to repair itself

An interesting article...

ScienceDaily (Jan. 15, 2011) — "Tinnitus appears to be produced by an unfortunate confluence of structural and functional changes in the brain, say neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC)."

Tinnitus is the result of the brain trying, but failing, to repair itself

Swimming again

Now it's been over a year but swimming has recommenced. The balance situation is even worse than last year, but strangely, swimming seems to be an exercise which helps me realise orientation in space. Considering that while I'm in the pool I dont have contact with anything fixed [floating in water] it's a bit weird. I dare say someone has a theory...

Music Poll

Six months with Number 2 [with results]

OK
Now it's six months since number two was implanted and coming up to two years for number one.
Maybe I should give them names but they can't be names which means this one is better than that one, must be equal.

Commenters

Folks recently there has been a surge in "comments" posted to this blog. I say "comments" because they are thinly-disguised spam and porn link carriers.
So you know - this kind of message will never be posted, so spammers, save your energy and go bother someone else!
Waste of space!



- iP

May update

Swimming is on hold. Has been since implant #2, 17 February.

Balance and unsteadiness is shaping my world right now. I saw the cochDoc on Thursday who reiterated the state of my balance at the time of my BlindSac (September 2009) - bad, not much there. I'll have a new balance test soon.

I saw the NeuroPhys at StVincents today, Monday 10 May - there are some interesting exercises to try including Tai Chi. I hope there's a Leichhardt group. Where have all the hippies gone?!

Still can't drive but I'm exploring the wonderful world of SydneyBuses and CityRail.

Perforated eardrum again and still getting over an elongated cold/flu. Weak.


- iP

Decision handed-down

The Australian Human Rights Commission has handed-down its decision on the application by cinema chains for a moratorium on complaints regarding captions and audio description.

The Commission has not released its complete report yet, but will do so "shortly".
HREOC website

Feel like getting involved in the campaign to encourage cinemas to provide access? In Facebook, search "action cinema access" and join the group, for the latest updates and campaigns.

Fixed at last

I can report that Dendy Newtown had an operational audio loop in Cinema 1 when I saw Mic-Macs today (Sunday 4 April)


- iP

ReMap #2

Today was my second tune-up for the new implant.
We also did the original one considering that they are both now working in sort-of unison. I say sort-of because at times I hear two of everything not just one as I know you natural-hearing people take for granted.

What an amazing thing is natural hearing! What an amazing thing is cochlear-assisted hearing. Amazing.

With the new implant I got a snazzy yet bewildering remote control. It took me half an hour to work out that the battery was flat! There was a symbol on the little screen which doesn't appear in the book!





- iP

Monday 22 March

Today I had to wear number one without number two for five minutes - I can’t believe how bad it sounded. And that’s the one I relied on 100% for 18 months until 10 days ago!! This means the brain is recognising the two together [but I’m still hearing double-sounds] and will continue to improve I think.