My Bookshelf

Hello :))


I'd like to share with you some of my favorite books about deafness, sign-language, hearing impairment and cochlear implants, that give you an inside what it's like to have no hearing or to get a cochlear implant, or to have no vision and no hearing and to learn to speak sign language.

Thanks for reading!

Sandra

Me with my crazy ear

Hello!!! :))

Yes that's me with my crazy ear :) I got that picture in a letter from my acoustician, (advertisement) to get a hearing test or sth like that.. I can't remember it anymore.

Somehow I feel melancholic about my past blog.

Here's my "old" blog


It was so full with interesting stuff, my hearing, my writing, poetry etc. but I wanted to move although I still like the other blog but I need a new fresh start so from now on, keep checking out this blog every now and then or subscribe to the news feed. 

If you came by accident to my blog because you searched something about my ear or poetry then I would suggest to make sure to check out some of my videos on youtube. If you want to hear more then go here:

Some of my poetry

Videos about my surgery

I will make sure to make some more videos. There are also videos about my doing the 100 day challenge. It's an online community where you set out intention for the next 100 days and you try to implement it, for some it's to follow your passion, for others is to find a perfect job, or to find the right house, the list goes on but don't forget to have fun in those 100 days and of course to find a way to share your progress in a daily video blog, or just blogging etc. That's what I did 3 years ago, with the intention to write a book. Well, all goals take some time.. Mine took me 3 years :-)

100 Day Challenge

If you want to read more, then click on "following" or save the link to your desktop so you can go back every now and then. To read more about my ear, go to my first 3 blogs which I wrote a few months ago, they will give you a rough overview who I am and what happened to my ears.

Thanks for reading!

Sandra

I'll write later some time

aaah you nosy people :P lol joke.. I see many visitors from Austria ;)) I know you want to hear some new updates but give me some time, right now I can't be that creative to write something worth reading but soon I will and will let you know on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook when I have a new post.

In the meantime, have a look at my recent poetry video on YouTube. I still keep writing and it goes relatively well.




Thanks for watching!

Sandra

Today a year ago I got my cochlear implant!

yfrog Photo : http://yfrog.com/keet6zvj Shared by mytruestory85

Sandra

Can deaf people talk?

I am back from my vacation! I'll write a seperate blog soon but I want to share this first.


It's short. A few days ago my brother asked me "Can deaf people talk?" He knows that I have a CI and that when I take it off I hear nothing.


That was really a smart question. How do you explain such a question to a child? Well I said, Deaf people cannot talk if they have never heard BUT they can be taught. "And if you have heard and then loose your hearing, can you still talk?" Those questions don't seem to end :)


You hear right? Ok, now close your ears and talk. You see, you can still talk and you know what you're talking as you have memory of hearing, you have the knowledge of language, oral and written. You have the memory of sounds so you know what you're talking even though you can't hear yourself.


Someone who has never heard would have troubles to learn to speak but it's not impossible. Helen Keller did learn to speak although she lost hear hearing as a little girl. 


I'm sure there will be more little insights from my little brother.


Will write soon!

Sandra

I'll be back soon

Hi!


I was silent for such a long time... I have lost my track although I haven't even started properly ...

Pls give me some time, I'll write soon some updates....


I see many of my Austrian friends keep checking out this blog every now and then. That's really good to see. Thanks! :)


I'll be back soon!!!


Thanks,
Sandra

Sandra

Introduction (part 2)

I suppose you have already read the introduction, if not you may go back to the "introduction part 1" post and read it again. If you've done it, then you're right here ;)


I'd like to continue where I stopped writing ..


Introduction part 2


I think it might take a while until you get the whole picture of myself and my background history about my ear, that's why I'll start to build up this post here.

So in 2008 I had my acute hearing loss and when the situation seemed to improve after adjusting my hearing aid to the new hearing curve, the issue has resolved to me. I didn't want a cochlear implant at that time. I thought, with my hearing aid I can still hear and for as long as I still have some remaining hearing left, I think I should use it! 


Here's a video that I posted when I had my 2nd hearing loss:



The first few months were tough as I had to adjust to it. I felt as if ear drums hurt a bit, because the volume as increased to compensate the loss of 100db... so you can imagine,... after increasing the volume to almost 100db, it wasn't comfortable, but somehow my ear got used to it... and to my surprise the hearing curve stayed that way for two years, without changing much. I thought it would get worse because I am getting more volume into my ear (eardrum) that I thought this wouldn't be healthy. However, it didn't make any difference, the only positive one was that I could hear again.

So I tried it this way for two years. I managed to get along this way. I finally managed to believe that I don't need a cochlear implant at all... I believed it all until I had another hearing loss in February 2010. I stayed at hospital for about 6 days at that time but nothing changed. Even my acoustician couldn't help me anymore, when she tried to adjust my hearing aid to this second hearing loss... 


After fixing my hearing aid, I still couldn't hear well. I felt as if something was wrong with my hearing aid. That was the point when I really had to deal again with this issue "Cochlear implant, yes or no"??!!


In April 2010, I visited my doctor at hospital and had a talk with him about a possible surgery and what he would do and discussed it all in detail. They made pre-tests and all looked good on my side to be implanted as nothing has changed and my hearing remained useless.

During that time, I tried to keep myself busy, used this experience to fuel my inspiration and I wrote like crazy for the past few months. I wrote poetry that dealt with that situation, the insecurity about the surgery, the fear (will all turn out okay, will I hear again, how will it sound) and so on. I literally drove myself crazy but that was one of the best times I've ever had. Don't get me wrong :) I didn't like that I had that hearing loss but I wrote some heartbreaking poetry that I surely don't want to miss. I didn't even know what I'd write in the following months to come... I had the urge to write it all down, my experience, I kept a diary and wrote intensely about it, I wrote poetry whenever inspiration stroke me - This time I'll definitely not forget. I hope that through the poetry I'll be able to share a bit of my world, my experience and give people the feeling that you're not alone with this. I went through that. I know what it's like to be scared, to doubt technology, to doubt myself if my brain can adjust to it and so on. I cannot guarantee that the implant will work for anyone the same way does for me, in terms of "making it a success with hearing". Everyone of us is different and so is our background history about hearing.


I could always hear on my left ear, so I had the memory of hearing, the sounds and how things should sound, so maybe that influenced it all and I love languages and rhymes. It don't know if this is why I do so well with my implant but I only speak from my own personal experience. So that's why you have to make yourself the choice because if (if... ) it should not turn out the way you expected it or if it should take much longer for you to hear, there's no one else except you to blame because you actually signed the paper. That's why they want you to be sure. That's why you should wait until you can't benefit from your   own hearing.. only then when you can't anymore then it's the right time to get the implant, or think about and make the decision that you think is the best for you - to hear or not to. Both decisions are good, as long as you feel comfortable with it. I personally prefer to hear as I don't want to miss the sounds but there are also moments when I'm quite lucky that I have the advantage over hearing people, that I can simply turn off my speech processor in crowded places and can still enjoy the silence if e.g. I have to write something. :) or if I want to sleep with an open window in summer :)


I think I'll stop here although it's really interesting now but you need time for a break to digest all the information you just read :)


More will come soon!
Your bionic PoetryGirl

Sandra