Well, my insurance company denied my request for funding an implant. They weren't even nice about it. Huge disappointment. I tried to apply for a couple of grants through foundations established to help people afford implants. I was denied through them as well because I have insurance.
I am going to try and do some advocating to help the IHC network recognize the cost benefit of an implant but you know, that's not exactly an easy task. Or quick. In the meantime, with the significance of my loss, I've got to do something to improve my hearing tools. So I am going to try and take an online class designed to help people improve their hearing abilities without technology. It's worth a shot. And it's certainly better than sitting around feeling like a victim of the insurance world!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Waiting
Yesterday I asked my daughter what she wanted for my birthday. After her tenth attempt to communicate it to me, she gave up and just responded "a toy." I just got an email from a dear friend who has had a cochlear implant for almost a year. She talked about how wonderful it was to hear the birds returning for Spring and the variety of sounds they make. She also talked about her ability to have a conversation with her grandchildren. She's thrilled. I'm envious! So happy for her of course! But definitely envious. We have sent in an appeal to my insurance company and are waiting for their response. We should know by the end of April. Fingers crossed. Prayers sent :)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
My thoughts on Christmas Vacation
"Blindness separates you from things. Deafness separates you from people." -- Helen Keller
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Change of Heart
For the last few years, thinking about getting a CI filled me with dread. What a horrible thing to implant metal into your head.
These last few weeks I have spent hours and hours researching implants. Hours. It's a big deal, not a decision to be made lightly. And the more I read the more excited I get. Thousands of people have undergone the knife and added metal to their skulls. And a very, very high percentage would do it again.
My emotions got the better of me for awhile though because of the rivalry of brands. I became very frustrated at the prospect of choosing a brand as the brands hate each other and make it sound you will be a big fat failure if you choose the other brand. But this is what I have decided. I don't care who you are or what you say or what white papers you are using. You can do well with ANY of the brands. I'm now convinced that I CANNOT make a wrong choice.
That being said, I'm leaning towards Advanced Bionics. Just because the name sounds cooler. Lol. Totally kidding. I'm leaning towards them because I am super impressed with the AB community and support. I'm also very excited about the new software, ClearVoice that is expected to receive FDA approval within a few months. It minimizes background noise and focuses on voice. How amazing is that? Now, what everyone in AB says is that your ability to hear music is nothing short of a miracle. At this point in my life, I do not care about music. At all. And I've voiced this to several in the AB community. Their response is singular: You do not know what you are missing. Do not discount music.
A small, very small, part of me is starting to open the door for the possibility of music. I recently remembered being in a church meeting where a video was shown of "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing." It had a full orchestra, a women's and men's choirs, evidently going all out as those watching with me did not have a dry eye. They were overcome with emotion at this video. Guess what my thoughts were. "TURN IT OFF!!!" So noisy. And loud. And clanging. And distracting. And awful. Class over, I forgot about it.
But now, a very narrow glimmer of hope says "maybe one day I can tolerate something like this and even enjoy a portion of it." I'm still doubtful. But what I appreciate is that it's a thought. 2 months ago, it never would have crossed my mind. Overall, I feel hope. Do I expect a cure to deafness? No. Do I expect to hear normally? No. Do I expect improvement of what I currently have? Yes. And since my natural hearing will continue to worsen, the possibility of becoming bionic and working toward the improvement of hearing is pretty exciting.
I'm ready now. The dread is gone. Now I feel excitement and hope.
These last few weeks I have spent hours and hours researching implants. Hours. It's a big deal, not a decision to be made lightly. And the more I read the more excited I get. Thousands of people have undergone the knife and added metal to their skulls. And a very, very high percentage would do it again.
My emotions got the better of me for awhile though because of the rivalry of brands. I became very frustrated at the prospect of choosing a brand as the brands hate each other and make it sound you will be a big fat failure if you choose the other brand. But this is what I have decided. I don't care who you are or what you say or what white papers you are using. You can do well with ANY of the brands. I'm now convinced that I CANNOT make a wrong choice.
