Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻 @ChadRuffinMD Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

@ChadRuffinMD

3,176

Followers

1,572

Following

369

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7,438

Statuses

ENT and cochlear implant surgeon, first person born deaf to become a surgeon with #CochlearImplants . 🤟advocate. 🌈 🛩 He/Him

Seattle, WA

https://t.co/qwvri79Byk

Joined March 2013

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

Which ear had the cochlear implant?! This is a postop audiogram prior to activation. Gray is the preoperative. Shared with permission. Crazy that this is a regular occurrence for me. I counsel patients, "It's possible but unlikely that you may lose your residual hearing"

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

There were 3 ear surgeons in the world who have cochlear implants and also perform cochlear implant surgery. Now there are 4. Deeply, deeply personal milestone achieved yesterday doing my first CI surgery as an attending in our new CI center. 😃☺️ 1/2

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

@amandadeibert I became a surgeon despite being born deaf. When the dean found out, the medical school almost rescinded my admission, and everyone in surgery tried to talk me out of out of a surgical residency. Today, I’m a cochlear implant surgeon and help d/Deaf people thrive.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

Happy #InternationalCochlearImplantDay How it went–me as a kid getting treatment for severe hearing loss. How it's going–surgeon treating severe hearing loss thanks to the help of cochlear implants! 💪💪💪1/2

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

If you are or know a medical student with hearing loss interested in a surgical career, please DM me to be added to our Google Group.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

@ZJAyres I was born deaf. Surgeons and scientists who treat and research hearing loss: You can’t be deaf and become a surgeon. So I did 5x the number of interviews to be the first person born deaf to become a surgeon with the help of cochlear implants.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Happy Deaf Awareness Month! Hearing loss affects 15% of Americans, and severe hearing loss is ~2% of all hearing loss. Communication, not hearing, is needed for success. I know Deaf lawyers, surgeons, race car drivers, etc. The sky's the limit when accommodations are provided.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

11 months

Deaf people can surgerize! My scrub is wearing a wireless microphone (see hockey puck under mask).

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

It is a somewhat otherworldly experience to be so involved in the research, development, and surgery of CIs while having a device myself. Very much looking forward to not only doing CI surgery, but working towards improving communication and outcomes for all Deaf people. 2/2

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@mike_natter said this well.

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@mike_natter

Mike Natter, MD

3 years

Patients with chronic illness (diabetes etc) often know more than the experts, especially the day to day nuances of their health data, and should be seen as equal partners in their care management.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

6 years

@NyleDiMarco Ha! Years ago, I took my CI off during a fight once and said "Lalalalalala." It was *not* well received. #maturity

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Deaf surgeon problems: being too embarrassed about your music selection to play it in the OR! Clarification–CIs don't encode music normally, so my music preferences are shaped by a drastically different perception of musical pitch and rhythm than normal hearing folks.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@ValaAfshar I’m an ear surgeon with bilateral cochlear implants. The videos are great, but don’t tell the full story. CIs are awesome prosthetic devices—they don’t cure hearing loss, not by a mile. They improve quality of life, but discrimination and depressed income persists even with CIs.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@DeafHistorian Hearing people as a whole do not realize that ASL is more than "beautiful signing." It's a link to the world. Like seriously, not being able to sign is like losing your voice box. No laughing matter.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

@jmugele Born deaf. Written off by the dean of my med school and ENT residencies. Took 30 interviews over 2y to get an ENT spot (Go Hoosiers!!). Am probably first person born deaf to use cochlear implants to becoming a surgeon. Never took my eye off the goal—worked to build a network.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@komonews 97% of infections occurring in unvaccinated isn’t “the majority” …it’s “almost exclusively.” Better reporting, please.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

6 years

@HallTheory @nytimes Hey now!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

@FelicianoSand @AviBittMD @BradStanfieldMD I’m trained in plastic surgery and do the incisions regularly for other things. Doesn’t look like she’s had plastic surgery.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@Vancbromycin Medicine selects for people who are averse to risk and change. Kudos for going against the tide and taking care of yourself first.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

I’m an ear surgeon with two cochlear implants. The videos are great, but don’t tell the full story. CIs are awesome prosthetic devices—they don’t cure hearing loss, not by a mile. They improve quality of life, but discrimination and depressed income persists even with CIs.

