Tag: hearing loss

Really quick update

On By WendyIn Advocate, Chronic Illness, Headaches5 Comments

I forgot to hit Publish, I wrote this a couple of weeks ago…or last week, I don’t remember. I’m still having a little bit of memory issues. So…her it goes.

The hospital has acted on my complaint.

The staff has had a training session on how to handle patients.

Do not assume the patient is in the wrong.

Do not ASSUME anything, UNDERSTAND what is happening then react.

Never react unless you understand.

Security should only be called when patient is a threat to themselves or others.

That is part of the training the nurses and staff on the neurology floor have now been given.

Since the hospital lost a lot of their staff due to COVID some of the training hasn’t been done. They are certified in their positions, the nurses have graduated, but they haven’t had proper training in how to handle every situation.

This was not supposed to be said to us, but the person who is monitoring complaints (and talking to S) was a nurse for 40 years, she sees how different it is since the pandemic. She is trying her best to make sure nothing like what I went through happens to another person. That’s all I wanted.

Finally it is in my records that I am deaf with cochlear implants. I thought it was in there before, so that confused me. We were told if I have to go in that hospital again I need to make sure there is a sign on the door that says “STOP patient is deaf with cochlear implants”, they all need to know I can’t hear everything that is said, sometimes I can’t hear anything that is said.

I won’t be getting ketamine any more. I’m very disheartened that it did not work. I felt like it was the last resort. I pretty much still feel that way, but I’m not giving up! I’ll keep trying, that’s all I can do. It’s very hard to live with a constant migraine, people who’ve never had one cannot understand, but they can be sympathetic and supportive. If you don’t have anyone in your life who meets those requirements I suggest you go out and find someone as fast as you can. If there’s no one at home to support you, reach out to a support group, in person or on line. If you need, contact me, there’s a tab for that at the top of the page. (note I do not accept request to post on my blog to advertise a product…) I am very happy to talk with anyone who needs support. Or just someone to vent to.

That’s all for now,

I hope you are all safe and as well as you possibly can be.

W

Muddling along

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Disability4 Comments

There’s really not that much to update, but I’ll try and tell you all what’s going on.

I added to our complaint about how I was treated in the hospital, I was upset when that wrote me back saying they couldn’t fine my original complaint. At least they wrote me back, perhaps I’m now in touch with people who can make a difference. It’s upsetting that I had to say I felt my disability was ignored before I got the attention of someone. Yes I am considering writing to the States Disability board who enforces the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) We are now in the process of writing our a letter that will be sent to the hospital and Medicare. I haven’t contacted the state about my disability being ignored before now is because Medicare often takes care of that. We will then be sending the letters by registered mail so we get a signature that it was received

This has been incredibly hard on me since I do not remember a lot of my hospital stay. I don’t remember the first time I was going to be discharged before I was ready to be. However, I do remember the next day when I was forced to be discharged before we knew how the opioid they had just given me would react with me.

Forgive me if I’m not saying all of this with the proper grammar, I’m still incredibly upset about it all. The email I received stating they had no record of my original complaint has been a huge trigger. I need to get all of this resolved. I’m trying very hard to be a good advocate for myself. People do not understand how very hard that can be.

I have felt that my migraines have been less intense. About once or twice a week I had one that is untreatable no matter how much medication I throw at it. But I’m having Yellow days most of the time. (explanation of the traffic light system for rating migraines can be found here) That’s a huge difference. I don’t know if it’s because of the reintroduction of Botox, the nerve blocks, or the increase in medications. Which ever it is, I’ll take it. I just hope it gets better and better, all Yellow and Red days is simply unbearable.

I’m having some huge cravings for sweets, I don’t normally have that. It’s weird and it’s bothering me… it freaks me out to gain weight after I lost so much. I’m trying hard to eat as healthy as I can, but it’s even harder when I’m not able to cook for myself, and I’m tasting things differently. Foods I normally love just taste weird. That can be a side effect of one of my meds, but it’s crazy that my oatmeal and butternut squash taste odd. Why can’t sweets and fried foods takes weird? I really try not to eat either of those, but lately I’m not succeeding all the time. I’m also much more constipated than before, I can’t help but this is also a side effect.

We’ve had a lot of unexpected expenses lately. Plumbing issues, needing to replace the AC in the casita. I sure am glad we have an emergency fund, but it will push back being able to get the yard landscaped, and replacing doors and blinds. That makes me a little sad, but it won’t be put off forever, and we can still get some of it done. (crossing fingers)

I should close now, my head is ramping up and I’m almost finished with this Spravato treatment.

Hope all are good out there. I’m not getting email notification when most blogs post so I need to take the time to check on you all.

Hope you are having a spooky season.

Never Again! Ketamine, and hospital bullying

On By WendyIn anxiety, Chronic Illness, Health Care6 Comments

This post may contain triggers for some. It talks about bullying, hospitals, trauma. Please take care of yourself first.

This Ketamine treatment was nothing like the first one.

I will never go though this again….NEVER.

I don’t remember anything real from the time they started the infusion until shortly before we left. I hallucinated the entire time, or maybe just lost time…who knows. Yet S tells me that I seemed lucid at\times. I knew there was a chance I could have hallucinations, and dissociate…but this was beyond what I ever expected.

I’m told I was having incredible abdominal pain…this happened last time, but only on the last day, but it was shrugged off as GERD. I received Mylanta and was discharged. I ended up in the ER two days later with severe pain and diarrhea that had been happening since I got home from the hospital. I was given a CT scan and test were taken, I was told I didn’t get any of the bad bugs (like Cdiff) in the hospital but they thought I did get something there. So I was put on a liquid diet for 2 days, followed by a bland diet for another two days, I was also given Dilaudin (a synthetic opioid derived from morphine) in the ER. All of those things relieved it.

