Ever notice when you're sick how your ears tend to clog up? Well, if you have a hearing impairment, it makes for a more difficult day. I slept all day ignoring everything, except of course Stephen's nap time. ;)
My ENT told me at my last visit, that I had negative pressure in my ears and that may have caused a slightly elevated level of ringing in my left ear. They're still ringing. My right ear has lost another 30-35 decibels at 1000hz. At the suggestion of a dear friend, who knows the ins and outs of everything having to do with ears, I'm going to contact the League for the Hard of Hearing and see if there is another way to test my ears or give me some insight into this progression that I'm having. I will share the results as well as the information to get these tests if you too should desire them.
-back to sleep.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
The dog
I KNOW! I should be writing about my hearing and stuff but, she's important to me. Katie started acting weird the other day after a game of ball. She stopped doing all of her favorite things like playing ball, jumping up on the couch to perch on the top and nap, following me around the house so that if I made one false move she'd get stepped on and yelp. She just hung around on the floor. She was obviously in pain. This got me thinking about Freddie.
Freddie was my first dog (without parental supervision). I was living with some roommates and they had dogs. I always wanted a Cocker Spaniel, and when walking around in the Danbury fair mall in Danbury, CT I stopped in the pet store to say "Hi" to all the babies. Who doesn't love a cute puppy?
I saw a cute little fur ball with a sale sign overhead. Who can resist a sale? On a cute puppy no less! Anyhow, the little guy just thrilled me to the core. At the time I didn't have much, in the way of money so I financed the purchase of the dog. (huge mistake to finance at 25%)
So, Freddie came home with me. I got food, a collar, leash and a bunch of other stuff, (financed as well). Freddie was my baby, I loved that dog so much but, after 4 years he developed a problem with his spine, which I now know is a Cocker Spaniel trait. So, If I didn't do a $3,k surgery to save him, he would surely die. I didn't have $3,K. Never mind his chances of survival after the surgery were like 50/50. Then~ another chance he could be paralyzed and have to have a doggie wheel chair. So the outlook was grim. I couldn't let my puppy continue to be in pain!
I put him to sleep. It was one of the hardests things I've ever had to do, But I knew that it was best.
When Katie started showing signs similar to Freddy's, panic set in.
We went to the vet yesterday and it looks like she just twisted a muscle or something. It does not look like the spine thing. The Dr. sent me home with Rimadyl for the pooch. She's already back up on the couch, jumping baby gates and bringing her ball to me for a game.
I am so relieved. But only time will tell. Freddie got better before he got worse. the vet even said to bring her back if she's not better in about 10 days and we'll do x-rays.
The Vet also sent us home with BreathaLyser +, a drinking water additive for plaque. She's got some nasty doggie breath and this is supposed to help that.
Many people with disabilities train their pets to assist them. Like a bark when the phone rings, or a signal that someone rang the doorbell. I thought for about 3 seconds on training Katie to do some of these things but, I just want her to be Katie. For a really long time.
Freddie was my first dog (without parental supervision). I was living with some roommates and they had dogs. I always wanted a Cocker Spaniel, and when walking around in the Danbury fair mall in Danbury, CT I stopped in the pet store to say "Hi" to all the babies. Who doesn't love a cute puppy?
I saw a cute little fur ball with a sale sign overhead. Who can resist a sale? On a cute puppy no less! Anyhow, the little guy just thrilled me to the core. At the time I didn't have much, in the way of money so I financed the purchase of the dog. (huge mistake to finance at 25%)
So, Freddie came home with me. I got food, a collar, leash and a bunch of other stuff, (financed as well). Freddie was my baby, I loved that dog so much but, after 4 years he developed a problem with his spine, which I now know is a Cocker Spaniel trait. So, If I didn't do a $3,k surgery to save him, he would surely die. I didn't have $3,K. Never mind his chances of survival after the surgery were like 50/50. Then~ another chance he could be paralyzed and have to have a doggie wheel chair. So the outlook was grim. I couldn't let my puppy continue to be in pain!
I put him to sleep. It was one of the hardests things I've ever had to do, But I knew that it was best.
When Katie started showing signs similar to Freddy's, panic set in.
We went to the vet yesterday and it looks like she just twisted a muscle or something. It does not look like the spine thing. The Dr. sent me home with Rimadyl for the pooch. She's already back up on the couch, jumping baby gates and bringing her ball to me for a game.
I am so relieved. But only time will tell. Freddie got better before he got worse. the vet even said to bring her back if she's not better in about 10 days and we'll do x-rays.
The Vet also sent us home with BreathaLyser +, a drinking water additive for plaque. She's got some nasty doggie breath and this is supposed to help that.
Many people with disabilities train their pets to assist them. Like a bark when the phone rings, or a signal that someone rang the doorbell. I thought for about 3 seconds on training Katie to do some of these things but, I just want her to be Katie. For a really long time.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
First Post
For my first post I figure I will clue you in to my personal surroundings. I am the married mother of three boys. Dog, Cats, and a baby garter snake we're letting go of in the spring when it gets warmer.
I am hearing impaired, Hard of Hearing, half deaf and there's a whole lot of other ways to say that. There's so many ways to say it but only one way not to. Don't ever call me stupid.