@ValaAfshar

Vala Afshar

3 years

People's beautiful first expressions of hearing sounds for the first time

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Patients with and without hearing loss are more comfortable to see their surgeon wearing @theclearmask . Great mask, can lipread, see facial expressions, easily audible. Presses my nose in and makes a bit difficult to breathe, but I should have nasal breathing surgery anyway 🙃

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

8 months

ENT FTW! Outliers removed: neurosurgery. Pic is from Medscape.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Teared up at the 6 month progress of a single sided deaf patient of mine. He had debilitating tinnitus, was very frustrated, feared for his job, and had poor early CI performance. Went from 0% to 95% word recognition. So excited for him! 😭😭😭

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

Concha bullosa with septal deviation anyone?

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Happy National Coming Out Day! Here's a gem from 8y ago:

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Born deaf. Docs and audiologists gave me hearing aids and cochlear implants. As a "high performer," people assumed I was communicating on a high level. So my communication deficits were overlooked (hearing ≠ communication). I tell patients that tech will provide access to sound.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Working during quarantine is a huge opportunity for deaf/HOH to proactively change their organizations. Coming in June is a seminar series with @fromthekgb , @dhh , @jennylayfluffy & me. CART & ASL provided. Learn more/sign up:

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

When your long-deafened patient texts you to say THANK YOU for improving his hearing after a cochlear implant. 🥰😍🥰😍

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

How do Deaf & hard of hearing communicate during a medical disaster when doctors/nurses are wearing masks? Tune in at . Targeted to oral communicators. Second talk will focus on signing community. CART and ASL interpreting will be provided.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Med school won’t supply or enforce clear masks or other accommodations for a hard of hearing medical student. Student is afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. Can we get some moral and legal encouragement, y’all?

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@MatiH_ID I'm deaf, an ear surgeon, and a hearing scientist. Hearing loss affects 15% of pop. Most aren't aware of their HL. Accents/dialects directly affect comprehension and thus communication. This is completely underappreciated. By the demographics, lots of anti-maskers likely have HL!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

6 years

@LoggheMD @MannyMacMed @MannyMacMed @LoggheMD @SusanPoriesMD , don’t forget #docswithdisabilities . I interviewed 30 times for ENT residency before I was able to convince people that a deaf person could become a surgeon. We can all learn from one another.

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A Deaf ENT Surgeon on Hacking Hearing with Chad Ruffin at Exponential...

Exponential Medicine (http://ExponentialMedicine.com) is a unique multidisciplinary program bringing together leading innovators, technologies, clinicians, p...

www.youtube.com

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

@saltylungs Thanks for saving the child but have some grace, especially if you’ve ever head stories of grief and near misses by “good” parents.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Hearing speech isn't communicating. Wish patients understood this.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

It should be “died from depression,” not “by suicide” which is a final blow of an often longer disease. Changing the framing would likely improve awareness and treatment.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Spoke with a 11yo kid who's taking his CI activation hard bec all he hears are beeps 3 weeks in. Was nice to relate my and a colleague's own initial experiences: it sucks at first. Everyone (we patients included) thinks it's an angelic YouTube vid. Sounded awful at first!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

@DrAdamBitterman @randymcohn @DrFraneNicholas @DrErikStapleton Great team building. There’s value in diversity—medical outcomes for minority patients whose docs look like them. Unfortunately this pic sends the message that “we don’t value diversity.”

