Update on hearing problems
I promised you all an update on my hearing problem. I'm afraid the news isn't good.
In the last week or two, the hearing in my left ear stopped fluctuating and began to stabilize, albeit lower than it was before. I thought that might be good news, but my appointment with the ear specialist at the hospital this morning disabused me of that notion. They did a new hearing test for me (to add to the already large file from my childhood) and it showed that my hearing in that ear is pretty much gone. The doctor said that hearing aids would no longer help and that the only thing I can really do is get a cochlear implant. Not really the news I was hoping to hear.
There's a lot to do before anything happens. I'm going back to my audiologist to get a new hearing test as he tested while it was still fluctuating. I want to see if he agrees with the doctor. If he does, then yeah, that's probably it. I'll still need to get an "evaluation" to see if I'm a candidate, which is basically a huge round of hearing tests. I'll also need a CT scan of my ear to see if I can have surgery.
If there's one piece of good news, it's that my insurance will apparently cover a coclear implant after all. I wouldn't have thought so, but the hospital claimed it would so I'm double-checking with my work's insurance rep to find out.
I have no idea what I'm going to do. Like I said before, an implant is a last-ditch option and it seems that I'm there already. It's not going to be like having a new hearing aid. There will be, what I can clearly guess, a ton of adjustment to get used to it. Not to mention that it's major surgery to put two pieces of electronics inside my head. It's also permanent so I can't change my mind once I get it. I just don't know. Fuck.
In the last week or two, the hearing in my left ear stopped fluctuating and began to stabilize, albeit lower than it was before. I thought that might be good news, but my appointment with the ear specialist at the hospital this morning disabused me of that notion. They did a new hearing test for me (to add to the already large file from my childhood) and it showed that my hearing in that ear is pretty much gone. The doctor said that hearing aids would no longer help and that the only thing I can really do is get a cochlear implant. Not really the news I was hoping to hear.
There's a lot to do before anything happens. I'm going back to my audiologist to get a new hearing test as he tested while it was still fluctuating. I want to see if he agrees with the doctor. If he does, then yeah, that's probably it. I'll still need to get an "evaluation" to see if I'm a candidate, which is basically a huge round of hearing tests. I'll also need a CT scan of my ear to see if I can have surgery.
If there's one piece of good news, it's that my insurance will apparently cover a coclear implant after all. I wouldn't have thought so, but the hospital claimed it would so I'm double-checking with my work's insurance rep to find out.
I have no idea what I'm going to do. Like I said before, an implant is a last-ditch option and it seems that I'm there already. It's not going to be like having a new hearing aid. There will be, what I can clearly guess, a ton of adjustment to get used to it. Not to mention that it's major surgery to put two pieces of electronics inside my head. It's also permanent so I can't change my mind once I get it. I just don't know. Fuck.