This time I had severe pain during my treatment, again waking up screaming, and vomiting this time….I remember none of this. I was given meds, I don’t know what, but it didn’t help much. Again they wanted to discharge me (more about this later). I ended up back in the ER the day after I got home. First I was given Morphine, but it made me itch so much, it’s really hard to deal with intense pain and itching at the same time. I was also given two other medications, dilaudin, and haladol. The pain was so very intense. They actually thought I had constipation with the diarrhea. What? Who’s heard of such a thing? She said it showed on the CT scan, it also showed some “irritation and inflammation”. There is some condition called called paradoxical diarrhea or overflow diarrhea. It happens when watery stool leaks out around hard stool in the rectum. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I sure hadn’t. I don’t understand that, I was having regular BMs before the diarrhea. She wanted to admit me to give me a laxative to see if it helped. I was not willing to do it. I could do laxities at home. She also suggested a bland diet. I also took a stool softener, and magnesium oxide, and have had normal BMs since. I still don’t believe I had paradoxicol diarrhea. At least that part of me is fine. I am still having some stomach pain, but nothing like I was having. I’ll discuss it with my new PCP on the 16th. I’m so grateful I was accepted by this PCP, she used to be a headache specialist at Jefferson (a very prestigious headache clinic) so she is better suited to work with my doctor at the clinic in Phoenix, so I may not have to go there to get some treatments. This office came very highly recommended to me, by another doctor of mine. I hope they really are as good as they say.

More bad stuff

Okay so that was part of the horror of the ketamine. Although some of the visions were interesting. I had to have a catheter many times. They said (according to S) they don’t like to leave it in because you are more likely to get an infection. But the visions that came with it…it’s hard to explain. One of them I saw women surrounding me in ceremonial garments. I was the center of some ceremony. It was strange, but it didn’t scare me, I felt like I was in a place of honor. Other times I did not have good visions. I I wasn’t sure what was going on, I felt violated. I still do. I had no say in what was happening, how can you not feel violated when people are sticking things up your urethra when you are out of it?

There was also a time that I thought there were two Stuarts. One was on one side of the bed, the other was on the other side. It was so strange. I told him I had to smell him to make sure he was the right Stuart. I got very agitated by the second Stuart, he didn’t smell right and was very jealous of the real S, but I had the right one there so I wasn’t scared. S told me I talked about gnomes a lot, that’s interesting, but I don’t remember it.

I’m told when I was hurting so badly I called out for my mother. She died 29 years ago. I still miss her so much. I do always wish she was here to help me through this, help us through this. I’m just so very grateful I have Stuart, and I have such good memories of my mother. I was thinking how hard my life has been, so very hard. How could I be so unlucky? Then I realized I’m one of the most lucky people in the world! I have an amazing husband to help me through this. How could I be unlucky?

I’m getting way off track, as usual, at least that was a good thing….. so let’s get back to this traumatic hospital experience.

First Discharge attempt:

The day after the ketamine was stopped I was set to go home. We were all packed and ready. I was getting in the wheelchair and then said, I don’t think I should leave with so much abdominal pain. The nurse from hell tried to force the issue, then I had a seizure. Other nurses and a doctor came in and said I wasn’t going anywhere. I don’t remember any of this. None of it. How could I have felt like I was ready to go home, with the only symptom abdominal pain, and not remember any of it? After the seizure S told them that the seizures happen when I’m under an extreme amount of stress. It hurts me that I’m having psychogenic seizures again.

Being forced to leave:

The next day they gave me Dilaudin to help with the pain. They finally listened to Stuart. Shortly after the nurse came in with my discharge papers. Stuart said he wanted for us to stay for another 30 minutes to make sure I didn’t have a reaction to the medication. We thought that was all there was to it. I was eating my lunch when suddenly the nurse from hell and an entourage of other nurses and a HUGE security guard came in to escort us out. They had “patient belongings” bags and were ready to throw my things in and forcefully make me leave. I was very concerned and agitated. I kept saying I didn’t understand, why couldn’t I finish my lunch? Why was this happening. No one would answer me, so I got a little loud, I didn’t scream or anything, I just wanted attention since I can’t hear I thought maybe I was missing something. S was busy getting our things in the suitcase so he couldn’t be that help, I doubt they would have said much for him to translate anyway. When I raised my voice the security guard came over to my bed and loomed over me, I shouted to him “I’m deaf and do not understand” it was obvious he didn’t believe me. The nurse from hell tried to touch me to get me in the wheelchair, I did forcefully tell her “Do not touch me”. I got in the chair myself. I did keep saying that I didn’t understand. While we were waiting for the car….yes they all waited to make sure we left….I turned to that nurse, she was the closest person to me…and said I wanted to see who was in charge. She said she was….she was the charge nurse, but she was far from who would be in charge. I told her I wanted to know in writing why I was being treated that way. She said, “it’s been noted”. I asked for her name and she wouldn’t give it to me. I also felt like they put people between me and Stuart so we couldn’t bond together. They rushed me out so fast I didn’t have my mask, and the charge nurse evidently didn’t have hers on since I could read her lips. I am sure that the whole process lasted more than 30 minutes, if you include the time before they came in. Why did this happen? Bullies, that’s all they are….Bullies.

I will NEVER be treated like that again! I will refuse to leave until I at least get the people’s names. We made a formal complaint, I’m sure nothing will come of it, but they can’t find out what the security guard’s name is. I don’t want anything like this to happen to anyone else.

Another strange thing, I was told that a doctor came by that morning and I told her I was ready to go home. She’s the one who ordered the Dilaudin, they finally listened to Stuart, then said I could leave. She’s my headache doctor’s partner, so I do trust her. But I don’t remember any of that. I really don’t remember anything until I was eating lunch. It’s like my brain shut down because of the pain….or the ketamine really hit me hard….I don’t know. Stuart is concerned that I don’t remember the last two days after I was off ketamine and was ready to leave. I do remember every bit of those people forcing us to leave. They didn’t even ask, they didn’t come in and say that they couldn’t allow me to stay any longer….for whatever reason…they just came in and started to pack up my stuff and forced me out.

