Posted on 12/20/2001 1:40:49 PM PST by 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.
Sounds like they're working from the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton Playbook. The "Poverty Pimp" principles can be used in all kinds of venues.
I bet you could rig up a convenient outrigger (hang on her belt, or place it in a fanny pack) with high capacity NiCads or NiMhs in something from Sub-C to D size that would go for a couple of days. Or maybe even a small sealed lead-acid gelcell pack. No?
Old hat tin hat one two three... :)
In other words, perfectly normal? :)
(Or did you mean da yoop, eh? [g,d&r])
Hey, I imagine just hearing his wife's voice will be music to his ears!
Norb in Jacksonville
That's almost exactly what Rush himself said, on-air.
Thanks for the info and the corroboration.
Now there's a great idea! And you know, it doesn't sound so far-fetched to me.
What? You don't want Rita X to have her free speech rights?
Rita X hasn't been heard from for a long, long time. Thank goodness.
You are right. One of the ways doctors tell a patient has autoimmune (or rheumatoid) arthritis is by the fact that it affects the joints in a "mirroring" pattern.
Yes, but, she would have to LUG this additional weight along with her! (She *could* wind up looking like an ENG (electronic news gatherer) cameraman/woman with a 'batter belt' around her waist).
The AA NiMH cells work pretty well ... when she was first equipped with this device the standard NiCd cells that it was equipped with were just shy of giving service throughout a waking-day ...
UP?
She's more LP ... southern LP at that (a faint but still noticeable regional accent persists there) ...
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