Cleveland Clinic Records Request: Fill & Download for Free

(This was originally a comment, requested to be turned into an answer)Meniere’s is usually a “diagnosis of exclusion,” made after all other conceivable causes of symptoms have been ruled out. It’s a constellation of symptoms, not all of which appear in all patients in the same way. I had a similar experience—a sudden sensorineural hearing loss that caused me to hear pitches in one ear lower than in the other, rendering instruments and vocals painfully discordant to me. (I’m a musician). Unamplified stringed instruments were particularly agonizing. A folk festival and a recording session were sheer torture for me.Several friends in online music forums & listservs reported having had the same problem after either colds or plane rides (I had recently flown while suffering with a cold). One gave me the name of the neurotologist near Seattle who successfully treated her. I called him and asked if he could refer me to anyone here in Chicago who could help me. “You’re in luck,” he replied, “I have a colleague near you who is not only an expert in the field but a musician & singer himself.”Buoyed by boundless hope, I called the colleague’s office—only to find he’d suddenly died the week before. I was turfed to his partner—a neurotologist, but neither a musician nor with any expertise dealing with musicians’ hearing disturbances (much less any enthusiasm for doing so). After a brain MRI revealed no disorders, and my hearing acuity was declared “normal” up to 8kHz (i.e., I could hear—but not necessarily accurately), this neurotologist actually said I was “too picky about pitch” (!!!!!) and told me I must therefore have atypical Meniere’s because he couldn’t find any explanation (“atypical” because I wasn’t dizzy or nauseated). He put me on a ridiculously restrictive diet (no salt, sugar, alcohol, fermented foods, caffeine or any “brown drinks”)—to no effect. At his own audiologist’s suggestion that I be custom-fitted for protective earplugs, I went to a musician-specific audiologist—who found that I could hear up to 14kHz in one ear but only 9 in the other, confirmed it was not conductive but sensorineural, and suggested I Google “sudden sensorineural hearing loss.”I did, and found first an audiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who prescribed—by phone and e-mail—an exact playlist of music (specific different styles, artists, types of instruments) to listen to while lying in various positions in order to retrain my brain to properly process pitch signals. I immediately began that protocol. I also found an article in the Lancet that described my exact situation, which was successfully treated with a combination of vitamin E, vinpocetine, manganese, alpha-lipoic acid and prednisone—with the caveat that the steroid had to be started no later than 28 days after onset of symptoms. I began taking the supplements and nagged my neurotologist (he was on vacation) until he finally called in an Rx for a prednisone dose pack…on Day 26. I immediately began taking the prednisone and continued the supplements & the brain-retraining therapy. Two days later I could finally listen to music again—and a week later I was performing.Wonder how that neurotologist is doing? And I wonder if he must be tone-deaf.

This is a confusing question for multiple reasons. First, before anyone to say they can find nothing wrong, a complete work-up must be done. In my experience practically no one is given that diagnosis due to legal ramifications. The patient would be referred to a second opinion or specialist, and then to a regional center such as The Cleveland Clinic or Mayo Clinic or Boston Hospitals. I cannot speak to why an MD would give this diagnosis but would request my medical and office records to see it in print. This diagnosis is just not used in my practice observations.

