It's been a while since I've posted but today's activity seems an appropriate marker to report. We went to our first orchestra concert since my implant, this one featuring a violin soloist in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1. Let me confess that I do not have much expertise in classical music, so I do not know exactly what to expect when I listen to the orchestra's selections. I would not know if they skipped a few segments or if they played "too fast" or anything. I just enjoy what I hear, usually.
Tonight we were sitting in the Conductor's Circle at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. That means that we were sitting behind and above the orchestra, watching the conductor's face and arms and looking down on the musicians. That also means that the violin soloist had her back to us and was playing toward the audience.
I believe I heard everything they played, with the exception of the first notes of the violin concerto before the soloist began. I heard her, just not what must have gone on during a brief silence (to me) before she began to play. I even heard her playing high notes in second and third positions on her high E string. That is amazing! Prior to my implant I would not have heard that. In fact, one incident that showed me how "deaf" I was was when we were at a chamber music concert and the violinist was playing solo, wildly moving his bow across the strings, and I heard nothing. He was a pantomime.
Once again, I realize how very lucky I am.
I find that in general I am doing quite well, hearing maybe 80% of what comes my way. I do ask for repeats sometimes but people interacting with me for the first time since my implant are shocked at the difference.
I can use both my cell phone and my regular phone, usually having the best results when I hold the receiver against my ear like people without hearing problems do. I think I do slightly better on my cell phone but I can succeed on either one. When I am sitting at my desk and answer my CapTel phone and see the captions come up, it is difficult for me to just listen and not look at them. Then I often get confused because I am hearing one thing and reading another. I'm better off not to look at the captions.
I no longer hesitate to answer the phone when it is ringing, no matter which phone I am near. And I make appointments with much less trepidation and work my way through some of those "if you want..., press..." messages successfully. I feel myself coming out of my shell.
I hear birds chirping when I am outside and now wish I had paid more attention to what different kinds sound like so I could identify what I am hearing. Maybe I'll work on that this summer.
I still have not figured out how to use my Kindle Touch to have books read to me while I have the text available on the screen. The first book I ordered didn't have any text, so I just listened to it. The second book I ordered didn't have the Text to Speech capability (that's up to the publisher, I now understand) so I am just reading it. When I finish reading this one (my Book Club is going to discuss it soon), I'll have to contact Kindle or Amazon and find out how I can tell what to expect before I order a book. I still believe it should work and should be a good way to practice listening.
Once again, I'll be silent here for a while until I feel there's something worth reporting. Be well.
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