The Damn I'm Old Thread - Putting Up With Being a Geezer

[Garyhead]

You could always put in a pair of ear buds and tell people you're not ignoring them, you've just got your hearing aid turned off.

My Dads modus operandi for Years around my Ma!

My Ma was a light sleeper......always waking.......wind blowing a tree over on the house was her constant fear.....(we had no nearby trees). Then she lost her hearing.....she now sleeps like a Log!

Only problem...... one night the tool shed caught fire in the backyard.......3 fire trucks arrived as well as the neighbors banging on doors!........Parents finally woke up after it was all done! We laughed at first.......then realized the practical dangers of deafness......especially if both Geezers are afflicted.

[Duncan Glenday]

Huh? Did you say something Duncan?

I need to learn sign language. I already know one sign...

[rcarlberg]

The Presidential Salute?

[Brian]

Hi Duncan, thank you so much. My audiogram is not dissimilar to the one you posted. I do have insurance and Cisco vs using my insurance is close enough to a wash. Will likely go with Starkey Muse iq i1600 CIC. Middle of the road with 16 bands. Audiologist recommended taking them out and "teweking" the sound and use really good headphones. My preamp has no tone controls (circuit would degrade the sound) so am shopping on eBay for an old school graphic equalizer, eBay as I don't believe anyone has made these for home stereo since the 80s. The hope is to be able to boost those high frequencies that I am deficient in and leave the lows alone. She said take out ha s for live shows and use my 12 dollar ear plugs as usual. I am rather depressed about all of this needless to say. First arthritis takes away my running (50-70 miles a week) now this... Anyway thanks again.

Brian

[rcarlberg]

I am rather depressed about all of this needless to say. First arthritis takes away my running (50-70 miles a week) now this... Anyway thanks again.

You're lucky if running was only recently "taken away from you" -- I had to quit at 40 -- now I swim every morning, much easier of the joints. Old age is a series of losses, unfortunately. I don't buy that "gain of wisdom" BS...

[Duncan Glenday]

Brian, it sounds like your audiologist has a good handle on your situation.

Starkey Muse iq i1600 CI

I've never heard of them - but I'm not an expert, so that doesn't mean much

I'd urge you to get onto that forum - https://forum.hearingtracker.com You'll learn a lot.

...
First arthritis takes away my running (50-70 miles a week) now this... Anyway thanks again.

I know where you're coming from. I stopped running in my early 30s because of knee problems.

However, I bet you could start cycling and enjoy a cardio workout that's very similar. I (re)started cycling about 6 years ago, and am now racing. It's amazing to see how fast some of these old geezers are. I consider myself to be pretty strong, and can easily hold - and often drop - the 30-somethings. But at the serious end of the scale, I've raced against 65-year-olds who are so fast that it blew my mind!

Sports scientists have compared a hard ride with a good run - and the ratio is about 3.5 miles to 1. I.e. if I ride 25 miles, that's equivalent to an 8-or-so mile run. And in my experience, cycling is far more fun - and is typically a far more social sport than running. The down side : a high-end race bike costs a bit more than a high-end pair of running shoes!

Anyway - good luck with the hearing aids. I hide mine under a thick mop of hair, and no one knows I'm actually a deaf old coot

[SteveSly]

Brian, it sounds like your audiologist has a good handle on your situation.



I've never heard of them - but I'm not an expert, so that doesn't mean much

I'd urge you to get onto that forum - https://forum.hearingtracker.com You'll learn a lot.



I know where you're coming from. I stopped running in my early 30s because of knee problems.

t

I haven't been able to run for around 10 years or so due to knee issues (Tore my ACL in both knees in my 20's and now have arthritis in both knees). I still walk fast on a treadmill though

[progeezer]

I quit playing softball 2 nights a week when I was 57 when my legs started turning doubles into singles and haven't run regularly since then.

[NogbadTheBad]

Gave up soccer two years ago when the knees decided I needed 2 days to recover from 90 minutes play. Go to the gym 3 times a week mainly doing flexibility stuff, stationary bike and leg strength stuff.

[rcarlberg]

When should I get my knees replaced?

My parents had four titanium knees between them and swore they were better than standard issue. I’ve asked two doctors about getting swapped out but neither would do it. I walk fine, can’t run or ride a bike but otherwise rarely even notice my knees. Sometimes they wake me up at night with sharp pains, but massaging the kneecap fixes that.

I’m not crippled, but my options have been somewhat limited.

[SteveSly]

When should I get my knees replaced?

My parents had four titanium knees between them and swore they were better than standard issue. I’ve asked two doctors about getting swapped out but neither would do it. I walk fine, can’t run or ride a bike but otherwise rarely even notice my knees. Sometimes they wake me up at night with sharp pains, but massaging the kneecap fixes that.

I’m not crippled, but my options have been somewhat limited.

It is inevitable for me, but my doctor keeps telling me to hold off as long as I can (I’m 56 now). I have constant, never ending knee pain in both knees. Some days are worse than others, but it never goes away, and it sometimes feels like they have knives sticking in them. Still……the thought of knee replacement makes me nervous.

[moecurlythanu]

^ My neighbor had both knees replaced. He's been on crutches for something like 5 years now.

[Gruno]

It is inevitable for me, but my doctor keeps telling me to hold off as long as I can (I’m 56 now). I have constant, never ending knee pain in both knees. Some days are worse than others, but it never goes away, and it sometimes feels like they have knives sticking in them. Still……the thought of knee replacement makes me nervous.

Sorry to hear that SteveSly. I can't imagine living with the pain you described. I hope the future sees comfort for you in some way.

[Lou]

Sorry to hear that SteveSly. I can't imagine living with the pain you described. I hope the future sees comfort for you in some way.

x 2

[Trane]

When should I get my knees replaced?

