I had another hearing test on Tuesday.  The results are exactly the same
as the test on the 4th.  60% speech recognition.  So, the good news is
that it's stabilized.  The bad news is that it didn't get any better.  On
Wednesday, I started decreasing the prednisone.  I will decrease by 10mg
every week, so only 5 more weeks to go.  Dr. Gantz at UIHC says that since
the prednisone did seem to help restore some of the hearing, that if I
suffer another attack I should go back up to 60mg, and/or try another
immunosuppresant.  

So, I can't get a cochlear implant in my left ear at this point in time.
I mean, I can, but I don't want to.  There's just too much hearing left 
there that I don't want to destroy it.  I'm having Barry call around to
hearing aid places for me, and hope to go next week to talk to someone
about it.  The digital hearing aids these days, while expensive, seem to
be quite like implants.  They can be programmed to only enhance the 
sounds that are harder to hear.  And, if the hearing deteriorates further,
they can be reprogrammed.  They aren't amplifying every sound like old
fashioned hearing aids.  So, I think that might be the way to go for the
time being.  All with a 30-day trial period, of course.  

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