CD's Ear Blog

EqualityCare inquiry

2009-11-17T13:48:00.002-07:00

I sent an inquiry to the Wyoming EqualityCare about their coverage for cochlear implants last Friday... Today I got a response from them.

Dear Client,

This correspondence is in response to your recent Ask EqualityCare submission. Wyoming EqualityCare records indicate that the prior authorization for cochlear implants was denied as the client is able to communicate through speech. In order for a prior authorization to be approved for clients over the age of 21, the client must be unable to communicate through speech or other means to make their medical or basic needs known. The documentation that was submitted to Wyoming EqualityCare states that this is not the case. If you believe this is incorrect, please contact Rocky Mountain Ear Center.

If you have any additional questions, please contact ACS Client Relations at ------------

Sincerely,

ACS, Inc.

Client Relations

I have forwarded this email on to Advanced Bionics. This is just not right at all, how can they factor in how well one communicates, despite how badly they hear? Even FDA guidelines doesn't factor in communication skills, just hearing loss and how POORLY the person hears speech with hearing aids. This is an outrage!

Medicaid's reasoning...

2009-11-12T18:32:00.003-07:00

Just got a reply back from Rocky Mountain Ear Center on why Medicaid/Wyoming EqualityCare denied the cochlear implant.
"Equality care is stating that DOES NOT MEET CRITERIA: PATIENT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THRU SPEECH."

Um... how messed up is that? So I have good speech and I communicate orally, that doesn't mean I shouldn't get an implant. If only they could actually SEE how I function with the little hearing I've got in the right ear. I can't even understand my own MOTHER without facing her. I have to lipread everyone in order to make sense of what they're saying, I need subtitles/captions on at all times, I need all the visual support I can get! I can barely use the phone these days, and always struggle to make sense of what my own mother is saying over the phone. She constantly has to repeat what she says on the phone for me to get it. I'm astounded over their reasoning, I really am. So I got lucky with having good speech, thanks to the deaf school and a dedicated speech therapist working with me on my speech. I'm lucky I can still communicate via speech, but I need all the visual support I can get when it comes to understanding what the other person is saying. And if I'm out at a restaurant or noisy situation, communication is pretty much... zip, even with lipreading I just can't understand crap. I can only lipread if I can hear what is being said, and I can hear if I can SEE what is being said, so I'm screwed either way. Come on Equality Care, seriously. That's a really stupid reason to deny the cochlear implant to someone who has 1 fully deaf ear and 1 that has about oh 20% hearing and can barely get by with a powerful hearing aid. Golly.

Rocky Mountain asked me if I wanted OMS Insurance or Advanced Bionics to do the appealing. I told her to send the information on to Advanced Bionics. We'll see how things go. Seriously.. just... wow.

Denied...

2009-11-09T18:10:00.004-07:00

Medicaid has denied the cochlear implant request. Rocky Mountain Cochlear Implant Center will send the information on to OMS Insurance Support, and OMS will appeal, and hopefully work their magic. I might even get in contact with the Let Them Hear Foundation and see if they can be of any support as well.

Edit: LTHF is currently not accepting any appeal requests, so I'll just have to rely on OMS at this time. That's fine with me though. Also contacted Advanced Bionic's insurance support as well, to see if they could be of any help.

now I'm a bit torn...

2009-09-10T18:17:00.005-06:00

With the news of the new Cochlear Nucleus 5 device now out on the market, I read up on the info for the new device... and now I'm a bit torn as to which implant I would choose for myself. For the last few years I've been thinking Advanced Bionic's Harmony, for sure! I like the design of their BTE processor, and of the speech processing strategies they offer. But now with the new Nucleus 5 out, just the thinner BTE processor appeals to me. The thinner internal implant is nice too, and the processor is also made of titanium and such. Hm. I don't know! I've already shot off a couple of emails, and have requested an information packet from Cochlear about the Nucleus 5. And I plan on comparing Nucleus 5 with Harmony, and I will continue to talk to various CI users online and so on. I still have a while before I actually get implanted. I know both companies are excellent, and their products work well, so I can't go wrong with either one really.