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

Had a recent CI patient with near 100% word recognition score. 🤯🤯🤯

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

The low expectations of deaf people is pervasive—even within the community. Deaf people often don’t realize I’m an ear surgeon even after I explicitly tell them. It’s a key reason that I’m very sympathetic to women physicians who are constantly mistaken for non-physician staff.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

@kyleplanckton @FSCamelo Not surprised. Large clinical trials have wide variations in diet and have documented incredibly high efficacy of PrEP. More importantly is that representation matters in medicine to ensure these questions are asked during development of therapies. Congrats on your interest!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Hosted a meeting for med students with hearing loss on interviewing tips for ENT. Was moved by their experiences and struggles. It's 2020 and ENTs/audiology so incompletely addresses hearing healthcare. It's not JUST about the speech discrimination score!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Got my new Marvel CIs!!! Can hear further away and no longer strain to hear with masks. Sound quality is diff, kinda like getting a new hearing aid. Streaming is great for non-technophiles, but figuring out how to manage connections bw phone, computer, & watch. @AdvancedBionics

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Anything over a moderate hearing loss is a *devastating* event in the lives of patients. What's more depressing is the poor appreciation of the socioeconomic and cognitive issues that accompany advanced hearing loss.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Voluntary contraction of the tensor tympani muscle attached to the malleus is very rare. Guess who can do it? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️This is my left eardrum with the handle of the malleus visible. The scattered calcifications you see are likely from ear infections. 1/

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

Hearing person: Your speech is so good! Me with a charming spmile: So's yours! #ComebacksForAbleism

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

@MomJeans44 @will_fain_roby @choo_ek Doesn't help. You just took masks from people like us who who really need them to care for people with infectious diseases for which N95 masks are effective.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

@saltylungs Thanks for the context. Kids can drown in an inch of water and in attention of a few seconds.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

During a residency interview, an attending tested my hearing by lowering their voice as low as possible to force me to lip read. The other faculty member sat quietly, doing nothing, and now holds quite a powerful position.

@jmhenner

Jon Henner

3 years

If y’all thought the Ventura College thing was horrific. Wait until you ask any deaf person the stuff they’ve experienced.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

We have an in house CI program now instead of referring out audiology services. Happy birthday to me!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

24 hours after the COVID vaccine, I'm gayer than I have ever been.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

@AuthorJShulkin @MarioATX_MD @somedocs I’m an ear surgeon and scientist who was also born deaf and leverage this experience to help patients. :-)

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Vaccinated ENTs, still planning on wearing N95 & goggles with patients?

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

You know who the real Rottweilers of patient advocacy are? Moms of kids with disabilities who've had the fortune to have rockstar outcomes. Making sure their kids have what they need to succeed day in and day out year after year...Their support is nothing short of amazing.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

When surgeons show compassion, they make 3x fewer surgical errors. Choose a surgeon who sits instead of standing, faces you and listens without interrupting. Sounds like something a deaf surgeon might already be doing. 🤗

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

@hayxsmith Statistically speaking, it’s probable that someone has never met a deaf or blind person before. I once went to a gathering and as part of “orientation” the host said, “Chad is deaf and you have to face him or he cannot hear you.” Short, simple, and one of the best gatherings.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Thanks to @DGlaucomflecken for including captions in his hilarious TikToks!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Person in deaf/HoH Facebook group: What's the best high paid job for a hearing impaired person? Me: Surgeon 😃😃😃

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Need better teleconferencing during COVID-19? Thank deaf scientists #docswithdisabilities @earscience who are improving videoconf apps via collabs with tech companies. Captioning & interface design are pushing this to the next level...just as we did with closed captioning for TV.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Lancet calculates COVID-19 mortality 5.6% in China and 15.2% outside off China when adjusted for time. #covid4mds

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Real estimates of mortality following COVID-19 infection

As of March 1, 2020, 79 968 patients in China and 7169 outside of China had tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).1 Among Chinese patients, 2873 deaths had occurred, equivalent to a...

www.thelancet.com

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

Let’s play “Find the beeping alarm” with two deaf guys with 5 smoke alarms in small 2 bedroom apartment. We had to call maintenance. Deaf fail!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

