Denver Trip #1

Got up at about 8:30 in the morning yesterday, and rushed around to make sure I had everything I needed packed for the first trip to Denver of the week.  Drove out to the vet to drop  off my dog for boarding, then drove over to my mom's.  We loaded up our stuff into my stepdad's truck, and we took off (after making three stops before we got on the highway). Did a stop at a gas station in Cheyenne, and continued on our way.  I pulled out my laptop and watched Flubber (the Robin Williams version), using my FM system to listen to it.  Was nice!  We arrived to Denver before the movie was over, but with the traffic and such on the highway, I was able to finish watching it before we got to the Colorado Rockies stadium.  Stepdad bought 3 tickets to the Rockies game for himself, his son and grandson (boys' afternoon out at a ball game).  Got to the hotel and got all checked in.  Drove around quite a bit, hit up a Macy's so stepdad could do some clearance shopping.  Then we went to the hair salon stepdad's sister works at.  While mom was getting her hair cut, stepdad, his niece, and I walked around a bit and ended up at Wizard's Chest.  I had never even heard of Wizard's Chest.  It's a neat store full of a variety of toys/games/gadgets.  Headed back to the salon, hung out until mom was done getting her hair done.  We all went to dinner at Patxi's Pizza, which was pretty good.  Back to the salon so stepdad could get his hair cut, then we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Melody and I are ready to go!

watching Flubber on my laptop

Melody's just chilling

Colorado Rockies vehicles on display

checked in at the hotel

The Wizard's Chest!

giant lady bugs in trees in the Cherry Creek area

Today, mom got me up bright and early, of course!  Stepdad and I grabbed some breakfast from the continental breakfast set up in the hotel lobby, then headed out to Swedish Hospital for my appointment with the CI audiologist.  Mom and I went in while stepdad went to get some stuff for the flower mart.  I checked in, and receptionist mentioned that my appointment wasn't until Monday.  I had to tell her I was seeing the audiologist.  Short wait, then I was led to a sound booth.  Audie did some quick testing.  Hearing aid alone, CI alone, then both devices off but tested with the headphones on.  I failed!  I got a few words and one full sentence with the hearing aid; few words with the CI but none of the sentences, and listened for the beeps/tones.  Then the audie went and got my mom so we could talk, and she could do some counseling.  She said I qualify for the second implant, since I did poorly with the left implant.  Should be no problem with Medicare covering the second implant.  She talked of the Naida and the Mid-Scala array which can help preserve residual hearing of the implanted ear (though it's not always the case).  Mom had some concerns of my going bilateral and the implant destroy what little hearing I have left, which is understandable.  Audie said I should do much better with the implant in the right ear, since I've worn a hearing aid on that ear since shortly after becoming deaf and having usable hearing (whereas with the left ear, it was a dead ear, no usable hearing, didn't wear a hearing aid since 4th grade, etc.) so doing the left ear was a big gamble.   But with the right ear being implanted, we should see improved results more quickly.  She also recommended that I get 2 Naidas, instead of one Naida and one Neptune.. I was already considering getting two Naidas myself, it just makes the most sense.  I would put a Naida on my left ear, one the right, and be able to take advantage of the newer features and bilateral features of two Naidas.  My thinking is that I would have the current Neptune that I have programmed to be a back up for the right ear, and leave the Harmony as is for the left.  Just have to decide which color, battery types, and accessories (which I will get all figured out at a later date).

in the sound booth!

being tested

After that, we were on our way.  Mom and I chatted some more about all this while we waited for stepdad to come pick us up.  After being picked up, we hit up Hobby Lobby, then we hit the road (after navigating traffic jams due to road work and all that insanity!).  Ended up in Loveland and had burgers at Red Robin (I had a crispy chicken sandwich instead), and roamed the promenade.  Mom and I went into Barnes & Nobel while Rob went over to Macy's to check out their clearance racks.  She and I also hit up Famous Footwear before meeting with Rob.  Headed over to the Outlet Mall... Rob hit up the Tommy Hilfiger store, mom and I went to Dress Barn and Rocky Mountain Chocolate.  Then back on the road again! We stopped in Wheatland to gas up and grab a quick bite from Taco John's, and kept going until we made it home.

bought a Stephen King book!

hanging out at the Dress Barn, waiting for mom.

corn fields!

uh, there's a buffalo on the hill...