I have an appointment on the 15th (next Tuesday) with a new local doctor. The person who takes care of the insurance approval process at Rocky Mountain Ear Center, she told me I needed to have a primary doctor (that has referred me to them) and such before she can even turn in the paperwork to get the pre-authorization from Medicaid. Well, gee! I haven't had a primary doctor in years, and really, no one actually referred me to Rocky Mountain Ear Center. A former school district audiologist told me they were an excellent center to work with if I should go down the implant path. And I did my research online, looking at the different centers available in Colorado (and even Boys Town in Nebraska), when I decided on Rocky Mountain Ear Center. Anyway, I made a couple of calls via internet relay and got an appointment set up. Turns out my stepdad's daughter used to go to school with the doctor I'll be seeing on Tuesday, so it's good to know that he's a good person and all.

Hopefully after that appointment, the Ear Center can finish filling out the paperwork for Medicaid and we can get going with the process, that is if Medicaid approves.

Also, my mom gave me more of my audiology reports from when I was in school. Excellent! I haven't closely looked at them yet, but I will soon enough. I'm just happy to have them now, in my file box.

EDIT: Ok, I think I'm still set on picking Harmony, regardless. Did a little more browsing and comparing of both devices on the manufacturers' websites, and I know I'll be happy with Harmony. I'm sure Nucleus is an excellent device, but it's going to be Harmony for me. Nothing against Cochlear. I'll still continue to follow the news and whatnot though.

Uuummm?

2009-08-27T16:51:00.003-06:00

Um... My hearing aid's acting all weird. I'll turn it on or try to change settings and it'll beep, then silence.... then eventually sound will come around. But that's unusual for my hearing aid. Makes me wonder exactly what's going on with it. Is there something going on with the on/off and programs switch/button? Or is it just something internal? Hm. Just not sure if I'd want to contact the local audiologist... but what other choices do I have? Hm.

Wyoming Equalitycare

2009-08-23T15:38:00.002-06:00

So I did some browsing around last night. I explored the Wyoming EqualityCare website so I could get a good idea of what I can use my card for in terms of medical/health care. Good for 1 preventive/cleaning dental visit, few cavity treatments, any tooth extractions, in patient and out patient hospital visits, some eye care stuff, up to 20 therapy sessions will be covered, etc. I also found the Rocky Mountain Ear Center, Dr. Kelsall and the audiologist Allison all in the list of providers on the website as well, so that's good to know.

Then I tried to see if I could find out anything about Wyoming Medicaid and cochlear implant coverage. This is what I found:

Wyoming Medicaid

Wyoming provides Medicaid benefits for cochlear implant services under its EqualityCare program according to FDA indications. Adults must be post-lingually deafened. Children may be pre-lingually deafened but must be over 12 months old. Coverage is limited to a one-processor system.
Source: http://www.cochlear.org/sys-tmpl/wyomingmedicaid/

Interesting. Of course, I have no idea how old this information is, but it still is a bit of information. I am still going to work on finding out absolutely for sure though on what Medicaid/EqualityCare covers when it comes to cochlear implants.

Oooo!

2009-08-22T17:03:00.002-06:00

Email of the day: I have interpreters lined up for the community classes I'm taking at the college. Excellent! One will interpret the dog obedience classes, starting on Tuesday. She's interpreted for me before from 9th grade up, even for some college courses and such. She's an awesome person and I really like her. I'll have a different interpreter for the photography classes on Sundays starting Sept. 20th. Also another great interpreter too. And the college is paying for the interpreters as well. Perfect.

Mail of the day: I got my medicaid card. I wasn't expecting to see it so quickly. Just yesterday I got a letter from the DFS office stating that I am eligible for Medicaid, and then today the card arrived. Whoa. Already I've emailed Rocky Mountain Ear Center to inform them I just got the card, and of what I should do next.

