Again, agreed. Purple Mari At 03:01 AM 2/7/2008, you wrote: >--------------------------- *** Disclaimer *** --------------------------- >This e-mail and its contents are subject to the SA Reserve Bank's >Disclaimer and Confidentiality Clause, which can be viewed at: >http://www.reservebank.co.za/disclaimer >Should you be unable to access the link provided, please send a >blank e-mail to [log in to unmask] >--------------------------- *** Disclaimer *** --------------------------- >"Hi Sharon > >I'll keep on praying. I know you have a long way to go still, but, >I know, with God's help you will get through this. > >Cairie > > >>> Sharon Hooley <[log in to unmask]> 2008-02-07 02:59 >>> >All right, guys, > >I've been waiting for someone in my family to review this special update, >but I guess they can correct me if I'm wrong on any point. So here it is: > >Third Sound Mapping, and Silence > >Posted February 6, 2008 > > > >Well folks, > > > >On January 17, my niece took me to see Jenna again for my third > >sound mapping. As we were walking toward the clinic, the mother of the deaf > >little boy that Judy and I had befriended greeted us, telling us that he did > >well on his activation! Jenna gave me even more sound to work with, and > >created the four programs to send alternative kinds of stimuli, rather than > >to be progressive in the same type. Number 1 is what we thought was my > >favorite setting so far. Number 2 is an automated sensitivity adjuster that > >changes according to my environmental needs. Number 3 is called adro, which > >is an alternative setting to try in any situation. And number 4 has a lot > >of low pitches which, so far, I don't like. I'll have to play around with >the others to see which ones I like best for a given environment. > > > >I can now communicate more without using my regular hearing aid, and I find > >that I'm able to recognize some sounds, and hear some voices beneath the >bells and whistles, which often seems to be decreased, and vary more widely >with the added stimulation I've been given! I also realize now that voices >do indeed sound cartoonish, as some have described them. Voices that I would >otherwise recognize can sound distorted. Since the settings are not perfect, > >or my brain isn't fully adjusted, I hear some things in what I can best > >describe as a bad machine language accent. If I ask how you're doing, and > >you say, "I'm doing okay," it can sound somewhat like, "I'm doing o kerr." >Although music is often not very recognizable yet, I can sometimes hear the >rhythmic jingling and tinkling as my system picks out the beat, etc. It got >me thinking of just how complex our technological minds are; whatever it is >that makes the music source play, and the things that make my electrodes >stimulate to tap out the rhythm! > > > >When I first turn it on in the morning, the sounds are an awakening shocker, >sort of like when you sleepily walk into the bathroom and douse your face in >cold water. Otherwise, I don't remember any sounds driving me really crazy, >though I did feel tired, at least once. The most annoying ones I can think >of are when I've heard myself speaking high-pitched consonants that I hadn't >heard much of in a long time, like, "Thisss nexxxt Sssattturrday" and the >"er" sound when others speak. But I gladly welcome the high pitches, which >give me the ability to hear speech, and the world, more clearly, and I aint >goin back! > > > >I still often use my microphone system with my hearing aid I'd been using >before, but for part of the time, I turn my microphone off and leave my >hearing aid in the mode that only picks up sounds from that, and nothing >else. That way, my brain gets more of a workout with the processor. > > > >I don't have to go in for another mapping session until next month, >hopefully February 14, if I can get > >a ride. I hope we'll play around some more. > > > >After I finished my mapping session, my niece and I went to the hospital > >where my dad lay in the ICU ward, unable to speak. He'd gone in to have his > >second carotid artery cleaned out, but the doctors discovered a hematoma > >near the surgery site, so he went back under the scalpel to get part of it > >removed. As a result, he swelled up so much that he could not breathe > >entirely on his own. Thus he was languishing on a ventilator, with a tube > >down his throat and toward his airways. It was the next day when we dropped > >by, and I later returned home with Judy, and my mom, who has been staying at > >her house at night. > >I appreciate the fact that I am capable of choosing how I view any given >circumstances. I see an inspirational, yet funny picture with the positive >and negative events that have occurred simultaneously: Me getting my hearing >improved so I can listen, as part of the communication process, and my dad >being unable to speak to me, the other side of the communication process. It >is crucial that we talk, and listen actively, to one another, in order to >boost our sense of well-being, and to keep any kind of relationship alive >and burning brightly! > >And that's the news for today. > >Sharon > >No virus found in this incoming message. >Checked by AVG Free Edition. >Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.20/1262 - Release Date: >2/6/2008 9:13 AM