Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[Denim Deb]

SD, I so hope you're able to get SSI! It would be great for you. And, I understand exactly the symptoms you describe, even if I'm not as bad. While my hearing isn't as bad, I do have a horrible time understanding people if they turn away from me while talking, have trouble understanding people in a group, and if we're on a bird walk, I can hear the people in back of me, but not in front of me.

 

[Farmfresh]

I know the SSI will be a HUGE relief for you.

I was very interested in the story as well. All of the different tests that they did. Amazing.

A dishwasher too! Things are finally beginning to come together for you.

 

[Dace]

I am saying prayers for you that you finally get your SSI.

I have a very dear friend who suffers from RA. She had to stop working 3 yrs ago and still does not have her SSI!

It is such a long difficult process

Good luck SD!

 

[moolie]

Sounds like you had a super busy day (!) and that things are really moving forward for you (although not being American I don't know what SSI means). I am sorry that you've been dealing with your hearing loss for so long, and without this help, but very glad that things are working out now.

 

[Javamama]

I find all the things I want to say come out very odd right now, so congrats on failing your test

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Congratulations on your eval
And for your SSI!!

 

[abifae]

He responds, "Well, you are a slam dunk here. Meniere's disease does not get any worse than this." He told me that he highly recommended a coclear implant (also Dr. Kim's recommendation for me at this point).

My roommate has one. I tell him he's a cyborg It's awesome. I always want to have him click random decorations in to it LOL.

But by "slam dunk" he meant I qualify for SSI.

I felt like we were discussing my disease but at more of a doctor-to-doctor level, he does not normally talk to someone as knowledgeable about Meniere's or had such an "interesting" history with it. I finally told him I am aware I'm at the bad end of the curve and he said that I'm the "worst" Meniere's patient he has ever seen.

This is the sort of thing I think SSI is FOR! So take it and use it.

And you're going to be in a medical journal How cool is that? If I can ever get a doctor to check out my neurology gratis I bet I'll make one too

Kitty is a wonderful friend and is just wanting to help me, and I NEED help, so I'm going to be humble and accept her used dishwasher with a big thank you.

That's what friends DO. *grins* It never feels as much like charity to me between friends because we just give each other what we can. For me it tends to be more cooking for them or going to my friends' houses when they were pregnant to do all the cleaning every week.

Anyhow, sorry for the long post about my illness, but it is really taking up my thoughts today and I needed to get that off my chest. And it could have such a big impact on us, all this financial stuff.

I bet it is!! The SSI will be great for you.

 

[savingdogs]

Thank you everyone. My internet has been down this morning and I just got online. I had my son call the internet company, all disgruntled about our service and it turns out Hubby forgot to tell them about the checking account changing to a new account! So our automatic withdrawl did not happen and we didn't pay our bill. Obviously, we have now.

Moolie, SSI is Social Security Insurance, us Americans pay a percentage of our income from every paycheck (mandatory) to this fund, it is for the elderly and the disabled. In order to qualify as disabled, you can't just have a doctor SAY you are disabled. It is more of an approval process and impartial doctors are chosen to examine you. I've been waiting four months now and they say the quickest it ever happens is five months, so I expect that my wait will be over soon. I did not have hearing loss or vertigo to this extent up until about three years ago, and the hearing loss being this bad has only been about six months. My disease is characterized by fluctuating hearing loss, I could still experience a spontaneous improvement (has happened to me several times).

Abifae I am really debating the coclear implant. Hubby is now saying we need to find a way to afford one. But I have heard you can no longer hear music right. I OCCASIONALLY have a day I can hear music if I turn it up really loud, and I am of course hoping for one of those dramatic spontaneous improvements again. And for them to improve coclear implants. But from what I've heard, you hear with them but it isn't really the same, you have to relearn sounds. I won't hear hubby's voice the way it is or my granddaughter's learning to talk, I would hear sounds that resemble speech. I'm not yet ready to give up on a few moments of REAL hearing yet. Just about two weeks ago, I had a night I stayed up all night with headphones on, because I could listen to old songs I've been dying to hear. I love music SO much, I just sat there, listening with tears rolling down my cheeks. But I want to have that again. I'm afraid to have them take my real cochlea out.

But your roommate hears better than me, at one point about a year ago, Dr. Kim told me I could hear about as well as a person with a coclear implant. So I don't think it would put me to a level where I'm "happy" with my hearing, I would just be able to discern speech better. How is your roommate in this regard? I have never met anyone with a coclear implant to get a chance to talk to them, except one person who never heard at all before getting one, so of course their experience was different than mine and they did not relate to my question of how music sounds.

Thank you for your prayers, Dace. That is so thoughtful. It is very hard getting used to late-in-life changes like this. I am not a part of the deaf community nor are my loved ones, my friends or family. My only "community" at this point is Facebook and all of you here, and lately it has been all of you hear that I think about when I think about my "friends."

 

[abifae]

If you'd like, I'd be happy to pass you his contact information and you can discuss it with him

 

[savingdogs]

Was he a hearing person who lost his hearing then? Being a "late onset" is very different than being deaf and then having the sound turned on, or being deaf for a long time and then hearing again.