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This is loooong overdue, but I went for a follow-up audiogram/Esteem testing back in August and got excellent results!!!  I was very, very nervous that I would need a revision surgery to remove scar tissue because of the feedback I was getting at higher volume levels.  Thankfully, the sensor and driver are both working extremely well and there is no evidence of scar tissue!  I was also anxious to see my tympanogram.  For some reason, my right ear did not heal well and my tympanogram (movement of the ear drum) was flat for months.  As of August, it was still reduced, but not flat.  A flat tymp means that the eardrum is not moving at all.  A reduced tymp means that it's moving some, but not like it should.  Even with a reduced tymp, however, my hearing results were INCREDIBLE!!!!  On the pure tone test (the "beep" test), I was at normal levels through 2000Hz  - amazing.  My left ear, which healed quickly and easily, is not testing as well now, mostly due to a program change.  In order to reduce the feedback in the right ear, the audiologist changed my main program.  It's very complicated and technical (though if you are an Esteem patient and want the details, email me), but I'm not hearing quite as well in my left ear now.  The trade-off is that I don't get constant whistling in my right ear, so it's definitely worth it. 

Pure tone (beep) testing is great and all, but what I really care about is understanding speech.  Normal conversation is about 50 decibels.  With my hearing aids, I could hear ZERO words at 50 dB in my left ear and about 60% in my right.  Not great.  Remember, those numbers are in a soundproof booth as well...not real life, especially for a teacher.  Now, at 50 dB, I can understand 88% of words in my left ear and 92% in my right.  That is nothing short of amazing.  If you look at the graph below, the pickle shape is where speech sounds fall.  In my right ear, I'm getting most of them now.  I still miss /s/ and /th/ and a few others, but it's an INCREDIBLE improvement over my pre-implant levels, as you can see.  God is so faithful.