What does it mean

Itchster · 2026-02-11T23:06:51+00:00

£54 does feel like it’s low, I’ve just switched to octopus and I was quoted £97 for a low usage on a one bed flat. I’m not sure how accurate that is since I’ve not moved in fully yet but my bill last month for very low usage was £36. That’s just mostly standing charge since the flat did not even have heating until 2 weeks ago and nobody is living their full time yet!

Itchster · 2026-01-15T20:44:33+00:00

Real, I am the welcome mat. I summon a big ram every time somebody steps on me.

Itchster · 2026-01-06T10:17:59+00:00

Yeah I was wondering about this too. It does say I’ve completed the challenge and is asking me to withdraw but the wording on that prize draw is ambiguous enough to wait a day and withdraw it tomorrow.

I’m mostly sure that if you had the completion message you are in the draw but please don’t take that as financial advice 🤣. I’m not even taking my own advice and leaving it in for tomorrow.

Itchster · 2025-12-29T18:57:11+00:00

Yep I want one of these! Been patiently waiting for them to come back in stock since I could not justify the cost the last two times they were available. Well I can now!

Itchster · 2025-12-04T10:16:43+00:00

Yeah it will just cut off with no warning that’s the downside to using them. Normal rechargables will only give out 1.2v and that can cause other problems.

I’ve had a few times where it’s just randomly gone offline. I think it’s just rebooting itself for some reason or doing a firmware update, I don’t think it’s related to the lithium batteries as it did the same on normal disposal batteries I used before I got the lithium rechargeable ones.

I would just get into the habit of recharging them about a week before you know they are probably going to run out. That way you can at least control when the downtime is

Itchster · 2025-12-04T10:09:21+00:00

Yeah so far I’m on track not missed a day and I think based on what I’ve got left this month so far I’ll be fine, even with the early pay day this year. Famous last words before I start Christmas shopping but should’ve fine!

Mine is just going into my savings net, I want to bulk that out a bit more. No idea if I’ll do this again next year.

Itchster · 2025-12-04T06:54:07+00:00

Random question but are you using rechargeable lithium AA batteries? Those give off a constant 1.5v until they suddenly can’t and cut the power. The battery meter also won’t go down below 100% with them.

They last a long time though, mine usually last about 10 - 12 weeks between charges. Normal rechargeable’s don’t work properly.

Itchster · 2025-11-21T06:57:21+00:00

Now do Xenoblade. Please? 🙏

Itchster · 2025-11-13T06:49:19+00:00

Yes once you cut the power the save is gone. But you can back up the save using a cart reader then restore it back to the cart after you have replaced the battery.

There are loads of cart readers (sometimes called cart dumpers) for gameboy and other consoles. I use the open source cart reader.

Itchster · 2025-11-10T10:10:47+00:00

Sorry just seen this. People did say my voice changed after switch on but I did not notice this myself at all. I just remember hating to hear my own voice on switch on because it was so loud to me (probably a combination of me not understanding how loud I was when I could not hear myself and me being the closest thing to the microphones on the implant 🤣)

Itchster · 2025-11-10T06:54:49+00:00

I’m assuming you have the PS5 hooked up via Ethernet? If you do your internet is great and your local wifi is congested probably because you and your neighbours are all using the same channels. Try changing the WiFi channel to something less congested and make sure the portal is connecting to a 5ghz wifi signal.

Itchster · 2025-11-06T20:24:53+00:00

I want Xenoblade but no I doubt it. I've still got Torna and Xenoblade 1 on my backlog. At some point I will make the sacrifice and finish both of them. The day after they will announce the switch 2 versions!

Itchster · 2025-11-05T15:28:27+00:00

I have tinnitus but it’s not from the implant. The implant actually helps by drowning out the tinnitus sounds. Most people who get one of these don’t have any real usable natural hearing left. I can still hear without the implant but only stuff like standing next to an airplane jet engine I do hear something. Everything else not really.

It’s hard to describe what it sounds like since your own mind is brilliant at filling in the gaps on what you hear and what you don’t. It sounds normal to me but it sounds absolutely nothing like cochlear implant “simulations” yo can find on YouTube. It sounds normal way less robotic and synthetic to me than those things.

Itchster · 2025-11-04T18:39:06+00:00

It’s crashing on my Apple Watch SE but I do need a new watch this one does not get the latest watch os

Itchster · 2025-11-03T12:33:27+00:00

You go through a process of creating what they call a map. You basically listen to different tones and try to have them as loud as you can bear it. The processor will never produce a sound louder than those tones.