Yay!  Denver trip #1 is done!  Home for a couple of days, then we take off again Sunday morning for Denver, for appointment #2, to meet with the surgeon and take it from there.  I would like to get the second implant done this coming fall, before November if possible (mom and stepdad both have November birthdays, and with holidays coming up meaning busy schedule for stepdad at the flower mart, and winter = icky winter weather for driving so best to avoid that...) I don't know, we'll see.  Let's at least meet with the surgeon and we'll take it from there.

Just nuts... to go all the way down to Denver for a short audiologist appointment...  But surgeon is out this week, and audie isn't on office on Monday, so there was just no way to get both appointments done in one day (like was originally planned).  ah well, things happen.

Yay!

With all the excitement of the new Naida CI being FDA approved and now available for purchase/upgrade/etc, oh how so badly do I want one!  I would love to get a Naida, but unfortunately, I got my implant before AB started giving out vouchers for the new Naida.  I've got another 3 and half years before Medicare would cover an upgrade, so I'm stuck with the Harmony in the mean time.

I did order 2 new Slim Cel batteries (AB told me Medicare will cover 4 new batteries per year!), a new T-mic, a pack of O-rings (since my T-mic likes to twist around easily on my Harmony... hopefully a new O-ring will help with that), and a pack of T-mic savers from AB with Medicare covering the batteries and T-mic as part of the DME clause (the O-Rings and T-Mic savers were thrown in for free).  FedEx dropped off the package yesterday, with the apartment's office.  And I didn't get home until after 5 so I had to wait until today to get the package.  But I have my new stuff!  Now need to get the Slims charged up, and the T-mic stored away safely (figured it'd be a good idea to have a spare T-mic on hand, so whenever my Harmony or Neptune one goes bad, I already have a new one ready to go).  Am hoping the Slim Cel battery will lighten the load of the Harmony on my ear a bit.  With the Plus Cel, it's kind of heavy and my ear will hurt after a few hours.




Also, HealthyHearing.com featured my blog among others on their website today! For the month of September, they're focusing on cochlear implants, and selected several blogs to be featured throughout the month.  It's pretty cool.

The other sides of hearing loss | Featured bloggers

Tuesday, September 17th 2013

During the month of September, Healthy Hearing will be featuring different bloggers in the hearing loss community. From individuals with cochlear implants to parents of children with hearing loss, we'll take a closer look at some of the top blogs and resources available to you! On Thursday, we highlighted bloggers with 'Hearing loss in adulthood.' Additionally, each Friday we will have a featured author, an individual who has published a book about their experiences with hearing loss. Make sure to visit Healthy Hearing's Facebook and Twitter pages to enter to win a copy of each book!
A common misconception about hearing loss is that it only impacts older individuals or infants born with the disorder. Unfortunately, there are numerous factors and conditions that can contribute or cause hearing loss, including: Waardenburg syndrome, Stickler syndrome, Usher syndrome, Alport syndrome. In addition, certain medications, tumors and traumatic head injuries can all be a catalyst to hearing loss or deafness.
While many people are familiar with presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, most people don't know about the other sides of hearing loss. The following bloggers have suffered from hearing loss due to an illness or condition. Their blogs provide readers with an insight to the various ways hearing loss can develop and the impact it's had on their lives.
Another Boomer Blog is written by a 'baby boomer,' someone born between 1946-1964 during the post-war baby boom, whose hearing loss was the result of a traumatic head injury suffered at the age of 18 months. The injury not only crushed the left inner ear, but severed the nerve and took away virtually any ability on that side. Additionally, the right side was impacted as well, although the total hearing loss wasn't discovered until the blogger was three years old. Because the blogger never remembers having bilateral hearing, it's something that seemed normal through the years. Another Boomer Blog not only gives readers the perspective of a baby boomer who developed hearing loss, but one who has lived with it since a very young age. Written with a fond stroll down memory lane, this blog helps readers understand the impact of hearing loss while enjoying some nostalgia as well.
The blogger behind Eye Can't Hear You has been afflicted with Usher syndrome since birth, although the hearing loss wasn't noticed until she reached the age of three and didn't react to the loud crashing of pots in the kitchen. Having noticed she didn't flinch to the bang, her grandmother banged a wooden spoon and pot together to see if she would react, when she didn't the mother made a few arrangements with the doctor. It was then discovered the blogger's one-year-old sister also suffered from Usher syndrome. The blogger details the numerous ways hearing loss has impacted her life, from feeling separated from her peers to delaying her wanting to date. Eventually, as another symptom of Usher syndrome, the blogger also lost her eye sight. Now, she takes readers into her world that isn't just silent, but dark as well. Eye Can't Hear You is written so any reader can understand and relate, which makes it enjoyable and informative.
CD's Ear Blog is written by Meghan, a blogger who was born hearing, but went deaf in 1987 after contracting HIB bacterial meningitis. The disease left her with a very profound hearing loss in her left ear, in addition to a severe to profound loss in her right ear. She wore hearing aids for most of her life and now has a cochlear implant for her left loss and a hearing aid for her right ear. CD's Ear Blog not only provides readers with a glimpse into this once-hearing woman's life, but also includes product reviews and online resources for individuals with hearing loss. She recently enrolled in fall semester at college and has since detailed her journey to get a degree while combating her hearing loss condition. CD's Ear Blog is the perfect marriage of understanding about an individual's life with hearing loss, in addition to learning about the products and devices which help make this condition less challenging.

