[nfb-db] Frustrated with Screenreaders

[gene richburg]

Hi, yeah, you know, the audi told me that I wouldn't be able to hear music 
that I haven't heard before with the advanced bionics, but some one else who 
has one told me that she was able to, so I guess it really comes down to how 
the brain is able to adapt.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Catherine Miller
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2014 3:37 PM
To: nfb-db at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfb-db] Frustrated with Screenreaders

I cannot determine, at this point, the difference between perpendicular and 
parallel traffice.  The reason is because I haven't reached that particular 
question on my list of priorities yet.  The last few years with my CIs have 
been so busy with all the new busy-ness of hearing people and audio books 
and podcasts and music and the whispers of my husband and the birds and 
voices of friends and the sermons of my minister that I have not actually 
taken the time to stand on the street corner.  That's what SSPs are for. 
And no, I cannot tell where a sound is coming from unless there is only one 
sound in a quiet environment.  BUT, please, oh please, do not accept any 
brand of implant for which the surgeon or audi tells you there are 
limitations.  For example if you are told, before implantation, that you 
will not be able to enjoy music you haven't heard before, you do not want to 
settle for that implant.  The only implant you should accept is the one that 
will provide you with unlimited sound capability.  You should be limited 
only by your physical capabilities combined on your brain's level of 
adaptation to the signals carried by the auditory nerve.  Let me explain. 
On the day my implant was first activated, my brain could withstand only a 
certain amount of sound because it hadn't received sound in a long time. 
The very next day, the audi turned the volume a great deal louder and I was 
able to hear softer sounds.  That's because my brain had adjusted to hearing 
the new sounds in the 24 hours since the implant was activated.  Then for 
the next 30 days I used external controls to increase volume incrementally 
until I saw the audi again.  Each time I turned up the volume, I gained mor 
esounds and heard more of the conversations around me.  My brain would not 
have been able to tolerate all this volume in the first few days.

My insurance also paid for a speech therapist during this adjustment period. 
The therapist tracked my progress in a manner that revealed which particular 
sounds I needed more exposure to in order to train my brain to hear them 
well.

You say magical?  I say miraculous.  There are no limits, provided you are 
medically, physically, a candidate for implantation.

Cathy Miller


Sent from my iPad
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