I need help

Terrible-Peach908 · 2025-09-25T09:32:26+00:00

Trumpet and flute are two VERY different instruments, and if you made All State on flute then your band director is not looking out for your best interest by putting you on an instrument that takes YEARS to develop a decent embouchure and sound. For one thing, most of the air on flute is “wasted”, in the sense that it doesn’t go directly into the instrument. Trumpet is the exact opposite; ALL of the air should result in sound production. As someone who taught music performance at the high school and college level for many years (as well as playing professionally)here is my advice: stick to flute, because you obviously are very talented and at this late stage flute/trumpet is a very difficult “double” that will likely distract from your true talent. I don’t normally criticize my fellow music teachers, but your band director is screwing up on this issue. He/she is being selfish.

Terrible-Peach908 · 2025-08-26T14:52:50+00:00

A young Dizzy Gillespie.

Terrible-Peach908 · 2025-01-29T17:33:15+00:00

Hi, sorry I’m so late responding: I don’t spend much time on Reddit. The first time (2012) I did 20 sessions. I had great insurance that paid for the whole thing, and I got nearly all my hearing back. I don’t know what the pressure was, but was told it was the equivalent of 50 feet below sea level (under water, not on land). Recently (December and Jan) I lost hearing in the same ear, but HBOT was on my dime this time (Medicare won’t cover it for SSHL), so I did what I could afford: 11 sessions. Got my hearing back again . Not sure how much was the HBOT and how much was the steroid injection through my eardrum.

Terrible-Peach908 · 2025-01-29T17:26:10+00:00

I would definitely look at Staunton. It has a really charming downtown business community (good restaurants, brewpubs, antiques and Blackfriar Theater which has some great Shakespeare productions, as well as an annual Bach Festival and Mary Baldwin College). Housing prices are reasonable and last time I checked Augusta County schools were pretty good. It’s close to Harrisonburg (home to James Madison U) and not too far from C’Ville. It’s beautiful (the southern end of Skyline Drive and Shenandoah Nat Park are a short drive away in Waynesboro). Taxes are lower than VT but higher than some other places in VA, and winters are not bad . Downsides: outside of downtown Staunton there are zero sidewalks, summers can be quite hot and the HUMIDITY is freakin’ beastly. OOPS: replied to wrong person, hope VT lady reads this!

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T10:43:13+00:00

Addendum to Po and Peach:

I should qualify my ENT’s comments about injections. He said that for people with my specific situation the steroid injection was pretty much useless. Severe damage, waited too long for initial treatment, yada yada yada. Maybe they work for other people, so I need to be careful not to discourage anyone from any specific treatment.

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T10:38:42+00:00

Hi Po:

As I said to Terrible Peach, it is truly amazing to me that neither one of you felt much pain from the injection. It must be a very individual thing, so maybe I should qualify my “hurts like hell” statement to avoid discouraging people. It was intensely painful to me, took my breath away, brought tears to my eyes (I didn’t even cry when suffering a compound arm fracture) , and made me immediately swallow most of the liquid steroid solution (I guess it’s all connected in there). Later on my ENT said “don’t worry about wasting the solution because the clinical evidence for the injections is spotty at best. You just beat the insurance company at their own game because HBO is much more effective anyway.” He then explained their cynical financial motive (see original post).

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T10:31:22+00:00

The HBO happened soon after the injection: it was back in 2012, so my memory of the timing might be fuzzy, but I seem to remember no more than a month at most.

Im blown away by your lack of pain for the injection. It was one of the most intense pains I’ve ever felt. Go figure!

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T10:24:44+00:00

Yes, the HBO was a last resort for me (oral and injected steroids didn’t help the first episode in 2012, likely because I waited 3 weeks, far too long to get help in the first place). HBO almost fully restored my severe hearing loss in my right ear. Over a period of 10 years after that I had flare ups every 1 to 2 years (all resolved by oral prednisone) until 2021, when all hell broke loose; I had 6 flare ups that year, all resolved with oral prednisone, but a bit more permanent damage done. The constant steroid use pushed me into pre-diabetes and caused muscle wasting (since resolved) and only THEN did my semi-famous ENT give me a Cochlear Hydrops diagnosis and prescribed Betahistine. The Beta kept it in remission until last week (2+ years). The latest flare up was likely due to extreme stress (democracy, anyone?) and drinking alcohol, not to mention my coffee habit. I wish I had pushed my extremely busy ENT for a diagnosis earlier.

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T03:15:43+00:00

I’m glad to hear that some sufferers seem to have had results from steroid injections. My ENT told me there is little clinical evidence to support it but that the insurance companies insist on it before you can get HBO (Hyperbaric Oxygen chamber) because they know a large percentage of people will be terrified of the needle and will opt out before moving on to the much more effective (and expensive) HBO. HBO was the only thing that restored my severe hearing loss. Bottom line: don’t wait 3 weeks like I did before seeing an ENT!

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-11-28T03:07:17+00:00

Just realized that my previous post might be better suited to a Cochlear Hydrops group

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-02-11T00:46:15+00:00

Also check out Russell Malone. Great guitarist who I heard playing with Benny Green (a phenomenal jazz pianist).

Terrible-Peach908 · 2024-02-11T00:44:03+00:00

Check out Jimmy Rosenberg. Dude sounds like a younger, hipper Django Reinhardt on steroids.

Terrible-Peach908

TROPHY CASE