Possibly boring and corny or cliche answer ahead (Note: read beyond the first part)So, I become a billionaire for whatever reason. I suppose I invent some new way for people to share pictures and videos online, it involves “deep learning” and sells to Alphabet for roughly $30 billion dollars so they can compete with Instagram.All of a sudden, I’m fabulously, stupidly, wealthy. We’re talking insane rich, living like this:With this as my garage:Every weekend like this one:*Record Scratch*Not so fast.Nope, that’s not my reality as a billionaire at all. Not even close.What’s the use of all those billions if you’re not going to live your dream?I already left a lucrative career to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science with an application of focus in medical research. Since I was relatively young, medical research has been a great deal of interest to me. It’s something I care a great deal about, a great deal.Now, I’m a billionaire, with unbelievable funds and financial outreach. First, I finish my Ph.D. that’s going to be important. While completing that I begin to network, a bit of funding, setting up foundations.Using the funding, led by my own money, and the foundations we begin to hire physicians, researchers, administration. Everything else.Following that, we begin construction on my dream.Matthews Medical:(actually a rendering of Clemenceau Medical Center in Beruit)This is going to be the most modern medical center in the country, if not the world. A place where researchers and practicing physicians work hand in hand. We push the boundaries of medicine here, powered by the foundations and private equity began with my investment.Specializations of Matthews Medical include; neurodegenerative disease research and treatment, robotic surgery research, complex cardiac cases, organ transplants, ultra-advanced prosthetics, genetic disease and treatment research, and artificial organ research.Open access research, we keep nothing secret. Every single thing we do is published openly and shared without reservation.There’s an obvious hole in the above, you say, what about cancer?MMOC (Matthews Medical Oncology Center):(Actually Einstein Medical Center Montogomery in East Norriton, Pennsylvania)Where the first MM was built in a thriving city, the oncology center is built slightly outside of a city, in the quiet suburbs (with tram service from the airport for patients and families on request) and set in lovely grounds with paths and gardens. This is a place of healing, a place to overcome and conquer, a place to live.It is here that we are pushing the boundaries of genetic testing, personalized medicine, pharmaceutical trials, and new treatment modalities. In addition to a full staff of physicians, mid-levels, medical physicists, nurses and admin, we will support ongoing research and the scientists that power it, on site. Medical AI, different types of robotic surgery, bioinformatics and computational biology research, we will work to work with clinical partners like St. Jude, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the Cleveland Clinic, Moffitt Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic, not to mention several prominent universities to advance technology and find more cures.In addition to the medical technology, we will offer complete psychological care, not just for patients and their families. Because caregivers of cancer patients go through a lot as well, it’s a difficult and tiring position to be in. We want to make sure the patient is completely supported. That means supporting their family and friends as well.Now, once establishing ourselves in the field, I want to work with pharmaceutical partners, the US government’s CDC and NIH (and USAMRIID) and other partner governments to form an infectious disease research (and possibly treatment) facility.MMCID (Matthews Medical Center for Infectious Disease)A bit of a remote location, due to the nature of the research. MMCID hosts research scientists and infectious disease physicians. Working with the CDC to predict and plan prevention for outbreaks of Ebola and Zika. We carry out active vaccine research and assist data analysis for clinical trials. We are but a small component of the solution to a global problem. But it would be an honor to be any part of it.Finally, it becomes time to give back to the medical community in a very real and tangible way. We would work with several partner universities and chose the best one to build the,Matthews School of Medicine(Actually proposed medical center as part of the Albert Einstein hospital complex)Sustainable building, solar-powered, with an ultra-modern learning environment. The most cutting-edge technology, full simulation labs, an up-to-date library, and top professors with revolutionary student support.(same rendering as above)We want to offer a mentally peaceful and beautiful environment for some of the top young minds in medicine. We have built a lot, and hopefully accomplished much, but this is a way to give something back to the medical community in a very tangible way.A medical school is the best ways to do this. Along with scholarships that support the top minds, at need, in both undergraduate and medical programs.All of this on a non-profit basis. After a time, I hope that some patents will balance with the absurdly high operating costs. However, patients will never go into debt to be treated at Matthews Medical. I’m a billionaire, which means I have billionaire friends, and there could be fractional foundations that cover patient funding (until operating costs on a zero-patient-cost model are met)Will this hurt my net worth, hell yes it will. There’s no doubt about that. None at all. But I’m worth billions, I can still live more than well on less than my total amount. Bill Gates said, “after a while, it’s all the same hamburger” I will still have a beautiful home (homes), nice cars (I am an enthusiast after all), and all the experiences I want. But with this comes the ability to make a lasting mark on the world, to do research at my own medical center, to influence the entire world of medicine.How could I not invest in this? What could be more worthy?It will make this view:so much more satisfying.