Using the FM with the N5: Revisited

I've been meaning to post an update about this for a while, especially since I've noticed a lot of people have found my blog when they were searching for information about using the Nucleus 5 with the FM adapter. Well, when I posted before, I had no personal experience using it since I had used the MyLink neck loop which, despite its ugliness/cumbersomeness, worked pretty well with only occasional computer interference. Since Cochlear was sending free adapters, we went ahead and ordered two and the school district provided the boots to go with them. I must say I had high expectations, and was hoping that any interference issues would be alleviated since the T-coil was no longer in use.

Not to be Miss Debby Downer here, but I had a horrible experience! I couldn't get through more than a half day with them.. The interference was so awful that I would only occasionally get reception when my head was tilted a certain way and the teacher stood in a certain spot, and that was only in one ear! After dealing with non-stop static for three hours, I gave up and asked for the neck loop back. The school district audiologists didn't bother to troubleshoot and pretty much just said, "Oh well, we tried." It's completely possible that with some adjustments to the FM channels it would have worked fine, but I don't know since I didn't get the chance to try it out. I'm not saying you shouldn't try out the boots with Euro adaptors on the N5 (as long as you can try before you buy!), but if you have small children using them, please be sure they're not just hearing static all day! It was the most terribly unpleasant experience, and I would hate to think that there are some toddlers out there who aren't able to explain what they are hearing that are having to deal with it too!

FM with the N5 *EDITED*

I've found that my blog has had multiple searches about how to use the FM with the N5 processor. Currently, I use the MyLink neckloop instead of a boot (using T-coil) and the SmartLink Transmitter, both shown.

 Recently, I went to look at the Cochlear store's newest items, in search of the microphone covers (I had a mishap in putting mine on, which resulted in needing another set. Cochlear just sent me some more for free. Details in another post!). I came across an exciting discovery..

"The Euro Accessory Adaptor is designed to create a convenient interface for connecting a wireless FM receiver, such as the Phonak MLxS, to the Cochlear Nucleus CP810 Sound Processor. Wireless FM receivers allow the voice of a speaker, often times a teacher, to be transmitted wirelessly to the listener for easier listening in noise." Cost: $90

For those of you  curious of what it looks like while being worn, I found some pictures that someone posted on a Dutch CI Forum. To see more pictures and, I guess if you read Dutch, read more about it, check out http://www.dcig-forum.de/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=18445&sid=2a9daa833ba1f71e0d1bf7ce67a859b1

This is not me, see above link for source.

See above link for source

I was worried about it being awkward looking. I'm not sure what I think of it, but it certainly adds bulk at a bit of a strange angle. It could be much worse, though. I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts (or experiences) on using the Euro Adapter. How do you think it looks? My biggest concern is the decrease in battery life that I will more than likely experience.

*EDIT as of  9/9*: Cochlear has information posted on their website about the new Euro Adaptor, and the site says that N5 users will be able to get the adaptor for free by filling out a form (which is supposedly on the website, but I can't seem to locate it). Check it out, plus tons of other info about using the FM here. Also, Cochlear has released an improved version of their Snugfit for the N5, which is pretty much the same as that of the Freedom (except shaped to the N5), so it's no longer transparent but much easier to bend to fit your ear shape. In addition to that, they've released Compact Rechargeable Battery Covers. This is good news for the parents of younger kids who like to use the covers and the smaller rechargeables. All of the items mentioned are for sale on the Cochlear Online Store under Nucleus 5 Accessories, which can be found here

The Remote

The Nucleus 5 CP810 processor comes with a remote. It certainly seems to be one of those love it or hate it sort of things. I don't think it should be a deciding factor in choosing an implant/processor, but I can't say how many times I've heard "You should get brand X because you don't have to fool around with the settings or have to deal with a remote." Or, conversely "I chose the Nucleus 5 because I loved the idea of having a remote!" 