I’m now having nightmares. It’s hard for me when I go to bed, even when I’m not sleeping, I can feel that security guard looming over me. I can feel the hate in his and the nurse from hell’s eyes This is one of the most traumatic things that have ever happened to me. I’m very afraid the seizures will become a regular occurrence again.

I’m trying so very hard to not think about the past, I know it’s over and I’m safe….but ,my body doesn’t seem to know it, it is fighting hard. I’ve lost all hope. I keep telling myself that’s not true, but it is. I was certain this treatment would help. And it did the first time, until I fell. I was outside in the sun without my hat! I had so much relief. I did feel like it was helping my migraines at first, but the trauma those people caused, I believe that negated every good that the ketamine did. Now what? The only other thing I know of is lidocaine infusions, but I don’t know if I can go back in that hospital. I’m also jumping the gun, who knows what else my doctor has up her sleeve.

I’m trying so hard to be mindful. S keeps trying to get me to stop and really breathe. That has always helped before, and it really helps him. But right now, it isn’t very helpful.

More Horror:

The night after the ER visit I started having akathesia, this happened last time too, so I was prepared with medications from my psychiatrist here. she helped before. But it didn’t work. I was pacing so much! I was anxious. I couldn’t be quiet. The only relief I seemed to get was in the bathtub. I took 7 baths in less than 18 hours. Crazy huh? My psychiatrist increased the dosage on the meds and I finally started getting back to normal. I was to take them for 3 days, when I tried to stop them, the akathisia and extreme agitation started again. So I’ve been on a lower dose since then. I sure did sleep well on those meds, too bad I don’t sleep like that all the time.

I think that’s all….I hope that’s all.

I do have another major stressor going on right now, but it’s worrying about someone else, not anything about me. Nothing I have any control over. Is there anything I have control over? Not my life, that’s for sure.

First Meeting

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Deaf6 Comments

I met someone yesterday who touched my heart, she cleaned my house, but that isn’t what made her special.

Since I’ve been having this flare I haven’t been able to keep up with the house cleaning so we decided to have someone come in to help out. I was looking on the Nextdoor site and saw where a neighbor was asking about a cleaner for her home, several people answered her but one person’s comment struck me more than the rest so I messaged her and asked if she’d be interested in helping us out. Lucky for us, she said yes. That’s how we met Lennie.

After several texts back and forth we set up a date and she came over yesterday. When she came to the door I felt I would like her instantly, and within the first 5 minutes I knew I was right. Her smile lights up her face and she is genuinely warm and friendly. We have a sign in our front yard, I posted a picture of it on here before, it says things like “Love is Love”, “No Human Is Illegal”, “Science Is Real”…. This sign means a lot to me. It says a lot about what I believe in, and who I am. When Lennie came in she mentioned how much she loved our sign, she said she saw it and thought “These are mine kind of people.” I gave her a high five.

We chatted some as she went about her business. She knew from our messages about some of my health issues, but I didn’t know she had a few. Her illness was not supposed to be chronic, but it did have some long term complications. She really understands going through a long ordeal before being diagnosed.

The main thing I really wanted to write about was how she reacted to my hearing loss. When she found out I lost my hearing just a few years ago she first asked the same thing everyone else does, “Do you know sign language?” I wonder why that’s the first thing people ask? You know when you are not immersed in a language it’s hard to become fluent in it, especially at my age. Taking a class when you are fighting vertigo and migraines on a daily basis is almost impossible. Absorbing a foreign language while dealing with those? Well I haven’t been able to do it. But anyway, after we discussed all that, I promise I didn’t say anything rude, she asked me something no one else ever has: “Has losing your hearing been difficult?”

My first instinct was to say “No”, and just brush it off. I started to say that I thought it was more difficult for Stuart, but then I stopped. I looked at her and felt tears well up in my eyes, “Yes, yes, it has been very difficult.”

I was taken aback by the fact that she asked, and genuinely seemed to care. No one has ever asked me that before. I’ve never gotten the impression that anyone has felt that it has been very difficult. I think some people see that I have some challenges, but I don’t think they understand how difficult it is, and I think it would make them uncomfortable if they knew. I think a lot of people think my cochlear implants “fixed” my hearing loss, and others think I’m really good at handling it. Truth of the matter is, it’s extremely difficult, my CIs are far from perfect, and I think I handle it pretty well but that doesn’t mean I always understand what the heck you’re saying or that it’s any less difficult.

Meeting Lennie made me realize that I can still make connections with people in the “real world”. It may still be difficult to nurture a friendship when I can’t drive and may often have to cancel things and I can’t hear in many situations…but Lennie made me want to try.

You never know what kind of mark you may leave on a person, try to make that mark a good one. Look what Lennie has done for me.

(I will try to post about some of the difficulties I have dealing with hearing loss soon.)

Weekend Warrior

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Headaches, Migraines11 Comments
One of the last of the wildflowers 2019 Tucson – W Holcombe

I missed writing yesterday, it was such a full day I just didn’t get it in.

Before my painting class with my niece I decided to take a Maxalt, and a couple of toradol with a little caffeine to see if I could get this migraine to a level where I could not only be present for the day, but also enjoy it a little. The pain did get to a more tolerable level, and after an hour I took the 2nd dose of Maxalt (if the pain doesn’t subside with a first dose you are supposed to take a second, I normally don’t because I don’t want to run out of my medication too soon, but on special days I will), after the second dose the pain was reduced more! Yay. The class was fun. I was sad because I cannot understand most of what my niece says, she speaks very quietly most of the time and does not move her mouth much at all. I’d love to be the aunt she could whisper too and tell secrets, but I can’t hear most of what she says. It makes me so sad. It did bother me that I did not get a thank you at the end of the day, I wasn’t surprised, that saddens me too. I do think she had a good time, though.