Did I just hear 'principal punch'?

Had a quick hearing test with the CI audiologist today. She was making her trip through Wyoming to meet with clients for mappings and such, and agreed to do a quick hearing test with me. Originally I was to go to Cheyenne tomorrow, but then I found out she was coming HERE the day before. So I went to the special education services building and was directed to the audiology office. The school audiologist is excited that I'm working on getting the implant. He made a copy of my Medicare and Medicaid cards for the CI audiologist since she wanted to take the copy back to her office to add to my file. The CI audie and I went into the soundbooth. Took her a few minutes to get her laptop up and running. She pulled up a program and we got started. It was just a quick test, not a full-out test with beeps and tones. Just sentences. And these were difficult sentences, oh my goodness! And there were different voices being used too (male and female). I understood the female voices better than the male's for the most part. I got maybe 2 full sentences right on, but all the rest were a bunch of mumble-mumble-WORD-mumble blah blah blah blah what?

One sentence said something about personal touch like "I'm going to add some personal touch" or something like that. I could've swore it said "principal punch." Anyway, we did 2 different rounds of sentences. First round, I got 7%, second round, 21%. Well, I definitely meet Medicare's criteria for cochlear implant coverage! CI Audie and I talked some more, trying to work out a plan of some sorts. We're going to shoot for a March/April surgery date for the cochlear implant. I'd rather do it sooner, but I'd have to travel to Denver, and with the holidays and winter coming up, I decided it'd be better to wait until early Spring.

When the audie gets back to Denver, she'll speak with the surgeon and see if we can schedule the initial visit with the surgeon and the pre-op into one appointment, so I wouldn't have to make two separate trips. She also mentioned she was planning to come back here sometime in April, so if we could do the surgery in March, then I could see the audie when she comes here for activation. It would be great if this happened, but we'll see what happens.

My Medicare coverage starts up next month, and they will cover 80% of the implant, and Wyoming Medicaid will cover the remaining 20%. Late last week, the audie had heard that Medicaid wasn't covering implants for adults anymore, but that applies to Colorado. Wyoming Medicaid is still covering them (I confirmed this via email with someone from Wyoming Medicaid's office on Monday and got the update "covered services" manual as well).  Seems like everything's all falling into place for me, finally. I've been working at this for years, since I was in high school. I'm glad I can finally progress with the implant. I'm still going to do the left ear alone, and I'm definitely choosing Advanced Bionic's device as well. Hopefully by spring next year the new Neptune processor will be available. Audie told me I should be able to get 2 processors, so if that's the case, I'd like to have the Harmony for everyday general use, and the Neptune for back up and for being in wet situations (I do have some very young nephews who do like to splash and squirt water guns).

Audie told me I should be hearing from someone from the CI Center's office within the next few days or so, to get things more set in stone/planned out basically.

And now for hearing aid stuff... I see my hearing aid audie later this afternoon to have a new earmold made for the right ear. I don't think the current earmold fits as well anymore. Been more than a year, so it's about time for a new one anyway. Should be fun! Two different audiologists in one day.