FYI, I rarely fool around with the settings on my processor, and I use the remote even less. I have an everyday setting which I am on at least 90% of the time. If I am listening to music alone in a quiet place or at an orchestra concert, I'll put it on the music setting, but I can still appreciate music very well on the everyday setting. Or, if I'm in a noisy restaurant, I'll put it on the Zoom setting, which I finds gets rid of most of the background noise without dampening voices. Cochlear has a few different settings for noisy situations, and each one is a bit different. Noise, Focus, and Zoom are all available, but it really depends on personal preference which one you use. The Noise and Focus options are both separate programs. This means that on the home screen of the remote (or on the buttons of my processor) that I just press which one I want to change it to. It's really easy, and I can easily see which program I'm on.

Here is the summary of Zoom from Cochlear's website:
"Nucleus 5 is designed to enhance hearing performance in noisy environments. A new signal processing path with dual omni microphones has created a new platform designed for better hearing performance. Dual microphone technology has been shown to improve speech performance in noise. Recent research also shows that the Nucleus 5 Sound Processor Zoom™ Power Option may result in even better performance in noise"

Notice this is sentences *in noise*.

Getting to the Zoom setting is a bit different than getting to Noise or Focus, since you can add it on to any of the programs (Everyday, Noise, Music, or Focus) that you're already on. I typically add it to the Everyday program, but you have to get to the processor settings menu to enable it, and back to the processor settings menu to disable it. On the home screen, there is no notification of whether it is turned on or off. 

Why is this relevant?

Well, for the past week I've noticed I've been struggling quite a bit to hear, even in one-on-one, quiet situations. I figured I just needed (another) mapping, and shrugged it off. I hadn't bothered with the remote in a while, so as I was shutting it off to put it in my purse, I decided to do a quick check through all of the settings. The volume and sensitivity looked okay. I was just about to put it away, when it hit me...

I'd gone out to a noisy steakhouse a week ago. I set it on the Zoom function, then put the Remote away. Had I ever turned it off?

I quickly went to the "Zoom" setting to see the option to disable it, mean it was still turned on.  I felt stupid, yet relieved.

My hearing has since seemed much better. *Whew* I think when Cochlear has a software upgrade for the remote, they should have a "dashboard" setting where you can see everything that you've changed from the default settings. I can't be the only one who's made this mistake! Sad thing is, it's not the first time. Usually I figure it out within a day or two, though.

FDA Approves Rechargeable Batteries for the N5

I just received an email from my audiologist that the FDA has approved the rechargeable batteries for the Nucleus 5 processor. Here are some of the details:

• Cochlear will begin shipping rechargeable batteries starting this upcoming Monday to current Nucleus 5 recipients. People who already have the N5 will receive two standard rechargeable batteries in their primary processor color.
• These shipments will take 8-12 weeks
• All new Nucleus 5 system orders will begin shipping with a rechargeable battery kit effective June 21, 2010.
• Starting July 1st, Cochlear will change it from two rechargeable batteries to three, adding a compact rechargeable to new patient kits. These will not be included in the rechargeable battery kit shipped to patients who received their Nucleus 5 prior to July 1st.
• For those who would like to purchase the compact battery, Cochlear will be running a special promotion offer on the price of rechargeables, bringing it down to $99 from July 13th-September 30th
• When using rechargeable batteries, the Nucleus 5 Sound Processor is the world’s ONLY submersible sound processor.
• However, the newsletter recommends not using it in swimming that involves going underwater, under a high pressure nozzle, or when using soap or shampoo. 

I know this is welcome news too many! I probably will not be using the rechargeable batteries too much, since I already have a pretty short battery life. I'd be interested to hear if current recipients will be paying the money to get the (amazingly tiny) compact batteries.

Nucleus System 5- My Experience

Well, I finally got my new processors on Tuesday. When they say it takes 6-8 weeks to arrive, they're not kidding! I did get pretty impatient, but the important thing is that they did come. Here are some pictures... *sorry for the blurry quality. These were taken from my phone, since my sister decided to steal my camera, even though she has her own....sisters!*

On the left if my pink Freedom (the beige thing is the FM boot), on the right is my brown N5 with the pink cover.

Left---> Right Freedom, N5 with pink cover, N5 with blue cover.

