2010 Top Cochlear Implant Award!

I would like to say a big thanks to those that has nominated me for the Top 15 Cochlear Implant Blog award. Doing this blog has inspired a lot of candidate, cochlear implant users.

A BIG thank you to Nottingham Cochlear Implant team, Advanced Bionics, friends and family for supporting me through this an amazing journey.

I also would like to thank Medical Assistant School for giving me this award. To find out more about the Top 10 blog awards click here 'Medical Assistant School'




Thank you all for nominating me and for reading this blog.

All the best

Katie-Louise

I'm back!

Hey all,

It's been a while since I lasted posted on my blog. I know, I have been hiding. Over the past couple of months I have been on a rollercoaster ride - a big one! I had to have time out from alot of things. This is one of the reason why I haven't been blogging. So, what have I been up to over the past couple of months? Hmm, Let's see what I can remenber!

Early march wasn't a good month. I had an accident in football and reptured the ligaments in the knee which forced me out of football for a while and it has left me getting from A to B with these horrible crutches that seems to get in your way all the time. So plenty of physio treatments - they are so mean, especially when they like to hurt you. But then again thats there job and its no pain, no gain! Now my knee fixed I have spent alot of my time working on my fitness - alot of running and strength training and so far I had a great start of the season. Lets hope the rest of the season wil be as positive as it is now. Also got ill as well.

University - I had a bit of a downfall with family menber being ill and I got ill myself which I had to have time out in. I did missed an awful a lot of lectures and had a lot of work to do. So I actually spent my whole summer trying to catch up. I caught up really well and pass the year ...thanks to the wonderful support team at university. Just started started universtiy last week. I was so weird to be back. It's nice to see all my course friends again.

Summer '10 - didn't have much of a summer because the amount of university work I had to catch up on but I did manage to spare one week working at a children deaf camp. We had a full of fun fairs, beaches, day trip which was a HARD experince and hopefully next year i'll be doing some more camp work!

and finally - progress on my COCHLEAR IMPLANT.

As you all know I had a postive experince so far with my cochlear implant having new CI moment hearing new things all the time. Advanced Bionics has become part of me and it is something that made my life much more easier. My confident has grown with communicating with other and of course before the implant I refused to use my voice and now I am forever talking; that's what my friends and family says. ha ha.

Now I have had my cochlear implant for just over two year now which has gone ever so quick! I have still got a lot of things that I need to work. Especially Identfying or understand where the sounds is coming from. Which isn't always easy especially when you haven't heard as much as you can now. I do have to say - not knowing where the sounds is coming from or finding it hard to knowing what the sound is can bother you. When I hear a sound and don't have a clue on what it is...it bugs me, Sometimes it can make you very nervous. So that is one of the reason why I don't like to be on my own. I do like to have company so I have someone to ask what the sound is if I struggle to know what it is.
I do struggle to see where the sound is coming from. Hearing on one side is difficult and I do wonder if going bilateral would make things easier and better. So...I am still waiting to see if I could go bilateral - it'd be nice to hear out of both ears.

Anyway..... ClearVoice came out early this year. Late March I recieved the ClearVoice setting on my processor. I have a medium setting. I do have to say ClearVoice and made a big different in everyday situation, especiallywith background noises. Ever since I had ClearVoice setting I have found that communicating with other has become much more easier. Also because I drive the convosation between me and a friend/family or whoever is sitting in the passenger seat become much more easier too. The backgroud sound while driving such as; car engine, traffic noise, wind has cut out alot. I also notice that the music in my car is easier to listen to now than before the ClearVoice. Not that. I play football and in the changing room I do have problems listening became of how the room is. Since I had CV it has help me to listen much better and now I am much more confident. I have notice, well others has notice too that my voice seems to have gone a bit quieter. I think that because the amount of backgroud sounds has reduce my voice stays quiet and I don't realise on how loud the room actually is without clear voice. So I have to work on the loudness on my voice . So back at the speech theripst again - a wonderful team to help me.


Anyway - BEA as I mention before in my previous post - I am still a mentor so If you would like to ask any question about my cochlear implant journey feel free to post me a message on this link and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

BEA UK

www.BionicEar.com/UK

Right, I'm off for a long run in this horrible rain. It's not long before it snow - yep, xmas is just around the corner. Sorry to mention it early. Ha.

