This is an audiogram of my left ear... but the green dashed lines is what normal hearing should be... is where I am hoping for!

Now Healing!!! Sophia and I having fun with ear bandages!  

Successful Left Bionic Cochlear Surgery!!!

Hi, I am home! I just had an successful bionic cochlear implant surgery this afternoon - it went so well and it took about two hours. I am up and walking but carefully. But I am taking lots of nap so my ear can heal fast.

I wish I can go to see "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" today, but I decided to wait until I get my "Second Sounds" (left bionic cochlear activated) in two weeks! It will be so cool to hear all these sound effects in THX format!!! I'll let you know what I think of the movie soon...

Thanks for all your support and prayers!

Dan

Tomorrow is the big day....

Tomorrow is the big day for my left ear bionic implant surgery...

And I am trying hard not to think of the bionic cochlear implant procedure that is still going on in my mind. Aaaauughhh!!!! ha ha ha


:-)

Three more days....

Wow, I have three more days for my bionic cochlear implant surgery on my left ear. I'm not that nervous, but I am eager to get this surgery experience behind me. I am still wearing amplifed hearing aid in my left ear - and there was a loud talking going on behind me and it hurted my ear drum so I had to turn it down. What a bummer. But that won't happen again after my "Second Sounds"....

Learn to Listen the sounds around us...

This webpage includes every sound possible - and this is a good listening practice, too.

http://www.findsounds.com/types.html

How to restore your hearing...

Two people asked me a good question today - how much of my hearing can be restored with my bionic cochlear? Would the hearing becomes 'Normalized" ?

The answer is "in theory", that 100% of hearing can be restored. But in reality, to achieve a remarkable 100% of hearing, it all depends on how well a person adapts to hearing these beeps", the bionic cochlear programming, placement of the bionic cochlear, and the environment
around the patient.

In my case, I felt that I reached about 90% of normal hearing. For example, I have a few more phonemes I need to learn hear - they are "p", "k", and "t"; these sounds are so soft spoken and lasts very briefly, so I have to pay more attention to it. Even there are some sounds has occurred around me that I missed because I did not paid attention or recognized it.

It's fun to learn new sounds every day... gotta listen to music now!

8 more days to go for my left ear bionic cochlear surgery...

It is 8 more days - and I finally decided to put my left hearing aid
back on after 3 days of silence in my left ear. Yes, hearing with both
ears is better. And I can spot the source of sounds, too. But it is not
comfortable, either. But I will miss these hearing aids because it is a
part of me and it was wonderful. I

Dan

Why I think it should be called "Bionic Cochlear"

I am calling my implants as "bionic cochlear" instead of "cochlear implant" for many reasons. Here's why:

• Reason #1:I am not getting my cochlear transplanted, replaced, or removed. It stays there.
• Reason #2: An ear has many tiny parts, each part is no bigger than size of a pea. Image how a tiny part can affect a person's lifetime of hearing, personality, and well-being. Pretty sobering, so please wear ear plugs all the time if it is loud and everybody should have a hearing test often.
• Reason #3: My right cochlear was upgraded to "Cochlear Version 2.0"
• Reason #4: I have a serious hi-tech device, called bionic cochlear, implanted inside me.
• Reason #5: Nothing can repair or replace a cochlear.
• Reason #6: Nothing in the world, even in distant future, can create something to help one to hear more and bring a very natural hearing experience instantly. It all relies on the ability of a person's mind to perceive the surroundings.
• Reason #7: Today's bionic cochlear gives me a very "close to natural" hearing experience than amplified hearing aids can do.
• Reason #8: The bionic cochlear does not replace the ear, it merely supplement the current cochlear and uses electrical pulses to represent the hearing simulation.
• Reason #9: With the bionic cochlear, I have to re-learn the hearing all over again, and the advantage is that hearing will be much better, million times over.
• Reason #10: What is like to hear with implant...? Not much different from what you hear. "It's all in the ear of the beholder"... it means it's all in the mind. All the information from the bionic cochlear to my mind is all beeps. Using my mind, I try perceive these beeping sounds as an impression of a source. By doing lots of concentration like telling my mind where and what these beeping sounds represent... And time will tell when I can finally understand these impressions as natural hearing. Enough said!

Surgery Date Scheduled for my left bionic cochlear implant!

I am getting another bionic cochlear implant! It is for my left unaided ear. I will become a bi-laterial Bionic Cochlear patient. The long draw-out process for getting insurance approval was a success. The motto is "Never give up, never give up!!!"

The date of implant will be May 19th, 2005 in San Antonio. My doctor, Dr. Wesley Krueger, (210-697-0880) will be performing the surgery. I am so looking forward to it.