Brown N5 on my head- side view. Please excuse the messy hair, I just put it up to take the picture :)

The remote...  I definitely think that's more of a personal preference thing. As someone who always has a cellphone in her pocket, it's no big deal for me to carry it around. It's pretty user-friendly once you take the time to figure out how to adjust all the settings. The only thing I wish they would add (possibly with future remote software upgrades?) is the option to have certain settings as "favorites" in the remote (similar to in a cell phone) that you adjust the most, making them quicker and more accessible to get to. Another thing is, it look like an Mp3 player. Or a cellphone. Or some combination of the two... What's the problem?

We're not allowed to use them in school, so I'm always completely afraid I'm going to get yelled at for having my "iPod" out in class, or even worse, have a teacher not listen to me and take it up. I don't adjust the settings too much, but I try to do it pretty discretely when I do- so far, so good.

AutoPhone- Would someone please enlighten me how the darn thing works? I know for a fact I have it, because my audiologist knew I wanted to try it out, and I saw her check off the little box for it. However, it's failed to come on every single time I've been on the phone (and I've used three phones- my cellphone, our landline, and my sister's cell). I  can hear better without T-coil than when I manually enable T-coil, so I don't mind it now working.. I just want to know if there's a way for it to work! My audiologist said it's voice activated, so the person on the other end has to have spoken for a few seconds before it detects it. No luck!

The view from behind- It's much, much thinner than the Freedom. I really like how I can make it stand out with the covers, or I can make it blend in completely. From the front, you really can't see any of it (my hair covers the earhook), unlike the Freedom, which was pretty bulky and noticeable from the front.

Battery Life- With the Freedoms, I barely got a full day of battery life, so I was worried that I wouldn't get very much out of the N5 (which use 1 less battery). The computer estimated that my right ear, which has a very strong map, would last 16 hours. It predicted my left ear, which has an even stronger map, would last 13 hours. Not quite a full day, but close enough. Yesterday was the first day I actually got to wear them all day (Tuesday- I didn't get them until my 9AM appt. Wednesday- I had French Honor Society inductions in the evening, and changed the batteries before  I went just in case, and Thursday I had a ton of reading to do and a very loud family, so the implants came off during my reading time). I put them on yesterday at about 8AM and I didn't get a single low-battery warning, even though I went to sleep at 12:30 AM. I'm pleasantly surprised that they actually appear to be lasting longer than my Freedoms did (weirdly enough, although partly due to my use of the FM boot on one Freedom). I know a lot of people really want the rechargables, but I never used them with my Freedoms, since they died during the school day, so I doubt I'll use the rechargeables for the N5 when they come out.

FM- There is not yet a boot released for the N5 for FM, so I have to use a neckloop with T-coil called the MyLink. While it's nice to have less on my ear, it's not exactly a fashion statement to walk around with a neckloop all day. I put the bottom part under my shirt, but I don't normally wear T-shirts, so a good portion is visible. I had to go a few days without the FM, and it made me realize there were come classes I really needed it for (French, my AP classes) but I also realized there were some that I could hear just fine without it. I think I may just "play it by ear" (heh..no pun intended) and only use the FM depending on what I'm doing in each class each day. When it's not in use, I can just take the FM off, so it's not a big deal.

Hearing- I was MAPped the same day I received the N5s, so my hearing is better than it was on Monday, but I don't know which I can attribute it to. I'll have to try out my Freedom again and see if I notice a difference, but I was told that, if I did, it would be pretty minimal. We'll see.

Funny story... I had taken off my FM neckloop in one of my classes, since we were just doing bookwork. The girl who sits next to me asked about it, and I lamented how I found it kind of annoying, but mentioned it was because I got new, smaller processors. I figured she's noticed since I'd worn my hair up the day before, but I lifted my hair up and pointed it out to show her anyway. "Ohhhh!" she exclaimed, "I was wondering why you hadn't wearing anything on your ears... I see it now!" 

White Fluff

My yard is filled with inches of white, fluffy snow. For those of you that don't know, I live in Texas.

The place where it's flat. and hot. And it's weird if you don't say "y'all" in everyday conversations.

I woke up, and the grass was covered in a thin layer of snow. It hasn't stopped, and the past record of 1" of snow has been shattered. It's at least 4" and is predicted to get up to 7". How crazy is that!?

