Tuesday, May 22, 2007

No Batteries

Well, the inevitable happened tonight. My rechargeable battery in my right (new ear) CI died on the way to Bible Study tonight. (I normally change my rechargeable battery after 10-12 hours because they don't last all day but I forgot.) I thought, "No problem, I have batteries in my purse." Well, I didn't. (They were on my desk at home when I changed my batteries yesterday on the other CI and were under a pile of papers.) So, I had to sit in Bible Study tonight listening with just one ear and it was a struggle. I've gotten so used to hearing well with BOTH ears that it is difficult to go back and hear with just one CI. About halfway through the lesson, I decided to switch ears to see if I could hear better (I was listening through my older and left side). I actually heard better with ONE EAR on my NEWEST side. That was the ear I favored from the beginning before both of my surgeries and it is true now with both CI's. If I had to do it over again and only had one ear to choose from, I would do the ear that is favored the most. That was one of my questions when I first started my CI journey in 2005 and I just answered it tonight. I didn't want to do my *favored* ear in the beginning because I heard best with it (even though the audiogram said it was my bad ear) and wanted to save it just in case the surgery wasn't successful. Two ears is definitely better than one but if I had to choose only one ear, the favored ear wins, hands down.

I continue to make good progress hearing bilaterally. Tonight was one of those nights where I was glad I was able to hear with at least one ear. Otherwise, I would have plunged into total silence when my battery died.

Note: If most people are right handed, they are most likely *right-eared*. The same holds true for left handers. Test yourself and see which ear you put the phone up to when you answer it. :) (I'm right handed but deal & play cards with my left hand).

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I don't know why, but I've always felt that if I had my right ear implanted, I'd be able to hear out of it fine. I know that it ain't necessarily so, but it's always been the "good" ear, and I still think of it that way.
I am still getting the hang of the rechargeable battery thing. I used 675s for so many years in my hearing aid, and they would last me several days...now I use a rechargeable, and I have to remember to keep a spare on me and charge it up at night.
With my new processor, I'm getting a lot more time out of each charge. It was around 7 hours with the Auria...I am now getting around 10-11 hours per charge. Not too bad! :)
When I got my Auria, it came with four rechargeable batteries. Two of them are big, but last hours and hours and hours...they're too big for me to wear them, though, as they're heavy and fall off. The two smaller ones get a LOT of use! :)
I think I'm about to head outside in a bit and enjoy the sun...love you! :)

Mom said...

I am right handed, but I have always favored my left ear. I even implanted my left ear. I'm happy with that choice...
I HAVE to hang my purse on my left shoulder, and I HAVE to carry babies in my left arm...etc...
Before my hearling loss progressed to the profound range, I would use my left ear to hear out of, even though my right ear was the same.
I definitely feel that my left side is stronger, even though I write right-handed.