Posts by Jesse Sanchez90

silentpanther15 said:taking a stagecoach through Nepal. 😁

Haha, fair enough! 😁 — I wasn't actually talking about having stuff shipped right to my front door; I meant more along the lines of whether it's possible to do what they do over at Bikestor Graz. You know, where you order everything through the website but select a specific local shop for pickup instead.
My bad, I guess I still have this literal idea of what "webshop" means stuck in my head! 😛

silentpanther15 said:Come on... Lapierre is such a high-end, classy brand.
The finish quality is honestly stunning.
They really are beautiful bikes.
They might not look like much in photos, but when you see them in person, you notice all those little details that make them truly 'special.'😉

I’m a huge fan of those little details myself, even things as simple as the choice of brakes, for example.
At the end of the day, you don't buy a bike just to show off what Matan has in his garage...
What I care about way more is the overall value and how perfectly everything is integrated and tuned together.😛

silentpanther15 said:A few top-tier Lapierre full-suspension bikes just flew off the shelves over in Miami.
I actually went out for a ride with the owners.
You should definitely check them out.
I can't recall the exact name of the bike shop, though.

I’m guessing you mean Davor bika, owned by Davor Devide.
Unfortunately, their website is totally down right now, so we'll just have to do things the old-fashioned way and drop by.
Thanks for the tip! 👍

Chloe Stewart58 said:don't be like everyone else—ride a Radon like I do

http://www.radon-bikes.de/startseite/index.html

but grab your gear here:

http://www.bike-discount.de/?lg=en

good luck!🙂

To be totally honest, I haven't heard of that brand before, but since I'm still deep in the research phase, I'll take any good recommendation I can get!
Quick question though: if you order through that site, how does the shipping process work?

Does anyone here happen to know much about this French bike manufacturer? I’m specifically looking into their trekking and hybrid models.
Looking over the specs, they seem pretty impressive.
I’ve also been eyeing some bikes from Marin and Cube, but those feel a bit too "everyday" for what I'm after right now.😁

The goal is something for the road, but I definitely want the option to hop onto a gravel path or a dirt trail if needed—so a pure road bike is totally out of the question. Right now, I’m riding a Harley-Davidson MTB, which has actually been great, but whenever I try to keep pace with someone on a trekking bike on the pavement, my MTB just feels sluggish and slow.
Honestly, I feel the struggle too...🤣

I did consider checking out some Italian brands, but from what I can tell, they tend to stick to a very strict divide between MTBs and road bikes. It makes sense, though, since this whole trekking category seems to be more of a Northern European specialty.

Nicole Myers18 said:Does anyone have a rough idea of what my disability percentage might look like?

You really ought to dig through the federal regulations in the Federal Register to find the specific guidelines.

Peter Cooper5 said:I’m trying to wrap my head around what this actually means, specifically how it stacks up against someone with normal hearing:

The tone audiogram shows bilateral moderate hearing loss, with the right ear sitting between 50 and 60dB, and the left between 45 and 60 dB.

The actual loss is 53dB on the right and 56dB on the left.

----

So, basically, what’s life like for everyone else versus what it's like for me? What's the real difference here? Mind you, this test is from 2006, so I'm planning to get a fresh one done at the start of 2010.

So, what you’re really getting at is that the line representing your hearing threshold being "closer" to that 0dB mark is a good thing—even though, honestly, 10dB is still a perfectly solid number. It's all about those tiny nuances. It isn't quite like how most people typically perceive the difference between raw numbers; it's more about where you sit on that specific scale.

How much of your hearing has actually been recovered thanks to the hearing aid? I’m planning on showing my follow-up audiogram once I've been using the device for a while, as I'm expecting to see a positive trend in the results.

Susan Rodriguez4 said:Hi everyone.
I thought I might share our experience to help you out a bit. My husband struggles with hearing loss (not just when he's listening to me, haha🙂), tinnitus, ringing in his ears, and trouble making sense of what people are saying. He’s been through almost everything here in the States—from Mayo Clinic to various specialists and local hospitals. Nothing works, nothing improves, and frankly, it feels like none of our doctors really take this seriously.
He finally got the chance to go to Los Angeles to visit one of the top hearing clinics in the country for testing. We met an amazing doctor who explained things clearly: one ear has some hearing loss (in terms of pure volume), but speech clarity is still okay. However, the other ear is a disaster in both volume and clarity. He told us that the fix for the speech comprehension issue is a cochlear implant, but they don't perform the surgery while the other ear is still functioning well because the difference in sound quality can be incredibly disorienting for patients. As for just "boosting" the volume? That's what a hearing aid is for.
Bottom line: a hearing aid doesn't actually help him understand speech better; it just makes the sounds louder.

