Friday, February 03, 2023

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.



10 comments:

  1. Isn’t it great when you step out bravely and it’s all worth it.

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  2. A comfortable mattress is a must! I love my pillow top and sleep well and painlessly. Now if it could just go to the bathroom for me at 5 a.m.! So glad that Cliff is hearing better and that he's comfortable with the technology. I don't think I even have a $1,000 phone although it's close. (iPhone 12 Pro)

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    1. We got a Samsung, since that's what he's used to. He has trouble with computers of any kind. Sometimes I will say something like "close your browser" or "use the app" and he'll reply, "I don't think I have one."

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  3. From what I've heard, not everyone gets along as well as Cliff with those implants. According to my wife, that is why they aren't recommended to everyone. But it sounds like he is doing quite well and his quality of life is better with them than without them.

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  4. I love hearing Cliff's success story!

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  5. Have Tim wear the mask straps below the level of the devices. I makes it feel a little more pressure on your nose, but you won't knock the processor off. I take the mask and its straps off first by stretching the strap and holding it way above and over the magnet processor so it won't knock stuff off. Congrats on his hearing percentages! Hooray! Dandy! When cochlear implants first came out, you had to be totally deaf to get one. Now you just have to have a certain degree of remaining hearing, where a hearing aid won't help anymore, in order to qualify for a cochlear implant. (AND, if you don't like your environment: hokey church service I attend with my disabled patient with really bad singers and musicians; screaming TV; screaming children, infants with bad colic......I can just turn the devices down or all the way off! ) Hope he has fun with a new phone. I've enjoyed calls with my implant on the left and hearing aid on the right, coming together in the middle of my head, and can hear most everything on a phone call. He might do better with a coordinating aide on the right vs a new phone, but it's all grand. Linda in Kansas

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    1. His other ear is completely deaf. It's been mostly deaf for 12 years, but hearing aids kept getting better and he finally got a hearing aid for the left ear that, connected with bluetooth to the right ear hearing aid, let him know what direction noises were coming from. So that hearing aid does him no good at all. In hindsight, we realize that he might have done better to put the cochlear implant in the left side; but by that time, neither ear was doing him much good, so it probably didn't matter.

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  6. Anonymous7:51 AM

    I am so glad he is doing so well. I am not Anonymous. I am Margie

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  7. My father's hearing aids pick up calls for him; he seems to find it annoying.

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