Written by Phumeza Tisile
29 March 2015
My cochlear implant switch on was on the 20th of March, it was a very emotional day!
My audiologist was telling me exactly what she was doing, 1st it was small soft sounds which I heard clearly, then it was time for the big moment. 1st time hearing her, and her voice was clear – mental note; never really trust anything you read on goggle. Of course I did my own research before the switch on.
Hearing my mom speak for the 1st time in 5 years brought tears to my eyes, tears of joy :)
So now, as soon as I posted that I am hearing on Facebook, people ran to their phones and tried to make a call. It will take some time to get used to everything, it's a process. At this moment we are working on hearing people speak, and hearing different sounds. Like for instance a 'clap', 'door banging', 'water running' etc. People expect me to be perfect now, yes I will be but it will take time to do so.
Even with music it is not clear, and the Cochlear Implants need to be programmed for such things. There's a lot that I need to learn but taking it 1 day at a time. Conversations with people are great, as they do not need to write down what they are saying, still have a problem with people with deep voices but it gets better every day. And as they say "Cochlear Implant is not a miracle, it makes miracles happen."
I totally agree!
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