Progress

I've had my reimplanted ear turned on for a little over two months now, and things are slowly improving. I have come to realize just how impatient I am! I have been going back to AVT and trying to get in the habit of do listening exercises. It's funny, when I got implanted the first time around everything was so exciting and new. I was eager to hear everything I could, and could not do enough listening practice. Now that I'm being reimplanted I  guess you could say the excitement is gone and I just want to go back to hearing like I could before!

I've started realizing that I am totally being too hard on myself. I had a mapping today and did my fist set of testing with the new implant afterwards. My audiogram was at 10-15 dB across the board, and we also did single syllable word  testing. Those were pretty difficult, and I'll admit to feeling defeated and absolutely certain I was getting every single one wrong. I was definitely surprised when my audiologist told me I had scored 74% correct! It's not where that ear was before (I've consistently scored at 90-95% previously), but it's not bad at all. I know progress was much faster when I got this ear implanted the first time, so  I can't help but constantly compare. My AVT will tell me I'm doing great for two months out, and I can't help myself in saying "But last time I could talk on the phone just a few days after it was turned on!" I also looked back at an old post and saw that 4 days post activation when I went bilateral, I scored 60% on the same test (four days this time around I couldn't hear anything!).

I need to stop the constant comparisons and just accept the progress as it comes. I should not be getting discouraged when I am clearly doing well, I just need to not have such ridiculous expectations. The one thing that bothers me is that voices just don't sound right. I can understand them, but they don't sound the way they should. I can only hope that continues to improve with time as well. Actually, I can do more than hope. I can do some of that practice that I've been avoiding :)

A Special Reunion

I am in the midst of studying for my AP exams (last ones ever!), so I can't write as much as I'd like, but my school had a ceremony honoring the National Merit Finalists last night. We were able to bring a teacher who was influential in our lives. I chose to bring my speech therapist from my elementary school. She helped me develop clear speech, yes, but she also did so much more. She gave me the confidence to speak up for myself, and was also a tireless advocate, ensuring I received the services I needed. She was a guiding light for my mom and I in the early years, and provided us with a wealth of knowledge that helped me get to where I am today. Last night was the first time I saw her since I was in 5th grade, so it was really special! I got to give a short speech about her influence and thanking her as well as my parents.

Me with my speech therapist from elementary school

With my wonderful parents!