1 month mapping

Hey all,

Sorry it's been ages since i've updated my blog. God, i've been ever so busy trianing for England Deaf Women, which i'm due to Jet off to Greece tomorrow for the World Deaf Cup - c'mon England, rooaar!!!

Anyway, I've had my 1 month mapping. The implant going great. finally the disney voices gone, and i've been able to indentify more sounds better. I had some test done, you know the one with the grumpy old man on the screen. I manage to pick up 2 or 3 sentences on that but the enivouriment sounds test I got all of them right and no longer need to do that test anymore woop!!! What a result.

I still need a bit more practise on hearing voices without lip-reading which is slowly improving but getting better.

I'm due to go back to the Implant centre on the 27th july - so there will be updates on that too

Anyway, I better be off now gotta maaking my way to london - ready to jet off to Greece, woop! how exciting!

take care all

katie

P.S - some updates about me on my facebook - try clicking the links to become my friend
www.facebook.com

facebook name : katie-louise Bailey, nottingham, UK

3 weeks - post activation

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't updated this blog for a short while, I have been ever so busy trying to complete my studies before the "Deaf World Cup" in Greece, which i'm looking forward to playing for my country.

The C.I going very well. I have learnt alot and the mickey mouse sounds has finally disappeared. Just feels as if I need it turning it up as it does sound a bit quite, which i think because i'm used to the volume and wanting to turn it up more but I can't. I have a while yet for my one month appointment - you think they should fit me in before?

I have found my self a new hobbie which I have never been interested in before. I have started to listen to music - my sister is teaching me and finding the best music for me to start off with and try out the top 10 UK charts music.

It great listening to the music. I love all the beats and of course I am doing a bit of homework trying to follow some word by following the lyric sheet. It quite tough but i'm getting there.

I am able to hear on the phone now, but not understanding what the person has said yet, which I need alot of practising and also still quite shy about using my voice as I don't really know if i'm talking loud or too quite.

One thing I found the most annoying about the sounds this week is the "birds" god, don't they ever shut up. It is nice to hear them but they can be annoying when i'm trying to do my college homework outside in the loverly weather!

anyway that's it for me now, better get back into training as it is only 3 weeks left before I fly over to Greece which I am really looking forward to as I am hoping that England will bring the cup home.

take care for now

x

Deaflymipics 2009

Medal contenders face the prospect of not going to the 2009 Deaflympics after Government diverts their money to the London 2012 Olympic GamesBritain’s leading deaf athletes may miss the chance to represent their country at the highest level next year after the Government diverted funding for the 150-strong team to the London 2012 Olympic Games.Medal contenders in training for the Deaflympic Summer Games, in Taipei in September 2009, said that the decision threatened to shatter their lifelong dreams and would further marginalise the nine million people in Britain with a hearing loss.From March this year, UK Deaf Sport, which represents deaf athletes, lost its £42,000 annual grant from UK Sport, the public funding agency whose priority is now to back Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in Beijing in August and London in 2012.Forced to sack its staff because it was offered no alternative public funding, UK Deaf Sport is trying to raise the £500,000 needed to send a team to Taipei next year. “We are a national governing body and we are running on a voluntary basis out of our homes. We have tried everything, but people in Government keep passing the buck,” Josef Baines, the secretary, said.“Meanwhile, they are pouring millions into the London Olympics. We are taxpayers, too, and, given the choice, we would rather not have London 2012.”The Deaflympics was established in 1924 by nine European nations, including Britain, making it second only in heritage to the Olympics. The Silent Games were held in Paris that year, with 148 participants, marking the first Games dedicated to athletes with a disability.Since then, it has grown as a movement: 2,200 athletes from 67 countries took part in the Deaflympics in Melbourne in 2005. Britain, comprising 80 athletes in eight sports, won 16 medals - more than Australia, the host nation, and one of the team’s biggest hauls at the event.“It would be embarrassing if the Deaf Olympic Games, which Britain helped to found, had no Britain team,” Philip Gerrard, chairman of the Great Britain Deaflympics Organising Committee, said. “It would cause so much damage to the deaf community and our profile worldwide. We may have to pull out of Taipei if there is no financial support from the Government within the next few months.”Deaf athletes claim that they have been “pushed out of the equation” in British sport. They cannot compete at the Paralympics because no other nation sends a deaf team to those Games. “I feel we are marginalised. It may not be deliberate because you could walk past me and not know I’m deaf. It’s more about awareness,” Xander Hurley, 31, a badminton player from Oxfordshire who is ranked in Britain’s top three, said. “But the mentality goes to the highest level of government.”Born deaf, his parents were told by a doctor that he would be good for nothing but factory work and would never utter a word. He is now a software engineer with virtually fluent speech and hopes to be selected for the Deaflympics team. He worries about the future after the funding cut because he already spends more than £5,000 a year to pursue his sport.Esther Maycock, 28, a television signer who won a bronze medal for football at the Melbourne Deaflympics, has an anxious wait until August, the deadline for submission of the deaf football team. UK Deaf Sport cannot risk incurring the £50,000 fine for pulling out once it has signed up to Deaflympics, so is waiting until it knows how much money is available.Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, told UK Deaf Sport in a letter in February that the “difficult decision” to cut Exchequer funding had been made because of the need to focus resources on the Olympic and Paralympic programme for Beijing 2008 and London 2012. A spokesman for UK Sport said: “We informed them as far back as 2006, so we have been very clear about this for some time. As the agency charged with delivering medal success at the Games, we have taken the decision to prioritise our investment on Olympic and Paralympic sports and athletes. This has led to some organisations, previously funded, no longer being so. It does not lessen their relevance or appropriateness, but in a world of finite resources the decision is the right one.”However, deaf athletes argue that they are better value for taxpayers’ money than their Olympic and Paralympic peers. “The cost of winning a medal at the Deaflympics was £1,400, a stark contrast to the £1.6 million per medal at the Athens Games in 2004,” Gerrard said. “We are not asking for a massive amount. It really is peanuts compared to the millions being spent on the Olympics. That is what is so frustrating because it will have a massive impact on deaf athletes.”http://www.britishdeaffootball.com/?fid=197&pid=960