After our painting class we went out for pizza with the family. It’s always a mixture of emotions when I spend time with Stuart’s family. I like the feeling of family, but it can be a bit too much for me all at one time, and Stuart’s sister is very boisterous. I can only take her in small doses. We had to go back over to their house for some things after lunch so my time with her was close to hitting it’s limit before we left, and I was starting to have more pain.

When we left I was still feeling pretty good though and decided I did not want to waste it. I knew I might be pushing it a bit too much, but it’s a good chance that the next day could bring increased pain no matter what I do, so when I’m able, I’m taking advantage of it. I found out about this little clothing store that carries a style of clothing that I like so we went to check it out. Funny thing, I got 2 dresses, and neither one of them are in the style that I went there looking for. ha!

After that we were both bushed, but we wanted a treat so we got frozen yogurt before we went home and spent the evening watching baking shows and old Dr. Who’s.

Today I woke up feeling pretty good. Ate breakfast, picked up a few things around the house, then set out in the backyard to poopy scoop, something I haven’t done in a very long time and I’ve been feeling very guilty about it. I walked out and saw that the little rake and pan that I use to do it had been moved. “Oh no, my landlord felt the need to pick up my dog’s poop!” I felt so ashamed. I told Stuart and he said he wouldn’t feel bad if someone did that he’d just thank them. Ugh! I thought well no wonder stuff just accumulates on the porch and things are not put away….he feels no shame about things. Our back porch looks awful, he should be ashamed. So I told him so! Then I went out there and cleaned up the back porch! I moved and rearranged plastic totes (they are empty), I swept down the cob webs, I swept off all the totes and pool floats, I swept the porch (boy was there a lot of little mesquite leaves on there!), I wiped down the grill, and I got Stuart to get rid of the 2 cardboard boxed that were back there. Now my back porch looks all clean and organized, and we look like we take pride in our home. I am absolutely amazed at how much I can do when I’m mad! The amazing thing is, I could sweep like that and it didn’t hurt my back much at all, but have me stand at the kitchen counter and try to bake or cut up veggies and it hurts so bad it brings me to my knees.
(Yes, I know the whole thing about feeling shame sounded snarky, I felt snarky at the time. I shouldn’t have gotten mad. I know a lot of my anger actually came from feeling that I can’t do my share to help keep up the house and the yard. Stuart and I talked about it, and he says he understands, I think he does, and I still think he needs to feel a little shame now and then. lol)

After all that adrenaline flew out of my body I fell into a heap in my chair and crashed. Then after about an hour I started seeing the world vibrating and going dim, I suddenly felt high but I hadn’t done anything to cause it, then the pain hit; a vestibular migraine had started. It wasn’t quite lunch time when I curled up ready for the end of the day.

I had a very full weekend, I got a lot of things done and had some fun, now for some sleep.

Journal Day 2 – Yoga Therapy

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness6 Comments

It has been a very long day and I thought about not writing today, but the main reason I decided to post these journal entries here instead of writing them in a personal journal was to keep me accountable and keep me motivated, so here goes it.

Firs Saguaro bloom I saw this year.

My 3 day migraine broke about 10pm last night, so I was able to sleep well until 5am when I woke feeling a bit off and went to the bathroom when suddenly vertigo hit and so did the pain in my head. I had a vestibular migraine, with migraine associated vertigo. I’m not sure how long the vertigo lasted. I took my medication, and used medical marijuana to stop the vomiting and waited it out until I could go back to sleep. Stuart stayed with me and then worked from home to make sure I was okay. When I got up at 10am I no longer felt the effects of the vertigo, but the migraine was more intense. I ate breakfast hoping it would improve before my 1pm appointment, but by noon I decided I needed to take something. It took the edge off just enough that I was able to get through my appointment.

Now, about that appointment! I’ve been in physical therapy for my back and it simply hasn’t been helping so I decided to try something else. Someone recommended a woman who is a physical therapist who teaches therapeutic yoga. I’m working one on one with her. The first visit was very interesting. She showed me lots of photos of how muscles work together and we talked about how if certain muscles in one part of the body are not strong then other parts of the body will suffer. My hips and pelvic area are weak. She said that often when those muscles are weak it will cause pain in the back, especially when standing for a while, like mine does. She gave me some very simple exercises to focus on over the next couple of weeks then I go back in. I don’t know if this will help my back or not, but I know my whole pelvic area needs to be stronger so I’m going to work really hard on this. I’m really proud of myself for going to this appointment after waking with vertigo this morning, often that would cause me to be too afraid to do anything for the rest of the day. I was more off balance than normal, but I was determined, and since Stuart was able to take me I felt safe.

After that appointment we went and picked up my new glasses. I got new glasses a couple of weeks ago, but they made the lenses wrong. They had the focal point in the wrong spot so my progressives were not working at all. Now they are all fixed and I can see the computer. I’m not positive I like these new frames, it will take me a while to get used to them. They are SO different from my old ones. I went from dark bold statement frames to clear light weight frames. What a difference. I would post a picture, but I’m in bed. lol

We then went to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions of mine and get some things straight they have messed up and I had a bit of a melt down. They really have messed up a few of my prescriptions, calling doctors for refills who I don’t see anymore, filling things I don’t need, prescriptions not showing up on line so I can manage them….So I had a list of things that needed to be discussed fixed, but I couldn’t hear anything in there so Stuart had to do the talking. I was trying so hard to follow what was being said, and he would ask me something and I’d try to answer and then I felt like he just dismissed me and half the things on my list were not addressed and it was just a mess. I ended up in tears and went to sit in the car. There has to be a better way for me to communicate the things I need.

I looked back at the situation and when we walked up there it was so noisy I got so overwhelmed told Stuart that I couldn’t hear so he would need to handle it for me. Right there, I gave up my control in the situation, but then I got upset when I felt like he “dismissed” me. When I started to feel like things were not being handled the way I wanted them to be, I should have spoken up and said something. Even though I couldn’t hear well enough, I should have made them slow down and help me understand, even it that meant they had to write it down. This is my healthcare, I need to be more assertive and stop being so afraid.

