Wednesday, November 08, 2006

ENT update

So, as I said earlier, I went to my ENT's office today for the last check-up before surgery, which is now scheduled for January 17...what a way to kick off 2007, eh?? Anyway.
I had a CT done of my head, one taken while I laid on my back and one while I was on my stomach, to make sure the ears were good and that there wasn't any ossification/calcification in the left ear (the one that's getting the implant) that would impede surgery. After that I met with a woman who had her C.I. done in June, and she's very happy with it. She said that your hearing continues to improve for a year after the surgery...they're always tweaking and making sure the "map" of your ear is at its best. Even though I will still need to lipread and I won't have perfect hearing, it will definitely be better than it is now. I'm going with the behind-the-ear transmitter, which looks like a regular hearing aid, only a little "fatter". It even has a spot to plug in an iPod. How cool is that? (Of course I need to get a new iPod to take advantage of that.... :) ) I need a pre-surgery physical (bloodwork and all that jazz) a month before the surgery, but that shouldn't be a problem since I get pretty much a full physical every time I go to clinic! I swear, I'm definitely healthier than most people I know (TX notwithstanding!).

So that's the "ear" update...it looks like I'll be out of work for about 4 weeks until they activite the C.I. It takes about that long for swelling to go down so they use the magnet part correctly. Woohoo! (Well, OK, "no woohoo" as Troy would say, but whatever.)

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