Crazyness

2009-08-18T13:12:00.003-06:00

I emailed the person who is in charge of lining up interpreters and any other assistance one might need when taking classes at the college, informing him I was registering for a couple of community classes and would like to have an interpreter. His response? "You should contact (insert 2 names)!" Um, say what? So then I emailed another interpreter and told her of what was going on, and she got back to me, saying she had spoken with another interpreter. They both told me I did the right thing by emailing the college person, and that the one interpreter was confused over his response to me. Today, I got another email from the college person, and finally an interpreter is being lined up. I do have to sign a contract, and had to confirm which courses I was taking for him. Not a problem. I'm registering for Dog Obedience (my dog Bryan, boy he could really learn some manners!) and Introduction to Digital Photography. Now, I'm sure I'd fly through the photography class with no problems, but I thought it'd be fun to take. Gives me something to do on Sundays for about a month or so. And the dog obedience, that should be an interesting experience.

Still waiting to hear about medicaid. Since I did qualify for SSI, I should be able to get medicaid. But as to whether or not medicaid will cover cochlear implants, I don't know yet but I'll find out somehow. Seems like the auditory rehab is already taken cared of for whenever I do get the implant. Excellent! I am quite anxious to get things rolling, but of course, I have to be patient, and wait to get all the information in the mail and whatnot.

Word mix-ups

2009-08-04T14:11:00.002-06:00

You know what? Once again, I have gotten 'chicken' and 'tickets' mixed up once again! I was sitting in my step-dad's office with my sister the other day. She was on her computer and had ordered some tickets for a David Cook concert, and said she was just ordering tickets when I asked what she was doing. Of course, I got the confused look on my face again. "Chickens?" I asked her. "No! Tickets for a David Cook show!" Oohh. Whoops. Chickens and tickets do really sound similar, and even look similar on the lips. I mentioned the word mix-up last night to my mom when we were in the backyard on the swinging bench, and she thought it was funny.

And hopefully, I am one step closer to getting the cochlear implant, but we'll see. I'm still figuring things out and trying to make sense of things.

stuff

2009-07-02T13:23:00.002-06:00

Still waiting on SSI. My friend and former interpreter for so many years at school, she also received paperwork to fill out on my behalf from SSI (as did my grandmother, and perhaps some other people as well). She told me she read on the paperwork that once the office got her paperwork back, that they would expediate the process. Hopefully, this means something! We never got all this extra paperwork the first time I tried to apply (shortly after graduating high school). I just did the initial applying, sent in a few of my paycheck stubs and that was it. Denial letter came several weeks later. But this time around, everyone is having to fill out some paperwork for me. I really do hope this does mean something. But we will find out soon enough I suppose.

Today, I think my ear is plugged. I put my hearing aid on and didn't really notice anything sounding funny at first. But when I put the ipod on and start playing some music, it sounded different and odd. Checked the hearing aid and earmold and tubing, no blockage or moisture. So there's something funny going on with my ear. Experiencing tinnitus today too. Sucks! But since I'm at work right now, I can't do anything. Ipod and hearing aid both sitting on the desk, I'll just suffer through the tinnitus as I get my work done.

Chat at HearingJourney.com tonight. Yay! I completely forgot the chat last week, as I was still in shock over the news of Michael Jackson's death. Yes, his death has affected me. I've loved his music since I was a little kid. He was the first real musician I started to listen to and really got into (long before the days of Hanson). I used to sneak into my parents' room just so I could borrow my dad's copy of the Bad album and listen to it for a while. My sister and I used to watch his Moonwalker video quite a bit. I remember just watching Moonwalker and being really fascinated with his dance moves, wondered how the heck he could do the leaning dance moves in Smooth Criminal without falling onto his face, the bizarre video he had for Leave Me Alone and loving the fact he had a pet monkey! Even today I still enjoy his music and videos and dance moves. Michael Jackson was a music genius, that's for sure. I will definitely appreciate his music more now than I ever have.

SSI, Airport, etc

2009-06-12T13:45:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday, my aunt and I flew out to Mississippi. Flying out, I had no problem. On Monday as we were going through security check at the Gulfport airport, I had my hearing aid hanging in front of my ear instead of resting behind my ear. Some of the security personnel noticed this and pointed it out to me, wondering if it was a bluetooth device. "No, it's my hearing aid." "Oh, ok, come on through then." That's the first time I ever encountered security questioning whether I had a bluetooth device or a hearing aid on. It kind of made me laugh.