There’s something else I need to also look at with this situation though, I had a migraine. The pain had increased to a 7, it was harder to concentrate and focus, my vision was slightly blurred from the florescent lights and the right side of my face was tingling. I honestly don’t know if I would have spoken up if I had been migraine free, but I do think I need understand that migraine changes how you deal with life, and I need to give myself a break sometimes.

Anxiety and Hearing Loss, my story

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, hearing loss, Invisable Illness30 Comments
image by w.holcombe. all rights reserved

I’m having severe anxiety issues surrounding my hearing loss. I’ve been trying to do research on the subject and I’ve found quite a few articles that mention anxiety and hearing loss but I don’t feel that they go into enough detail. Every article I found only spoke of hearing loss and anxiety with the elderly. There are many reasons one may lose their hearing other than age. I lost my hearing quickly from an illness. The articles all speak of getting a device to for your hearing loss to relieve anxiety. I got my first cochlear implant (CI) almost as soon as I lost my hearing, my assissitive devise has not taken away my anxiety. I do not know if my anxiety would be higher if I did not have my CI’s and lived in a completely silent world all the time or not, I never have. But I can tell you that my anxiety has risen significantly since I lost my hearing.

At first I didn’t realize I had anxiety due to my hearing loss. I knew I had anxiety due to the sudden attacks of vertigo so I simply attributed much of it to that. I can say that both have been a big part of my life for years now, but at this time in my life, I’m not as concerned about the vertigo. Not because I don’t have it, but because I deal with it much better. I’m not so freaked out by an attack, I can deal with it if it happens and I rarely have attacks as severe as the attacks I used to have on a regular basis. I’ve come to realize that the majority of my anxiety now stems from my hearing loss.

Many people believe that with my CI’s I can now hear normally, that is far from the truth. It also confuses people because I can hear fairly well in a quiet place, I can also hear certain people much better than others (it depends on the frequency of the person’s voice) this makes it hard for people to understand why I can’t hear under every circumstance. However it is very hard for me to hear when there are 2 or more people talking, or when a person has an accent or someone has facial hair or doesn’t move their mouth much, or puts their hands in front of their mouth…. I simply cannot understand speech in a lot of situations. Most of the time I am completely lost in a noisy environment. How am I supposed to socialize?

I often just smile and nod, or I chime in at an inappropriate time and get embarrassed afterward. Sometimes I talk too much, after all if I’m talking then no one else can so I’m not missing anything. There’s a problem there too, often people will chime in and I’m lost again, and I seem very rude. So normally I look at Stuart for cues and ask occasionally if there is something I need to know. It’s not a pleasant experience and it is very anxiety provoking. Imagine sitting at a table where everyone is talking and you have no idea what is being said. You simply eat your meal and wait until it’s time to leave. Since moving to Tucson there have been numerous times that we have gone out to eat with the family that includes between 7 and 9 people. We’ve been to extremely noisy restaurants and we’ve been to quiet restaurants, it makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, they seem to only want to go to the noisy places so I normally bow out of those outings.

When we had them to our home I did have the children sit at a different place than the adults which reduced the noise but our dining room does not have carpet so it echoes, that makes hearing harder. However, one person kind of dominated the conversation so I kept up pretty well, I did miss some and Stuart caught me up on that later, which I thought “when did that happen” but since I was in my home it was not as bad. But my anxiety leading up to that dinner brought on a full blown panic attack. I will not go through that again. I’m not sure dinner with the whole family together is worth it to me.

There are many other things that cause me anxiety around my hearing loss:

  • sleeping alone in the house – I can’t hear the smoke alarm or anything else.
  • being in a store I can’t hear when anyone is around me
  • I can’t hear when someone calls my name
  • I can’t hear when someone comes up behind me
  • I often can’t hear if someone knocks on the door.
  • I can’t hear emergency vehicles.
  • I can’t hear the GPS
  • I meet someone and tell them I’m deaf and they begin to use ASL
  • ….

I realized recently that my anxiety over driving is not totally the action of driving itself, although living in a new town and not being able to hear the GPS is pretty bad, it is also the anxiety of what happens when I get there.

The last time I drove I went to Whole Foods. a whole 1 mile from my home, I got there and was fine, I went to get a basket and found a phone in my basket. I knew I had to take it in and find someone to turn it in to. Anxiety started. I found someone as soon as I walked in the door as she was returning glasses do someone who had left them at a register, we exchanged pleasantries and I walked away not really knowing what she said but I knew it was nice and hoped I had responded appropriately. As I walked the aisles looking for my groceries I was acutely aware of the people around me but still one person came up behind me, and another came around a corner and I did not hear either before the were right on me. When I got to the register I had to tell her I had profound hearing loss and had to see her lips, she went on to say how wonderful it was that I could read lips and I have no idea what else she said, I paid for my groceries and left. When I walked outside I was still shaken but the day was beautiful and I saw a lady I saw when I went in who was eating her lunch and I decided I wanted to put myself out there for just a bit (my therapist would be proud) she was reading a real book and I commented how nice it was to see that, she said how much she loved real books and I went on my way. I only spoke to her because it was quiet out and I was sure I would know her response, and I did. At least I’m pretty sure I did. However, when I got in my car I realized I was shaking. I felt the car vibrating like it was running but I hadn’t started it. I looked around to see if big truck had gone by, but the only thing I could attribute it to was me.

