I understood what you were saying. I would consult an ENT who has an audiologist on staff to diagnose the problem and see what can be done to help you heal. The ENT can look at structural issues or changes, the audiologist can measure what and how much you’ve lost. They can get you on a treatment plan to hopefully restore it, or barring that, get you hearing aids.

It may not have been from the ultrasound. It could be a coincidence. I would see an ENT, preferably one with an audiologist on staff.

This is a great idea!

Not loving the post because of the content, but because it crystallizes the problem well. I’m sorry for the struggle your loved ones are dealing with.

Go you!

You were covering a lot there! I wouldn’t really consider that self-supporting. They would have had to go without those things or other needs without your help. They’re very lucky you’re able to do that.

There’s no one size fits all solution for a problem like this. Different communities have different root problems and can find solutions. I posed the question of what have people seen that works on the problem. We are discussing how to get a roof that is safe, sanitary and healthy over people’s heads that costs 30% or less of their income. I’d like to know how it can be done within a market economy model because I prefer a market economy. The market economy has failed in this market in many places.

The federal government typically defines housing as affordable when it consumes no more than 30 percent of a household's income.

Definitely let them know.

I totally agree with you on this. In a lot of cases, mortgage brokers and bankers duped people into loans in the lead up to 2008. Then when the whole thing tanked, corporations swooped in and bought the homes in foreclosure and turned them into rentals with much higher rents than the payments were. Whole areas of my county are now unaffordable to rent for people who used to live there in their own homes but lost them. It’s criminal.

Nobody said life should be easy. It just shouldn’t be impossible. There are places in this country where it is virtually impossible mostly due to the cost of housing.

I read this article in the NYTimes when it came out. It seems like a model that could work in most places. Unlike places that fulfill the requirements for affordable housing by not allowing the affordably housed residents full access to the amenities, they are for all (no “poor door”, etc.). The county also makes a bit of money. What have you seen that works?

Plenty of people are awesome at their jobs and work really hard and still can’t get ahead. This is why people feel like the American Dream is slipping away from them. The economy has changed significantly in the 30 years since you graduated college.

What about those young people who don’t have family that can put that roof over their head? Whose families can’t or don’t want to provide that? There are whole swaths of people for whom this is true. Not everyone has that cushion. Without affordable housing, these people are homeless or back to the original post in this thread, living paycheck to paycheck unable to get ahead.

There’s a third group of homeless missing from your list. People who are able to find shelter with family and friends but who do not have an actual home of their own. They are usually working, but for a variety of reasons, have been unable to or lost housing of their own. Many people in this country are extremely close to that edge at any given time. There are also lots of colllege educated young people working full time jobs who are unable to afford living on their own at entry level salaries. They live with parents or other relatives or they would be homeless. Apartments just went in in my suburban community that are priced starting at $1500+/mo. for a one bedroom 750 sq ft. apartment. My college educated nieces and nephews who are working their first jobs out of school (career oriented positions) cannot afford to live on their own. Without relatives they would be in a precarious position.

I don’t think anyone was saying that observing the fact that older Americans are staying in their homes is a problem. The headline of the article linked early literally said “Boomers Won’t Part with Their Homes…”. There is an implication in that construction that they should part with their homes because other people are entitled to them now that the Boomers kids are grown. The article itself wasn’t really strong on that point. It’s a terrible headline, though.

I’m so sorry. Praying for your dd.

Great update. Thank you.

Hysterectomy? I don’t know if they do fewer “drive-by” surgeries in the UK and actually care for patients until they can care for themselves. Here we send the patient home and let family members do what used to be done in hospitals. They even tell you that you need a person with you for X number of days post-op. I hope whatever it is, she gets the care she needs.

A lot of those are 3 season housing or not in places with jobs out of season. My in-laws had a lake house that was usable from April-November. They or other family and friends used it consistently during that time.

I saw this article and I’ve seen others like it. This notion in the headline that one generation is somehow obligated to vacate their property to accommodate the next is a novel one. Since assisted living and nursing home care is so outrageously expensive, it makes good financial sense for boomers to live in their paid off homes for as long as possible. They worked hard to pay off their homes, why shouldn’t they get to decide how long to hold onto them? I think the housing market is a mess right now, a lot of due to investors scooping up foreclosures in the 2008 crash. Those were turned into rentals and are not available for sale. Then the problem of no-one building affordable housing, as was mentioned. Add to that C grade apartments being renovated to B or even A grade and rents on those getting jacked up and the market is completely out of whack. We are currently short 4,000,000 units of affordable housing in this country. All that to say that that’s not the fault of those who bought their homes, stayed put, and paid them off and now want to enjoy that as long as possible.

I didn’t have to write a college application essay. They just weren’t as common.

Praying.

So frustrating Dawn! I hope you figure it out.

Older dd and I both got boosted. Dd was able to get it in her college town this fall, but it was in short supply here for a long time. Then I got hurt and we were busy, so no-one else did, until I was scheduled for a surgery that requires a lot of PT. I didn’t want to get sick and have to reschedule surgery or miss PT so I got a booster. In the meantime, dh got Covid. He isolated really well from us and no-one else here at the time got it. Oldest ds, home from grad school, got it at Christmas, isolated and no-one else got it. Other people have gotten colds, but not tested positive. Still wanting to get the two dc who haven’t had Covid boosted. The rates are pretty high here right now.