Hearing report; climbing the hills

View 821 Wednesday, April 23, 2014

If a foreign government had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightfully consider it an act of war.

Glenn T. Seaborg, National Commission on Education, 1983

I went out to Kaiser Audiology today. Two hours later I knew officially what I knew from observation anyway: my right ear hasn’t changed since the tests that sent me off to COSTCO to get their hearing aids, and my right ear hearing aid doesn’t need any adjustment. My difficulties in hearing now all come from not having two working ears.

My left ear hearing works a lot better now than it did a few weeks ago when I first noticed the Sudden Hearing Loss (official diagnosis, and yes, everyone is quite aware that it has little information value). At one time I heard nothing in the left ear. I now have about 25% comprehension in it. I don’t hear low levels of sound but at least I hear something: when this first happened the left ear was as deaf as a post. Then came the steroid treatment with the needle through the eardrum (left ear only) and things began to improve, but at first not much. Lately there has been much more improvement in the left ear.

I continue to use both hearing aids. In the left ear I don’t hear much, but I hear something, and it does help comprehension. I now hear the bell/gong sounds of the hearing aid as it tells me about failing batteries and conveys other messages. And I hear some sounds in there.

The COSTCO technician noticed a scab on my left eardrum from the insertion of the needle to convey the steroids. The physician at Kaiser today used some oils and a miniature vacuum cleaner to cleans that ear out; after he had done so, I noticed an improvement in my hearing. They should have had the audiology doctor lady do the test after the EENT surgeon saw me, but that’s not the way they scheduled it, and my next appointment is in six months. If things improve at all I will go back to COSTCO and get these things reprogrammed again. That comes with the purchase price.

I continue to recommend the COSTCO hearing aids.

Niven and I went up the hill today. A bit more than four miles round trip, and a climb of about 700 feet. My balance has become so precarious that we can’t go by the old trails we used to take. We have to stay on the fire road now. Still, it’s a good hill.

Here’s Niven at what isn’t quite the road summit – that’s another 30 yards on – but at a great view and the place where we usually turn around.

And here’s the fire road on the way down – not the way we came up. As I say it’s a great trail.

I took some pictures in 2000, with a short report on part of the trail: http://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosreports/walk.html And if you Google Chaos Manor trail pictures you’ll get lots of references and links and pictures assuming you have any interest in such thing.