All the feels!!! FIVE new CI consults in a single day! Starting a video curriculum for people to better understand how to achieve with severe hearing loss. 🤗🤗🤗So looking forward to creating a comprehensive and holistic hearing center!! 🚀🚀

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

The cochlear implant population will grow by at least one today! That's my way of saying Happy International Cochlear Implant Day!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

How do Deaf & hard of hearing communicate during a medical disaster when doctors/nurses are wearing masks? Tune in at . Targeted to ASL communicators. Prior talk focused on oral communicators. Certified Deaf interpreter, CART and voice will be provided.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Are there any assessments of self-advocacy for those with disabilities? i.e. measurements of how frequently and successfully someone gets accommodations for their disability?

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

As an ear surgeon who is deaf, students w hearing loss ask for my advice on stethoscopes or tech. I'm often thinking about bigger picture issues such as gaps in medical and audiological care & if they are able to communicate on the very high level required of professionals. 1/5

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

I am so invested in greater numbers of #DocsWithDisabilities that I spent 6 hours drafting a letter of recommendation for a single student and ran it by 5 people. Or maybe that's the norm when writing LORs.😬

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

I would trade at least 10% of my current hearing for better auditory rehabilitation when I was in my childhood. If I knew then what I knew now about cognition and communication with hearing loss, my life would likely be exceedingly different. Audiology services are sorely needed.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

My significant other also has a cochlear implant. It's kind of weird that "I'm tired," requires no translation to "I'm taking my ears off, now."

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Proud to have collaborated with the shows writers to help create a deaf physician character!!!

@Shoshannah7

Shoshannah Stern

4 years

Cat’s out of the bag. Excited for y’all to meet diagnostic genius Dr. Lauren Riley on @GreysABC on February 13!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

Surgical scrub nurses who push back on wearing a small remote microphone clipped to the top hem of a gown are engaging in frank discrimination. If you touched this area, you are no longer sterile. We don't worry that glasses, headlights, etc are going to fall into the field. 1/2

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

When your #hearingloss patients say, "You're one of us," and "I've learned more in my short time with you than in 20 years with hearing loss." 🥰😍🥰 Makes all the training and obstacles worth it. #docswithdisabilities

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

If you have not matched and bring something to the table, fight for it. I was called "shifty" and "the deaf boy," had my hearing tested in interviews, and was encouraged to go in to specialties less challenging for a deaf resident. 1/

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

But how it’s going...😁😁😁

@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

There were 3 ear surgeons in the world who have cochlear implants and also perform cochlear implant surgery. Now there are 4. Deeply, deeply personal milestone achieved yesterday doing my first CI surgery as an attending in our new CI center. 😃☺️ 1/2

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

People with hearing loss are at increased risk for complications from COVID-19 both from the disease and the chaotic hospital setting in a pandemic. Read for suggestions on how people with hearing loss should prepare:

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

11 months

Whelp! Saw 80 patients/week for the last two weeks while my partners were out. Not sure how primary care does this on a consistent basis.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Deaf/hard of hearing people largely don't like being called "hearing impaired" likely because we're often assumed to have a cognitive deficit because we can't hear. Research backs this up. Words matter–see the thoughts of other DHH docs, audiologists, and PAs. @DrBradHolland

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

One night during intern year 10y ago, I answered 80 phone calls using my cochlear implant without other tech or interpreting services (like seriously, effing WOW). Frolleague @cjmoreland accomplished the same using various accommodations. Communication, not hearing is the key!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

A high school kid in another state did a research project on me. Years ago as a patient with a serious illness, she heard of a deaf doctor in the hospital. This inspired her to learn more about me. Made me stop and think about how cool it is to be a role model to people growing.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

People curbside me for "casual advice" about hearing loss. There is no "casual advice" about how to deal with severe hearing loss just as there's no casual advice on how to deal with blindness. Problem is, hearing loss is insidious and people don't understand the wider effects...

