Five months: status report.

I've had little to say on the cochlear-implant front in recent weeks. Basically, it's great. I'm hearing so much, so clearly, and loving it. I can't think of a single complaint, other than wishing the processor was slightly smaller and didn't flop off my head during yoga.

I don't have a court appearance until next week, but I sat in on some Tenth Circuit arguments in September, and together with the FM system, the CI worked superbly. The sound was much crisper and cleaner than with my hearing aid. Also, I could hear all of the rabbi's stories, jokes, and sermons during High Holidays services, which made the experience far more interesting (and perhaps even more spiritually satisfying), and kept me awake throughout.

On the other hand, I'm finding that my left ear, with its low-tech hearing aid, less and less adequate for solo hearing. I've even taken to using the CI for the phone semi-regularly, although it works better with my home and cell phones than the one in my office. I don't think the left ear itself is performing worse, although I do want my audiologist to test it solo for comparative purposes, at my November appointment. Rather, I think the CI is just So. Much. Better. Now that my brain has almost completely adjusted to the device, I am hearing voices, music, environmental sounds, and background noises with more clarity and distinctness than I ever dreamed possible.

The other day, a panhandler muttered, "do you know what time it is?" as I walked past him. Pre-CI, I would have heard only a muffled voice, and would have either ignored him completely, or stopped to locate the speaker and asked him to repeat himself, before realizing the speaker wasn't someone with whom I wanted to engage. But now, I heard him perfectly, and rattled off the hour as I walked on by. It was a nothing moment, but I smiled as I continued walking, feeling proud to fit harmoniously into the background music of everyday urban life.