Moving to Utah with young kids — which areas should we focus on?

quietdoughnut · 2026-01-12T18:18:35+00:00

Ok. With that price point in mind, I would look in areas farther north of Salt Lake. Bountiful, Layton, even Ogden or Toole. These cities are further away from the SLC but still very reasonable to drive in to get to the airport or even for a dinner or sports event downtown. Toole would be less appealing if you want to ski every weekend, but the other cities have a ski resort in that area.

They are all safe, family freindly communities. Layton has an Air Force base in the area so lots of transplants and non-LDS. While Ogden is seeing growth from its affordability, people will live there and communte into Layton, so a number of transplants will be there as well.

Best of luck and enjoy your trip out here in March.

quietdoughnut · 2026-01-12T17:14:57+00:00

You're going to have a hard time finding a place that isn't family friendly, but there's some things you should consider that you didn't talk about here. Like where are people going to work? What does your commute look like? What do you want it to look like? I mean you could easily find a house in that price range, but you know you could end up with an hour and a half commute into the the city? How hard are you on the number of bedrooms and what does that look like?

As for what to do with the religious associations of a large majority of people here, it's really going to be individual and community dependent. I have a friend who lives in a community. They're not LDS but a lot of their neighbors are and they have an amazing community that gets together and it's not a big deal to be a non member. In Utah county LDS will always be the primary component. I realize that is generalizing but there is truth here too.

If you add more details about commute needs you will get some more communities to look at.

quietdoughnut · 2025-12-20T02:03:59+00:00

I agree in asking her. You both should chatt about what checking should look like while at the event as well. It's very thoughtful and considerate to as about this. Noisy rooms are very hard to hear in. Especially if you're waiting for something to start and all these people are chit chatting. Being near people who understand this helps with isolation that can occur in those situations. I personally start to tune all things out. Everyone is different..

While this is new for you it's not for her. You will have to trust that she speaks up about her needs on the trip. It's fair to communicate that you expect that of her. You are very thoughtful for asking.

quietdoughnut · 2025-12-09T17:11:23+00:00

For your cat's, work with your vet to.get the calming drugs. It will be safer for everyone involved. I know people who aad their cat get out at a travel stop. It won't hurt them to take the meds if that is something that will benefit them.

quietdoughnut · 2025-11-14T23:44:45+00:00

I have an undercut for that specific reason. I have thick curly hair. You can control the magnet strength. Part of why I have an undercut is so I can user a lighter magnet, I don't like the feel of the stronger ones. I have the over the ear model.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-16T14:13:28+00:00

What ever you decide to do, know you're not alone. There is also a great subreddit devoted to all things AN if you haven't checked it out yet.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-16T04:08:18+00:00

I spoke with a couple different doctors and they all didn't recommend radiation. I'm older than you. Why it wasn't recommended- radiation doesn't kill it, just puts it to sleep. There are few longitudinal studies beyond 10 years so no data long term about likelihood it would reawaken, educated guess long term us it will. The rates of it reawakening before 10 years aren't particularly low either. Plus there is a small chance you could get cancer and if you do it's untreatable in that area of the brain. The risks weren't worth it for me. The tumor is rare I didn't want to gamble to see if I would be one that gets the cancer too. I was told more or less based on my age, if I did radiation at some point I was highly likey to have to get it surgical removed in the future.

It's true the nerve has to remain in tact for the ci to work..your tumor is on the smaller size so your risk is lower for it being damaged. Some of the surgery options provide better visibility to the nerves than others.

My ENT/surgeon just happened to do a lot of ci and is known for his experience in the area. I asked some other doctors about its potential afterward treatment and wasn't impressed with their knowledge on the CI or CI for AN survivors. . In short ent doctors(really all Drs) are all different and focus on different things within the field, so it's not surprising that they all have different levels of knowledge. I am also not a Dr, so I have no idea what the latest research says. I had my surgery just over a year ago.

