I am confused

[Guest guest]

Last March I got 2 AVR 675(BRAND NEW MODEL)hearing aids,which gave me the

best hearing ever. It may be a coincidence, my hearing started to get worse,

and now the HA cannot help me at all. As I have mentioned in the forum, I am a

candidate for an implant. Recently I have had a catscan,and I shall be seeing a

doctor on Aug.27. I hope to have the surgery soon. If that will be successful

do I get implant aid, or do I still use my original HA's, with new

adjusments, I presume.My bad ear had never heard anything. Next question, can I

expect a

miracle for that ear?? Moses Katz

[Guest guest]

tad

some people are able to use their HA in the implanted ear .... of course it's

not as good as a CI

but their residual hearing wasn't damaged with the implant the

doctor here has had great success in not destroying residual hearing so far

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/17/2004 7:16:11 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

tadxl@... writes:

You mean to say that even witht he CI in the ear

you can still use a hearing aid on the same ear?

it is possible, but more likely than not,, it won't do you any good. Some

of us are able to keep our residual hearing, but if we try to wear our hearing

aid, it sounds disorted.

Lee

[Guest guest]

Nothing to be confused about. You will not be able to use your

hearing aid in the ear you have the CI put in on. You can still use

the HA in the other ear. After turn on you may want to not wear your

HA so you can train your new CI. But it helps to have the HA as a

back up.

Yes you should expect a miracle with you CI. I did. I'm having so

much fun hearing the littlest things I never heard before. It's a

miracle to me.

Tad

> Last March I got 2 AVR 675(BRAND NEW MODEL)hearing aids,which

gave me the

> best hearing ever. It may be a coincidence, my hearing started to

get worse,

> and now the HA cannot help me at all. As I have mentioned in the

forum, I am a

> candidate for an implant. Recently I have had a catscan,and I

shall be seeing a

> doctor on Aug.27. I hope to have the surgery soon. If that will be

successful

> do I get implant aid, or do I still use my original HA's, with new

> adjusments, I presume.My bad ear had never heard anything. Next

question, can I expect a

> miracle for that ear?? Moses Katz

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Moses,

You will have no need to wear your hearing aid in the implanted ear

after surgery. What you will get is a ci processor which has no ear

mold, but it attaches to your head with a built in magnet and there

will be an ear hook to let the processor rest on your ear. This

{magnet attachment} will allow a connection for the implant to send

signals to your brain which will you will interpret as sound.

Although you may or may not retain some residual hearing.. it

probably won't be enough to be of any use to you.. that's the reason

for getting the implant.. Your natural hearing has diminished to a

point where hearing aids no longer do you any good. You may be able

to wear your hearing aid in your unimplanted ear, but your

audiologist may want you to wear just the implant till you adjust to

the it; this is somethig you and the audi will need to discuss and

decide on. Please don't expect a miracle right off the bat..It can

take months of hard work to begin to understand speech even though

you will most likely hear sound, you may not recognize it.

Although some are fortunate enough to be able to hear immediately

after hookup, that's not the norm. go in with low expectations and

ready to work at it to understand speech. Once you begin to

understand speech then you will realize just what a miracle has

taken place, at least I consider it a miracle to be able to hear as

I do today. Even though it's not perfect, it's 95% more speech

comprehension than I had before being implanted and in my opinion..

that's close enough for me to call it a miracle. <smiles>

Wishing you all the best.

Hugs,

Silly MI

In , chinamoses@a... wrote:

> Last March I got 2 AVR 675(BRAND NEW MODEL)hearing aids,which

gave me the

> best hearing ever. It may be a coincidence, my hearing started to

get worse,

> and now the HA cannot help me at all. As I have mentioned in the

forum, I am a

> candidate for an implant. Recently I have had a catscan,and I

shall be seeing a

> doctor on Aug.27. I hope to have the surgery soon. If that will be

successful

> do I get implant aid, or do I still use my original HA's, with new

> adjusments, I presume.My bad ear had never heard anything. Next

question, can I expect a

> miracle for that ear?? Moses Katz

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I don't understand. You mean to say that even witht he CI in the ear

you can still use a hearing aid on the same ear? I didn't know that

was possible. The wire that is placed in the Cochlea damages the

normal function of it. I hope I understood what you were saying.

Tad

> tad

> some people are able to use their HA in the implanted ear .... of

course it's

> not as good as a CI

> but their residual hearing wasn't damaged with the

implant the

> doctor here has had great success in not destroying residual

hearing so far

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Moses,

This is a question that is best answered by the CI Center. I would listen to

then and they will offer what they feel is the best option for you. My left

ear would have qualified for a hearing aid when I was 7, but my parents didn't

see the need because my right ear was ok. I grew up sleeping on my right side

so that I couldn't hear my parents snoring in the other room. At the age of 57,

I had the left ear implanted and there had been no sound in that ear for at

least 15 years but no usable sound for 50 years. It worked and there was sound.

