Cochlear Implant Thoughts....

I have a lot of decisions to make these days, one of which has absolutely nothing to do with triathlon but everything to do with me being able to hear better.  I'm contemplating (actually i've already decided) to go ahead and have a cochlear implant surgery. I won't go into too many details on what exactly it is, it would take a while :), but here is a link explaining the surgery: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/CochlearImplants/ucm062823.htm

My older sister and my cousin both have cochlear implants and both have had tremendous success, so, why am I dragging my feet?  Laziness, wondering if i'll be patient enough to do the "homework" required after the surgery, and wondering if it will really work for me (I'm doing it in my "bad" ear-they're both "bad" but my right ear is the worse of the two). My goal is to have the surgery while we're here in Boston because they have an amazing Eye/Ear clinic here and Dave randomly worked with a surgeon who performs these surgeries on both children and adults and he was able to receive some good feedback from the doctor about the MA Eye/Ear Infirmary.  Anyway....so, i'm contemplating doing the surgery in March---I have a few things I need to look into as far as coverage etc.  My reasons for doing the surgery:  overall, just better quality of hearing, the ability to mountain bike, surf, scuba dive and other super active activities that i've never been able to do because of the risk of hitting my head (I have Mondini Syndrome which leaves me susceptible to more hearing loss if I hit my head, which i've done previously while swimming and skate boarding, both of which resulted in surgeries.).   This is not to say i'm going to run out and start mountaing biking, but just the ABILITY to be able to do something without having to worry about my hearing loss increasing.  The cochlear implant bypasses this type of issue.

Wanna know a really big reason though? I really really want to be able to listen to an iPod without having to wear those big old headphones.  Right now, I can't listen to an iPod with my hearing aid because those buds don't fit in my ear with an aid and the other "foamy" headphones fall off when I run.  So, there you have it, i'm living proof you CAN train for and complete a 140.6 triathlon without a speck of music.  Painful, but i've done it.  Twice.

And if you think I listen to music while riding the trainer, you're wrong, I sweat so much that I have to leave my hearing aid off, so I read the closed captioning on the t.v. while I ride my trainer.  No big deal that one, really.....i'm ok with that, but I would give anything to be able to have a fun "play list" and wear my iPod....

Or, even just being able to wear a hands-free headset while driving.  All these things sound superficial, and they totally are...absolutely. But, they're a "given" for most of the world and they're not for me, and it sounds like fun!

So, this week, i've made it my mission to not only try to grocery shop ahead of time so we don't fall prey to crappy food, but more importantly, get some research and information taken care of so I can be on my way to listening to some Radiohead while running. Ah, just kidding, that's on Dave's play list...i'll be aiming for some Red Hot Chili Peppers or Madonna :)