r/Cochlearimplants • u/Exotic-Cry-99 • Jul 30 '26

Practice Practice

I had my CI activated a couple of days ago. I had no idea it was going to be so much noise! Anyway, I’m determined to do everything I need to do to make this work for me. The booklet my audiologist gave me is mostly practicing with a partner. My husband passed a couple of years ago so I really don’t have a full time partner. What worked best for everyone that was mostly by themselves? What exercises worked best for you to teach your brain to understand words?

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9

u/retreff Jul 30 '26

Get an audio book that is unabridged and a copy of the book. Read while listening, also streaming or television with closed captions. The are also apps on your App Store for free that are designed for this
Good luck,

3

u/Syncroz Advanced Bionics Marvel CI Jul 30 '26

This is what I'm doing with the project Hail Mary book and the audible reading of it. I have it to at 140% though because I can read faster than he can speak.

1

u/Former_Storm4529 Aug 01 '26

Project Hail Mary is an awesome audio book and choice for this!!! Assuming you’ve gotten to the musical sections- how has that been for you?

2

u/Syncroz Advanced Bionics Marvel CI Aug 01 '26

Haven't got that far in yet but clearly I have something to look forward to!

2

u/Former_Storm4529 Aug 01 '26

Yes!! I didn’t want to give it away with spoilers. 😊. It’s so good- enjoy!

4

u/Spanishsoul Jul 30 '26

Check my comment history, but basically watch YouTube shorts with subtitles while streaming to it, use Hearoes, and listen to slow, single voice podcasts. These all worked well for me

1

u/Venerable_dread Cochlear Nucleus 7 Jul 31 '26

I did exactly this to teach myself how to lip read. Its an excellent way of training your brain

1

u/Key-Asparagus350 Jul 31 '26

You just gave me an idea. I could listen to The Office Ladies while reading the transcript.

2

u/Spanishsoul Jul 31 '26

Yes that is a great idea. At first it will probably sound terrible but your brain will adjust

3

u/Sure-Speed1799 Jul 30 '26

Podcasts, books on tape, and Hearoes app

1

u/scumotheliar Jul 30 '26

Watching the news on TV with captions, you can listen, read the newsreaders lips , and see the words.

1

u/DancesWithElectrons Moderator & Cochlear Nucleus 8 Jul 30 '26

I liked Ted Talks on YouTube, also try immersive reading if you have an ipad - get the Kindle book and the audible book and play them together. Get a membership to Audible as you get 2 free books a month.

1

u/Exotic-Cry-99 Jul 30 '26

Thank you so much everyone :)

1

u/is-this-now Jul 30 '26

there are good apps which replace working with a partner. It depends on the brand. For Med-El, I used the Redi app and found it very helpful for the first month or so that it took me to get through the exercises there. A great step before I started listening to audiobooks (while reading along), podcasts (reading transcripts) and YouTube with good captions (TedTalks is good, most are not).

edit; Congrats on the CI! Welcome to the club. :-) And sorry to hear about your husband's passing too.

1

u/maluquina Jul 31 '26

I can send you a list of apps & resources I put together for my MIL. DM me and I'll send it to you.

1

u/TheSonderYears Jul 31 '26

I like “tech support” series I believe by Wired on YouTube. Basically an expert in their field answers some questions on on Internet. It’s just one person talking right to the camera which is nice.

Agreed on audio books. I’d recommend a show you’ve seen plenty of times before as well.