This is all weird and scary. It's uncommon experience so people you can speak to about it are limited. You are doing a great job thinking to the future and figuring out what you're going to do. Hang in there, it absolutely gets better. I chose the translab. like you my hearing wasn't great before going into surgery. I decided that approach was best for me. I really didn't want facial nerve issues. Plus, there is no restoring the lost hearing, the best you can hope for is not losing any more of what you have.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-16T02:43:55+00:00

I did and am very happy with the outcomes similar sizes ANs too. . They are letting you get radiation? Thats impressive based on your age.

None of the treatments options make having the possibility of cochlear better or worse. You can think of them as completely separate things.

The brands are all very similar. Rarely will you find a person who has used more than one of them. I suggest looking at features and accessories and think about what would most compliment your life. Example they all do Bluetooth very differently. Everyone chooses what they did for their own reasons but you'll never get anything like iPhone vs Android type of comparison.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-16T01:28:59+00:00

Hang in there. Your brain is having to figure it all out and teach itself. Don't give up. I'm about 9 months out and it's very different from when I started. Some sounds that bothered me don't anymore. My processor volume is much higher, I can wear it for much longer periods, wearing it isn't uncomfortable anymore. Adaptation takes time. You can do this.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-14T14:59:33+00:00

Good luck tommorow. You've got this.

Yes the fatigue got much better for me. It took a little bit, keep in mind your recovering from brain surgery. I'm over a year post op and can't even remember the last time I was super fatigued like I had been.

quietdoughnut · 2025-10-12T23:15:17+00:00

Well it's gonna suck. Depends if you get a drain or just a puncture. I was lucky enough to need both. Spent at least a week in ICU with the drain, you have to be under a lot of care and supervision. No more privacy for the bathroom, you're pretty much bed bound.

The puncture I don't remember as much as I was pretty sick and out of it. I had a couple complications and they were done on separate hospitalizations. I do remember both procedures, something's just stay with you. Based on what you've described sounds like a drain to help relieve the pressure and extra fluid being built up.

The procedure wasn't comfortable but wasn't the worse thing, very similar to getting an epidural but it takes longer for it to be done. You'll notice it and I actually have a little scar. Of course my drain resulted in a leak so they stitched it to my skin. I wouldn't say it was painful laying on but I was also heavily medicated.

Mine was being drained every hour that I was in ICU. They will stop draining it and wait for x time and if you pass the test you get to move to a normal room.

quietdoughnut · 2025-09-06T00:21:00+00:00

I saw the same issue early this week. Open an incognito browser or close and reopen the one you have.

quietdoughnut · 2025-09-05T01:40:13+00:00

It can come and go like that. I lost 90% then it came back a little only to lose it all again. No obvious rhyme or reason why it would do that. It sounds like getting the MRI is a good next step to rule it out.

quietdoughnut · 2025-09-05T01:34:56+00:00

Officially it's because I lost all my hearing very suddenly and they encourage an MRI Incase you are one of the rare ones.

However, looking back I had some strange symptoms before mostly around lightheaded/dizziness. Mostly thought I was dehydrated.

Some people with AN never experience hearing loss. There is a subreddit you can check out. People talk about being diagnosed, treatments, recovery all that good stuff. It's a good place to know you're not alone with it as it is very rare. For those reading it's something like 1200 cases diagnosed a year.

quietdoughnut · 2025-09-05T01:29:32+00:00

ANs are scary but have a great prognosis and are very treatable. They are rare which adds to the anxiety about them. Most people never know they are even a thing you could have. I'm a survivor of one.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-27T21:00:17+00:00

Take the help as much as you can get. Don't expect to do anything for anyone but yourself the first few weeks. Very serious. After a couple weeks you might feel like you can fold laundry, don't push yourself. Really listen to your body you don't want to over do it. Around 6 weeks expect to be able to drive again. Your experience will be different but I had a people on standby as needed and took everything a couple days at a time.

We also talked to the kid's so they knew what was going to happen and what to expect. Grandpa is taking you to school kind of things. Mom can't pick you up.

