My own adjuster told me the same thing years ago and I believed him like a dummy, so you are already smarter than me for just paying for it yourself. Getting that money back from a carrier is a whole mess though, usually you have to file for a lien or bring it up at the QME level and hope the judge sees it your way. The written denial in August is your best friend here, keep that paper like it is gold. It is wild that a doc can look at the same scan and say it is clear as day while the adjuster acts like you made it up. Wish I had a magic answer for the cash part but at least now you have proof they dropped the ball.

The "let it breathe" thing is so real. I did the exact opposite of you and started subbed then got lazy one night and switched to dub, and I spent the whole episode feeling like someone was tapping their foot at Frieren to hurry up. My dumb version of this is I once switched audio tracks on a rewatch and didn't notice for two whole episodes, so clearly my ears are not to be trusted. The quiet stuff is where these shows live though, those little pauses are doing more work than half the dialogue.