Actually... 🙄

I think I should add some nuance to that point above—it really all depends on the specific type of hearing loss you're dealing with and where the damage actually sits.

For instance, if you’re dealing with conductive hearing loss, simply boosting the volume *does* lead to better understanding. This is because the sensory apparatus—those tiny hair cells responsible for processing specific frequencies—remains intact. In this case, the issue is just a "delivery" problem along the standard auditory pathway. If you can just crank up the volume enough to get that sound through to the inner ear, you're golden: more volume equals better comprehension.

On the flip side, sensorineural hearing loss is a different beast entirely, caused by damage to either the auditory nerve or those frequency-specific hair cells. In that scenario, the original claim holds a lot of weight: cranking up the volume doesn't necessarily mean you'll understand speech any better. However, unless every single one of those cells is completely wiped out, increasing the volume can help stimulate the remaining healthy cells, which allows your brain to piece together what was heard.

Otherwise, wearing hearing aids wouldn't be of any use at all!

Peter Cooper5 said:Finally, let's get into this, because honestly, it’s such a struggle finding anyone who actually gets what I mean when I say, "I'm out in public, everyone is talking, but I can't understand a single word they're saying." 😬 It’s basically the same deal for me—I have a hard time following conversations, especially if someone drops a fancy word or some slang that isn't used much. Then you’re just sitting there praying they’ll repeat themselves. And honestly? I’m kind of terrified about what happens when I eventually have kids. I don't want to be that parent constantly asking my own child to repeat themselves i980239483'2 times, especially since I barely catch what kids are saying as it is. For me, it's a mess; I've got nerve damage from an insanely high fever when I was just a few months old.

Why is that? 😕
It sounds like a classic case of sensorineural hearing loss.

Have you had any professional audiological evaluations done yet? 😉

Amanda Hughes5 said:Seriously, huge thanks 😉👍
I honestly don’t even know if I’m smart enough to figure this out myself... I’ll just keep an eye on things for a bit—see what else I can piece together 😉
That whole thing with the Bah situation is hitting me pretty hard. For real.

Of course—it's entirely up to you...
Everyone knows best what works for them. For instance, I actually tried out a BAHA device today that you can wear on a headband instead of having it surgically implanted. Though... that might be a slightly tricky sell for a guy... 🙄
I'm not sure how things work locally (sometimes when they only have one model in stock, you don't get much choice), but in a place like New York, for example, it's totally standard for them to let you trial a device for at least seven days. That way, you can test it under all sorts of different conditions to really get a feel for its performance and decide if it’s actually worth dropping all that cash...
Good luck! 👍

Amanda Hughes5 said:I don't know... I just get this nagging feeling like they aren't even 100% focused on what I'm actually saying. It’s like—get this—they aren't even listening to the full story before they start jumping to conclusions based on maybe two sentences? And there I am, trying to explain my whole situation from start to finish, but they’ve already decided they know everything—throwing out diagnoses and whatnot—when I haven't even finished describing the damn problem yet. Seriously, what is that? 🤷
Yeah, exactly. The whole mess is actually rooted in the middle ear.

Look, if everything is absolutely perfect—I mean, we’re talking one-on-one, sitting face-to-face in a dead-silent room with zero background noise—then yeah, I can catch every single word at 100%. No mistakes, no nothing. But let's be real, who actually lives in those conditions?
Honestly, once there’s more than a couple of people at the table, I'm basically toast—I just can't keep up. It becomes this massive struggle trying to catch every single word someone says, and the second someone jumps into the conversation? Total meltdown. If it's a group discussion... yeah, I'm completely lost. And don't even get me started on trying to hear anything in a loud restaurant, sitting out on a patio next to a busy highway, or being in a club... forget it. Just total white noise. ☕ So, just to clear things up—these are all cases where they aren't using an Apparatus.
And honestly? This apparatus is just straight-up messing with my head—it’s creating total chaos. 😕 So, I’m out here on the road, and man, everything is just... loud. Like, aggressively loud. Every little sound is hitting me at full volume—it’s almost overwhelming. And get this—people are actually telling me that this is totally normal? Seriously? Is there some kind of secret club where everyone just accepts living in a world that sounds like it's turned up to eleven? Because right now, it feels like a lot. 🤷But man, being out in a crowd? That’s where the struggle really hits home again... especially when you're stuck in a room full of background noise and everyone's talking at once. It’s just a total mess.
So, there are times when I just can't make out what anyone is saying—like, at all—and I lose track of where the sound is even coming from. Half the time, I don't even realize someone is talking to me in the first place. It's like I'm totally tuned out without even trying. 😲 Honestly, in a situation like that—I don't know—I might actually be better off without it? 🤷)

