“Nothing stays the same”, my Nan liked to remind me, which is simultaneously a comfort and a warning. Change is one of the few things we can be sure of, yet we humans often find it difficult. For me and my family, 2023 has been a turbulent year which has spat us out at its end feeling battered and, yes, changed. Most shockingly, my beloved eldest sister Diana died, a short time after being diagnosed with cancer. We are still trying to get our heads round this loss. It has left me more inclined than ever to ‘seize the day’, so I intend to do plenty of that in 2024. Of course, we never know what’s ahead, but in this liminal time between Christmas and New Year, I want to flag some changes I’m anticipating.

Into my third year with a CI

My life continues to be vastly enhanced by my CI and I am constantly thankful for it. I have been listening to podcasts again recently, having forgotten for a while that I can. I was told this is a good idea as a kind of auditory workout, as CI users can find their hearing capability improves over time, beyond the first year of rehabilitation. I’ve also started watching ASMR videos, listening to whispering and a variety of sounds. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, a tingling sensation some people experience in response to various auditory and visual stimuli, and there are many videos from ‘asmrartists’ on YouTube. I don’t get the tingles, but started watching these videos with my daughter, and find them both relaxing and good listening practice!

New from Advanced Bionics

One of the benefits of having a CI is that I can anticipate benefiting from advances in CI technology, and I’ve been reminded of this with Advanced Bionics’ recent launch of CROS for the Marvel CI. This is a device worn behind the ear on the side opposite the cochlear implant that sends sounds to the CI, so the wearer can hear voices and other sounds from both sides. At the moment, I wear a hearing aid linked with my CI, but my hearing in that ear has deteriorated this year and my days of benefiting from the hearing aid are numbered. I’m delighted that CROS could step in when I have to ditch the hearing aid. It’s so new, that my implant centre doesn’t yet have the software, but hopefully this will be rolled out across the UK in the coming year.

AB has also launched remote programming, which allows your hearing care professional to adjust the settings on your Marvel CI remotely, using your smart phone – no need to travel to the clinic! Of course, there are reasons why a clinic visit might be preferable, but for those who have to travel a long way to get to their clinic, or who find that difficult for any reason, this offers a great solution.

New on the blog

Another blow dealt in 2023 was the announcement that Cochrane UK, where I am a health writer and editor, will close at the end of March 2024, with the loss of funding. The blog I started there in 2012, Evidently Cochrane, which shares trustworthy health information along with reflections from patients, health professionals and researchers, will come to an end then too. I’m sad to see it go, and proud of all we’ve achieved with it. Before it’s taken offline, I am going to take some of the blogs and add them to this site. I’ll certainly take the blogs about hearing conditions, and I may also post some of the blogs about dementia too – something I wrote about from personal experience, as my lovely mum had Alzheimer’s.

New role – I’m an Advanced Bionics mentor!

I wrote in my blog about the NADP conference that the day had inspired me to find out about opportunities to put my experiences of hearing loss and having a CI to good use. Since then, I’ve signed up to be a mentor with Advanced Bionics and look forward to my new role in this warm and welcoming community.

I hope that won’t be my only new role in 2024, as the end of Cochrane UK means I’m job-hunting. Wish me luck!

Here’s hoping that 2024 brings you good things too.