As for SSI, well, we got more paperwork to fill out! I myself have to fill some out, my mom does.. As do my counselor. So I'm sure Dr. Kelsall and the audiologist at Rocky Mountain Ear Center are having to fill out some paperwork as well too. Fun stuff, all this paperwork to do. And my mom's been trying to get a hold of a local disabilities lawyer who specializes in SSI/SSDI processes or whatever. It's possible that he just may be out of office for a while, who knows. Mom's left a message on his machine though, so hopefully we'll hear something from him.

WSD Archive Website

2009-05-31T23:56:00.003-06:00

All right! I managed to find a version of CuteSite Builder to use to make the Wyoming School for the Deaf Archives website. I started the website oh 2 or so years ago, and for a while I did actually focus on it and work on it. But since then, I've seriously have gotten sidetracked, it's not even funny! But now, I'm getting back on track. Afterall, I did pay for the web domain and for the hosting (which I'll have to renew this coming November I believe...). Anyway, now that I have the site builder, well it'll be smoother and easier on me. Doing a website in full fledged HTML is time consuming, and well, my HTML knowledge isn't as good as it used to be. And there's also the fact that webpage design seems to be changing constantly, with XHTML, flash, java scripting, CSS and all that jazz. Say what? Um... pft how about I just use a site builder? Yeah. And with 1 GB USB jump drives, I could possibly save the entire site on 1 (the current site is saved on a 256mb jump drive with no more room for additional files).

So the current website will definitely be renovated. I'll even play around with the Coppermine gallery and change the layout for it. I may even create a youtube account specifically for this website, as I do have a bunch of footage of random events in relation to the Wyoming School for the Deaf. I'll attempt getting in contact with those who have attended the School for the Deaf and see if they have anything they want to contribute (info, articles, photos, etc.) and go from there. As for news articles, I have plenty! I'll double-check with the current Star Tribune editor and make sure it's ok I use their articles. I'm sure it'll be no problem, as long as I credit the Tribune, which is easy. Any articles that are already on the Star Tribune website, I just link to those. Anything older, I publish onto the website with a link to trib.com since the Tribune is the source.

Now if I can just remember the plan I originally had for this website. Well... I'm not even sure where the original jump drive is. Oh that's not good, I better find it! All of the photos are on it. Hopefully it's been in my desk drawer all this time, but only time will tell.

SSI

2009-05-22T15:12:00.003-06:00

Had my appointment today to apply for SSI. I showed up, and sat while waiting for my name to be called. Of course, I never did hear my name being called, another woman thatw as also waiting asked me if I was Meghan, then told me I had been called. Oh! Made my way over to the desk and sat down. From there, the SSA person proceeded to ask various questions and getting information and stuff off his computer. Back and forth, questions and answers (and having him repeat what he said a few times as he was quiet and I had a hard time hearing. At one point, he had to turn the computer screen so I could see a doctor's name as I thought he was saying Dr. Grit or Grint or something when really it was Green). Gave him my hearing test results (copies, of course) to be included in the file and all that stuff. He said as long as I don't make over $980 a month, I could qualify. I'm at about $850 average on a monthly basis, as long as I don't actually work up to 29 hours a week (I was approved to work up to 29 hours a week in January, but I have never made it to the full 29 hours yet as I run out of things to do at work, so I average 25-26 hours per week). He says he'll get everything sent off to the Cheyenne office, and they'll make their decision within the next 60-90 days.

This past week, I was emailing a deaf friend who had been through the SSI process. Was nice to hear from her and get some feedback. Hopefully things will work out. I'm just not going to think too much about this, I'll just stay focused on other things, keeping busy.

Sidekick LX 2009

2009-05-13T12:46:00.006-06:00

I got my brand new Sidekick LX 2009 from T-Mobile yesterday. I was at work when I got the email from UPS stating they had delivered my package. After receiving that email, I was motivated to get my work done as quickly as possible so I could run home and play with my new "toy". I was so excited when I opened up the packaging, really truly excited. I have never upgraded to a new device through a mobile company before, ever. I opened up the box, and took the LX out of the plastic coverings and basically dumped everything else out of the box. Wow! It's a really nice, slick device. A definite improvement over the Sidekick 3, which I've used for over 2 years.