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

I have bilateral CIs, 4 years of research training in CIs, and perform CI surgery. I would never have expected than the first activation I witnessed–other than my own–would be on a patient I implanted. #DeafCan #FirstGen

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

From a cochlear implant consult every 6 weeks to nearly every other clinic shift! Excited to continue to grow and work with a community to change the way hearing healthcare is delivered!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Look how teeny tiny the inner ear is!! It's so big under a microscope that it's hard to appreciate how tiny these structures are. H/T to @WardensMD (see link below)

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

Both Dr. Hu and Dr. Ruffin were born deaf, received cochlear implants, and went on to become an audiologist and ear surgeon. Come learn about our experiences and ask your own questions about hearing loss in kids.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Deafness can affect executive functioning and mental health. Patients bring these issues with them to their appointments, and these issues are compounded by communication difficulties. They're not difficult, they need communication access and the extra mile of teaching.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

1 year

How it started–bottom is a post on during my third year rotations way, way back in 2006. How it's going–top. So cool to see this in a single search. 🥰🥰🥰

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

In 1999, my father paid out of pocket for my CI because insurance didn’t cover it. His and my mom’s work changed my life, and I will be forever grateful.

@CochlearUS

Cochlear Americas

3 years

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads who have supported their children on their #hearingloss journeys and to the dads who are #hearingimplantrecipients themselves! We celebrate you today! #FathersDay #HappyFathersDay

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

2 years

Welp! Never used hearing assistive tech (HAT) during training because I didn’t trust myself not to lose it. One of the first times I use Roger/HAT, I forgot to retrieve it from the person using it. Fortunately, the $2k baby was saved. 🫣🥺 Love using this thing, tho!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

I've always worried that my hearing loss and verbal processing would limit me in business. But there's nothing wrong with saying, "Let's pause and get back together after I think about this."

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

His bill passed. #RepresentationMatters #CripTheVote

@jamestalarico

James Talarico

3 years

3 years ago I almost slipped into a coma and died. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I paid $684 for my first 30-day supply of insulin. Some pay $1000+ a month. Many die without it. Today I introduced legislation to cap the price of insulin at $50 a month. #txlege

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

I love, love, love otology and it’s intersection with communication, neurology/neuroscience, and disability, equity, and inclusion. That is all.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Hearing tech is imperfect and won't tell you how to communicate and navigate relationships. Understanding the changes in cognition created by hearing loss is key. That difference, I believe, underlies differences in functional achievement for people with hearing loss.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Really excited to share my journey. Will talk about the secondary effects of disability including how shame/internalized ableism plays a role in maturing as a professional. Talk is open to the public.

@JHUBME

Johns Hopkins BME

3 years

Join @JHUDisability for the Winter 2021 Equal Access Seminar with Chad Ruffin on January 19. Learn more:

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

5 years

Having lost a mother to suicide, I get a little tired of the trite wording of suicide prevention PSAs “Just call, reach out, everything will be all right,” as if lack of doing so is failure. Some people physically cannot help themselves despite treatment. That’s mental illness.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Having a surgeon who looks like you can be a lifesaver. Women, POC, and #DocsWithDisabilities are sorely needed. I suggested female friend seek out a woman surgeon as she was being blown off about her vague pains. Turns out it was the “best decision she’d made in a long time.”

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

Looking through practice data...I diagnose hearing loss at TWICE the rate of the other ENTS in the practice. By looking for non-verbal cues and asking "do you have any difficulty hearing in background noise," I can probably diagnose with 90% accuracy against a hearing test.

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

4 years

Our center's first CI patient is reporting preserved residual hearing! My hands do surgery and sign (not fluent, working at getting better)!

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

"You'd be great for your patients" ignored the larger issues of diversity and equity. Ableism by normal hearing clinicians is impeding the socioeconomic progress of deaf and hard of hearing people. ENT needs more diversity of #DocsWithDisabilties . 2/

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@ChadRuffinMD

Chad Ruffin, MD 🦻🏻

3 years

@MatiH_ID Welcome, and figured. All of us URMs kinda know when it's discrimination. Not everyone is aware of their HL, and #MedTwitter needs to be aware of this.

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