Hmm... Microton is a company that was the first of its kind in this area, so naturally, they established themselves as the primary hearing aid dealers a long time ago. The thing about being the first is that it brings in a massive amount of business, but over the years, you can start to develop that typical American corporate burnout—focusing entirely on quantity rather than quality. 🙄
I've actually had some friction with them lately myself. Even when Phonak headquarters tells them it isn't impossible to connect certain components of the device, I don't get the impression that Microton is particularly impressed by that information.

As for your second point... that really comes down to the technical limitations of the hardware. You have to keep in mind that to achieve what you're describing, the device would need the ability to localize sound, which clearly isn't happening. To do that effectively, you really need at least one healthy ear.
And what you mentioned about being in cafes? That’s completely understandable. Again, you need a healthy ear that has specific groups of hair cells for every frequency, reacting accordingly to the stimulus. Hearing aids simply don't have that capability, nor can they replicate the incredibly fine-tuned processing of the human ear—especially in our local spots where they blast music like we're in a nightclub instead of just sitting down for a quiet soda, beer, or a cup of coffee where you should be able to read the paper in peace.

Ultimately, the big difference between BAHA and a standard hearing aid is how the sound travels. A standard aid amplifies a signal that still has to travel from the outer ear, through the ear canal to the eardrum, then through the tiny bones to the inner ear, where it's converted into a nerve impulse sent to the brain. That entire pathway is prone to sound dispersion and loss, so the question is always how much of that signal actually reaches the critical spot where it gets encoded into an impulse for understanding. With BAHA, it's a different story—you bypass a huge chunk of that dispersion because the sound doesn't have to travel through the outer ear or the canal to hit the eardrum. This ensures that the sound retains more of its original intensity. Just cranking a standard aid up to the maximum input won't help; once you cross that threshold, the device can't pull anything more out of the signal, and even the best ear won't be able to make sense of such distorted amplification.

Amanda Hughes5 said:Hey Ugly....it's me, 🙂
First off... seriously, thanks a million for all the replies 👍

I'm rocking a Unitron Moxi right now, in my left ear—that's the weaker one.
Before this, I was using a Widex CIC 2, an in-the-canal style.
Honestly? Neither of them has done it for me. That first one was tucked deep in my ear, fully digital, but every single time I spoke or even just chewed some food, the thing would practically jump out of my ear. A total disaster. I was hearing sounds I’d never heard before in my life, but as far as actually understanding what people were saying? Zero. Zilch. And to top it off, after every two words, I had to physically shove it back into my ear with my finger 😠
The second one is behind-the-ear, also digital (it adjusts its own volume based on the environment), with that thin little wire running into the ear canal ending in the attachment that delivers the sound.
But... my speech comprehension is still basically non-existent if there's any background noise, or if I'm stuck at a table with three, four, five, or more people (I usually just tune out immediately because I can't keep up), or even when watching TV (I can't even follow movies from the old US regions)... and honestly, the sound was better with my old device 🤷—cleaner and sharper. Look, let's be real... I spent a ton of time over at Microton trying to dial in the perfect volume level for that specific device... but we just couldn't get anywhere near it 🤷
And you know what the absolute worst part is? The folks over at Suvag told me this device was 100% perfect for my specific issue ☕ so I really don't get it—how can someone claim that's the case when it's their entire career, yet after wearing it for just two or three hours, I'm convinced it's actually worse than my old setup 🤷

Microton is my company too... 😉

Regarding that company you mentioned—hmm... I think I've come across that name before, but I don't know much about them, though one of the managers at Microton insists they are a solid company.
When it comes to the big players, Widex is a leader, and alongside Phonak and Oticon, they really are the cream of the crop in terms of options.

As for Suvag, there are plenty of other specialized centers out there. Personally, for all my testing and fittings, I've always gone to the audio center at the local University Hospital—I consider their audiology department to be excellent.
Regarding the issue of separating different sounds—unfortunately, unless it's a technical limitation of the hardware itself, there isn't much that can be done. We're talking about the technological limits of the devices; they simply can't separate all the incoming sounds the way a natural human ear does.
I also find it incredibly difficult during business meetings; in those settings, I spend a lot of time staring at people just so I can try to figure out which voice belongs to whom. Over time, I've learned to recognize certain characteristic traits of people, but that's more about personal adaptation rather than something a hearing aid can fix.
Regrettably, I can't speak to the features of modern digital aids since I personally wear exclusively analog ones: all those fancy little settings for reducing noise, boosting volume, or directional focus—I don't have them, so I can't comment on how effective they are.