(click on the photos to see them in full)

I noticed there wasn't a new SIM card, so I wasn't too sure if I was supposed to use the old one from the SK3 or not. I got onto my desktop computer and logged into my.t-mobile.com and used the chat support to get that question answered. "You just use the old SIM card from the old device and it'll work!" Awesome! Transfered the SIM card, installed the battery and the new teeny tiny micro SD card, plugged the LX into an outlet and powered it up. Got the LX registered under my T-mobile account name and all that jazz, and I just played with it for a while. Man it was one noisy device for a while, as I went through the settings to turn off the sounds and use the "subtle" alerts (where the trackball flickers for new messages, etc.).

the micro sd card and a nickel, so you can get an idea of the sizing of the card, in case you've never seen a micro (I was shocked to see how tiny it was!).

difference in battery sizes, and the new battery is supposed to last longer.

I'm really impressed with the new LX! A huge improvement over the 3, that's for sure. The LX has Facebook, Myspace and Twitter applications, all which you can use for free now. On the 3, you could download the Myspace application (it didn't have Facebook or Twitter so you'd have to go onto the internet to use those) and pay a monthly fee. The instant messengers are all upgraded/updated on the LX. I can now see and use all of the standard smilies on MSN now (before, my mom would use a random smilie on her side on the computer, but it'd show up as symbols on the SK3 for me). There is 3G capabilities on the LX, but of course Wyoming doesn't have the 3G coverage so I'm still using the same networks as before, but that's fine with me. Changing of text sizes on the LX now, small, medium and large. Mine's on the medium setting. Camera has been updated, and you can now take short videos with it. Hey, you can even view videos on Youtube on the LX! Wow! I'm still using the exact same plan on the LX that I was using on the 3, the Sidekick unlimited plan.

Only downside is that there's no Relay applications on the new LX's just yet. I did shoot off an email to i711.com about this and asked if they were going to have the application available soon enough. I never did use the relay on the SK 3 really, but sometimes you just never know when you're going to need the relay, so it'll be nice to have i711 on the new LX (the previous Sidekicks all should have IP-Relay and i711 applications, it's just the newest versions that don't have them just yet).

Looks like I can now text photos from the LX as well. Hm! I haven't tried this out yet, but I will someday.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the new LX 2009.

SSI stuff

2009-05-06T14:01:00.003-06:00

I'm still amazed that there's no ossification at all in my cochleas. Still. I just can't get over the fact!

Anyway, I basically ramsacked the computer room downstairs looking for the SSI stuff that I had gotten in the mail a couple months back. I did fill out the disability report stuff at the Social Security website in February and sent it in, and they sent back a notice with an appointment time. Of course, then, I didn't take up on the appointment and had it canceled. But today, I got online and looked real quick for a phone number, then started up a i711 relay call online. The automated stuff took a while to get through, then finally the relay operator got a hold of a live representative, and went from there. Appointment has been set for May 22 at 12:45 p.m. to fill out an SSI application, to go over the disability report that I sent in, and to go over the stuff they are asking me to bring in. We'll see how this works out. I'm going to do as much research as I can, and try to find people that have been through the process so I can get feedback from them, so that I'm not all completely clueless of what I'm doing with the process.

More stuff

2009-05-05T15:21:00.002-06:00

Leave it to me to forget stuff, ha. :)

I'd still rather have the left ear done though, just so there's sund
coming into that ear. If it takes a while to make sense of anything, so
be it, I'll work at it.