My parents had four titanium knees between them and swore they were better than standard issue. I’ve asked two doctors about getting swapped out but neither would do it. I walk fine, can’t run or ride a bike but otherwise rarely even notice my knees. Sometimes they wake me up at night with sharp pains, but massaging the kneecap fixes that.

I’m not crippled, but my options have been somewhat limited.

It is inevitable for me, but my doctor keeps telling me to hold off as long as I can (I’m 56 now). I have constant, never ending knee pain in both knees. Some days are worse than others, but it never goes away, and it sometimes feels like they have knives sticking in them. Still……the thought of knee replacement makes me nervous.

I've had many sports injuries to the knees (played OLLB in football, defence in hockey and played some rugby) often the lefty one too, and I always recovered fairly well.. In recent times I've had a work accident or two, and every time, it was again the left one. However, I'm a fair bit overweight and the only real daily pain problem is coming down the stairs. Some think a good weight loss could be answer #1 (TBH, I'm a little too sedentary as well), but I just know that those old injuries will wake up if I am more mobile (exercise).

Personally, unless life becomes impossible (pain-wise), I wouldn't have my knee(s) operated for fear of finding myself worse than before...

^ My neighbor had both knees replaced. He's been on crutches for something like 5 years now.

.... like this case.

Couldn't possibly stand that.

[rcarlberg]

^ My neighbor had both knees replaced. He's been on crutches for something like 5 years now.

My mother made that mistake too, had them done in rapid succession before the first one had completely healed. She never walked right again. My dad OTOH had a few months in between and did all the PT so when he was finished they were both better than new.

Just like cataract surgery, don't get them both done at the same time.

[NogbadTheBad]

I've got permanent pain in the left knee, its difficult getting up more than one flight of stairs, or down 2, I can't walk more than a couple of miles, I've tried the cortical steroid shot, the anti inflammatories and acupuncture, the x-rays show bone on bone, misaligned join and arthritis. I've pretty much got a permanent limp right now. It's time.

[rcarlberg]

I had one orthopedic surgeon tell me all the cartilage was gone in my knees, they were just bone-on-bone.

Another one disputed that, and said my knees were fine. Apparently there is some wiggle room in the science.

[markwoll]

My father in law ( now 85 ) has had his replaced twice in 15 years or so. He is pretty much relegated to an easy chair because they haven't worked out.
He has done the PT.
My brother in law ( 59 ) had his done a couple of years ago, half hearted PT, in pain all the time.
Mine have good and not as good days. I walk a couple of miles a day, dog walking. My back is more of a problem, no replacements for that one , yet.
Dr's have different agenda's. Some think of the patient and the situation at hand, others about keeping their surgery schedule full.

[progeezer]

At 73, I'm very lucky that I haven't had knee problems at all. However, if I try to walk more than 5-6 city blocks my calves tighten up and the bottom half of my legs feel like they have heavy leg weights on them.

Hence, in addition to the joy that is the TSA, both my calves and my stubborn pride have made navigating airports just not worth it anymore (I just can't see myself being pushed around in a wheelchair), and even driving a car for more than 200 miles takes its toll on my low back (lumbar support notwithstanding). I've been all over the world, both in the Navy and with Kay, so I'm not missing big trips at all now.

Last year I went to ProgDay because of the kindness of Larry Blatecky of Chicago, who did all the driving once I got to his house. I'm hoping he (or someone else) offers me similar help this year since I just can't drive that far anymore.

Actually, as long as I have food, enough media, and cannabis, this hermit thing is working out fine. I'm far too extroverted and verbose to ever be a recluse, however.

[Duncan Glenday]

My wife had a knee replacement 15-or-so years ago.

She's been MUCH better as a result.

[mozo-pg]

For those experiencing back pain. I had chronic back pain for 2 years and tried the normal therapies (e.g., acupuncture etc), nothing worked. I was talked into buying orthotics. Amazingly, no back pain since. I realise this won't work for everyone but it was well worth it for me.

[Buddhabreath]

FYI there have been many clinical acupuncture studies and the overall conclusion is that at best the results are no better than placebo. A few studies with very marginal positive results have received inordinate attention unlike the ones that showed results worse than placebo.

This is similar to other non-medicine/quackery such as chiropractic and homeopathy which are both total non-scientific garbage invented by individual con men quacks, David Palmer and Samuel Hahnemann respectively. The UK NHS has woken up to this and is ending homeopathic prescriptions, Chiropractic treatment is not usually available on the NHS and acupuncture is also very limited from my understanding. I have personally witnessed people being crippled by chiropractors when they desperately needed real medical attention. At least get approval from an actual doctor before allowing one of these practitioners to manipulate your spine.

Acupuncture like Ayurveda, Chinese herbal and other traditions are increasingly in disrepute (or should be). If something is shown to have efficacy in alternative medicine such as a certain herb, it becomes mainstream medicine. This has of course happened many times, big pharma issues notwithstanding.

[NogbadTheBad]

I did try acupuncture as I know people who have personally benefited from it, whether or not this is a placebo affect or not I didn't really care if it helped. Unfortunately in my case there was no benefit so I discontinued it.

[rcarlberg]

My sister -- a PhD cancer researcher -- tried acupuncture during treatment for her colon cancer. Said it helped the nausea and pain. With an average survival of 6 months after a stage 4 diagnosis, she lasted 4 years.

When I was younger I used to crack my back, wedging it up against something hard and giving it a good push until my vertebrae popped. I felt freer and more limber afterward. Haven't been able to pop my back in years now, and as a result I no longer feel free or limber. Bad backs run in our family. My other sister had nine vertebrae and her sacrum ilium fused.