Credit where credit is due

Hearing Aids
#1

Costco Phillips 9030 internal battery died, took to Costco to be sent in. Been using my ‘backup’ ReSound BTE since the Phillips died.

Meanwhile, on June 15th I heard some suspicious ‘clicking’ sounds in my right (the one that works, a little) ear, and noticed increased loss. Went to doc - no need for all the details but hospital in Houston with good reputation - and she verified the ear drum had developed a small hole. Ofoxacin + Amoxicillin and test hearing again in a week. She put some steroid drops through the hole, into the middle ear (with the stapes prosthesis) and that seemed to increase hearing significantly, for a while. Might have been surface tension sealing the hole, who knows? Back for a repeat test and steroid injection in one week, due back for re-check in one more week.

Yesterday Costco called me in to pick up the repaired Phillips. The Hearing Aid Specialist there - who is the very best hearing aid person I’ve ever known (since I started with hearing aids in 1973) - took a picture through the otoscope of the hole in the drum. Did her usual careful, comprehensive testing (including real ear measurement) and worked her magic on the repaired Phillips 9030. I swear, she plays the software like (insert name of famous concert pianist here) plays the piano! I’ve lost about 15 dB on the low end, maybe 5 dB on higher freqs., and she made it sound better than before the battery died.

So in the last few weeks I’ve had two tests at the ear doc and one at Costco. All show about the same results (which is reassuring) but I have to give credit where it is due - the Hearing Aid Specialist at Costco is still the best. Not every hearing aid person at every Costco - but this one in particular deserves mention.

Those on this forum who know me know that getting a compliment out of me is like squeezing blood out of a stone, but this experience is special.

If the hole in the ear drum heals, or anything changes, I’ll come back to update this.

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#2

OK I wrote that on July 19th and have been back and forth to an ENT and Costco, and am delighted to report that as of Wednesday 08/23/23 the hole in my ear drum has healed, and much of the low-frequency loss (additional loss, over and above my “normal” loss) was regained.

I’ve updated my audiogram to illustrate this. The song says “When you ain’t got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose” but the corollary is that when you’ve only got a little bit, you can’t afford to lose any more.

So I’m happy, and will be going back to Costco so the Magician Lady can re-tune the 9030,

Been reading all I can about “Swimmer’s Ear” and how to prevent it. This episode is a repeat of one in 2019 - and my ENT at the time (since retired) suggested Auro-Dri drops; essentially 95% isopropal alcohol - to dry the ear canal (as long as the hole is healed). Told me that if I put alcohol in the ear canal before the hole healed, they’d have to scrape me off the ceiling because of the pain.

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