Warmer weather is coming

We've had quite a cold front this week, with nights in the single digits.  Thank goodness the weekend will be more normal, with high temperatures in the 40's, 50's, and even 60's for the next ten days at least.

I have been enjoying our new mattress since day one, while my husband said he was glad I liked it, but it didn't seem any different to him.  Then I mentioned to him that I like to lay in bed even when I wake up early because it's so comfy, he said, "You know what?  I don't think I've been waking up sore all over like I was!"

Sure enough, after being aware of that fact, he said he definitely hurts less in the mornings.  Hallelujah!  We are both getting something out of that mattress.

Wednesday was Cliff's appointment with the audiologist.  She put him in a booth to see how well he was hearing and understanding single words and sentences; when they came back, she said he only had 3% hearing in his right ear before the implant, and now he has over 80% hearing.  More good news is that we don't have another appointment for two months.  After that, if he wanted to get an implant in the left ear, he could.  He's not so sure about that, because then he'd have things on both his ears to fiddle with when he has to put his glasses on or off; it's even worse putting on a mask when he goes to the doctor:  He knocks off the round thing (sound processor) off his head and has an awful time getting it back in position.  In spite of the little inconveniences though, make no mistake... he is glad to be hearing again!

I often wonder how many older folks don't even know about Cochlear implants after they get to the point that a hearing aid won't work any more.  Spread the word, my friends!  Medicare pays for it; I imagine there will be some out-of-pocket expense eventually, but we've never had one we couldn't pay... and believe me, we don't have a lot of savings, nor do we have any investments.  And we have no other income except our Social Security.  I've spoken to people who thought Cochlear implants were only for deaf children.  However, anyone who can't be helped by hearing aids is eligible for the implant, and insurance would pay for most of it.

Another little plus concerns Cliff's tinnitus:  as long as he's using the sound processor, he doesn't have tinnitus.  When he takes it off at night to go to bed, the tinnitus is back, very loud; that doesn't bother him, since he has no problem sleeping anyway.  Of course he's totally deaf without the processor, so I can listen to the Alexa device playing songs in the night if I can't sleep, and he doesn't even know it.  You can find the answers to some questions about cochlear implants HERE.

Cliff has an app on his cell phone that helps him turn up volume and such.  He does still have a bit of a problem hearing certain people on the phone; with some phones, the call will automatically go direct to the sound processor, similar to the way his calls went directly to his hearing aid.  However, he had to use a bluetooth device along with his phone to get that done, and it wasn't working well:  He could hear the other person, but they couldn't hear him.  I felt he should get whatever kind of phone that would work directly with his implant, so we went phone-shopping at T-mobile yesterday afternoon.  At his appointment we had asked the audiologist to make a list of phones that would work like that, so we'd know what phone to buy.

I have to laugh at my husband, because he's always making fun of people who pay over a thousand dollars for a phone, and now he is one of those folks!  No more $400 phones for him.  I'm sort of jealous until I remember I really don't use a phone that much, except maybe looking at Facebook on the road, or reading a book on it when we're waiting for an appointment.  At home I read on the Ipad.

I believe that's all I have for today.

Peace.