Detective Doots is on the case.
#Caturday #Catstodon #CatsOfMastodon #FediCats #Cats #LynxPointSiamese #HappyCaturday
I’m getting into the weeds here (as I do) and I have to get ready for the neighborhood block party, which I don’t want to go to now, b/c I won’t be able to hear well and it gets tiresome to ask people to repeat themselves (or be asked). And then I get shouted at, b/c most ppl don’t know how to project volume without yelling. I’ve been yelled at my whole life. Often I just smile and nod and don’t bother asking them to repeat themselves. I hate it so much. So, TBC, if anyone cares. 9/
This differs from sensorineural hearing loss, where there are problems with the inner ear or acoustic nerve. In that case, the outer and middle ear work fine, but the inner ear does not. The inner ear turns sound waves into electrical impulses that are then sent to the brain. A cochlear implant replaces the function of the inner ear by picking up sound waves with a microphone AND turning them into electrical impulses.
A BAHA merely sends sound waves by microphone to the inner ear. Make sense? 8/
Obvs, the hearing test revealed that my inner ear worked GREAT. There was just no way for sound to reach it, b/c of the lack of ear canal. This kind of deafness is called conductive hearing loss (sound waves are obstructed from reaching the inner ear) due to aural atresia (lack of adequate ear canal).
The solution is a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) which bypasses the lack of ear canal and conducts sound vibrations directly through the skull into the inner ear. Isn't science cool?
7/
This lack of bone also made them hesitant to do a canalplasty, which would open the ear canal, b/c they were afraid my body would keep trying to "heal" over the opening.
They suggested an ear reconstructive surgery and a BAHA.
I already said I didn't want to perform only a cosmetic surgery, b/c I didn't see the point And I thought it wasn't covered by health insurance--it wasn't in the past.
So 1st I needed to take a hearing test for my "deaf" side--something that required special equipment. 6/
So they looked at my ear on the MRI. They were gone a long time, in a conference room with a few other health care professionals, while I was sitting alone in an exam room by myself.
When they returned, they told me my inner ear looked good, and they'd like to do some hearing tests. But I was missing a little part of my skull next to my ear, where the jaw bone would normally rest. This explained my neck pain; my tendons/muscles were constantly being pulled due to the lack of bone. 5/
I went through a few procedures before they figured this out, including an endoscopy and an MRI.
When they got the images back from the MRI, I asked them if they could evaluate the condition of my middle and inner ear.
B/c in 2011, I got braces (for the 2nd time) and had to get my wisdom teeth removed. The oral/maxillofacial surgeon who did the procedure told me that maybe I could get my little deformed ear reconstructed. But I didn't want to, unless my hearing could also be fixed. 4/
Microtia w/Aural Atresia means the outer ear and often the middle ear (ear canal, the little bones that conduct sound) did not form properly during fetal development.
I went to an ENT dr. back in 2013 b/c I thought I had a severe sinus infection. Turns out, I had laryngopharyngeal reflux, colloquially, "silent" reflux, b/c it doesn't result in chest pains, but rather acid flows up into the voice box, which was affecting my singing. 3/
I only starting working as a music producer in a serious capacity once I was able to hear in stereo, after my surgery to get a BAHA in 2017. They drilled a tiny hole in my skull to insert the titanium post that the BAHA attaches to.
Not having it effects my ability to record, sing in pitch, mix, in ways an able-bodied person probably can't imagine.
And it costs over $5,000 to get a new one. Replacements are not covered under the ACA (it's not an OTC hearing aid) thanks to industry lobbyists.
nostr:npub10csf3c40xf4tnlpfqnv3pynv4fyd24z6yw8vws637a2dmzpa8vnqwj5prq My pleasure! I just realized I misinterpreted the $19 offer, so I edited the post to reflect that. Sorry!
How are you doing? What are you working in now?
Husband just made Four Layer Delight for the neighborhood block party and frankly I don’t think our neighbors are prepared to handle this many layers of delight.
#dessert #baking
How I use #Fedi Features:
Favorite: nice pictures (esp. #cats), good info/opinion, if it makes me laugh or woosh air out of my nose quickly
Retoot: something others might appreciate
Bookmark: something I want to save to share later, or on another platform
Temporary Mute: if you’re dominating my timeline w/something I’m not interested in. If you didn’t use ALT text on a pic. If you rephrased a joke I’ve heard before as if it’s your own. You’re grounded, but not kicked off Friend Island.
Just heard Cyan by nostr:npub14ng08wgmslpj8g6myy72z2jj025rphgkcav8w7ycq55sej9rp8vsccjvs3 on nostr:npub16y2028y33kaaz9f8vsfuhc9yd3qm630kvxdy3vxlq04zhzx757psap23p2 Such a beautiful song--it's soothing, with an uplifting melody and a groovy beat. Check it out:
#NewMusicFriday #NewMusic #FediMusicians #Electronic #Piano
nostr:npub1q0zkxj9m9yh5lzywdct9p4lvjpal307v92mc3ag7yvvupv2vt04qwm0vcv haha, same. Kid Me would be mind-blown, but Teenage Me would be Too Cool to understand. 😎 🙄
Teenage Me would be so disappointed in Adult Me and how excited I am about my cordless vacuum.
nostr:npub172cjnn9xxm4ffpgngnaq63fsr7up6lqeghgprzmf4f33z4uf7d2qkzkrem
Well now it's official. I think this means we have to go into business together, selling subscription boxes of organic hemp cat toys.
nostr:npub172cjnn9xxm4ffpgngnaq63fsr7up6lqeghgprzmf4f33z4uf7d2qkzkrem
If I dressed nicer, we could be...
:catjam: CAT ZADDIES. :catjam:
nostr:npub1g5jsf09yh3sm6krcehnztxcydzn8hhxk6g39q39c5ttdy8geqazqqk2jxs now work out *just* your forearms, get a pipe, and you’d be a dead ringer! 💪