The day had finally arrived. I didn’t have any expectations because it could go either way. There was only one way to find out.
I was super nervous because I had no idea what would happen. Boy, did I have no idea.
The audiologist got everything ready whilst we waited for the Auslan interpreter to arrive. She checked the sound processor and coil to see if it fit and that there weren’t any issues. We were ready to go when the interpreter arrived, although the audiologist explained what would happen. She also said she would let me know when she was ready to switch my cochlear implant on. Okay. This is the moment.
The switch on happens.
I was NOT expecting the sensations I would be getting, and I fucking hated it. It was like the audiologist had suddenly pushed me into deep icy water.
I wanted this sensation to stop. It was horrible. Fucking horrible. I had realised that the switch on was the WORST part, not the surgery considering how well I recovered afterwards.
The sensation continued and I continued to grimace. It also felt like I was struggling to keep my head above water during a storm. 
I knew I could get through this, and that it would get better.
The audiologist continued to turn the electrodes on, and I started to get used to the sensations. Since I hadn’t heard anything out of my right ear for more a decade, I wasn’t sure if I was feeling or hearing things.
It did get better, and I was able to tread water.
The audiologist also set up a second program on my sound processor, and because I said I wasn’t sure if I could hear speech with the first program, she tested the second program by saying ahh, ooo, eee, and mmm. I could hear these to my surprise, but they sounded alien.
After an hour and half, we were done. The audiologist thought I would be able to go outside with the CI on, but I wasn’t ready to do so. I was still processing everything, especially the new sensations. Sophie suggested that I take a breather in the waiting room before leaving the hospital.
Sophie asked me if I wanted to hear her voice, so she spoke to me without signing. I was amazed at how well I could understand her, although I still rely on lipreading but it didn’t feel like a massive struggle. She also asked if I wanted her to speak and sign at the same time, and I was all for it. I’m aware that there’s a conversational debate about total communication/sim-com, but it’s worked for me all my life, and I prefer this method especially when I’m learning to recognise words via speech AND sign. That’s another topic for another day 😉
I was shaking as I settled in the waiting room. It was the most overwhelming day in my entire life. We then had a conversation to help me process, and to unpack what happened.
Just as we were about to leave the hospital, I took my CI off and put it safely in the box I was given. I was also given a massive bag which contained all important batteries and accessories — let me tell you, it is a pain to carry around! 
A backpack would have been much easier (Cochlear Limited, take note!).
Whilst chilling at Sophie’s place, I put the CI back on for an hour and half. It was a bit better, but I was still struggling with new sounds. Everything sounded so alien.
Sophie put on “Marry You” by Bruno Mars for me, but I couldn’t hear the music. Yeah, no…it was too early for music. However, I could tell the difference between the voices of 3 friends. Sophie’s was the most sharpest — probably because I was already used to her voice.
It was an exhausting day, and I was ready to sleep by 10pm. I had faith that it would get better each day.
I’m definitely in for a ride!
Until next update,
S x
PS – there are more videos from the switch on on my Facebook page.
In late August, I received a letter from the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital. The letter contained my surgery date of 10th November 2016. Whilst I was happy I had gotten a date, it wasn’t the right timing. I was due to fly to London a couple of weeks after and it would have clashed with the switch-on date. I didn’t want to adjust to new sounds whilst gallivanting around the streets of Paris, and my mental health wasn’t at its best either. I also had my thesis to finish. I didn’t want more stress on my plate. So, after talking to close friends, I decided to call the CIC to ask for the surgery to be postponed. Luckily, the CIC didn’t have any issues with postponing my surgery — they also agreed that it was the wrong timing.
I really needed this trip to reset myself after a hectic year. 
Whilst finding my hygge somewhere in Scotland, my housemate messaged me with a photo of a letter from the Eye & Ear. It was right before Christmas, and they had given me a new surgery date.
Thursday 2nd February 2017.
I had approximately 6 weeks to mentally prepare myself. This was a lot sooner than I thought!
Holy shit, this is getting real.
