Hi Ralph,Interesting.
It would be nice to think that your ENT altered your medical diagnosis (knowing you are on certain disability programs), in order to access a different medical code which may allow insurance coverage. However, you still need valid medical treatment directed to what you have.
It may help if you call your physician and speak to the medical coders and ask the difference, between AD-SD and whatever it was changed to, re insurance coverage. If they don't know, call the SSA. As what ICD-9 code they changed you to.
I hope this change was to your advantage, but as we all know these days (in dealing with HMO's and med insurance carriers - including the government), sometimes "medicine" goes by the wayside.
In the voice world, HD means "Hysterical Dysphonia." Hysterical Dysphonia is a very antiquated and obsolete term from the 50's and before, to describe what is now known as Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD). Back then, doctors thought we with AD-SD were psychiatric cases. In the 1970's that was proven incorrect.
Some medical people and insurance providers have not been able to give that term up, many decades later. We need to get rid of it. I hope that's not what your doctor changed your diagnosis to.
I've never heard of Hyperactive Dysphonia (and doubt anything exists by that name) but that doesn't matter. It's more important to find out what your doctor was doing, re the diagnostic change and what the coders used (ICD-9 codes)- apparently to get you more coverage, based on what you have said.
Best wishes,
Lynne (AD-SD; Northern California)