We still had to go to school. Every single other school district in the area closed. However, ours is infamous for having really bad judgement when it comes to bad weather days. It's supposed to completely freeze over tonight. Thankfully, not long after getting home, it was announced that school would be cancelled for tomorrow (Friday) giving us a 4 day weekend, since we already have Monday off. Awesome! My friends and I have been planning for this all week, and if the roads aren't too bad to drive on, we'll be seeing Valentine's Day tomorrow. I need this long weekend!

Pictures to come :)

Oh, and on the CI front..
I picked the brown processors. I sent in my backup brown Freedoms (I was very happy that we only had to send in the processors, not the controllers) and they should be shipping the N5s to my audiologist for mapping shortly. We were able to get some insurance coverage, with help from my center's insurance department. However, we're yet to be given an actual number on how much we'll have to pay out of pocket. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise, and not a shock!

Has anyone used the Bilateral Personal Audio Cable?

I ordered one, and received it a week or so ago. The weird thing was, one side (that you plug into your processor) was a good 3 inches longer than the other. I'm yet to understand the logic in that, and it's not like the length is adjustable. We called Cochlear, and they sent us another one to make sure the one we got wasn't defective. Nope, apparently they are intentionally making one side longer than the other...

So, if anyone has any idea why this is the case, feel free to share. And don't worry, I'll be posting more about the CART/School situation soon!

The New Year and New Ears

This year has been an interesting one. It's been filled with plenty of highs, as well as its fair share of lows.

I've learned more about myself than I ever thought I would. I've dealt with challenges I never thought I'd have to face, as well as opportunities and chances I would have never imagined. I wouldn't have been able to make it without the help of my wonderful family and friends, who have stuck with me through the good and the bad, even when I was occasionally a bit irrational.

When I first started this little blog over 8 months ago, I wasn't expecting much. Just a way to express my thoughts and have them documented for future reflection. What it turned out to be was so much more.

Through this blog, I've (virtually) met people. These people have inspired me, helped me, and made me realize that I'm not alone in my experiences and frustrations.

I recently came across this quote:

"Every person is a new door to a different world."

- from the movie "Six Degrees of Separation"
 
and it really rings true to me. These people have taught me so much, and I don't think I can get through this post without thanking them. 
 
I'll start with Michelle. I first stumbled across Michelle's blog this summer. She's probably one of the first people I really connected with through blogging. She left a really nice comment on my blog (I'm sure you could find it if you looked) and encouraged me to keep writing. After exchanging emails with Michelle, I realized she was probably the first deaf adult I'd ever had some sort of conversation with. And I remember thinking "Wow. She's just so normal." Now, I hope no one is offended by this, heck, I'm deaf myself. It's not like I was expecting some green person who spoke alien. I just thought it was cool how she was just some funny, spunky lady with a family and who'd held a job, and just happened to be deaf. I hope you guys get what I'm saying here...Anyway, Michelle has served as a great inspiration to me, and I'd better stop before I say something stupid! Thanks Michelle!

Next up is Kristi. Kristi is a year older than me, and I look up to her for so many reasons. If you go to her profile, you'll see that it simply says "deaf teenager (who aspires to inspire) with her own journey: a big fish in a small pond" And inspire, she does. I encourage any readers of this blog to check out her blog, it's great and she writes so poetically. She recently switched from a mainstreamed school to a high school for the deaf, and reading her experiences have really impacted me. She's made me question (in a good way) if I'm doing what I really want. Am I searching for the right things? Am I doing it in the right place? Those questions remain unanswered, but she is helping me find those answers. Who knows if I'll follow in her footsteps or pave my own path, but she's helped me more than words can express.

Writer Kid (M) is a couple of years younger than I am. I first met her through the Cochlear Community, and I sent her a message. She wrote back and told me that she'd read my blog and has one of her own. I clicked on the link not really knowing what to expect, but after reading a couple of her posts I was absolutely blown away. It was like reading the journal of a younger, smarter, more awesome version of myself. I kid you not, this is girl amazing and inspiring. She's such a joy to talk to, and she is basically my definition of  "cool."

