Approved for Cochlear - starting to get anxious

I have read about musicians that got CI and immediately listened to music after activation. They did great with music. Their life revolves around music so they were driven.

I have done ok with music., not great. Some types of music are better than others for me. I will listen to the radio now when driving.

When in the car would I want to put a plug in my other ear so that the CI ear is more dominant?

I am not sure if CI rehab while driving is the best thing to do. I personally used streaming to the CI only for rehab.

It’s kind of hard to put all this rehab into one answer. As your CI hearing gets better the type of rehab will change, it did for me. Initially it was strictly streaming to the new CI. As my hearing improved the rehab became more real life and less streaming. That’s when I became a pest to my wife asking questions all the time wanting to know what I was hearing.

You don’t need all the answers now. Getting the surgery under your belt is the biggie. Then activation. Your questions will change over time.

I went through the evaluations for a CI several years ago and was denied, because my overall hearing was not “bad” enough. I do have single-sided hearing, so I’m now wearing Bi-cros hearing aids, which work well for me.

Wishing you a very wonderful outcome on your surgery!

@Deaf_piper thank you! I am and will be leaving for the hospital shortly. Have to be thee 2 hrs prior; they are estimating 2 hrs surgery; and 2 hrs in recovery. I am certainly freaking out a bit. Seeing your note definitely was a positive. Really appreciate you!

Guessing you are in surgery at this time. When you wake up you will be a new cochlear implant. Odds are you will have a few effects from the implant. These should pass quickly.

Let us know how you are when you can.

Good luck today.

Got home about 8 hrs ago. Rested a bit.
Surgery went well. Definitely the iv pain things are wearing off. Certainly painful if I open my mouth more than a little (jaw); throat is sore from the tube. Right now the worst has been this tight-a$$ head band strap that is giving me a major headache, it hurts and is painful around the other ear too. AND instructions for me is I have to keep in on for 3 days. UGH
I wonder if it is worth a call to dr tomorrow to ask if there is any other way to keep that ear protector on.

Hopefully operated ear and jaw side settle down and are less painful tomorrow.

Thanks for checking on me.

I don’t have my surgery until March but I feel very nervous about it. I hope your surgery goes well. I’d love to hear how you progress.

@Libraryld said:

I hope your surgery goes wel

He got the latest and greatest Cochlear Nexa implant. Should be fantastic technology.

Day 3 (surgery was day 1) - I got the approval from my dr that I could loosen the straps a bit which as helped tremendously. Throat (from the tube) is still a bit sore. Still can’t chew a lot because of the jaw pain but overall pain without those straps is not significant.

One thing I didn’t expect - I expected to be dizzy/off balance after surgery, but today it is much worse. Didn’t think it would get worse days later!

Fortunately did get some sleep last night; limited nausea with the patch after surgery and an oral bill available 2x day. So far all is well!

I called my surgeon to make sure that it was normal (not a concern) that the balance and dizziness is worse today. They said that it is. Although it is definitely worse than the last 2 days, compared to a full vertigo attack from my Meniere’s it is not a problem. I just didn’t want to wait to bring it to attention assuming all was normal only to learn otherwise.
Other than that I am managing well. Slight ache around the ear tonight and of course the jaw if I tried to chew something or open my mouth too far.
Tomorrow I can take off the ear cup and take a shower - looking forward to that!

REALLY appreciate that you and others have taken time out of your day to help me through this experience!

Day 3 - having the headband loosened greatly reduced the discomfort, so that is a win. This morning still some balance issues but at this moment less than yesterday. Today I am able to take off the ear protector and take a shower. My post-op instructions don’t say it but I have read that I need to put a vaseline cotton ball in that ear to prevent any water going into it during the shower, so that is my plan. Figure even if it isn’t laid out in written instructions it wouldn’t hurt to do it anyway.

@nicmger said:

Today I am able to take off the ear protector and take a shower.

Thanks for the updates. Getting that cup off your head and a shower will make you feel like a new person.

Have you noticed liquid in that ear? If you have it will go away in a week or two. Don’t be surprised if you get a little blood out of your nose or throat. It’s your eustachian tube draining your inner ear from the surgery. I got this once, normal.

Sounds like you are doing fine and have a great attitude about it all.

I haven’t noticed or felt any liquid from that ear so far. I do believe there is drainage going down my throat but nothing significant or scary. My sister is going to help me take the cuff off so I warned her there could be some blood. LOL

I know that I can’t rub the area around the ear/incision - but does that mean when I shampoo I should avoid rubbing the shampoo into my scalp?