#garfield Logs

Dec 30 2021

07:03 PM Tom_L: why not?
07:11 PM rue_mohr: did we say anything
07:11 PM Tom_L: the logger has been broke
07:12 PM Tom_L: seems better now
07:59 PM rue_mohr: so
07:59 PM rue_mohr: http://ruemohr.org/~ircjunk/tempimage/p1220457.jpg
07:59 PM rue_mohr: ma needs help hearing
07:59 PM rue_mohr: they want $8000 for a hearing aid, so
07:59 PM rue_mohr: I'm working on something else
08:00 PM rue_mohr: can you tell they are 3d?
08:00 PM rue_mohr: they kinda look flat in the picture
08:00 PM rue_mohr: gonna put microphones in them,
08:00 PM rue_mohr: see what kinda filter she needs
08:09 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: aren't hearing aids covered in BC? when I got mine (which is useless btw) it was $0
08:32 PM rue_mohr: nope
08:32 PM rue_mohr: its if you have employment insurance
08:32 PM rue_mohr: a tack-on to the modular medical
08:33 PM rue_mohr: its liek the icbc scam where getting a car fixed wouldn't cost so much if there weren't insurance companies paying out for it
08:33 PM aandrew: ah I see
09:22 PM Tom_L: US doesn't cover them either
09:22 PM Tom_L: aandrew, you don't like yours?
09:26 PM aandrew: Tom_L: well the issue is that my bad ear is roughly 30dB down from normal, and my good ear is about 2dB above normal
09:26 PM aandrew: and the bad ear also has crazy tinnitus too, so if all you're gonna do is make everything entering the bad ear louder, it doesn't help
09:27 PM Tom_L: sounds like the same problem i have
09:27 PM aandrew: I am scheduled for a weird surgery in the spring though, they're going to basically use a balloon to inflate the eustacian tube for the bad ear becuase every so often (about 3-4x a year) I'll move my jaw or yawn and my bad ear will suddenly be PERFECT for about 2 seconds
09:27 PM Tom_L: huh
09:27 PM Tom_L: interesting
09:28 PM aandrew: I am convinced I don't actually have hearing damage in that ear, but there's something screwy that is preventing the eustacian tube from staying open
09:28 PM Tom_L: they did a scan and found nothing wrong with mine
09:28 PM aandrew: unfortunately this isn't like a stent, there's no scaffold that stays in there to hold it open, but the doc says there's a chance this'll work
09:28 PM Tom_L: but it rings all the time and can't hear much from it
09:28 PM aandrew: it's about $4k to get it done (not covered) and it's not guaranteed
09:28 PM Tom_L: my aid was 4k
09:29 PM Tom_L: and i'm not all that impressed with it
09:29 PM aandrew: yeah I've had two MRIs which don't show anything unusual about the physiology, and if I force air into my inner ear they say they can see the eardrum move so it's not completely blocked, just not open enough to actually equalize the pressure
09:29 PM aandrew: my dad's hearing aids work well for him, but he's not got the same kind of issue I have
09:29 PM aandrew: boo
09:29 PM Tom_L: mine was cabin depressurization on a flight
09:30 PM aandrew: I fucking hate these "free software with free licence" bullshit things
09:30 PM aandrew: if you're gonna give me the software and not charge, then don't fuck around with licenses either
09:30 PM Tom_L: shooting pain down the right side of my neck from my ear
09:30 PM aandrew: trying to get LT PowerPlay installed, but need the damn license
09:30 PM aandrew: Tom_L: oh wow, that's crazy
09:30 PM Tom_L: after that it gradually went
09:31 PM aandrew: I think I have two issues that are actually unrelated
09:31 PM rue_mohr: hi
09:31 PM Tom_L: lo
09:31 PM aandrew: whenI lost my hearing I also developed meniere's with *intense* vertigo
09:31 PM aandrew: thankfully over the years the vertigo has more or less stopped but it was *bad*
09:32 PM rue_mohr: yea, they didn't check ma for that, and thats what she has on one side due to an old botched surgery
09:32 PM aandrew: and over the last couple weeks something new has developed... I have *extreme* sensitivity to some frequencies, like electric shock feeling in my skull when a loud noise with that frequency is there
09:32 PM Tom_L: i didn't get a copy of my last test results but it was just slightly worse than one i had done several years ago
09:33 PM aandrew: not sure what's causing that but it's REALLY unpleasant because putting a ceramic bowl on the ocunter will trigger it, wife shouting at kids will do it, my son deciding to clap in the room will do it... it's no bueno
09:34 PM rue_mohr: hm
09:35 PM Tom_L: this thing does help some but like you say, it amplifies everything so in a way it doesn't help
09:35 PM Tom_L: in some situations
09:35 PM Tom_L: at home i use it some because there is alot less background noise
09:37 PM aandrew: Tom_L: yeah the hearing aid actually does have a response curve to try to do the right thing, it just doesn't work well IMO