Let the team help you with this decision. I did wear the HA on the right side

with the CI until all the hearing on my right was gone and the HA didn't work

any longer.

Alice

. If that will be successful

do I get implant aid, or do I still use my original HA's, with new

adjusments, I presume.My bad ear had never heard anything. Next question, can

I expect a

miracle for that ear?? Moses Katz

[Guest guest]

Tad,

Some surgeons are having limited success with their patients having

their residual hearing saved, but this isn't the norm. This is

largely due to the advances made in surgical procedures.. less

trauma etc, but it's not a guarantee.. Very few people actually

retain their residual hearing in the implanted ear, but in some

instances it does happen.. Just not something to place a sure bet

on. Most likely, you won't retain the hearing in the implanted ear,

but it's not impossible.. it has happened before

Hope this helps some.

Hugs,

Silly MI

In , " TadXL " <tadxl@y...> wrote:

> I don't understand. You mean to say that even witht he CI in the

ear

> you can still use a hearing aid on the same ear? I didn't know

that

> was possible. The wire that is placed in the Cochlea damages the

> normal function of it. I hope I understood what you were saying.

> Tad

>

>

[Guest guest]

Also remember that there is a Hybrid CI that is specifically done so that the

person can use the hearing aid in conjunction with the CI because there are

enough low tones left to let the hearing aid it's job. In this case, they work

together. If this is what is talking about, it's an entirely different

subject.

Again - in some people - some residual hearing remains even after the full CI is

done but I do not think that this residual hearing is useful for speech. I'm

quite sure that a CI Center would not implant an ear that has enough residual to

be useful.

Alice

I don't understand. You mean to say that even witht he CI in the ear

you can still use a hearing aid on the same ear? I didn't know that

was possible. The wire that is placed in the Cochlea damages the

normal function of it. I hope I understood what you were saying.

Tad

[Guest guest]

,

I had no idea this was happening. I was told by my Dr that it

wouldn't work with hearing aids so I figured that's the way it goes

for everyone after they get the CI. Well I don't see the point using

the HA anyway if the CI is going to do a much better job for you.

Most people getting the CI have to have a pretty heavy hearing lost

in order to be accepted as a candidate. My hearing aid I used for my

right ear is home collecting dust. haha. Not really. I have it being

stored in a dry box just incase I need it later for my other ear.

Thanks for that input.

Tad

> > I don't understand. You mean to say that even witht he CI in the

> ear

> > you can still use a hearing aid on the same ear? I didn't know

> that

> > was possible. The wire that is placed in the Cochlea damages the

> > normal function of it. I hope I understood what you were saying.

> > Tad

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Now, I'm learning, step by step!! In my case,I should assume that my residual

hearing cannot get any better, so my HA will be collecting dust, or I'll

dispose of it. I'm supposed to get an implant for the " better " ear, which is now

useless for HA.I have not had any hearing in my " bad " ear since birth, so am I

not entitled to an implant for that ear, as well?? I'm with Kaiser and

Medicare pays. Moses Katz

[Guest guest]

Moses,

As others have said, it's not that you're not entitled to an implant

for your bad ear, rather your surgeon will recommend which ear he

thinks has the best chance of having a succesful surgery to be

implanted.

There are several factors that help to determine this, tests,

discussions etc.

I think once you are getting the full benifit of your implant you

will find it is much better than anything you ever heard with a

hearing aid.. even in your good ear! i don't feel off balance or

anything like that having only one implant and I hear extremely well

with just the one implant. Only problem I have is localizing sound..

Telling exactly where it is coming from sometimes, especially if the

sound is coming from a distance. I can usually turn in one direction

or another though and judging by the loudness of the sound I can

reasonably tell which direction it's coming from.

It is something that will most likely take time and some hard work

and if you question any of your surgeons decisions, by all means ask

about it and get a full explanation for his reasoning.

learning step by step.. that's basically how the cochlear implant

process works; we were all in exactly the same spot you are in at

some time or another and we too learned step by step.. This will

hold true when you are implanted and activated too most likely..

step by step.. that's how you will learn to hear again. Lots of hard

work, but the outcome is definitely worth the work required.