These three gals are amazing, and I just can't thank them enough.

On to the next order of business...

So, we've yet to receive word on whether insurance will pay for the new processors. After reading this post, I wasn't sure if I still wanted them! However, we spoke to some people at Cochlear who assured that, if I didn't like it, I could "trade back" and go back to my Freedoms.

Which leaves the most important decision left- what color? Since my last poll is running out (only 1 more day) I thought I would post a new one. What color do you think my new Nucleus 5's should be?

Now, I already know I'm getting brown coils, and I'm probably going to buy some of those nifty covers. I have an idea of the color I want, but I'm just curious about everyone else's opinion. I am not, I repeat NOT going to make my decision solely based on this poll. So anyway, feel free to leave a comment or vote-which color do you think I should  get?

The telephone, hearing and exams

*Sorry if you've left me a comment/email/message and I have not responded. I fully intend to, and I know some of these are months old (and some are only a few days old) but I want to respond all at once when I have the time to give full attention to the topic at hand. I appreciate your patience :)*

The reason for the need for the above statement is because I have been studying like crazy for exams. I'm only posting this because I know if I don't do it now, I never will get around to it!

• I'm having one of those hearing "highs". I really hope I'm not completely jinxing myself by saying this, but I 've just been hearing extremely well lately. It's so nice.. This has led to a few "CI moments" and the realization that it's been two and a half years since my first implant was turned on. Where has the time gone?
• On that subject: I've been having some difficulty in one of my classes. It's my gifted and talented class. It's very fast-paced, requires a ton of reading and class discussion, and it's flat out hard. I'd been having an internal battle for weeks and weeks over whether or not to stay in it, since my grades just weren't where I wanted them to be in that class. I made tons of lists and talked to lots of people and I thought I had my mind made up that I was going to change to an easier class next semester. I decided to talk to my teacher (again) as a last resort, and he gave all sorts of tips* on how to study, which included studying with friends. This is something I pretty much never do, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I decided to stay in the class for the time being (it is also one of my favorite classes, just extremely challenging.) So, in preparation for upcoming exams (which started today), I got together and studied with friends practically all day Sunday.
• In the morning,  I got together with just my best friend and we decided to make a study guide of everything we could possibly need to know for the first section of the test. The class is sort of a mixture of 3 different subjects (it's taken over 2 years, so you get 2 different credits), so we made a study guide for the first part. We started off with my friend typing. I soon learned she has some pitiful typing skills ;) and we decided to trade off. I listened to my friend, read the text book, and type simultaneously. In the middle of doing this, I realized I never could have done this a couple of years ago. It didn't even occur to me that I would have trouble hearing what she was saying without staring at her lips, and it was never even an issue. Being bilateral, it was also nice not having to worry which side to sit on or constantly having to turn my neck/head.
• Later on, we decided to meet up with a bigger group of friends and spend three hours discussing everything we knew. We were at a friend's house that was relatively quiet, and I was able to follow most of the conversation. Keep in mind these are my loud, crazy, friends who find it perfectly acceptable for five people to talk at once, which is exactly what happened. While I did occasionally have trouble keeping up, I'd say I understood a good majority of the conversation and was able to stay involved given that there were no other outside noises. Eventually, my friends had trouble understanding what was being said so we had to enforce a rule that onlt one person could talk at a time. That lasted about five minutes!
• Today, my phone was dying so I went and plugged it in. I left the room to go work on one of my exam reviews, when I heard that all too familiar buzzing of my phone. My friend was calling me. Instead of running away (or not hearing it ring in the first place..) I ran to answer it. I was on the phone with my friend for two hours, and we were discussing the information for  (different exam than the one previously stated) our exam tomorrow. I was in the study/office talking on the phone, when my sister and her friend came in and were having issues using our copy machine. They were laughing hysterically, and the machine was beeping like there was no tomorrow. All the while, I maintained and understood the conversation with my friend- how cool is that?! I was not using T-coil, mainly because I didn't want to have to mess with it while on the phone. Halfway through the conversation, I briefly put down my phone to flip throught the textbook, only to realize that the battery was once again dying. I ran to grab the charger (and cursed my luck), and plugged it in. My cell phone charger has an annoyingly short cord, so I had to put it on speaker phone in order to prevent me from having to lean towards the ground for the phone to reach my ear. I made an interesting discovery- I do not hear nearly as well on speakerphone. I don't know if it becomes distorted because it's too loud, or what, but the difference was pretty dramatic.

