I don’t have a lot to say today, but I know some of you might want to know how my appointment with the Audiologist went. He said I am having some hearing loss, especially hearing consonants. He told me hearing aids would help with both the hearing loss and the tinnitus. He wants me to see and ENT (otolaryngologist) to get a medical diagnosis because otherwise my health insurance won’t cover the hearing aids. I doubt my insurance will cover much of the cost anyway, and it will probably be an aggravating process.
I have the same concerns re surgery to remove cataracts in my right- and best- eye. It's despicable that Americans have to be so concerned re the cost of necessary medical procedures.
ReplyDelete@Rob T,
ReplyDeleteHere in Province of Québec and Canada our universal healthacare is paying for ALL of those doctors fees: Ophtalmologist, Audiologist or Otorinologist etc. I know many ones like my own brother and friends who had this eye surgery with no charge,
For you Joe, it also pays for a basic earing aid.
You live in Heaven. SO MANY Americans, especially older, are bankrupted by the cost of medical care in this country. I have good insurance but I'm not sure yet what I will have to pay for cataract surgery.
DeleteI worked for a bankruptcy lawyer in college. The majority of our clients had either gotten sick or had an accident and their medical bills became so overwhelming they were in jeopardy of losing everything they had to pay the medical bills. Their only option was to file bankruptcy. I remember one older couple. He had worked for USPS and his mail truck had fallen on him and crushed his back. Even though he was working for the government and it was worker's comp, he was still saddled with over $1 million in medical bills. They didn't have that money, nor would they ever be able to pay it off. There are so many stories like that. My medical expenses are for quality of life, but cancer can bankrupt someone very easily and the choice is take on the medical debt or die. There isn't any other choice.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your hearing, Joe.
ReplyDeleteIn France we have a good state system (it's not free, the money is necessarily taken from salaries). Mutual insurance companies, which are not obligatory, can supplement the costs.
JiEL , vous êtes connu comme le loup blanc : https://stevexs-allnatural.blogspot.com/
ReplyDelete@uvdp,
ReplyDeleteMon dieu, je ne connaissais pas ce surnom. Je suis Stevexs depuis des années et qu'il ait édité notre gymnaste québécois me fais plaisir car trop souvent ces américains sont trop chauvins et oulient qu'il y a d'autres personnes dans le monde à part eux.
JiEL , moi je suis https://video.lefigaro.fr/figaro/video/jo-de-natation-une-photo-du-plongeur-jules-boyer-en-slip-moulant-de-vient-virale/
ReplyDeleteBien sur que j'ai vu ce magnifique Jules B. Je ne suis pas fan des barbes mais lui je lui pardonnerais bien. Je découvre au fil des jeux de Paris tant de beaux mecs. Mon dernier est l'américain Heath Baldwin, au décathlon. Jeune et superbe pour ne pas dire mignon. Il est du Michigan et à 20ans il a un bel avenir.
DeleteReturning to the original post, Joe, I'd suggest that the temporary annoyance of working the insurance system may be worth the permanent upgrade to your hearing. I hope it all works out for the best.
ReplyDeleteHearing aids will definitely help with tinnitus - they don't make the noise go away, but they increase the sounds around you (especially if you have hearing loss) so that voices, music, or just the ambient sounds of the day around you (even when it is quiet) drown out the tinnitus. And the trick with hearing aids is to put them in your ears first thing in the morning, and take them out last thing at night. Full time. That way you train your brain to hear (not your ears). I have worn hearing aids for about 17 years now and wouldn't be without them.
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ReplyDeleteSorry for all the "deleted comments" - I pressed "Publish" and nothing happened, so I pressed again, and again, and again - then all of a sudden all of the comments appeared! All identical. I deleted the identical ones.
ReplyDelete