When reading over the articles about anxiety and hearing loss the suggestions they give to help include getting a hearing assistive device like a hearing aid, give the device a change, see a therapist, ask family and friends to help what you need to hear easier, get a hearing dog, get involved in a hearing loss association…

So out of those suggestions, I have a device that I’ve had for nearly 6 years, I give them a chance every day. I have not shied away from situations. (Although a I have started to). I have a therapist. Stuart helps me, I’ve asked others to understand and help but most do not even attempt to help, I’m considering a hearing dog, but I need to make sure we can take on the added responsibility of caring for another dog, I have been involved in a hearing loss association in the past and I’ve looked into it here in Tucson but my anxiety simply hasn’t allowed me to do it yet. (If it’s like the last association I’m not sure I’ll feel like I belong)

Studies, sited below, have shown that hearing loss is related to anxiety, depression, social isolation, and demetia.

We need to work with those with hearing loss to help them integrate with main stream society better so they do not feel so left out. We need to help them understand they are just as viable and cared for as they were before their hearing loss.

Ryan, Cynthia. Link Between Untreated Hearing Loss & Mental Health. Vestibular Disorders Association. Sept. 13, 2014. https://vestibular.org/news/09-13-2012/link-between-untreated-hearing-loss-mental-health

DeWane, Caludia. Hearing Loss in Older Adults-Its Effect on Mental Health. Social Work Today. July, 2010. http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/071510p18.shtml

Alzheimer’s Association. What is Dementia? Oct. 1, 2014. http://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp

Boyles, Salynn. Hearing Loss Linked to Mental Decline in Elderly. WebMD Health News. Jan. 22, 2013. http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20130118/hearing-loss-mental-decline

Cochlear Implants Are Different

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, hearing loss7 Comments

Most of us have seen the videos of a someone who has been deaf their whole life who  receives a cochlear implant and can suddenly hear. (or maybe people just send those to me)  The wonder on the their face is very touching and can be described as miraculous.  I will not get into the debate over whether or not a child, a person who has been deaf since birth, or a person who has lost their hearing should be implanted, that is a very personal decision that I have no right to weigh in on.

I do want to talk about how not everyone with a cochlear implant hears the same.   Recently I read an article that talked about having a cochlear implant, the person writing the article has been deaf his whole life, does not have a cochlear implant, and has chosen not to get one, I respect that decision.  Many of the commentors did not.  The comments on that article were argumentative and down right rude.  I found it very interesting, and a bit disturbing, that so many people assume that the experience they have with their cochlear implant is the same experience everyone would have. That simply is not true.

Yes, it is a miraculous thing to suddenly be able to hear.  (for some for the first time, for others to hear again, like me.)  The thing is, we have no idea what those people are hearing.  It could be words, or it could be clicks and whistles or a combination of many sounds.  If you never heard a sound before, would your face not show amazement?  We cannot judge what they are hearing by a simple video.  My audiologist told me that they she cannot understand what I hear, because she doesn’t have a cochlear implant and if she did, it could be totally different.  Some people who only hear little bits might be able to hear more later, some will not.  I met a lady at the Hearing Loss Association meeting who has cochlear implants and she can hear very little.  She cannot hear speech.  Her cochlear implants allow her to hear emergency signals, and not much else.  I am amazed at how well she gets by with reading lips, but she does get lost, and I do wonder how much she misses.  Often she simply smiles and nods, something I find myself doing way too often.  But she is very grateful for the hearing she has. I can’t imagine.  There are some people who hear almost as well as a normal hearing person, I can’t imagine that one either. 

So many people assume that cochlear implants are like hearing aids,  They are not!  Hearing aids amplify sound, but the person can still hear the way they are supposed to, just not as well.  In other words, no one had to implant something in their head to help them hear sounds.  “a cochlear implant bypasses damaged portions of the ear to deliver sound signals to the auditory (hearing) nerve.” (WebMD)  I have a device that was surgically implanted in my head and through the cochlea of my ear to deliver sound to my brain.  I do not hear with my ears.  No matter how high I put the volume on my cochlear implants it will not improve my hearing.  I know it’s confusing, but trust me, I’ve had both, a hearing aid and a cochlear implant, they are not the same in any way.

With my hearing aids I could turn up the volume and hear, no they were not perfect, I still had trouble with wind, noisy situations….all kinds of things.  The point is that the only thing that a hearing aid can do is amplify sound, if that will help you, that’s great.  I honestly wish I could still be helped with hearing aids.  I was not deaf without them, without my cochlear implants I hear nothing.

When I started losing my hearing I asked my doctor if I should learn sign language, he said, “You will never be deaf”  I realize now that he meant that even if I lost my hearing, he would simply give me a cochlear implant.  Which he did.  In hindsight I should have learned ASL (American Sign Language) before I started needing it.  I do not believe he understands the limits of the device

My audiologist warned me that some people do not hear speech with their CI’s, some only hear arbitrary sounds (clicks, whistles…)  She told me that people who have had hearing often do better than those who have never heard.  Their brains simply do not have anything to relate the sounds to, that isn’t always the case though.  (again, I know it’s confusing, we’re just different)  I heard speech immediately, but it sounded strange.  Everyone sounded like Mickey Mouse, luckily I like the Mouse, but it did get a bit annoying.  Gradually I began to hear people the way I remembered they sounded.  It’s a little funny that still sometimes when I meet someone new they will sound a bit like a cartoon.  And do not ever ask me to understand an accent.  

In the comments connected to this article people talked about how they could talk on the phone, play music, go to plays….and they spoke of them as if everyone with a cochlear implant can do those things.  I can’t.  I cannot talk on the phone, and those caption phones are a joke.  They don’t keep up with the caller and they get a lot of stuff wrong.  It’s more annoying than simply saying, “I can’t do it”  and that’s sad.  I miss music.  I miss music so much.  I am literally tearing up just writing those words.  I sing often, but I can’t remember the words to many of the songs, so I make them up.  I want to be playing carols this time of year, but alas it will not be.  I can’t hear it.  I can hear the melody, but the words, nope.  And that makes it just sound garbled.  I do so miss music.  I have been able to go to the movies thanks to the caption boxes, but it is difficult.  There is one theater close to me that is looped, (A  hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop) is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids and cochlear implants. The hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing device when it is set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting.)  So the sound is piped right in my ears.  You would think this would be perfect, but it’s not, I still needed the caption box, but I didn’t use it near as much.  It’s an independent theater though, so I’m still out of luck when I want to see a popular movie.  I cannot imagine going to a live event that has not captions. 