The visit to Surgeon’s Hall Museum in Edinburgh mentally prepared me for the surgery — it made me realise that I would be okay and I would be in great hands. I had nothing to worry about.
A couple of weeks after getting home, I had a pre-admission appointment at the Eye & Ear on the Park. They had to make sure I was healthy enough for the general anaesthesia. I was a bit nervous about going under general anaesthesia, as it would be my first time. The nurse explained the process, which seemed simple enough and I was relieved to learn that the risks were very low.
The day of the surgery approached quickly — it was here before I knew it. As I wasn’t due at the hospital until 11am, I had to start fasting at 6:30am. Now, as you know how much I love my food…that was the most difficult part!! I could only have a small breakfast before 6:30am, which meant no English style breakfast ? 
I also had to stop drinking fluids at 10:30am. I stopped at 10:29am — in nick of time!
I was admitted at around 11:15am. Nurse took my height, weight and all that jazz to determine how much general I could have. Told me to change into a white hospital gown. I WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP MY UNDIES ON. I had to put those white long ass socks on to assist with my blood circulation during the surgery. They’re great for travelling, so I was allowed to take them home afterwards.
I waited. Messaged a few people. More waiting.
The interpreter arrived at 12pm, and we had a bit of a chat. I asked her how long she was booked for, and she said she was booked until my surgery started. That was concerning, as I realised I wouldn’t have an interpreter on standby for post surgery. I knew I would be too groggy to communicate via pen and paper. The interpreter called Oncall to advise them of the situation, and they then called the hospital. My nurse got the call, and came into my room to ask why I requested for an interpreter for post surgery. I explained that I would be too groggy to communicate by any other means other than Auslan, hence my preference to communicate directly in Auslan. It was quickly sorted out, thankfully.
At around 1pm, another nurse came to collect me. It was time. 31 years young and this was going to be my first surgery. I was fucking nervous. We all went down to the basement where all operating suites were located. I was greeted by another nurse who would be scrubbing in my surgery. The interpreter had to be gowned up, and I put a cap on. We were taken into the prep room, where I had to get on a bed. I met the anaesthesiologist, who said he would be giving me whiskey. I asked him if it was from Scotland. To my dismay, it wasn’t. Just good ole Australian made whiskey 😉
After some more prepping, I was whisked into the operating room then I moved onto a really NARROW bed. My first thought was “How the fuck am I gonna fit on that bed?!”. The nurse then took my blood pressure, and she said “Wow, you’re super nervous” and then I was given an oxygen mask to help calm my nerves. That helped heaps. The anaesthesiologist announced that it was whiskey time, so he injected general anaesthetic…and then the room started to spin. I looked at the interpreter, and the last thing I remember was saying “Wow, this shit is good” before blacking out. 
Upon waking up in the recovery room, I was astounded and super groggy. I was also surprised to find another interpreter sitting by my bed. The first thing I said was “I’m here? It’s done?”, and the interpreter told me that I had already said that when I woke up for the first time after having the breathing tube taken out and before passing out again. 
I also had a massive ass bandage on my head. Apparently it wasn’t wrapped around properly to catch the blood from the drainage hole below my earlobe, and the nurses were forever cleaning it up. Later through the night, a nurse was fed up and decided to fix my bandage — that was very much appreciated because we didn’t have to clean up the blood and it had eased up later on. Although, the knot from the bandage was really annoying because it put on a bit of pressure on my head, thus causing a mild headache.
After an uneventful night at the hospital, I was discharged the next morning. I didn’t have any issues, especially with my taste buds and other side effects I was told I may experience after the surgery. My recovery was better than I thought. My amazing friends visited, made sure I was comfortable and that I had everything I needed, and most importantly, they made sure I didn’t over do myself. Although, a lesson was learnt: the following Sunday after surgery, I over did it by going to a meeting all day and going for a walk around the city for half hour. Whoops!
I’m now 5 days away from the big Switch-On! Next update will be a couple of days after.
Until next time!
