Follow-up on changes post-CI surgery

This won't cover all the changes since the CI surgery, but it will address the specific Pre-surgery concerns/comments from the previous post.

I'm still left out of conversations because I still require reading lips to understand anything that's going on. If it's more than one person, I will inevitably get lost and be unable to understand the entire conversation, yet alone contribute without asking for repeats. Smilenod. 

I no longer have to wait for movies to come out on DVD, but that has nothing to do with my CI. This is thanks to a fantastic technology advancement that Cinemark theaters offer. Gone is the atrocity (but was appreciated in its early days) called rear-window (RW) that offered extremely limited show times and date (generally a movie for children). Now there's a wireless captioning device (CaptionView or CV) that has allowed access to at least half of their movies at ANY show time. There is still a time limit of approximately 1-2 weeks to see the movie, but while the captions are offered, I can attend any showtime and that's a significant jump from RW. I'm finally experiencing what it's like to go out to movie theaters and enjoy them. 

Years ago I had multiple friends ask: "Why don't theaters make it so captions only show up when you wear special glasses?"
The future is now. Regal Kansas City Cinemas offers this technology. I've yet to try this out, but I plan to check out this theater during my March Spring Break.

I'm still unable to make phone calls using the standard telephone, and I don't ever expect this to change. Honestly, even if this ever changed, I don't know how to hold telephone conversations the way I can hold conversations over Instant Messaging or texts. It would be nice to call businesses without being hung up on or being told by employees they will not talk to me because it's a relay call (which is illegal and is discrimination, but that doesn't stop them). 

I still cannot interpret sounds when I first hear them, but I have gotten better at recognizing the sounds after the first time someone informs me what it is. This is roughly the same as my hearing aid days, but the sounds are clearer and more recognizable. Whether that's good or bad depends if you're talking about a ticking clock, Cicadas, or the sounds of furry animals.

Ps. furry animals make adorable noises. Even barking dogs sounds pleasant to me. What isn't pleasant? Radio show voices. They might as well be fingernails on the chalkboard.