Being deaf is very isolating, even with a cochlear implant.  It’s very hard for me to go out alone, to attend a party, to take a class, go to a restaurant, or…well, so may things.  I’m lucky I have a husband who helps keep me active, and understands my fears, many people do not have this.  If you know someone with hearing loss, reach out, they need all the friends they can get who understand their challenges.

This post got to be a bit longer than I intended, but I hope I’ve helped some of you understand a little bit more about how differently those of us with cochlear implants can hear.  Just because you know me, and my struggles doesn’t mean that the next person you meet with a cochlear implant will have the same issues I do.

 

If you’d like to know more about me and my cochlear implants you might enjoy this post  What it’s like to have a cochlear implant  Just remember, it’s only my story.

*The photo above is of me with my CI taken a couple of years ago.  Yes, it really is orange

It’s challenging

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness12 Comments

I have no idea where to start this post.

I guess I’ll start first by apologizing for having to have Lorraine do Mindfulness Monday for me again this week (thank you Lorraine, you awesome) I have been feeling like a fraud.  I have been talking about mindfulness for a few years now and I simply haven’t been able to live the life.  My life seems out of control right now and I haven’t been able to accept that this is the way it will be and be okay with it.  My meditation practice has never been as regular as I’d like, but lately it has been non existent.  Why is it when I need this the most, I have been unable to simply let that shit go.

Living  in close proximity to family has been more stressful than I thought it would be.  We haven’t been able to help my father-in-law as much as we thought we would.  He simply wants to keep doing as much as he can in addition to caring for his wife, so he has some semblance of normalcy.  We do try to see him at least once a week, but that doesn’t seem like enough to me, and we haven’t been seeing as much of M as I thought we would.  She has no idea who we are and I’m afraid that is making her a little frustrated.  I’m not sure about that though.  She is very pleasant to be with, she talks and talks, I just wish I could hear her better.  Now that I’ve been more symptomatic, it’s hard to do much to help anyway.

My hearing loss has been much more of a challenge here than I thought it would be.  Not only do I have trouble hearing M, I can barely understand anything my niece and nephew say, and my new psychiatrist…well, let’s just say, I won’t be going there without Stuart with me to help translate.  She is very soft spoken and has an accent so she enunciates her words differently, it makes it extremely hard to read her lips.  I wish I knew sign language so I could request an interpreter.  I could request CART, but that’s really hard to set up, so it could make it very hard for me to get an appointment when needed.  I also don’t understand my headache doctor, he also has an accent, he talks fast, and really has no idea how to talk with someone who has profound hearing loss.  That kind of amazes me.  This city has a large elderly population, that means there are more people here who have late onset hearing loss, doctors should know how to communicate with us.  Oh who am I kidding, many doctors don’t know how to communicate with anyone, hearing or not.

The vertigo has gotten worse.  Ironic thing, I just received a letter saying my Medicare benefits are being reviewed, right after that my vertigo started going crazy!  When I finally got Medicare my symptoms started getting better, not immediately, gradually, but it was better.  Was it the extreme stress of feeling like a burden, and the fear that if something happened to Stuart I wouldn’t have insurance or any income, causing my vertigo to be worse?  I have no idea, all I know is that I’m having vertigo again, often, and I’m really upset about it.  I’m even using my walker again, not every day, but I’m definitely getting use out of it again.  I think buying a car was tempting fate, the last time I got a car I got worse….you can see how my mind is just spiraling.  I’m so tired.

To top it all off, I’ve been dealing with some of the worst rage episodes I’ve had in a long time.  I started taking estrogen about 2 weeks ago for menopausal symptoms, I’m thinking that could be it, but since I have Bipolar Disorder it always concerns me.  I do have a call into the doctor, let’s hope we can figure this out before I kill someone.

Speaking of my mental health, my psychiatrist had gene testing done to help determine which drugs are best for me.  The results are very interesting.  I want to share a lot of that with you, but this post is getting long, so I’ll save that for another day.  If you’d like to read more about the test I had, it’s called Genesight, here’s the link to their site.   https://genesight.com/

My back has started seizing again, the muscle spasms stop me from doing a lot of the things I’d like to.  Like baking!

But I was able to do a little celebrating for Halloween (after a complete meltdown on Halloween day, the night turned out pretty good.)

Here’s a few photos of my makeup, one from a festival we went to on Friday and the other for Halloween night to give out treats.  Halloween night wasn’t very inventive, it was the end of a very long and emotional day, so my makeup was not what I had planned.

Friday night at the Pima County Air and Space Museum
Halloween night at home

 

I hope your Halloween was a hauntingly good time.

I’ve been having a hard time writing lately, I may be writing more journal type post, I think I need to get more of this stuff out.

 

 

Quick update…much more to come

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, family, Hearing Impaired, hearing loss, Invisable Illness12 Comments

I’m tired.

I sat down to write this and all I can think is, “I’m tired”.  Hell, I’d say I’m pretty exhausted, and I still have so much to do.  Just praying I can accomplish much more before I completely collapse.

On the 23rd the movers came and packed up our house to move us from North Carolina to Arizona.  We started our trek across the country the next day.  We had planned to take it slow, drive about 4-5 hours a day, as long as we got there sometime this week we thought that would be fine.  After the second day we got word that our stuff would be arriving in Tucson on Tuesday (the 29th), if we drove 8 hours a day for the next couple of days we would be there in time.  It wasn’t a huge deal if we weren’t there when everything arrived, we had people who could take care of it for us, but I could tell that the thought of us not being there when they unloaded was stressing Stuart a little, so we decided to make it happen.  We arrived the afternoon of the 28th, and our stuff arrived at 8:30am the next day.