Now, just need to figure out insurance and such. He's surprised I'm not
on any medical assistance program of any sort from Wyoming already with
the very profound loss in the left and severe to profound in the right,
and encouraged me to check SSI again. Now, if we know of anyone that
could help walk me through the SSI steps, great. I'm not even going to
ask vocational rehab, again and again Amy has not been of any help. if I
could afford the $360+ a month for the BCBS Wyoming health insurance
pool, I would have definitely gone that route. But since I can't, will
definitely look into SSI some more. He says he'll be more than happy to
provide the proof of my deafness to them. He also says the CNI can get
the implant device donated, and he himself would charge me for his part
as the surgeon, and would work with the hospital on bringing their costs
down if I still can't get the insurance.
--Meghan

Todays appointments

2009-05-05T14:49:00.001-06:00

We found Swedish Medical Center and managed to find a parking spot in
the garage. Went inside the building and made our way to Rocky Mountain
Ear Center. I checked in, signed some papers and waited. Soon enough,
Allison took me back for the hearing test. We talked a bit on the
insurance situation, yada yada. Did the hearing test. I did a lot better
this time than the last time, since I had ....Shane..... adjust the
hearing aid almost 2 years ago. But I'm still in the eligibility
criteria. Sentences I did ok with, as I guessed and whatnot. Single
words, though, not so well haha. And as always, no results for left ear.
We talked a bit more on insurance and ssi, and of the different
implants. Then I was done with her.

We went down to the cafeteria quickly, for a quick lunch. Got lost for a
bit but managed to make our wa back to the Ear Center. Another
audiologist checked my ears pressure, then I waited some more wit
grandma in a room. Nurse came in, answered some questions for her and
she did a few quick balance tests and such. Then waited for Dr.
Kelsall.

Came in and recognized me! Took him a while to realize that it was my
grandma with me and not my mom. Shock! He said the cat scans of my ears
looked great! No ossifications or blockages or anything. That was a big
surprise. All these years, everyone has suspected thered be some
ossification in my cochleas, but there isn't any. Wow! Kelsall says we
could implant either ear. Right ear would definitely get the best
results quickly, the left year could take a long time to get any real
benefits. We also talked of the different devices too. He says he's seen
more internal device failures from Advanced Bionics, even nowadays, that
the fail rate is 1/100 where with Cochlear its 1/1000. Hm, makes you
think. Allison says Cochlear has a really good internal device, but the
external does tend to break, and Advanced Bionic's external device is
excellent.

I'll have to do some serious thinking. I'm stil intriqued by the
Advanced Bionics evice, but will definitely contact both companies and
get feedback from them.
--Meghan

Preparing

2009-05-04T10:54:00.003-06:00

I'm at work right now. Have been for a bit over an hour, which is unusual for me since I'm NEVER at work at this time. I don't normally get to work until after noon. But today, since I am leaving for Denver, I thought I'd come in earlier just to get everything taken cared of before I leave. Make things easy on my supervisor for while I'm gone so she doesn't have to do as much for me (she won't have to worry about calendars, they're all done through Thursday!). Still waiting on the rest of the public records, la de dah.

Funny, I forgot my iPod when I left the house this morning, oh well. While driving the dog to the vet, I had to listen to him whine and cry from the kennel in the back seat the entire way. Such a baby, he is. He does not like being in the kennel. But, the kennel is safer for him. And at work, I'm listing to everything going on around me. Computers, people typing, doors opening and closing, people walking by, the fan/air conditioner? Or maybe that's the computer fan I'm hearing. I can't tell. Normally, all these sounds are distracting for me, distracting me from my work. But today, not so much, probably because I'm still not fully awake.

While I'm waiting for the public records, I'm sitting here, lurking on hearingjourney.com a bit, and pondering. Is there anything I should ask Dr. Kelsall when I see him tomorrow? Hm. Then I remembered the incident from last year when we were in North Carolina, when we encountered this deaf gentleman with the bone conduction hearing aid. Would this little test be worth mentioning to Dr. Kelsall, how I did hear something with the bone conductor behind my left ear? I have no idea, but it couldn't hurt, right? I am still hoping the left ear can be implanted, that there is some hope of hearing something with the left ear. I've already printed off the April 22, 2008 "Whooaa..." entry from this blog to share with Dr. Kelsall. And I'll have paper with me in the car so I can write down any more notes or questions. I'll have my sidekick on me, so I can browse back through blog entries and see if that sparks any more thoughts that I should mention to Dr. Kelsall, etc. I'm also bringing the CNI Cochlear Implant Assistance Program application, and I'll probably be asking him about that as well, and if he knows of any other funding options I should consider. And possibly, Allison might have an idea of how I could deal with the local audiologist situation (my refusing to go back to scamming audiologist, etc.).

