Hi my name is dr sarah beatty and i'm a fourth year audiology extern
here at the house clinic i'm here to talk to you about preparing for your activation appointment
if you're watching this video you've likely recently had your cochlear implant
surgery and are coming in soon for your cochlear implant to be turned on or activated
so what is your cochlear implant activation this is an appointment
with your audiologist where your implant will be programmed and activated for the first time
it occurs approximately one month after you had surgery and the goal of the appointment
is to set the program so it's comfortable for you to wear all waking hours so you may
be asking yourself what are the steps involved in programming the implant how is my audiologist
going to do this well first your audiologist is going to select the appropriate magnet strength
next they're going to measure the softest sounds you can hear and they're going to also ask you
to detect the comfortable loudness levels they'll walk you through all of this and
give you instructions as you go along so you may be asking yourself what should i expect to hear
once the implant is turned on and this is a completely normal question for you to be asking
the honest truth is it's difficult to predict exactly what you will hear
once the implant is turned on some patients report they hear beeps buzzing noises some patients say
it sounds super mechanical or they may even say it sounds like mickey mouse so most people are unable
to hear speech immediately at their activation we have to remember that this is a process and that
it takes time we see the most improvement three to six months after your activation appointment
you have to remember that learning to hear with a cochlear implant is a journey and that's going
to take time and practice and daily use what happens once your programs are set
the audiologist is going to review with you the basic care
and use of your sound processor you'll be given a packet with daily oral rehabilitation exercises
or listening exercises and your audiologist will recommend that you limit your hearing aid use in
order to really train your brain to hear from the implant you'll be encouraged to wear your implant
all waking hours to help your brain adjust and make sense to the new sound from the implant
so what is oral rehabilitation well oral rehabilitation is listening exercises that aim
to help train your brain to hear with the cochlear implant these activities can include reading aloud
to yourself using specific apps on your phone that walk you through different exercises there's also
exercises that can include following along in an audio book or a ted talk your audiologist will
give you a packet of all types of different listening exercises that you can choose from
who can you contact if you have any questions for any programming questions contact your audiologist
if you have any questions about your equipment or pairing bluetooth contact your manufacturer
hi i'm erin associate director of education and global hearing health here at the house
institute foundation thank you for watching our video if you would like to support
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