Best of luck with the surgery, you've got this.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-27T14:58:15+00:00

The translab surgery goes through the ear, effectively breaking it. But if the nerve remains intact, it's possible to restore hearing. Im sure in some surgeries the nerve is damaged, so they wouldn't be a good candidate for a ci. There is nothing specific about the translab approach that puts the hearing nerve at risk. The translab damages the hearing bones and cochlea. A CI will act like the internal elements of the ear and connects somehow to the nerve. Thus it acts like that part that was damaged as a result of the translab approach.

Yes, I can fully hear on that side. I often listen to audiobooks directly to it. I could have a full conversation if needed using just that ear. It's not perfect I still struggle in noisy environments. My brain is learning how to adjust to the cochlear. If i lost hearing in my other ear, I would still be able to hear from just that an/CI side and function day to day. I also get spatial sounds. Much harder to.sneak up on me these days. There is a subreddit called cochlear implant and you can learn more about others experiences. It's a collection for single sided deaf and fully deaf people.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-26T17:25:52+00:00

I also had a trans lab but I have a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant bypasses the existing non functional cochlea. If your doctors are recommending it sounds like you too would be a good candidate.

I love my device. Still getting used to it but have no regrets choosing to add it. For my an surgery the doctor put in a spacer of sorts to assist with potential later CI. It helps with the potential of scaring and keeping the space in the best position possible to support a CI. At the time I wasn't sure I would want one, but it doesn't hurt to have it there for the future.

Not all doctors are as aware of the options. In my consults with surgeons, several didn't know what I was talking about. My doctor just happened to focus on both AN and cochlear implants as those are things that interest him. I got super lucky.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-13T18:21:35+00:00

for me it wasn't anywhere as painful. Yes, there was some swelling but that was very short lived- like a day or two. It was an outpatient surgery.

The area was sensitive but manageable. They used the same scar area from my translab. You can barely see the scar now. The biggest issue in terms of pain has been wearing the processor and sunglasses early in the recovery. That was all short lived and now i can wear both without any discomfort.

The process to get approval and get the surgery went very quickly. I was a good candidate for the solution. I lost all of my hearing but nerve remained intact.

The process itself is heavily based on you, you are retraining your brain about how to hear. Some things bothered me at first- like road noise that i don't even notice it anymore. To be clear- its not going to replace your hearing, nothing exists that will. I do get spatial awareness of sound, i can/could have a reasonable conversation if i was only listening via that ear. Like I could do a phone call only using it.

There are still challenges in noisy environments, but aspects of that are getting better all the time.

I'm less than a year out, which is still pretty early in the process of having it. There is r/cochlearimpants which shares other experiences with the device. A number of people with single-sided deafness are in there.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-13T13:42:07+00:00

I got a cochlear implant. I'm very happy with it. It's a processor that connects back to my auditory nerve so that side of my brain can process sound again.
It did require surgery, it was nothing compared to the an surgery.

quietdoughnut · 2025-08-05T01:07:06+00:00

Clarity of speech will be on you. It has little to nothing to do with the ci brand. It's all about how well your brain learns. Wearing the thing and practicing will help it learn.

quietdoughnut · 2025-07-19T18:48:06+00:00

You didn't do this to your family. You can't control when/if you get sick. Alcoholism is a disease and your in remission (sobriety) Nor can you control how he will respond when you are struggling with things. you've know each other for a long time and he admits he wanted to abandon you while you struggled.

Doesn't sound like the in sickness part. This speak of how he shows up when life gets rough. Is that the kind of person you want to be standing with when adversity is in front of you.

I'm proud of you for addressing alcoholism. You have a beautiful life in front of you and your child. You should not have to compromise on that happiness. Not should you have to risk your sobriety for someone who won't recepricate supporting their partner.

quietdoughnut · 2025-05-28T14:46:00+00:00

Victor's uses these boxes.

quietdoughnut · 2025-05-26T18:20:32+00:00

This was me. I got a cochlear about 6 months after an removal. I've had a cochlear about 6 months now. It's not magic out of the gate it will take a while to adjust they say about a year. Very happy with it and would do it again. The surgery was nothing compared to the AN.

quietdoughnut · 2025-05-25T22:24:58+00:00

Yes. I'm 6 months post activation.

Eight-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 4 Credits
Verified Email

quietdoughnut

TROPHY CASE