The pain has returned and is in full force. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried- I am. My doctor is not concerned at all, but part of me is afraid that the implant could be infected or something, and they won't realize it until it's too late. I'm hoping that part of me is just paranoid! We are going to see if we can get insurance coverage for the N5 on my new side ASAP in order to see if that will help with the pain. I really hope so, it's getting pretty uncomfortable. Thankfully, the dizziness has disappeared. And, there's THREE days until my winter break starts. Do I hear cheers and applause?!

*For now, I think I'll stay in the class. This change in my mind has also been helped by an increase in my grades, which never hurts!


Happy Holidays to all!

just the usual

Bad blogger! Yes, I know. My sincerest apologies, sometimes life gets in the way! :P
So, what's been going on here?

• Saturday night- We got back in town, and I was off balance and dizzy. Deja vu? Yes.. only this time we drove, which made the whole thing pretty weird to me.
• Tuesday- Early in the morning, my left implant started aching a little bit, bu only if I pressed on it, so  I didn't think much of it. As the day went on, the pain became more and more pronounced. By 5th period, it was excruciating. Whenever I raised my eyebrows or smiled (which, I discovered, I do practically every five minutes) it only got worse, and my face expression turned would turn to a grimace. By 7th (last period), I hade to take my processor off. By the time I got home, my surgeon was closed.
• Wednesday- I got in the car, and my mom told me that she thought it was snowing. It pretty much NEVER snows here, especially not this early, so I rolled my eyes (what can I say, I'm a teenager!) and laughed. We pulled out of the garage, and shrieks of excitement could be heard from our car, as well as the constant buzz of my phone, filled with "IT'S SNOWING!!!" text messages. It, indeed, was snowing on December 2nd in Texas. It lasted for an hour, but it only stuck to the grass. No snowday off of school for us :( I took some Tylenol, and the implant pain was a lot less.

This is a picture of the snowfall in my town.
Credit: nbcdfw.com-taken by Todd Young
• Thursday- Finally, able to get in to see my surgeon. (Wednesdays are surgery days). It was barely hurting then, but I was still freaked out by the whole episode, plus the dizziness still hadn't gone away.  The verdict?
• He saw nothing concerning upon examining my head/implant, which is good. Upon looking at where my pain was, at the lower area (my surgeon called it the receiver) of the implant, he determined that it was from the processor rubbing against it and irritating it. My implant is pretty high up, so I found that surprising, but I think he knows a thing or two more than I do! He said that we just need to watch it over the next couple of months, see if it still bothers me, and that the only way to real way to fix it is to get the Nucleus  processor since it would be smaller and wouldn't rub on the site as much. (Potential insurance coverage argument? I think so!)
• He said he didn't really have an explanation for why the dizziness was occurring, and thought it was just a coincidence that it happened right after the trip. Dizziness is pretty common in all hearing loss patients, especially those who have had some type of ear surgery, so it's not exactly surprising to him. My surgeon gave me a 3 page long list of balance exercises to do which should help my balance improve. I haven't done any yet, but they're awfully interesting- how does standing on one leg with a cardboard box over your head sound?!

Yup, that's my ear. This was taken at a camp I went to this summer for kids with hearing loss.

We got a little excited about using the bling ;)

You can see where my implant/coil sits  in relation to my processor.(It's similar for both ears)

*I also got a mapping right before we left town. Now, both ears are at a processing rate of 1800. Battery life isn't great, but hearing is!

And, if you feel like watching an inspirational video that will surely make you teary-eyed, click here!

Countdowns and Ramblings

These are some things that I'm looking forward to for the next month or so...