post Activation - 1 week and 6 days (Thank You)

It's nearly 2 weeks since i've been switched on, it's has gone pretty quick for me.

I really can't belive that the first week I was about to give up with the implant as the beeping sounds really annoyed me. Without the encouragement from Abbie, Laurie, Jenniefer blogs and of course the yahoo group. I probably would of given up with the implant by now which I would still be in the silents world and leaving the implant in the poor box.

Now it's the 2nd week things has changed alot for me. I've started to become more confident. I can't belive how much stuff I have heard that i've never heard before this week. I know it's early days yet which i've alot more mapping to come and voices still sounds a bit muffled (mickey mouse) etc

what I really want to say in this post, is a BIG THANK YOU to all those that supported me all the way on here the blog and the yahoo group. You have really help me alot and my life with the implant is getting better and I am proud to become a Bionic women :-D

will keep you all updated on the next mapping etc.

bye for now x

1st Mapping. - Beeping has ended!

Today was my first mapping since the switch on. After having a week with those awful beeping sounds, today the beeping has finally ended. wohoo

The new sounds all started off with a new set of loudness and different range of frequency, which I and my audiogisit set up during the tuning session. When the tuning was done, Ellen then switched it on.

Firstly, I heard ellen going how does that sounds. I was speechless because her voice sounded weird, it was like a robot or micky mouse talking. I was so please that I heard no beeping while she was talking. I even heard some background sounds clear like paper russling and ellen typing on the keyboard.

Ellen and I went into another room to do some test. We had to do this test which I've done through my implant assessement with a grumpy old man on tv. I had to try guess what he said. It was very hard. I hardly got any right. I could hear him ok but couldn't really understood what been said as he had no facial experession and of course I couldn't lipread him. So i've alot of homework to do.

Also we did this enviourment test to try and identify some envouriment sounds, such as serien from police cars, telephone ringing etc. That test was ok, I didn't do to good but it was slgihty better than the assessement result. Sometimes next month I should have a result, so fingers cross that would work.

Since i've seen my audiogist. I manage to ask them for a smaller t-mic hook becuase the bigger ones kept making my implant fall off. Finally that problem has been sorted and hopefully i shouldn't have anymore.

so what a day, eh. I'm feeling alot more confident that this implant joureney could get better for me. After my first mapping i've already notice the different and I really can't wait for my 2nd mapping which is next monday.

Cant't belive how much homework the hearing therispt have given me. So, here i am practising with theses children audio tape that you can listen and follow at the same time. Really interesting stories though, it kept me motivated to work hard with my listening skill.

so that is it for me, so tired after a long day and i'm happy with the outcome of today appointment and really can't wait for next week. woohooo! bring it on!

1-Week Post Activation

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't post recently. I've been so busy with my England squad. Over the past week I've found my C.I Pretty difficult to cope with. I haven't really heard a clear sounds since switch on. I've have experince alot of beeping over the past week when I or something esle make a sounds.

I can identify what cause my implant is beep at me. such as

* Door shutting

* my foot steps.