Here's hoping all continues to go well for you.

cheers,

Silly MI

In , chinamoses@a... wrote:

> Now, I'm learning, step by step!! In my case,I should assume that

my residual

> hearing cannot get any better, so my HA will be collecting dust,

or I'll

> dispose of it. I'm supposed to get an implant for the " better "

ear, which is now

> useless for HA.I have not had any hearing in my " bad " ear since

birth, so am I

> not entitled to an implant for that ear, as well?? I'm with Kaiser

and

> Medicare pays. Moses Katz

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

The electrode will destroy the hearing you have.

In the case of hybrid implant, the electrode is short thus, it's only placed

on the " damaged " part of your cochlea, so it doesn't hurt the low frequency

hearing which is a bit farther than the outermost part of cochlea, so

hearing is retained.

Regards/

Jerome

Re: Re: I AM CONFUSED

there is a possibility that the " wire " will destroy what hearing you have

but it is possible to implant the electrodes without damaging anything

it happens often ... at least with the one doctor i go to and for

these

people they can use their HA but they don't that's why they got a CI

they found out that the HA still works just by playing around before hookup

[Guest guest]

Hi Dora,

As far as I know, it only helps when the patient's loss is in high

frequency, hence a shorter electrode is used, so the electrode does not

touch the low frequency hearing.

If you have low frequency loss, you will not have hybrid CI. There's no way

to put the electrode in the low pitch area of your cochlea without damaging

the high pitch area of your cochlea.

Regards/

Jerome

I Am Confused

Hi Moses

I believe the Hybrid CI is to help with whatever the patient's loss is

...whether with high or low pitches.The patient would gain hearing either

one.....the patient would have good hearing with either pitch before

receiving the hybrid so the Hybrid would only help with the pitches that

the patient was missing prior to implantation. They use their own natural

hearing for the pitches they still hear.No hearing aid is needed unless they

use one in the unimplanted ear.

Dora Weber

Nucleus Volunteer Advocate

dora_weber@...

Bilateral

N22-96

N24C-01

Cochlear Otosclerosis

[Guest guest]

Hi Tad,

Yes, that was possible, via hybrid implant.

Regards/

Jerome

Re: I AM CONFUSED

I don't understand. You mean to say that even witht he CI in the ear you can

still use a hearing aid on the same ear? I didn't know that was possible.

The wire that is placed in the Cochlea damages the normal function of it. I

hope I understood what you were saying.

Tad

> tad

> some people are able to use their HA in the implanted ear .... of

course it's

> not as good as a CI

> but their residual hearing wasn't damaged with the

implant the

> doctor here has had great success in not destroying residual

hearing so far

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I take Armour after my entire thyroid removed. There is alot of

conflicting advice re:

1. When adjusting dose, some info says its ok to increase weekly,

other info says increase only every 4-6 weeks? Which is right?

2. How long after dose change is best to have labs done?

3. What labs should be done?

JJ

[Guest guest]

>

> I take Armour after my entire thyroid removed. There is alot of

> conflicting advice re:

>

> 1. When adjusting dose, some info says its ok to increase weekly,

> other info says increase only every 4-6 weeks? Which is right?

>

> 2. How long after dose change is best to have labs done?

>

> 3. What labs should be done?

>

> JJ

>

It depends on the individual. My body takes at least a couple weeks

to adjust to a new dose. I had difficulty adjusting dose after 4

weeks. I find 6 weeks works for me. I recommend free and bound T3

and T4 at least 6 weeks after dose change. You are looking for

symptom reduction and T3 T4 in mid range.

[Guest guest]

, because you are now taking all the thyroid hormones your

body needs, your TGSH will be suppressed and your Free T3 will be well up in

the upper third of the reference range. I should imagine that with the level of

free T3 at 8.7 that you probably took your thyroid hormone replacement on the

same day you had your blood drawn for your TFT's. Is that right. T3 peaks in

the blood a couple of hours or so after taking any T3 containing product,

either synthetic or natural, so this is the reason we always advise that you

take no thyroid meds. for 24 hours before the blood draw, otherwise, you get a flawed

reading.

When you were hyperT with high levels of T3 this was causing

toxicity problems because this was your thyroid gland putting out too high a

level of T3. Now you have become hypoT, you need to take thyroid hormone

replacement, and you say that you do feel better for this and this is because

your body is getting the thyroid replacement your body needs. T3 has a very

short half life, as I said, it peaks in the blood a couple of hours after

taking it and then the level goes down during the day. T3's half life is between

1 and 2 days only, so don't worry that this level is going to build up even

higher the more you take. It won't.

However, I fail to understand why you are taking natural thyroid

extract at all if you say you feel equally as well taking the various

vitamins/minerals.

