"You can pick six things to go in your kit." My audiologist was explaining the procedure and recommending the things I should probably get -- a good thing since I have no clue whatsoever.
"You will get a second processor, so you will have a back-up -- one will have the accessory port and one won't." The N6 has wireless capability, but it is still under development and hasn't been released to the public yet, so having a port to plug in the sundry cables is important right now, even if I don't think I'll use it -- I may change my mind later. The processor with the port will be wireless, too, when the technology is ready, but the one without the port is a little bit smaller and lighter. I might prefer wearing it when I am not using the accessories. It's important to have a back-up processor, too, in case one fails or gets damaged or lost. I won't have to walk around deaf while waiting for it to be repaired or replaced.
"You will get two remote controls. The full capacity one and the pocket-sized one." Both make changing programs and settings convenient and simple. They're also important for doing something called "synching." (I have sooooo much to learn!)
"You should get the accessory cable" to listen to things like my phone and iPod though my processor.
"And snug fits" for times when I am doing things that could cause my processor to fall off. Like hiking. Or dancing. Or bending over to tie first graders' shoelaces.
"And I think the lapel mic is important for those one-on-one listening times with your students." I will be able to hear my students directly in my processor while I am testing them or when they are reading to me. Could be cool, I think. I can use it on dinner dates, too, if I can talk my husband into wearing it. Hearing his voice in noisy restaurants has become quite a challenge.
"That's six," she finished. Other things can be nice and fun to have (like the colorful processor covers if I want to pimp my CI), but they are usually less expensive and I can purchase them through the Cochlear Store if I want them. So many things. So many, many things.
Then she adjusted my hearing aids for the higher frequencies of 6- and 7-year old voices that have been giving me grief, and added, "When I turn on your implant, I'll make your BiCROS hearing aid just a regular, old hearing aid for your right ear." I got a screeching feedback in my right hearing aid at that exact moment.
I think its feelings were hurt at the prospect of being regular. And old.
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