* water running

* chair moving

* Tv

*paper
*music playing
*dogs barking
* People talking

and many more... all these sounds I hear is in beeping sounds and not a normal sound.

I have found the beeping sounds very fusturated even though I am trying my best to keep going with my implant, as people said it will get better over time.

I'm due for my 1-week initail tunning (1st mapping since switch on) this wednesday coming. Hopefully things will get better since then.

Has any of you experince alot of beeping on the first week without hearing a normal sound?

Has any of you experince any soreness where the hook goes on you ear. I've seem to have a little blister on where the implant been place.

Anyway over the weekend I flew to Germany with my England sqaud for a Friendly match against to Germany. We lost the match, which we wasn't too bothered about because it would giver away our tactic in the world cup this June in Greece.

I played very well. And enjoyed evey minutes of it. especially when there was a stadiuam full of people watching us. The crowds was amazing. I am please that I flew home with another new shiney medal :-)

On a saturday, I didn't wore my implant at all because of the training all day and match too. I felt bad for not wearing it even though I did that for a reason as I didn't want it getting damange throughout the footie training etc but sunday it sounded all weird for a bit then got back to the the sound I heard before with the beeping. (is that normal)

anyway hope you enjoy some of the pictures :-D (i'm number 15 in the team photo)

Activation Day!

*late Post*

Hey all,

Sorry didn't post yesterday on the "activation day" It was a long day and it worn me out quick!

Anyway the day went great, arrived there at 8:35 yesterday morning. Handed in the appointment letter to the receptionist and sat down with my sister etc waiting (I was very nervous) . 10 minutes later my interpreter arrived which I've met before so we were chatting away which has help me from getting more nervous. About 8:55 Ellen my Audiogist came into the waiting room and look directly at me, she smiled and said "are you ready"

My legs felt all jelly as i was walking to the room where I was gonna get switched on. Sat down on the chair, as soon as I sat down I saw my implant on the table all connected up and ready to attach to my head.

firstly she asked how my operation went, and she checked the scar area which was almost invisable already. I said it all went well and glad it's over and done with.

Ellen then took the implant off the table and place it in her hand and said right all we gotta do now is find your magnet area - there she was searching for it which didn't took long, actually didn't feel it going on as I thought I would feel something which i didn't which it felt strange.

finally I was all hooked up and ready.... she started off with some stimulation thing what ever it called to see how my nerves etc are responding. So, she said i can start talking to my sister etc for a bit while she readining it. She didn't say there would be sounds etc but as I was talking all the sudden I had this weird sound going through my head, it was something like clicking or tapping) I stop talking and said was this ment to make a sound, Ellen said "yes" I was like ooo my god! my sister cried which made me cried for some reason, she was shocked that I heard that and that it worked.

after 10-15 mintues doing the stimualation thing, I had this card given by ellen which numbered from 1-10 and I had to listen for beeping sound and tell her her if it too soft or to loud or confortable. finally we did all that and she was happy with the level of loudnes etc. Ellen the said right i'm going to switch it on now. I was like ooooooo. She switched on, all I can hear was a load of beeping sound everytime ellen, the interpreter or my sister talk. It felt strange everytime they talked. so, there i was switched on can't really hear anything but beeping sounds. Ellen asked me to take a break and go into the cafe for 20 mins. So i sat down in the cafe, same again I heard load of beeping sounds everytime something make a noise. it kinda sound horrible to me and was slightly disappointed with it. went back into the audio room, and she asked what did I hear. I couldn't really say much as I only heard beeping sound. Ellen showed me this big box which has good the C.I goodies in it - I was so interesting in all the colours she gaved me, I think i got about 14 colours which looked good also she showed me how the implant worked etc. and explain to me what will happen next week one 1 week tuning! so, finished with the audio and had to go back into the waiting room for the next appointment with helen (speech Therispt)

Helen called me and went into the room, she asked how I'm feeling right now, I didn't know what to say as I don't really know what I'm listening for because all I could hear was beeping. She said that was completely normal for the first day. Helen and I went through some test... I had to identify the different between AH, EE, S, SH with lipreading which I manage to do get 2 right. while she were saying it the beep sounded different so it was easy to tell which one it is. After going through that I then had to do that test without lipreading. It was hard but I was please I had a few right again. Can't belive the list of homework she has given me. can't wait to see how many boxes I could tick and decrible when I heard the sound.

That's it for me at the C.I centre, started to make tracks home on the bus. all I could hear was loads and loads of beeping. When I arrived home, the firs thing I did was I went to play with the new things that was in the box that they have given me and of course watched the Dvd which was so interesting.

So that's all I could say for the activation day. I do have photo's etc will post them up as soon as I uploaded them on the laptop.

c ya for now.