Journal - Day 2

Day Two, June 14
I go back to tweak up my MAPs, to no surprise to the audiologist (ie, this is typical of most new CI users and she knows it). I tell her that my MAPs have become "soft" and I want her to "crank them up". By golly, she does it and I love it! But little did I know that I made a big mistake. During the tune-up session, everything was jolly and good. However, once I returned to the real world, I realized that something had gone terribly wrong! By this time, the increased settings were taking their effect (toll), and I started to feel discomfort and a slight pain inside my brain (imagine 22 electrodes, which in effect are acting like tiny little "spark plugs", going off in rapid-fire succession with increased intensity deep inside the brain). Yes sirree, you get the idea now huh? (that is, I'm now getting "massive stimulation" to my inner ear nerves, or better yet, what I call "killer shock therapy"). Might as well stick your fingers into the nearest wall socket to get a similar effect/sensation.

Jeeeez, that hurts!!! Not only that, the increased settings were causing an unacceptable side effect of tinnitus and a very annoying "buzzing" sound in between real distinct sounds. Man, that was a real bummer and brought me back to cold, cruel reality. I thought, "Oh shit, here we go again" and began to doubt the benefit of the CI I initially experienced at the time of the hook-up. Well, all I could do was to take that sucker off and put on my other processor (which had different MAPs) and hope for the best.