My second CI was activated yesterday. Because my clinic is a 2-processor one, I was able to get two Marvels, which is AB’s new processor. I ended up getting the Sky processor, which is the kids’ version, because I liked the colors better. I was able to get my two favorite colors, blue and purple. Since each processor only works on a specific ear, the different colors help me to easily tell which is which.

But anyway, activation. Since I was getting two new processors, my audiologist asked me which I wanted to do first, and I chose the newly implanted ear. After figuring out what magnet size I needed (a 4 — I use a 2 on the other side, but I think I may still have a little bit of swelling from the surgery; hopefully I’ll be able to go to a less strong one eventually), I put on the new processor and she started turning on the electrodes. When she was happy with the levels, she set up the left one. For right now I just have one program on that side, the new AutoSense. It’s supposed to adapt based on your environment, but I haven’t really been able to see how that works yet since it’s only been a day and I haven’t really been anywhere but my house and office (which are both quiet).

When the right side was turned on, it sounded pretty much the same as the left side did when it was activated 2 years ago — words sounded like beeps. With the first one, that lasted a couple of weeks, and during that time I was gradually able to pick up more and more words out of the beeps.

With the second one, it’s been much, much faster. It’s only been a day and I’m no longer hearing beeps, and I can understand words. Voices don’t sound normal yet; they sound the way people sound on TV or radio when their voices are deliberately distorted to conceal their identities. But they’re understandable, which is huge for one day after activation, so I don’t mind too much!

After both processors were turned on, we paired them with my iPhone and with the AB Remote app. I can stream from the phone, and adjust the volume and the streaming/mic balance using the app. This is a nice improvement over the Naida Q90 processor I had before; I had to get a special program for streaming on that one so I wouldn’t have to hear the sounds around me while streaming. Now I can adjust that on the fly. The one annoying thing: you can’t adjust the mic balance unless you’re actively streaming, so I had to figure out how to do it while watching a video, since as soon as you leave the video app, the streaming stops and the balance option disappears. You also can’t change any of these settings while in a phone call.

I spent yesterday evening streaming audio books and videos on my iPad. I’m already able to follow them without needing captions or text. I’ve been using just the right processor most of the time so I can give the newly-implanted ear practice, without relying on the left one. So I am very, very happy with how the new CI is working so far!

I did have to call AB today because one of my batteries turned out to be defective. It worked for a little bit but then stopped, even though the charger light is green. It’s not the processor because the other battery works fine with it. I did get disposables, so I can use those until I get the replacement battery from AB. It’s obviously still under warranty one day after activation. And as I said, I’ve been trying not to use the left processor unless I absolutely need to understand someone, just to give my right ear practice.