About that BTE (behind-the-ear) device—that thin part in the ear is technically supposed to direct sound toward the eardrum. However, it doesn't make sense to me: if they identified the problem as being in the middle ear, how do they expect that amplified sound from the device to pass through the middle ear to reach the inner ear (where the actual hearing cells are located) to achieve comprehension if the issue is in the middle ear in the first place?!?🤷

I still think he’d be an excellent candidate for the Baha system. I actually spent some time chatting with a lady today who uses one, and it was honestly mind-blowing hearing her explain how she can pinpoint exactly where a sound is coming from even with just a single device 😛 my deep respect.....

You keep bringing up this issue regarding sound clarity—could you dive a little deeper into that?
See, there is a massive difference between struggling to understand any sound at all (like someone speaking directly to you one-on-one) versus the struggle of picking out a single voice in a crowded room. That second scenario is actually pretty common and usually just comes down to the technical limitations of the device itself. However, if it's the first one—where you simply can't make sense of speech even in a quiet setting 🙄—that's a major red flag indicating the device is completely wrong for you. 👎

Amanda Hughes5 said:Thanks, Hey Ugly 👍 (that’s just a little nod to your handle, don't get the wrong idea...🙄)

The hearing loss hits both sides, though it’s way more intense in my left ear. I actually managed to snag this Apparatus through $333 via Medicare... otherwise, it would've run me about $1333...
And if I were to grab two... hm 🙄...I can get one at a discount through Medicare every five years, but I'd have to pay full price out of pocket for the second one 🤷...which isn't exactly a great plan, especially since I'm not even super thrilled with what I'm wearing right now (and honestly, wasn't feeling the previous pair much either).
Anyway, thanks a ton, 👍

It is what it is—I made my choice, so I’ll be the one living with whatever consequences come from it. 😉

If I can offer any advice, please take more time to really think this through. Personally, I've been wearing hearing aids for about 27 years now. Because of the specific nature of my hearing loss (mine is conductive), I actually had to rely on those very primitive, analog models for a long time. None of that fancy-schmancy digital programming or high-tech processing...
For my situation, BAHA is absolutely the way to go, especially lately since manufacturers have basically decided to phase out the analog devices that I personally rely on. It feels like I've been backed into a corner where I don't have much of a choice, even though I've been considering BAHA for quite a while. For me, the ultimate goal is simply the superior delivery of the sound signal; having that clarity allows me to live my life independently and earn my own way rather than relying on anyone else's charity.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention earlier—to give you some perspective on why functional hearing is so vital: I actually finished Medical School using my hearing aids, and today I practice as a physician. Everything I do is driven by one single objective: achieving the best possible threshold for sound perception.
🙏

Best regards,

Amanda Hughes5 said:Thanks, Hey Ugly 👍 (that’s just a little nod to your handle, don't get the wrong idea...🙄)

The hearing loss hits both sides, though it’s way more intense in my left ear. I actually managed to snag this Apparatus through $333 via Medicare... otherwise, it would've run me about $1333...
And if I were to grab two... hm 🙄...I can get one at a discount through Medicare every five years, but I'd have to pay full price out of pocket for the second one 🤷...which isn't exactly a great plan, especially since I'm not even super thrilled with what I'm wearing right now (and honestly, wasn't feeling the previous pair much either).
Anyway, thanks a ton, 👍

☕
Hmm—that still doesn't tell me all that much. I'm still in the dark regarding whether the cause of the hearing loss is sensorineural or conductive.

Personally, I tend to think that if you aren't achieving what you need with one device, adding a second one won't necessarily fix the problem. Realistically speaking, hearing aids are designed to amplify external sound and deliver that information to where it can be processed. If your internal data is being lost somewhere along the line, having more devices doesn't mean "better" hearing in terms of sheer volume; they just offer a bit of improvement in things like sound localization or through specific programmed modes and adjustments.

Which device are you currently using? 😕

Amanda Hughes5 said:So, here’s what I’ve gathered... an operation in the States runs you about $30,000, but honestly? I am not exactly jumping for joy over what they showed 😲

I mean, that is a massive amount of cash just to wear some kind of permanent head ornament for the rest of your life—something you have to scrub daily with a toothbrush and pop antibiotics for just to keep an infection from moving in...