That being said, I'm leaning towards Advanced Bionics. Just because the name sounds cooler. Lol. Totally kidding. I'm leaning towards them because I am super impressed with the AB community and support. I'm also very excited about the new software, ClearVoice that is expected to receive FDA approval within a few months. It minimizes background noise and focuses on voice. How amazing is that? Now, what everyone in AB says is that your ability to hear music is nothing short of a miracle. At this point in my life, I do not care about music. At all. And I've voiced this to several in the AB community. Their response is singular: You do not know what you are missing. Do not discount music.
A small, very small, part of me is starting to open the door for the possibility of music. I recently remembered being in a church meeting where a video was shown of "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing." It had a full orchestra, a women's and men's choirs, evidently going all out as those watching with me did not have a dry eye. They were overcome with emotion at this video. Guess what my thoughts were. "TURN IT OFF!!!" So noisy. And loud. And clanging. And distracting. And awful. Class over, I forgot about it.
But now, a very narrow glimmer of hope says "maybe one day I can tolerate something like this and even enjoy a portion of it." I'm still doubtful. But what I appreciate is that it's a thought. 2 months ago, it never would have crossed my mind. Overall, I feel hope. Do I expect a cure to deafness? No. Do I expect to hear normally? No. Do I expect improvement of what I currently have? Yes. And since my natural hearing will continue to worsen, the possibility of becoming bionic and working toward the improvement of hearing is pretty exciting.
I'm ready now. The dread is gone. Now I feel excitement and hope.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Results
I QUALIFY! So my hearing is even worse than I realized. To qualify for an implant, you have to get below a 50% on sentence recognition in your "best aided" situation. As I'm used to lip reading and getting the majority of a conversation if the enviroment is set up right, I was not confident I would pass the test (or fail it, depending on how you look at it). I was very wrong. Without background noise, with my hearing aids, facing the speaker (where the sound was coming from), I understood 32%. With background noise, I understood 18% of the sentences. These tests were done without me being able to lip read, which means I totally qualify. I had no idea just how much I relied on lip reading.
I also had to have an MRI to determine if my physiology is compatible with an implant. It is. The MRI is not a very pleasant experience. One I will never have to repeat if I get an implant. A lot of my questions were answered today. The surgery is not as invasive as I originally thought. They make an incision behind your ear and place the internal device between your skin and skull. The implant team is all in agreement that I am an excellent candidate.
So now, the insurance game begins. Surgery costs $70,000. Insurance at this point, will pay half. So the expert will appeal my insurance to see if they will cover the entire amount. I'm hopeful!
I also had to have an MRI to determine if my physiology is compatible with an implant. It is. The MRI is not a very pleasant experience. One I will never have to repeat if I get an implant. A lot of my questions were answered today. The surgery is not as invasive as I originally thought. They make an incision behind your ear and place the internal device between your skin and skull. The implant team is all in agreement that I am an excellent candidate.
So now, the insurance game begins. Surgery costs $70,000. Insurance at this point, will pay half. So the expert will appeal my insurance to see if they will cover the entire amount. I'm hopeful!
Tomorrow
The day is finally upon me. I'm getting an MRI in the morning (which, honestly, freaks me out a little), have a 2 hour audi eval and then meet with the surgeon. The thing I want to know most is if I qualify. And of course, if I do, then I will have a whole set of questions. I've been feeling more curiousity than anything else. But now I feel a little nervous. Nervous if I do qualify. And nervous if I don't. If I do, I then have to think about actually going through with it. If I don't, then how am I going to remain in the hearing world? I'm already using so many accomodations. But maybe there are more out there I could be taking advantage of.
I'm so happy the eval is finally here. Now I'll know!
I'm so happy the eval is finally here. Now I'll know!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Eval
The Cochlear Implant evaluation is scheduled!! End of October! It's a full day of appointments beginning with an MRI and hearing exams finishing up with a surgeon consult. Will I qualify to be a candidate??? Who knows! I'm a little nervous. But mostly I just want to know if I qualify. And if I do.......
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