Those who have been reading my story since the beginning may recall that in the summer of 2019, almost exactly halfway between my CI surgery and activation, I experienced a sudden loss of hearing in my right ear (the non-implanted one). After treatment it ended up at around 40% word recognition; in the tones, I was at around 50-60 dB in the lower frequencies and around 100 in the higher ones. Normal is generally around 25dB or below — that’s basically how loud a sound has to be at that frequency before you can hear it.

I had been feeling for a while like my right ear had gotten worse, but it was hard to tell for certain because the CI side is now my dominant one. I did notice that I struggled more with understanding if I wore just my hearing aid without the CI processor, but I couldn’t quantify it.

I had not been back for a hearing test in 2020 thanks to the pandemic, so I had one today, and it turns out I was right: there has been additional loss in that ear; I have no idea if it occurred suddenly like the other three because I just don’t rely on that ear anymore. But it’s down to about 16% word recognition and 70-80 dB in the lower frequencies (still around 100 in the higher ones).

So I am now planning to get evaluated for a second CI sometime in the near future. I will probably wait until after I get my second COVID shot — I had my first one yesterday so that’ll be a few weeks from now.

In other news, I am going to get to try out AB’s new Marvel processor next week. Unfortunately I don’t get to take it home, but my audiologist says I can come in and try it out in exchange for letting her practice programming it. I’m fine with playing guinea pig for a chance to see what the new processor is like! My plan all along has been to see what others think of it (and try it out if I get the chance), and either look into going bilateral or else consider paying out-of-pocket if I think it’s worth the cash. Given my latest hearing test, it’s looking like option 1 will be the winner here, although of course there’s always the chance my insurance won’t approve it. But anyway, I’ll report back after I try the Marvel, which will be next Tuesday.

If I do get approved, I guess I will need to change the name of this blog.