You’re basically paying for a lifetime supply of a trinket stuck to your head 😲😲 for that kind of money 😕

Man, it's like seeing a car sitting in a parking lot, rusting away into scrap metal every single day, when we don't actually need it for our daily lives instead of just enjoying a good old-fashioned song, right?
I'm not trying to judge anyone here—not at all! I just wanted to offer a little perspective: just because something is socially accepted doesn't mean we shouldn't stop and question if it's actually necessary. 🙄

Amanda Hughes5 said:So, here’s what I’ve gathered... an operation in the States runs you about $30,000, but honestly? I am not exactly jumping for joy over what they showed 😲

I mean, that is a massive amount of cash just to wear some kind of permanent head ornament for the rest of your life—something you have to scrub daily with a toothbrush and pop antibiotics for just to keep an infection from moving in...

You’re basically paying for a lifetime supply of a trinket stuck to your head 😲😲 for that kind of money 😕

☕
I totally get why you aren't sold on it—but really, this is the only true alternative to the current hearing aids that you mentioned you find "okay" but not great. 😲

There are some options involving real-world applications too, like those middle ear implantable hearing aids from companies like Otologics. However, we don't have nearly as many personal stories from individual users using those yet.

The real question is what you actually want out of this whole ordeal: is it purely about improving your hearing function, or are you worried about burning through your savings before you even get to enjoy the results? The US has always been the pricier option when you weigh everything up. You have to factor in the cost of the surgery itself, which is a major variable in any economy, depending on how your insurance and coverage landscape looks. Europe tends to be a bit more affordable in that regard.
On the flip side—maintaining the device is a chore, I get it. But let me ask you: are you diligent about brushing your teeth? If something is truly vital to you, like being able to chew properly or actually hearing your daughter's voice, then you'll probably make a much more rational decision for or against the whole thing. 🤷

Regarding the money side of things, there might be a way to handle it: if none of the standard hearing aids provide enough improvement (which depends on what you've tried so far—usually, you can trial devices to see what works for your specific needs), you could look into requesting the surgery in a different location and trying to split the costs between your primary insurance and supplemental coverage. 😉

When we start deviating from how nature intended us to work, we have to realize one thing: artificial intelligence is still a long way off from replicating what nature does naturally. So, on a personal level, you have to think about it with a bit of Machiavellian pragmatism: does the end justify the means? Or more importantly: does it actually justify the cost?!
Do you want to hear your child telling you they love you? Or hearing them tell you they're in pain?
The paths are there; you just have to be brave enough to push past your own fear of the unknown. 🙄

Amanda Hughes5 said:Is it even possible that I can't get a single decent answer around here? 😕😕😕

(I mean, probably not—since he hasn't even shown up yet, right? 🙄)

Well, I just stumbled right into this one...😛

Here’s the thing—from what you’ve described, I don't have a crystal clear picture of your exact situation, though it seems pretty obvious that your hearing loss was caused by a bout of meningitis.🤷

Do a quick Google search for "BONE ANCHORED HEARING AID." It refers to a specific type of device that is surgically implanted into a certain spot on the mastoid (that bone right behind your ear). This method has actually been around for about 30 years, but it took some time to really mature after being developed from Scandinavian innovations. It’s used to treat people with conductive hearing loss, and in some cases, even certain types of sensorineural loss.
There are essentially two main players here: Cochlear, which acquired Entific (who originally developed the first concept based on Professor Branemark's work), and then there's Oticon, which teamed up with Oticon Medical to develop their own version called the Point.
The big difference between the two comes down to the shape. The Cochlear design hasn't changed much since its inception, so it tends to look a bit blocky. On the other hand, American audiologists who have worked with the Point say the design follows the natural curves of the skull much better. It's hard to say for sure without seeing them both in person, though.
In our local clinics, they don't typically perform these implantations, but from what I know, specialists at major teaching hospitals often recommend getting them handled through specialized centers out of state. I'm not sure if Medicare covers these requests—their guidelines still seem stuck in the Stone Age, listing outdated models that belong in a museum rather than a clinic.

Regarding your actual hearing and spatial awareness: you have to keep in mind that no matter how far technology advances, it will always struggle to perfectly replicate nature. That said, having better hearing definitely makes adapting to different environments a lot easier.
You didn't mention if your hearing loss is bilateral or just on one side. If it's both ears, you might want to think about symmetrical hearing aid support, though the specific device you're currently using and how it's tuned plays a massive role in that decision.

I noticed you mentioned being worried about the size of your Ear, but honestly, that has absolutely nothing to do with your hearing—it’s just the way you’re built.

Just stay brave—get online, do your research, and step out of the shadows... 👍