Coming up...

2009-05-01T13:56:00.002-06:00

My appointment with Rocky Mountain Ear Center is May 5. Hearing test at 11:30 a.m., and Dr. Kelsall at 1:30 p.m. to go over the CT scan results. Awesome! My grandparents will come and get me on Monday after I'm done with work, then we'll head towards Denver. Do as much driving as we can, spend the night somewhere, then get to Denver for my appointments on Tuesday. Then after the appointment, we'll leave Denver and start heading back as much as we possibly can.

Yesterday Rocky Mountain Ear Center called our house. I saw them appear on our caller ID, and debated whether or not I should answer. I decided I would just let the answering machine pick up. The machine picked up, and from there, it seems to be an automated message being left for me. I listened to it, but could barely make out what the message was. The time of the appointments I was able to hear, but the rest of the message I didn't get. Mom told me they just wanted to confirm the appointments. Ah, ok!

Darn it. I missed the hearingjourney.com chat last night. Completely forgot that yesterday was a Thursday. Oh well, there's plenty of other Thursdays to catch the chat.

House

2009-04-28T13:53:00.002-06:00

I've actually missed all of the current season of House. I have watched seasons 1-3 on DVDs, but haven't managed to catch up to the current season yet. But, when I discovered last week that last night's episode of House would be dealing with deafness and cochlear implants, I had my Nebraskan friend remind me to tune in, just so I could catch this episode.

I have to say, last night's episode was very interesting, although not entirely accurate with the cochlear implant issue. A standard hospital doctor wouldn't be telling a standard surgeon to go ahead and implant a teenager while he's still in the OR. You have to go through testings and evaluations before you can even get a cochlear implant, to make sure the cochleas and nerves are intact and all that jazz. Also, one's implant wouldn't be activated right after surgery and that person wouldn't right off the bat be understanding speech. It was just a bit odd how they played out the implant deal. But it was interesting to see they used the Harmony device from Advanced Bionics. And for the teenager to rip the implant out of his head, that's just not right either, as the implant nowadays is stutured in so it doesn't get dislodged, and the incision in the skin is stitched/stapled up.

It's weird, because usually the people involved with creating House do their research and even consult with professionals about certain illnesses, disabilities, medications, procedures, etc. so I'm surprised at the amount of inaccuracies with last night's episode. Did they just not do a thorough research or something? Could they not get in touch with cochlear implant specialists? Hm. But it was still interesting to watch.

Figuring stuff out

2009-04-26T18:11:00.002-06:00

I just shot off an email to the University of Wyoming audiology department asking if they know of any reputable audiologists in the Casper area. If there aren't any, I'll just go back to them, and I mentioned that in the email as well. I mentioned of my audiologist's scamming customers and such, and that I am working on getting a cochlear implant and so on. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon enough. I could do with a new earmold. My ear has been awfully irritated off and on for months now and I'm sick of it. It was my decision to go back to the colored molds (school audiologist always thought I had an allergy and ordered the non-allergic molds for me, but it was more of a problem with the top crook of the ear that would be sore from the earmold, rest of the ear was always fine). Ever since I got this current mold though, it fits, but my ear has been itchy and sore off and on.

Sidekick LX

2009-04-20T14:00:00.002-06:00

There's a new Sidekick LX coming out soon, May 13. Awesome! I still haven't upgraded through T-Mobile yet, so I'll have to start saving up and upgrade to the new LX. Yes, the Sidekick 3 still works well and all, but the track ball has definitely gotten a bit funky on me. And, it'd be nice to have a newer device that is more up to date. I've been happy with the plan and service I've gotten through T-Mobile on my Sidekick 3, and have been extremely happy with the Sidekick 3, I wouldn't want to switch to a completely different device. I have looked at EnV's, but no thanks. And Blackberry's just aren't for me. I'll just stick with the Sidekick for EVERYTHING (minus calling/voicing). I can't wait!