I might not have a "beamer" in the driveway (yet), I might not have Yale academics, but I do have plenty of life experience and very dear friends, that know I ain't no dummy.
What I would like to achieve with this blog is:
If you haven't had your ears tested, go make an appointment! The first thing I realized as a HOHer is that you can't tell without testing, that you have something wrong. I waited many years before I realized what was going on. Maybe denial had something to do with it, but I made the assumption that I was fine... I could hear people saying things, just not make out what they were saying!
So, there couldn't be anything wrong. Boy was that far from the truth!
I have slowly, progressively lost the high end of my hearing. To the extent that I no longer hear above 1500 Hz. (Before I get on the technical stuff in future posts, I will finish what I'm saying)
The low end is pretty good actually. I have what's called a "Ski Slope" hearing loss. Picture the triple diamond! Starts out really high, then plummets to a severe low.
What am I doing about it? Nothing. There isn't anything anyone can do. Although, I have read an article on re-growing lost hair in the cochlea, they haven't figured out how to isolate it to the cochlea. See Guinness' world records for ear hair! Eeew. That is not something I would like to be known for !
Hearing aids are not like glasses, there is no instant "fix". There is much to consider in adjusting hearing aids, and even then if you're like me, you go back to the audiologist every week or so, trying to perfect it! We still have a long way to go. There are so many different adjustments you can make to hearing aids these days, it's not a simple "crank the volume."
Don't get me wrong, I love my hearing aids. I am currently wearing Phonak's Naida. See Phonak's web site if you're interested in looking for pics. They are about the same size as my very first pair of hearing aids!
But, they come in PURPLE. Stylin! I have yet to get them in purple....
The power of purple compels you!...... sorry.
I even got an FM system by phonak that allows me to hear my teachers without struggling, or lip reading a whole lot. I'm still exhausted after classes from trying to understand things, though! Never mind the late nights researching the many papers I have due, or have handed in already.
College, yeah. Ain't it great!
I am currently working on my associates in "Business Technologies." After that who knows?
Bachelors, Masters, PHD??? Options are grand. Potential even better! I wouldn't mind getting up there in smarts like my good subject "Joseph Pulitzer".
Mr. Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary. Learned, then later mastered English, studied law on his own time, purchased a newspaper, rose to great heights as a journalist. There's so much more to the mad man with manic depressive disorder, and retinal detachment that I can't possibly start writing on him now. Maybe I'll post my paper on him when it gets a grade and returned.
I am hearing impaired, Hard of Hearing, half deaf and there's a whole lot of other ways to say that. There's so many ways to say it but only one way not to. Don't ever call me stupid.
I might not have a "beamer" in the driveway (yet), I might not have Yale academics, but I do have plenty of life experience and very dear friends, that know I ain't no dummy.
What I would like to achieve with this blog is:
- to share information on hearing impairments
- educate those who either are hearing impaired or those who have friends and family with hearing impairments.
- an outlet for my meandering thoughts!
If you haven't had your ears tested, go make an appointment! The first thing I realized as a HOHer is that you can't tell without testing, that you have something wrong. I waited many years before I realized what was going on. Maybe denial had something to do with it, but I made the assumption that I was fine... I could hear people saying things, just not make out what they were saying!
So, there couldn't be anything wrong. Boy was that far from the truth!
I have slowly, progressively lost the high end of my hearing. To the extent that I no longer hear above 1500 Hz. (Before I get on the technical stuff in future posts, I will finish what I'm saying)
The low end is pretty good actually. I have what's called a "Ski Slope" hearing loss. Picture the triple diamond! Starts out really high, then plummets to a severe low.
What am I doing about it? Nothing. There isn't anything anyone can do. Although, I have read an article on re-growing lost hair in the cochlea, they haven't figured out how to isolate it to the cochlea. See Guinness' world records for ear hair! Eeew. That is not something I would like to be known for !
Hearing aids are not like glasses, there is no instant "fix". There is much to consider in adjusting hearing aids, and even then if you're like me, you go back to the audiologist every week or so, trying to perfect it! We still have a long way to go. There are so many different adjustments you can make to hearing aids these days, it's not a simple "crank the volume."
Don't get me wrong, I love my hearing aids. I am currently wearing Phonak's Naida. See Phonak's web site if you're interested in looking for pics. They are about the same size as my very first pair of hearing aids!
But, they come in PURPLE. Stylin! I have yet to get them in purple....
The power of purple compels you!...... sorry.
I even got an FM system by phonak that allows me to hear my teachers without struggling, or lip reading a whole lot. I'm still exhausted after classes from trying to understand things, though! Never mind the late nights researching the many papers I have due, or have handed in already.
College, yeah. Ain't it great!
I am currently working on my associates in "Business Technologies." After that who knows?
Bachelors, Masters, PHD??? Options are grand. Potential even better! I wouldn't mind getting up there in smarts like my good subject "Joseph Pulitzer".
Mr. Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary. Learned, then later mastered English, studied law on his own time, purchased a newspaper, rose to great heights as a journalist. There's so much more to the mad man with manic depressive disorder, and retinal detachment that I can't possibly start writing on him now. Maybe I'll post my paper on him when it gets a grade and returned.
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