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We’re all just temporarily abled

blog.jim-nielsen.com

331–340 of 537 posts

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got Tinnitus from working as a concert photographer. It's not so bad. I've learned to live with it. But yeah... It's permanent. So, to not make it worse, I've bought protection that I carry with me when I go to loud clubs or concerts. I use it religiously. Highly recommended! Especially if you work in a bar or club, or in some capacity at concerts. Do it now, because Tinnitus doesn't go away. Some of them are very di…

Is there any particular type or brand of earplugs you recommend, that are comfortable enough to wear for multiple hours and don't make the music sound too muffled (while still reducing the volume to safe levels)?

If you can see an audiologist, they should be able to get you custom molded ear plugs. You can buy filters for different sound levels, so that you can reduce the volume and still be able to hear enough to enjoy music at a concert etc. If they're well made, you can probably wear them for a few hours without too much discomfort.

They're more expensive than something that is off the shelf, but being able to choose the appropriate filter for the venue you're in is really helpful. Also, the filters should give cut down the volume more evenly across the spectrum. If you get cheaper ear plugs, loud music may not be as enjoyable because certain frequencies may be more aggressively filtered than others.

I'm quite happy with mine. I can play with a loud band and still be able to hear enough of my own amp and everyone else to be able to play along, but my ears aren't ringing at the end of the evening.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. I have a child with autism. The American system is cruel beyond imagination. To qualify them for social security and Medicaid I have to leave them impoverished. They can't have more than $2k worth of assets in their name. Instead it's a complex lawyer game of trusts to give my child any sort of inheritance. Yet they are basically guaranteed to end up in a group home (Even though I own my own home) because a care…

You should also look into an able account. Your son can have up to 100k in assets invested in what's basically a 529 for people with disabilities. It can go towards housing and food. Get them on snap as well. Every little bit helps.

They aren't very old, so whether or not an able account is a good idea will depend on if they can manage money as an adult.

The issue with able accounts is they are under the sole control of the account holder with few checks in place. Further, crossing that 100k line really sucks. If they let the funds ride and they appreciate past that level, they can lose their qualifications for Medicare/SS.

For now, there's no rush, but it's something I've considered.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#333

I once sat on a zoom call with a vision impaired user to do some accessibility testing on our site. First, it was enlightening for me to see how she navigated through our site using her screen reader. Second when she landed on our booking page we got so embarrassed because she couldn’t use our date picker. A basic HTML version would have done the job. But a few weeks back we had debated over which fancy jquery date p…

That makes me think, how does one learn to use a screen reader? (Or alternatives for other handicaps) It seems fairly technical and challenging to learn, but I feel it would make sense for abled engineers to practice using those. I personally wouldn’t even know where to start, I only enabled the screen reader a few times by mistakes and have no idea how I could learn to be effective with it if I need to at some point…

Just turn off your monitor.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, this was enlightening. I'm a dude who has IIH myself for now almost half a decade and I was at no point told this could reduce my cognitive abilities. I take Diamox just in case (to reduce the intracranial fluid). It was a heering experience to get this diagnosed. One day all of a sudden my head started hurting and didn't stop, for months. But I had no other symptoms so doctors didn't take me seriously and my neu…

I've had something so very similar. At one point I started having a lot of 'pressure' headaches after coming of Zoloft. It lasted for about 4 months. Just constant throbbing pain in the temples, and prevented me from doing critical thinking or working on my software projects. It was a horrible brain fog that basically crippled me mentally. I could do physical labor fine, but anything requiring me to use mental skill…

I am glad to hear they are gone (in their original form). must've been an awful experience. It's incredible what the mind can do sometimes.

Take care of yourself and always be your own advocate at the Doctor's!

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Private and well-compensated medical workers still don't offer a sci-fi "healing tubes". Private healthcare is maybe marginally better for 1% of the population, but far more expensive.

Medical tourism into the US is extremely common. I own a rental unit near a major hospital and rent to many foreigners who travel in for treatment, particularly Canadians. Everything has trade offs.

USA is world-best of many things. But I don't think the healthcare is so good because it is funded by exploiting the poor. And if so, that would be quite a macabre defense.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#336

How many people I know got hit by a car and had their life ruined horribly. Or a bad surgery. Things totally out of their control. We need to see disability as a cost to society we must pay, not a failure of individuals which is more or less what were treating it. The American disability system is basically proving (very painfully) that life is barely livable to get scraps of help. Like below poverty levels. I really…

>The American disability system is basically proving (very painfully) that life is barely livable to get scraps of help. Like below poverty levels.

Yep, SSI disability is a system designed to keep you in poverty. The current max benefit is a little more than $900 / mo. That's basically unlivable unless you also happen to have section 8 housing, which when I asked, had such a huge waitlist it was unusable. $900 / month is certainly not enough to have any sort of dignified life. It's a grim existence punctuated by constant worry over every purchase.

I was on it from 18 to my mid 20's. Thankfully voc rehab helped me scrounge enough grants and scholarships together to pay for me to get a CS degree in '08. I've done quite well for myself since, but it's been a long road.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think one can lift heavy but with machines, and get the same risk/reward ratio as bodybuilders? In other words, train for power (rather than hypertrophy), but instead of using barbells, use dumbbells or machines, to minimize the risk of injury?

I am not sure if you minimize risk of injury that much. You might get injured on machine or dumbbell if you go heavy. Anyway with most machines you won't be able to load it heavy enough quite soon. I think there is also happy middle ground where you train for strength but not into extremes - you progress at slower pace and prioritize form. I would say bodybuilders can also be strong and healthy but they can't use tha…

> I am not sure if you minimize risk of injury that much. You might get injured on machine or dumbbell if you go heavy.

The thing machines have that free weights don't are in-built safeties, either by design or as a discrete component (e.g. smith machine). The only machine I can think of that you can get seriously injured on is a leg press machine, whereas there are a multitude of ways to hurt yourself with free weights, especially any exercise where you're under the bar. I say this as someone who has historically trained with a ton of emphasis on the Big 5/Golden 5 compound movements (i.e. not machines). The safety aspect is a big reason casual fitness clubs (e.g. Planet Fitness) have no barbells on the premises.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#338

One of the best things I ever did was get strong through a basic barbell training program called Starting Strength. Squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, chinups, eat, sleep. It really is that easy. Highly recommend it for anyone interested. 1. Any back pain I had disappeared completely. 2. When I have to lift something awkward (eg, furniture), I don't injure myself. If you can deadlift 200KG, awkwardly leani…

As usual, Hacker News presents the anti-human take in the top few most upvoted comments. Although this is an unusually subtle one.

I say this as a guy who still works a Starting-Strength-based program. Power lifting is great--it changed my life. But it's NOT a solution to disability and it's NOT a foolproof prevention. The implication that "if people just got off their asses and did some exercise they wouldn't be disabled!" is disgusting.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Medical tourism into the US is extremely common. I own a rental unit near a major hospital and rent to many foreigners who travel in for treatment, particularly Canadians. Everything has trade offs.

USA is world-best of many things. But I don't think the healthcare is so good because it is funded by exploiting the poor. And if so, that would be quite a macabre defense.

“Exploiting the poor” is one of those philosophical arguments I disagree with. The US is supposedly so bad for the poor yet they are breaking down the door to come here, month after month.

Re: We’re all just temporarily abled

#340

How many people I know got hit by a car and had their life ruined horribly. Or a bad surgery. Things totally out of their control. We need to see disability as a cost to society we must pay, not a failure of individuals which is more or less what were treating it. The American disability system is basically proving (very painfully) that life is barely livable to get scraps of help. Like below poverty levels. I really…

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