Vaccination project

2009-04-16T14:51:00.002-06:00

I'm pretty sure I mentioned that the Texas Childrens Hospital was working on a vaccination project and they interviewed various families that have been affected by illnesses that could have been prevented by vaccines on here. I can't remember for sure, exactly... but anyway. On Tuesday, I came home from work and came across a box on the front door step. I remebered I had ordered some stuff from the ADCO hearing products website, but thought the packaging was too big. I completely forgot about the vaccination project. Took the box in and was surprised at how heavy it was. I opened it up, and there's 8 copies of the book "Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story". Wow! I flipped through it, and found my story in there. I read through the whole book and was impressed with it. I really do hope people read this book and realize just how serious the consequences could be if they don't get their children vaccinated against certain illnesses. Even I learned some new stuff from the book that I didn't know of before. A very powerful book, with powerful stories from different families affected by different illnesses (chicken pox, polio, different types of meningitis, flu, etc.).

http://www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/vaccine/Default.aspx I would assume the book will be available for order/purchase from this website soon enough. They did an excellent job.

Meningitis vaccination reimbursement, AB stuff

2009-04-08T12:21:00.003-06:00

Advanced Bionics just recently redid their website (www.bionicear.com), and I happened to be lurking around on it while I'm at work (seems I do most of my research while I'm at work). Anyway, I was just randomly clicking links, looking at different stuff. And what do you know? I came across a page in the Customer Support area for meningitis vaccination reimbursement. Advanced Bionics will reimburse AB users who have gotten the pneumococcal meningitis vaccination that wasn't covered by insurance (paid for out of pocket). Now, this is good to know, for myself. I have no idea how much the vaccination would cost, but just knowing AB will reimburse it is handy. I'll have to keep this in mind as I progress along with the implant route.

I knew there was a risk of meningitis for those who get the implants, but I never knew what specific meningitis. The other day I just happened to be randomly research different meningitis types, just for my curiousity, and it occurred to me that pneumococcal meningitis would be the one that an implantee could possibly be at risk for. And now, having stumbled across AB's reimbursement information, well it all makes more sense in my head now.

Here is the information, in case anyone with the AB device is interested (I have no idea if Med-El or Cochlear does anything like this).

Also, just the other day, I got to thinking if AB had different processor options for the Harmony device. I remembered Auria having a battery pack option, where the battery pack could be clipped to your belt or something like that, and the BTE would be smaller and lighter. Harmony currently doesn't have something like this, but AB is working on alernative power options for the Harmony (similar to the battery pack). That is also good to know! I just wondered, since my right ear does tend to be sensitive to weight and such. Ever since I got the Phonak Supero hearing aid, I've had sensitivity issues with the weight of the hearing aid (especially when the FM boot/shoe is on). All of my previous hearing aids were smaller and used the size 13 batteries, while the Supero uses 675. And since I do tend to pile up enough stuff onto my right ear almost on a daily basis, it does tend to hurt after a while (Supero hearing aid + Hatis epic ear hook + glasses all on 1 ear, ouch). I just have no idea how my ear would handle the weight of the standard Harmony BTE, so it's good to know there will soon be alternative options. I guess you can say I have wussy ears.

Sound moment

2009-03-24T22:26:00.002-06:00

I got home from work and was just hanging out upstairs, watching some TV. My mom has been sick for a few days now, and has been at home all this time. Well, today, she took a hot bath to warm her up (she's had the chills). For a while I didn't take notice of anything sounding weird or unusual, as I was watching TV. Eventually though I made my way down the stairs so I could get some food for my dog (the bucket of dog food is kept in the storage room downstairs, it's hidden away). That was when I noticed the sound. I couldn't figure out what the heck that sound was. But it was louder when I got close to my bathroom downstairs, but then it clicked. 'Oohh, is that the bath tub running upstairs?' What do you know, it was! I myself prefer to take baths over showers and bathe quite a bit, but I have never heard the water running from the bathtub faucet as I was always deaf every time (I always take my hearing aid off and leave it on my dresser in my room before even going into the bathroom to take a bath).