Thanksgiving Break- 3 days
We're driving up to New Orleans to visit family over Thanksgiving. I'm ready for a much-need break! I'm thankful for a lot too, but that's another post. No, we won't be staying in the same hotel as last time!

Exams- 3 Weeks
err... no comment on this one. Hope I can catch at least a few hours of sleep a night! I am excited by the fact that we only have to go to school for half a day for all of exam week.

Winter Break- 4 weeks
I cannot believe that in a month I will have made it halfway through my first year of high school. (never mind the fact that the second semester is a lot longer..) I really want to do an update on what's going on at school, but so far nothing has really happened. There's been some "evaluations" (it would be a joke to actually call it that) to try to get some technology (any sort of real-time captioning for just a few of my classes) which ended with the verdict that I'm doing just fine. Then there was a meeting, and the verdict somehow changed to "maybe, but you'd have to change schools." This is the LAST thing I want to do, so for now we're planning on trying out something that I'm pretty sure has never been done in the classroom before. Look for an update once it's actually been tried out... whenever that may be.

Visit up North- 4 1/2 weeks
I'm super-excited to say that I'll be flying to IL to visit a friend who I haven't seen in nearly a year and a half. We first met at a convention and have continued to stay in touch starting the second I got to the airport! I'm pretty sure a day doesn't go by that we don't talk to each other. I've mentioned her once or twice, and she sometimes comments on here under "She Loves to Act." We have a lot in common and finally convinced our parents to let us visit each other. I get impatient every time I think about it! I'm also excited to see REAL snow (hopefully!) and see how people celebrate Christmas (I'm pretty sure this will be the first Christmas I don't spend in a movie theater and eat in a Chinese restaurant... If you're Jewish  you know what I'm talking about ;)) I still need to find a coat...

Nucleus System 5- Releases for Freedom recipients in a week and a 1/2
Freedom users and parents of users- will you be upgrading? If so, when? I more than likely will, but just want some other people's input on why they are or aren't planning to upgrade. There is no software (hearing)difference, so there's pretty much no chance of getting insurance coverage. There's a good chance that there will be software upgrades (for the N5) in two or so years, so insurance coverage may eventually be available, but who knows. I really like the fact that it's so much lighter, and I actually prefer the remote- if I'm having trouble changing to FM mode or something with my processor, I'd actually be able to see what I was doing! My second ear was implanted after March 2009, so we'll be getting an extra $1,000 back for that side with the Freedom trade-in if/when I choose to upgrade.

Thoughts?

Birthday Girl

You may have noticed a small very significant change in my profile.

No?

I am now officially the big one-five. Yes, I am fifteen! That means that in a couple of days, I will be taking the test to get my learner's permit. It also means a sharp increase in my mom's panic attacks,

Kidding! Well, sort of :)

To celebrate, I went out to dinner with six of my closest friends and had a great time. We did plenty of reminiscing and some gossiping, and I still can't believe how fast we're all growing up. The restaurant was pretty loud and noisy, but my friends are even louder, so it wasn't too big of a problem! I am due for a MAPping, so I will be going in on Tuesday. I did just get a new one a couple of weeks ago, but it soon became apparent that it needs some tweaking. Whenever I need a new MAP there are number of signs that make it quite obvious to me and my family, but I will write another post on that later. Anyhow, I get to sneak a peek at the new Nucleus 5, so who am I to complain!

Note to self: Never think it's okay to eat a cheese sandwich for lunch the day of your birthday party. Lactose intolerance doesn't take a day off, even for birthdays! (yes, I learned the hard way...)

So, I'm posting this video although it seems to be about naivety (and naive is definitely not an adjective I'd use to describe myself), and there are other Taylor Swift songs that I like even more. So why am I posting it? Well, because it has to do with the two main reasons I'm writing this post:

1. Being fifteen
2. Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift? How could she possibly have anything to do with this post?

I know, I know- you're just dying from the suspense! ;)

Wellll, I got quite a few very nice birthday gifts. One of them I begged for hinted about months in advance...




TICKETS TO THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT IN THREE WEEKS! *insert loud girl shriek here*

I love music. But if it's sung by Taylor Swift, that makes it about a thousand times better.

Can you tell I'm excited?