So we come to the last part of the quick recap that has turned into a bit of a dissertation! It was supposed to be quick Richard!!
At the initial meeting at the Royal Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in Kings Cross London, I see the professor in charge if cochlear implants. He takes one look at my hearing tests and sees my difficulty understanding him and states that, "it's amazing that you are still working." Wow! Really? Well I suppose I do like to think I can be an inspiration to others who might find themselves in my situation. I must say at this point that the glory goes to The Lord who has carried me through all these years and has continually given me the strength to carry on.
He also states that his gut feeling is that I would definitely be a strong candidate for a cochlear implant.
"30 years ago we could not have done much for you but now, through technology we can help you."
Those were encouraging words and they remind me of that 70s series The Six Million Dollar Man.
"We have the technology. We can rebuild him."
The analogy is somewhat spoiled by the fact that he has a bionic eye, not ear but you know what I mean! My Aussie mate in Perth States that we should now start calling me Steve Austin! Cheers Dazza! But I'm way better looking than him! Dazza also informs me that it was an Aussie who invented cochlear implants. Way to go!
Back to the professor. He states that they have to invite me back for assessment to see if I fit into the category of those who can be offered a CI but feels that I will fit into that group. So that's April 2014.
I'm invited back in May 2014 where I have to perform a number of tests. Now I don't like failing tests but I also know that it is only in failing these tests that I will be offered the CI. Isn't that a bit like throwing a football match by letting the other team win? No! I decide that I will do my best (really! Truly!) and leave the rest to The Lord. He knows my needs.
I'm told to keep the hearing aid in and listen to some sentences being read out from a speaker. No visual clues. Purely audio. This is what I heard...."fffwaa fffwa FFA fa. Fffwa" so I reply:
" no sorry didn't get any of that". This happens a few times. There is one though that sounds like this:
"Ff wa shwaa fa shwa car."
"Oh" I say" one of those words was car!"
Result of the test........da da da da da da daaaaaaa......an astounding 5%! That I think is my lowest test result ever! Beating the 12% I got in a maths test once. But that's another story!
The other tests were watching a person read sentences with no sound on a screen. I was slightly put off by the guy's very eighties fashion and hairstyle which got me wondering whether they needed to update the video! I scored 17% on that one which showed I had some lip reading skills even when there was no context and the sentences were completely random. When the sound was added in the third test I scored a colossal 41% which would have scraped a borderline C in a GCSE exam!
So we finished the tests and had a meeting with the professor once again who concluded that even though technically it had to go to a panel, they were basically saying you will get a CI. When asked how I felt about that I think I expressed some apprehension. To which the wise words were issued: "you are only 45 years old. You can't carry on like this."
And I had to admit that he was right. I asked how long it would be till surgery to which I was told it would be around 6 months meaning December or January.
On getting back from a holiday in canada in the summer I opened a letter from the hospital saying that surgery would be November 13th. Wow. Now that's keen and efficient!
Ahhhh! What have I done?
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