Rush Limbaugh's Cochlear Implant Surgery a Success

Drudge Report ^ | 12/20/2001 | Matt Drudge

[Pokey78]

House Ear Clinic/House Ear Institute Public Statement

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Antonio De la Cruz, M.D., of the House Ear Clinic/House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, performed Rush Limbaugh's cochlear implant surgery yesterday. Dr. De la Cruz and Jennifer Derebery, M.D., have been treating Mr. Limbaugh for hearing loss as a result of Auto- Immune Inner Ear Disease (AIED). After a period of treatment with medication in an effort to save his residual hearing, Mr. Limbaugh and his physicians decided to proceed with a cochlear implant to restore his hearing. Mr. Limbaugh was moving around easily after several hours of post-surgery bed rest at St. Vincent Medical Center yesterday, where Dr. De la Cruz performed his cochlear implant surgery as an outpatient.

"I feel great!" said Rush Limbaugh. "The surgery went smoothly and I'm looking forward to enjoying the holidays and returning to the air in early January."

"Mr. Limbaugh's cochlear implant surgery at the House Ear Clinic yesterday went very well," said Antonio De la Cruz, M.D., House Ear Clinic/House Ear Institute. "As we expected, Mr. Limbaugh responded very well to the surgery, which lasted about two hours, and he was sent home this morning. Rush has the approval of his physicians at the House Ear Clinic to return to work in early January."

"Mr. Limbaugh won't be ready to use his cochlear implant until a recovery period of several weeks is completed," said Antonio De la Cruz, M.D., House Ear Clinic/House Ear Institute. "Mr. Limbaugh will be able to work and resume his other activities during the post-surgery recovery period while his incision is healing."

Rush Limbaugh will return to the House Ear Clinic in a few weeks to be fitted with the external unit for his cochlear implant. At the Clinic, Mr. Limbaugh's cochlear implant use will be activated in an initial stimulation and mapping session with his audiologist. He will hear sound for the first time since he lost his residual hearing.

"This cochlear implant will reconnect Mr. Limbaugh to his environment, and that is an important benefit to his quality of life," said Antonio De la Cruz, M.D., House Ear Clinic/House Ear Institute.

Two components make up the external unit worn behind the ear by cochlear implant users -- a microphone, which receives environmental sounds and transmits them to a speech processor, where mechanical sounds are then converted into a processed electrical signal. This processed signal is sent to the brain via the implanted electrodes within the inner ear. The quality of sound received through a cochlear implant is different from the quality of sound processed through a natural ear, but with time and training, most implant users learn to converse easily.

[The Right Stuff]

Dittos from another fan. My mom and I were thinking that this was up when he signed off on Tuesday. God Bless you, Rush!

[LS]

As Rush has explained it, even with the implant, he will never again be able to listen to music. So much for his beloved Mannheim Steamroller. Sad.

[Scully]

You rock, Rush! All my best hopes for the complete restoration of your hearing!

[VA Advogado]

I cannot help but wonder how different the cochlear sound is compared to regular sound.

I'm thinking it sounds like you live in a sea shell.

[The Wizard]

I wish all the best for Rush....

[LS]

I stand corrected: rightontheleftcoast says you CAN hear music. My error.

[boop]

I KNOW I shouldn't go to DU, but sometimes I just can't resist. It's like seeing a gory accident, horrible, yet I cannot look away. Sometimes it is amusing, when someone will post something that "disagrees" with the liberal dogma. They get crushed. Sorry to see that liberals delight in Rush's condition. No matter how much I hate liberalism, I would never wish for them to get cancer.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I meant the deaf actress

Isn't that Marlee Matlin? The one who is now working for President Martin Sheen on The West Wing.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Marlee Matlin = deaf actress
Mary Matalin = serpent-head's wife

[Dagny Taggart]

Liberals are so disgusting that I think they were happy when this wonderful man went deaf. They thought they were rid of him, but HA HA. Rush Rules!! He united this country in conservative-Americanism with one voice and he will be around long after liberalism is dead. He will be around 'til "Everyone In America Agrees With Him". God Bless Rush Limbaugh.

[RetiredArmy]

Great for Rush. Happy day. Rush: may the Good Lord bless you with the sound of life again. Get well quickly!

[SaveTheChief]

Someone was talking about his voice, and so on. He said one day that because of his hearing loss, which he was unaware was as bad as it was, his voice (to him) sounded like a chipmunk (too high and fast) and he had the technicians slow him down until he sounded normal to himself. That was the period when to us, his voice sounded deep and, I don't know, pretentious or something -- un-Rush-like.

Rush said earlier this week that the perceived change in his voice was due to a bad component in the audio gear used to broadcast the show. Yes, they tried to do some electronic manipulation that made up for the problem they had not yet discovered, but IMHO it made him sound worse.

His voice now sounds like it always has.

[jaz.357]

OK RUSTY,,NEED YOU BACK IN FRONT OF THE GOLDEN EIB MICROPHONE ASAP! TOM DA-A$$HOLE IS IN NEED OF A SPANKING! GOD BLESS YOU CHANG LIMBANG! HOPE YOUR RIGHT EAR IS THE FIRST TO WORK! ALL THE BEST AND DITTOS TO YOU AND MARTA..JAZ IN RICHMOND.

[Publius6961]

Ah ha! Sungirl was right!

All right I give up.
What was Sungirl right about?

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Okay, okay, I'll chill. But understand, there's a subculture of the deaf community that is resolutely anti-implant. They use terms like "genocide" to describe it... no kiddin'. And they never miss an opportunity to malign or misrepresent what the implant is or can do for people. Sorry, but having received a few valentines from that crowd as an FDA guinea pig for the implant, I'm a bit hypersensitive to that sort of thing. Do a google search on "Harlan Lane" sometime, if you dare. Really, these people have got to be heard to be believed.

[FairWitness]

It is bad enough to have to deal with Liberals with "one hand tied behind his back". Thank goodness it seems he will get some hearing back!

[Inge_CAV]

Thanks Sungirl, This is good news!

[Dacus943]

Hear, Hear!!!