Meningitis Angels, hearing aids

Last Thursday, I flew to Houston, TX for a Meningitis Angels conference. Overall, it was an interesting experience. I've read of what meningitis can do to people, of the damage meningitis causes. But I've only met very few individuals locally that were deafened as a result of meningitis, that's it. But meeting people who lost limbs, suffered from traumatic brain injury, etc., wow. That really opened my eyes. But I'm glad I went. It was nice to meet others who had meningitis and to see how they are doing these days after having had meningitis recently or years ago. I am definitely going to do better at keeping in touch with the Meningitis Angels folks, just communicating with them and such.


Got my new earmold made today (ok yesterday, since it's after midnight and it's now actually Thursday). I requested for the earmold to be made of non-allergenic material, in hopes that'll reduce the ear irritation problems I've been having. While the earmold was setting in my ear, he got another hearing aid and proceeded to hook it up to the computer, then put it on my ear. Oh, he wants to keep my Supero hearing aid so he could try to get the feedbacking problems fixed. So for now I've got a loaner hearing aid, a Unitron. Eh, everything sounds too weird with the Unitron, so I found my Phonak Claro hearing aid and am currently wearing that one until I get the Supero hearing aid back. With the Claro, things sound a bit more normal to me (more similar to the Supero). Quieter, but more normal. I tried to turn up the volume on the Claro and that just resulted in feedbacking, ahh!

He also tried to encourage me to consider getting a new hearing aid, since he knows I've had issues with the Supero since I first got it in May 2004. I told him I wasn't too worried about getting a new hearing aid at this time, that I'm more focused on getting my left ear implanted first. He's pretty happy to hear I'm still proceeding with the implant process. Now if only Medicaid would approve of it.


Still waiting to hear on the status of the cochlear implant appeal process. While at work yesterday (ok, Monday), I made a relay call to Advanced Bionic's insurance reimbursement department to find out the status, and I was told she'd leave a message with the person handling my case to get back to me. No emails yet, but hopefully soon I'll hear something. Otherwise, I'll just try relay-calling back.

rambles

the founder of the Meningitis Angels Organization emailed me and told me I should fill out a request form for $250 for the cochlear implant evaluation. I'll have to get that sent in SOON, since they only help those that are 21 and younger with grants or whatever help they need after having had meningitis. I turn 22 in September, so yeah. Better get on it. But I am dead serious on getting a cochlear implant if I'm a candidate for one. I know my mom's still leery of the idea, but... I don't want a "cure" and a cochlear implant is not a cure. I know, it may not even work for me. But I won't know until I find out if I'm a candidate and go through the process. And I know that it takes time for an implant to work, for one to be able to hear and understand with an implant. I know that. I've talked to different people that have implants, and I'm even friends with a woman who had been implanted at 2 different times but both times the implant didn't work for her and left her with half of her face paralyzed. But that was YEARS ago when she got the implant and replaced implant, when they were still "new". Now that I know how much an evaluation costs from the Rocky Mountain CI Center in Colorado (I've heard good things about that center, have a friend who was implanted there and had good things to say, and a woman who was an audiologist at the deaf school here for YEARS even knows of that center and recommended it), well, now I want to get going. At LEAST go through the evaluation and find out if I'm a candidate or not. And I'll keep bugging the top editor at work about more hours/work for me, so I can be eligible for benefits and find out more about Lee Enterprise's insurance policy.