Take Care

Katie-Louise x

BEA UK - Get Connected with a Mentor

www.BionicEar.com/UK

Bionic Ear Association UK - Get connected to a cochlear implant community

Hear and Be Heard

The Bionic Ear Association is a support network dedicated to improving the quality of life of individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss by providing valuable information, education, awareness, and guidance on cochlear implants. Staffed with a committed team of audiologists and cochlear implant recipients, the BEA offers important support services to help you hear your best.
The United Kingdom Bionic Ear Association (BEA/UK) offers you a community of cochlear implant recipients, families, volunteers and staff, all from the UK, who can support you throughout your hearing journey.

Connecting with other cochlear implant recipients and families is an important part of the hearing journey. Through BEA UK you can connect with other cochlear implant recipients or parents, who can assist you in navigating the process of choosing and living with cochlear implants.

Read our recipient stories, find a mentor, check out our online community, and participate in the BEA UK community:


www.BionicEar.com/UK

Bionic Ear Association UK - Get connected to a cochlear implant community

Invitation to - An AB Information Morning

Advanced Bionics (AB) invites CI candidates and/or their parents to an information morning (10am-12:30pm) on 14th April at the Ear Foundation, Nottingham.

At this event you will find out more about the unique Harmony Bionic Ear System, the new ClearVoiceTM upgrade, performance & reliability. There will be opportunity to meet and ask questions to ABs Clinical Specialists and existing CI users.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to events co-ordinator; e-mail uk@advancedbionics.com

Advanced Bionics UK Chat-Room/Facebook!

Are you a candidate and is going through your Cochlear Implant assessment but has all these question that you would like to ask and hasn't got any one to talk to well; AB UK CHATROOM is for you.

Join in the chat room every Thursday at 7pm and onwards. There will be some AB users online to answer your questions and to support you all the way.

To join please sign up for www.hearingjourney.com click on "online Community" and then click chat.


Also Advanced Bionics UK has now got their very own facebook group to join there facebook group please click here: AB-UKfacebook

Harmony Batteries!

Has anyone ever accidently picked up a used battery from the charger, and didn't look at the led light to see how much battery life it had and went out without a spare one, thinking the battery is not gonna die on you till the end of the day? How do you all feel when the power cuts off on you during the day?

My cochlear implant battery has never ever died on me through the day, every morning I put on a fully charged battery and it would normally last me a whole day (roughly12 hrs) and if I stay up later, I don't normally replace it and just leave the implant on my head while the battery flat.

Today, for the first time since I have had my Cochlear Implant, the battery power actually went dead on me while at university. I accidently took the wrong battery and it wasn't fully charge.

When it went off, I actually thought there were something up with the processor. I was without my processor for the whole afternoon at university. I didn't bring a spare one with me and I couldn't see if it was just the battery. That afternoon, while I was at university, I had only a note-taker and because I could lip-read the lecturer I had. we had to work in groups and even though all my friends knew me very well that I do lip-read a lot. I did had to warn my friends that my cochlear implant has stopped working that they would need to tap me for my attention rather than calling my name out. Thanks to my lip-reading skill, I managed that afternoon really well. Not hearing through my processor that afternoon actually reminded me what it used to be like before my cochlear implant and how hard I had to concentrate. From now on.... I must check the led light before putting my processor on. I hate being without my cochlear implant now, it really does mean a lot to me and when I have it on I really do relaxs more.

ClearVoice for HiRes Fidelity 120

2010 has come so quick, hasn't it? Anyway, I hope you'd a brilliant Xmas. I have had a good Xmas, spend 2 weeks goin' from Scarbrough to Manchester with my family and Rich's family. I actually lost count on how many Xmas dinner I had, we visited so many places.

Anyway. I would like to say Happy New Year Everyone. I hope you all will have a good year. I've got lots of things to look forward to, especially summer. I just hope this year go pretty quick because this time next year we should hopefully hear from the N.I.C.E guidance (National Institut for Health and Clinical Excellence) and hopefully they will finally say 'YES' to let us adults go "BILATERAL." I really do want a 2nd cochlear implant and I hope to get it before I completed my degree so I could go straight into teaching without havin' to worry about another operation, or going the rehab process. So, fingers cross.

Just looked on Advanced Bionics website, thought I'd share this to you all just incase you haven't seen it - ClearVoice - Revolutionary Technology to Help Patients Hear Speech Clearly to find out more please click on the links; http://www.advancedbionics.com/CMS/Products/ClearVoice/

It looks very interesting and I am interested to see how much this ClearVoice would help me too.

Right. I'd better be off. First day back at university tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly this Xmas hoilday ended.

Ciao x