To blog or not to blog

I have been debating on whether or not I should blog about this. So here goes nothing. I had surgery yesterday. Received my second cochlear implant! Today as I sit on the couch with my constant companion, Dakota, just resting as directed by the surgeon, (which is totally not the norm for me!), I keep thinking about all the things I need to do for my shows in December. Oh well, what gets done will get done. I know, at the moment, that it's important for me to rest. But, I sure can take advantage of some online time! :)

Last November, I received my first cochlear implant on my right ear. I have been deaf all my life. Even though I have always worn hearing aids, my hearing loss was slowly getting worse, from a severe hearing loss to a profound hearing loss. My tinnitus had gotten so bad, the roar was so loud in my head, that I had no alternative but to get the cochlear implant with the hope of ridding the ringing, and to hopefully maximize my hearing.

Oh my! What a difference it made!! This past year has been an AMAZING journey!!! With my first implant, I can hear things that I never heard before!!! I can now hear the birds chirping, the wind chimes, my dog sniffing!!!, the phone ringing, and oh, so much more! I even heard my dog, Dakota, chewing on a pin!! Thank God I heard that! I was able to retrieve it from her. Who knows what could have happened ?!

The new sounds I get through the cochlear implant is very different than the sounds I used to get through my hearing aid. The new sounds are more mechanical and a lot louder. It was quite an adjustment as it is not 'sound' as I know it. It took time, hard work and patience as my brain slowly opened up to the new sounds around me. But, it was the best thing I ever did for my hearing. I wish I had done this 20 years ago! The younger you are when you have it done, the better it is. But, that's OK. Better now than later.

I so look forward to hearing out of my new CI ear, which won't take place for 6 weeks. It has to go through the healing process first. I look forward to the day that my new CI ear is hooked up, as they call it, and to begin my new journey as a Bilateral Cochlear Implant recipient. I should feel more balanced as the incoming sounds would be the same in both ears. I do wonder what other new sounds I will hear and how my hearing in general will change. Although, I have been told that I would never hear like a hearing person, but it would be a lot better than what I have ever had before. I am happy enough with that. Isn't technology wonderful??!!!