The trip here was pretty uneventful, just a few little things bare mentioning.  For most of the trip I had a stomach ache.  Gastritis was hitting me hard.  I could only handle bland food.  That’s a little challenging when you are driving across the country with a little dog and have an allergy to wheat.  I ate a lot of oatmeal and baked potatoes.  One night I did venture out and had steamed chicken and broccoli with rice…no sauce, and I did okay with it.  I’m happy to say that my stomach calmed down now after we got here, I even had a piece of pizza.  The pain in my stomach was so bad the first day that I seriously considered going to the ER, but I just had an endoscopy done and it only showed gastritis, so I was pretty sure it was just flaring.  (Gastritis is a general term for a group of conditions with one thing in common: inflammation of the lining of the stomach.)  I have been wondering why my stomach hurt so much on this trip and the only thing that I can think of that was different was that I stopped taking turmeric last week.  (I know you are all thinking, stress, but I have been under a lot of stress the past month and I haven’t had a stomach ache)  I’d been taking tumeric for months (maybe a year) for inflammation, but I wasn’t sure it was doing much.  Now I’m beginning to think it was reducing the inflammation in my stomach.  I started taking it again last weekend, and I haven’t had issues since.

I must admit the pain caused me to be one irritable cranky bi…umm…witch.  Things that normally wouldn’t phase me in the slightest were suddenly getting on my nerves something awful.  Yes, the stress of moving did not help.  I was feeling a bit emotional about leaving the Southeast.  It just seems a bit final.  I simply don’t know if I’ll see some of those people ever again, I’m not dwelling on it, but it makes me sad.  And not knowing what to expect with Stuart’s stepmom was also probably contributing to the stress.  I really hate that word.  I hate that just normal day things that we have to deal with can cause so many physical symptoms. Stress is not always a bad thing, but it can do havoc on your body.  And I hate it when a doctor tells me that “it’s stress”, argh!

So the trip was good except for my tummy ache and being a grump.

On the 29th the movers delivered our stuff and I saw the house for the first time.

When I walked up to the house a hummingbird came right up to me, I took it as a sign that this is a good place. (both my and Stuart’s mom loved hummingbirds, I have a couple of meaningful hummingbird encounters, I may share those on another day)  The house has a good feeling about it.  The house is old and small, but it’s well taken care of, and it has an amazing yard.  Not the kind of yard you have in the Southeast, but a cool Southwest yard.  It also has a pool.  I’m so excited about that!  Oh, I’ll post pictures soon, I’ll show you everything!

After the movers left we went and had lunch with Stuart’s dad and Margaret.  It was the first time I’ve seen her since the accident.  I wasn’t sure what to expect so I prepared myself for the worst.  She is still a dear sweet woman whom I adore; but she had no recollection of meeting me before, or knowing anything about me.  I didn’t expect her to, so I wasn’t disappointed.  I was pleased that she remembered Stuart was here last month, that was nice.  She may not remember that tomorrow, but she remembered it today.  We had a pleasant lunch, then it was time for us to leave and she became agitated.  She is convinced they are trying to poison her.  You see, she doesn’t like to take her medication, so they put it in applesauce to give it to her, but she tasted it.  It was that taste that made her start believing they were trying to poison her.  I’m told she calms down fast and she won’t remember that, but it affected me.  She was very happy for the rest of the visit, she talked and talked. She made the comment that she likes everything.  When I simply smiled when she said, “No really, I just like everything.  Well, I don’t like someone right up in my face waving their hand, but mostly I like everything.”  (this was before the poisoning episode)

She is so in love with John (Dad).  When he walks in she lights up, and runs over to him and hugs him and kisses him.  It’s so wonderful.  They are still so much in love.  He is a very good husband.  Tonight Stuart was telling me that they don’t know if she’ll continue to remember him.  She has lost most of her short term memory and it keeps encroaching on every day.  She will start forgetting those she has not for the least amount of time; Dad and she have only been married for 7 years so she could start forgetting him in the not too distant future.  The longer she has known someone the longer she will remember them, she may not remember their correct age; for example she may think her son is her husband, because if fits with she is in her memory.  It makes me sad.  They are so much in love.  Dad once told Stuart that as much as he loved Stuart’s mom, Margaret was his soulmate; it breaks my heart that they had so little time together.

Margaret does seem to enjoy the time we spend together.  She just talks and talks, about anything and nothing, but some of her stories are quite entertaining.  I enjoy talking with her, my only problem with that is that I can’t hear a lot of what she says; I follow her body language and mimic it, that seems to be enough for her, but I really wish I could hear her better.  I don’t know if I can be with her alone if I can’t hear it well, I may not understand that she needs assistance before she gets agitated.

I started writing this last week, but we had a time getting out internet connected, the cable company isn’t in much of a hurry to send technicians out to a house to get them turned on so I couldn’t finish it.  For some reason, the WordPress app wouldn’t let me do anything on my own blog.  I couldn’t even comment of a post.  And the last reason I haven’t been able to post is that I haven’t been able to type very easily.

20180606_163102-collage
getting the steroid injection in my wrist….at least my doctor was super cute.

Right before we left my right wrist started hurting and my thumb was partially numb.  Just exactly like how the De Quervain’s tendinosis in my left wrist.  That is pretty strange; it’s not acutually that strange for people who have had it, but it’s alson normally found in women who have babies.  The act of repeatedly picking up a child can cause it, but me?  Why am I getting this?  I have no idea what I’m doing, I thought I’d figured out what cause it in my left wrist, but now I’m not too sure.  Well, I got a shot in it on Wednesday, crossing fingers it works and I don’t have to have further treatment.  So that’s the reason’s I haven’t been posting about this adventure.  Well those and being incredibly busy.

I’ll write more about where we are living now soon.,,,With more pictures.