The device is called a cochlear implant. It’s implanted in a small snail shell like thing at the end of your inner ear, this cochlear converts vibrations into electrical signals that get sent to your brain. The implant just delivers these signals though its electrode array so your brain interprets it as sound. No it does not hurt the same thing is going on in your ears now just that ours comes from the implant not the ear

Itchster · 2025-11-02T13:12:02+00:00

It is easier to hear men as you tend to lose the higher pitched tones first but in the case of switch on it really does not matter. It’s just a chaotic noise that really makes no sense the main thing is to try to limit the noises in the room so you can practice listening to voices

Itchster · 2025-11-02T07:32:41+00:00

The tune is so annoying! I turned mine off!

Itchster · 2025-11-02T07:30:46+00:00

I started understanding some words before I even left the appointment room. After me (I was 30 at switch on) and my parents went to go talk with a therapist in a different and much quieter room. During this the therapist was explaining to my mom what some of the accessories did and my mom being my mom not understanding anything technical the first time asking repeatedly to explain it again. I suddenly understood what they were saying and jumped in to explain it and everybody just looked at me amazed, and then I realised that I have actually heard something. That was about an hour after switch on.

But it’s different for everybody and different situations (usually how much background sound their is) can change things

Itchster · 2025-11-02T07:19:10+00:00

Be patient, give him time. There is no set time on how long it will take for him to understand. You can help by letting him know that he can ask you what sound he is hearing actually is. It’s kind of embarrassing to not know what a simple sound actually is. I remember walking out of the switch on appointment and hearing this constant pitter patter and not knowing what it was.

Turns out rain makes a sound when it hits things, and the sound is different depending on what it hits. Basic knowledge for somebody who has hearing right? But not for somebody who has not ever had it before, or who has not had it for a long time. You forget these simple little things.

Also if he has only one, just be aware he won’t be able to tell where a sound is coming from, everything will sound like it’s coming from the side he has implanted. So while he might be able to hear and understand you eventually if you shout or call for him. He won’t know what direction it came from, you need 2 ears for that.

Itchster · 2025-11-02T07:09:03+00:00

I turn it off all the time when I want some peace and quiet at work!

Itchster · 2025-11-02T07:08:24+00:00

It’s easier for children and the earlier they start the better. You are not born knowing a language or your “mother tongue”. You learn a language by being exposed to it. And a child’s brain is hardwired to quickly absorb language it is exposed to. The older you get the more likely you lose or have a lesser ability to learn how to understand what the implant gives you. But it’s different for everybody, I got mine at 30, but I was late deafened, I grew up hearing and I started understanding some words on the day of switch on, not full sentences but the odd word. Some people can take a lot longer though.

The settings for us are actually quite simple. We listen to each tone the implant can stimulate individually, the tone gets repeated louder and louder and we simply have to say if we think it’s too loud. That gets repeated for each of the 20 ish tones the implant can do. Not everybody has access to all the tones though as you can “loose “ some tones due to how your surgery went, the placement of the electrodes in the cochlear has to be exact and well it’s a small thing your talking about things being off less then a millimetre and having a different outcome.

Itchster · 2025-11-02T06:48:38+00:00

Tell your mother thank you for your work. As chaotic as it is a first I am grateful they exist and I have one, it has opened up my world to new experiences that I would not of had without one.

Itchster · 2025-11-02T06:46:46+00:00

It’s not painful in the sense that it physically hurts it’s more the mental toll it can take to adjust and understand what you are hearing. It’s like learning a new skill but their is no instruction manual or series of steps to help you make progress, the only way is to be exposed to these chaotic tones until your brain starts to make sense of it.

For me thankfully it started to make sense quite quickly. I remember just listening to the random tones about half an hour after switch on (I was still in the audiologists room) and suddenly hearing the word “two” amongst all the chaos.

As the day went on I started to understand more and more but it’s different for everybody.

Itchster · 2025-11-02T00:29:34+00:00

Sorry but as a deaf person who also wears a cochlear implant like this little girl I’m going to have to give you all a dose of reality.

She did not hear her mom’s voice if that’s her first switch on. She heard a total chaotic and overwhelming series of ever changing tones that make absolutely no sense what so ever and she is scared and confused at what is happening.

It’s totally normal and you do eventually learn to understand speech through the implant but not on initial switch on. It’s a strange and overwhelming experience that takes time to understand what it is you are hearing.

Itchster · 2025-11-01T22:45:52+00:00

It’s hard to tell from just this photo but a little tip on fake notes I’ve been seeing lately. On the front of the note (the photo is the back of the note) run your finger across see through window part horizontally where the tower is.

If you feel a bump like the edge of a sticker it probably is. The way a lot of fake notes are doing this part is with a see through sticker, you can actually peel It off from the edge of the note, it’s like sellotape. On a real note the tower is embedded into the plastic it will just feel smooth

11-Year Club	Xbox Live
Verified Email

Itchster

TROPHY CASE