S x
Continued from The Decision
The CIC arranged a series of appointments over a five week period so they could assess my eligibility for a cochlear implant. What impressed me was that they chose to book 2x appointments together over 2 hours so an interpreter could be booked, rather than having to make 4 separate bookings — saving costs!
At my next appointment, I met with Dr Simone Boardman, an ear, nose and throat surgeon who arranged CT and MRI scans at St Vincent’s. I was expecting to have a balance test done, as I had heard that it was the norm for cochlear implant eligibility assessments, but Dr Boardman said she felt I didn’t need one done — however, she would wait for results from the MRI scan to see if a balance test was needed. That was a huge relief. I haven’t had any balance issues whilst growing up, but I wondered if it would be affected after the surgery.
Next up was my audiology appointment. The audiology testing was similar to what I was used to at Australian Hearing, if not a lot more intensive. They also tested to see if my current hearing aid was of any benefit for my left ear. The audiologist said that they would prefer to leave my left ear aided, as it had enough residual hearing to benefit from my hearing aid. They also confirmed that my right ear wasn’t suitable for a hearing aid, hence the suggestion for it to be implanted.
We then proceeded to the speech perception testing stage. I had no idea what would transpire, but it was quite stressful. The first part was that I had to face the computer speaker and listen to it speak out the alphabet. THIS WAS BLOODY DIFFICULT. I could not make any sense of what it was saying, as the voice was robotic.
Me: I need a human voice. I’m not used to computer generated voices.
Audiologist: I know. I’m sorry, I have to follow the procedure.
Me: *groan*
Audiologist: Just try your best.
We then moved to the lipreading part — that was less stressful! The audiologist had to speak from a list of words at three different noise levels: 20dB; 40dB; 60dB. This was challenging, to be honest.
I couldn’t hear anything the audiologist said at 20dB. Nope. Nein. Zilch. Zero. 
At 40dB, I was able to catch a few words, but there were some words I couldn’t hear.
However, I did much better at 60dB — apparently I got about 40%, which is pretty good.
We had a chat afterwards, and they said they feel a cochlear implant would be beneficial because I rely on sounds while lipreading. Of course.
Lipreading without wearing a hearing aid is rather challenging, especially that there are words that look the same, but would sound different. Sounds give me more context.
Approximately two weeks later, I had CT and MRI scans done at St Vincent’s Private Hospital. The CT scan was very uneventful, but prior to the MRI scan, the nurse couldn’t find a vein in both of my arms, as she had to insert a needle thing so they could inject dye to get the images they needed of my head. She then got a doctor to try. No go. He went and got another doctor, who succeeded! The MRI scan was an interesting experience, yet a bit relaxing. It ~almost~ felt like I was in a massage chair.
My final round of appointments was at the end of March. It was when I would find out if I was given the green light for a cochlear implant. I met with Dr Boardman first, who told me that I was definitely eligible according to the results from the scans. She said that my cochlea was perfectly formed in the right place, which meant the surgery would be easy. She also confirmed that I did not need a balance test. She recommended for my right ear to be implanted, as it’s my worst ear. We signed some paperwork to confirm that I would go ahead with the surgery.
I then met with the audiologist who further confirmed that I could get a cochlear implant. We talked about the cochlear implant I would be getting — an order form was filled in to be sent to Cochlear Australia. I will be getting a Nucleus 6 — an incredibly powerful cochlear implant. I’ve read a lot of raving reviews about it, and my friends who have it haven’t said anything negative about it.
I was put on the waiting list, as my surgery costs and the cost of the cochlear implant would be covered by Medicare. Otherwise it would have cost me up to $30,000 for everything. Ouch.
The audiologist also told me that I was eligible to get a cochlear implant in my left ear, so if I wanted to get a second one later on through Medicare, it would be a 10 year wait. They suggested that I get private health insurance so my cochlear implant would be covered for upgrades every 3 years, and that the costs would be covered if I was to get a second cochlear implant. I chose to go with Medibank, as they have a great reputation with cochlear implantees despite being a bit expensive (nearly $60 per fortnight!).
The waiting game begins…