Mapping #4

I had my 4th mapping and my next mapping isn’t until June. It didn’t change that much except for some increases in the middle electrodes which apparently is where a lot of speech sounds happen.

I’m not sure if I like this map or not. I plan on giving it a few days. It may have to do with the fact that I had the same map for 2 weeks and got used to it. It’s not like there was a big difference between this map and the last map or anything. Sometimes I like this map better and other times I like the last map better.

Auditory rehab is going to be a very slow thing for me. I don’t know if it’s even possible for someone with my background to really ever gain that much speech discrimination with a CI. I’m basically working on very simple things. I guess one of my fears is that I just don’t want to be stuck at the same level when I go back in June for my next mapping. I would be a bit bummed. Some of the stuff I’m doing now is what I plateaued out with my hearing aid. Other things I could do easily with my hearing aids.

Now that I don’t have those weekly mapping appointments anymore (although I can always ask for a new map before June if I feel it’s necessary)….I’m really feeling like it’s….100% up to me….and there’s only so much I can do. I’m also kind of feeling like….umm, now what and how do I make this work?

My audiologist did say that people tend to do better once they stick with the same map for a while rather than changing it often and having to readjust to a new map each time. She did say that things will eventually come. It’s so hard to believe that. I keep reminding myself that 3-4 weeks ago I couldn’t even tell the difference between a person talking and a car.

Well, all I can do is give it my best shot and see what happens. What happens…happens.

Now that spring is finally here to stay I’m getting out more and doing different things. I’m also trying to turn activities into listening practices. For instance I went for a walk/jog with a couple of friends on a trail. I was trying to actively listen and figure out what I was hearing…while trying to figure out what made each sound unique (some sounds still sound the same as others) rather than tuning it all out. I’m going to watch a friend play volleyball tomorrow and I plan on trying to see if I can pick out different sounds associated with a volleyball game (e.g. whistle, shouting, clapping, cheering, ball being hit, etc.). Just simple things like that.