Luv - Sheila

Here's the bit I don't understand. It strikes me that there is little

difference, blood test wise, between the two thyroid states. Before I started

taking the thyroid-s, my T3 was 6.9 (can't recall the rest of the results but

that one stuck), so taking the natural thyroid extract has raised my T3 in the

same way the T3 thyrotoxicosis I was diagnosed with two years ago did.

If I continue to take the thyroid-s and raise my T4 & T3 levels, how is

that going to make me better? Don't get me wrong, I do feel better but I

actually feel equally as well for taking the various vitamins/minerals etc. I

just don't seem to be balancing my thyroid hormones out to optimal level, I

just seem to be raising T4 & 3.

Thanks for helping me understand

No virus

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18:35:00

[Guest guest]

Hi , Taking exogenous ( additional) thyroid hormones can put your own thyroid activity to sleep- so it can be controlled- sometimes this is done by a block and replace method. as RAI and surgery are irreversible. Ouside forms of thyroid replacement are often less well absrobed that your own which may explain why you feel better on the replacmement. Did you take NDt on the day of the test? you should stop for 24 hours before blood tests. If you don't, FT3 can look double what it actually is. > thyroid treatment > From: claire@...> Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:22:10 +0000> Subject: I am confused> > Hi all,> > I'm hoping someone can explain this to me because I really am very confused by it. > > When I was diagnosed with hyperT, my blood test results were virtually identical to those I had taken a couple of weeks ago when I am hypo:> > Blood tests hyperT / hypo> jan 08) (Jun 10)> > T4 (11.0 -24.0) 19.5 16.9 (10.0 - 19.8)*> TSH <0.1 <0.1 (0.3 - 5.5)> T3 8.7 8.7 (3.5 - 6.7)> > * they've changed the reference range for T4 in the last year> > Whilst hyperT I was given PTU and on 3 tablets a day, I felt pretty good. My blood tests then were T4= 9.2, TSH = <0.1, T3 = 5.1.> > Here's the bit I don't understand. It strikes me that there is little difference, blood test wise, between the two thyroid states. Before I started taking the thyroid-s, my T3 was 6.9 (can't recall the rest of the results but that one stuck), so taking the natural thyroid extract has raised my T3 in the same way the T3 thyrotoxicosis I was diagnosed with two years ago did. > > If I continue to take the thyroid-s and raise my T4 & T3 levels, how is that going to make me better? Don't get me wrong, I do feel better but I actually feel equally as well for taking the various vitamins/minerals etc. I just don't seem to be balancing my thyroid hormones out to optimal level, I just seem to be raising T4 & 3.> > Thanks for helping me understand > > > > > > ------------------------------------> > TPA is not medically qualified. Consult with a qualified medical practitioner before changing medication.> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Clare, the hormones T4-T3 have to be high in the range to put back in the body what the gland can not make as it is being attacked by auto-antibodies which stop it working properly. the TSH is an pituitaryhormone and not good at detecting thyroid problems so if the T$ is not converting to T3 you will get ReverseT3 and if it is then the T3 will be at the top of range and the T4 just above the middle or and just below the T4 in the range, yes I no complicated but read all you can from our files and the Internet to get a better idea .so to recap the TSH needs to be below 1.0 and can be quite low in the range , the range for this is 0.3-5.42or 0.5 -5.0. but is to wide and normal is 0.2- 2.0 or 0.3 -2.50. not the range that they are using now. hope this helps Angel.

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

I am glad to be part of your group - thank you. I am confused about the school

and exam. I live in California - I have read the 4 requirements to take the

exam and am still confused. Do I have to go to a formal school or can I self

study without any school and take the state board exam.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you so much. P. Young

[Guest guest]

Dear 4evr

In CA is the same as any state to take the PTCB because the PTCB is a national

volunteer exam which may be mandated by a state.

The state may impose more regulations:

" Requirements

High school diploma or its equivalent

(e.g., a GED or foreign diploma).

No felony conviction.

No drug or pharmacy related convictions,

including misdemeanors. These violations

must be disclosed to PTCB.

No denial, suspension, revocation, or restriction of registration or licensure,

consent order or other restriction by any State Board of Pharmacy. No admission

of misconduct or violation of regulations of any State Board of Pharmacy. "

Source:

http://www.ptcb.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=About_the_Exam1 & Template=/CM/Content\

Display.cfm & ContentID=4083

Hope this helps,

Jeanetta Mastron

>

> Hello all,

>

> I am glad to be part of your group - thank you. I am confused about the

school and exam. I live in California - I have read the 4 requirements to take

the exam and am still confused. Do I have to go to a formal school or can I

self study without any school and take the state board exam.

>

> Any input would be appreciated. Thank you so much. P. Young

>