On being half deaf...
My updates are infrequent. Mostly it’s because I don’t think that I have much worth saying.
Whatever.
These last few months have been rather busy with a lot of unexpected changes. So, you get a dose of three posts in relatively quick succession. Not that anyone is reading this. Or cares. Mostly, it’s here for my sense of perspective.
So. Post the first. I’ve gone deaf in my right ear.
Short version: last year I noticed a sense of pressure in my right ear, and a small loss of hearing. After visits to my GP and two ENTs (the first of whom was a nitwit, and my encounter detailed in an earlier post http://sagaciouslu.livejournal.com/102361.html), a myringotomy was performed last May with the hope that my hearing loss was a result of Eustachian tube dysfunction (my eardrum has, apparently, collapsed, and negative pressure due to a malfunctioning Eustachian tube is one of the theories as to cause). No improvement. To make matters worse, about a week after the surgery my hearing dropped to about 10% normal. The ENT immediately put me on Prednisone (nasty stuff) under the assumption that there was an infection that had affected the nerve in the middle ear, and the Prednisone was to reduce any swelling, and return hearing.
No dice.
The next step in another operation in December or January of this year. Dunno what it’s called, but it involves the removal of some cartilage from my outer ear, and the implantation thereof behind the eardrum in an attempt to both support it and compress the incus, malleus and stapes such that hearing will, hopefully, improve. (While it is the next logical step, I can’t say that I expect much; the ENT suspects the problem is neurological (although I do seem to have good hearing via bone induction) and the surgery addresses ‘mechanical’ issues. What’s next, then; hearing aid?)
So, from what my reading has told me, I have sudden onset unilateral hearing loss. And it’s a bitch. I can no longer hear conversations in a crowded environment. Parties are particularly difficult. I cannot determine the direction sounds are coming from (I’ve nearly been taken out several times crossing the street - either I’m not hearing cars, or I’m misinterpreting the sounds, and the car I’m looking at is not the only one on the road). I’m shocked at how much information about the world I take in through my ears. And the loss of one is proving really depressing. Playing the guitar and piano has become - difficult - to say the least. I can no longer hear the balance between treble and bass on the piano. And the guitar? Heh. I look at my left hand, but can’t hear what I’m playing (which probably means I should practice shakuhachi more…).
Now. I don’t mean to be utterly negative. I can still read books. My balance isn’t completely fubar. I have no issues riding the motorcycle. It is simply that a major portion of sensory input is gone. It’s frustrating and depressing, but not completely debilitating.
And so. I go on. And keep poking at this ‘til I find something resembling a solution…
Whatever.
These last few months have been rather busy with a lot of unexpected changes. So, you get a dose of three posts in relatively quick succession. Not that anyone is reading this. Or cares. Mostly, it’s here for my sense of perspective.
So. Post the first. I’ve gone deaf in my right ear.
Short version: last year I noticed a sense of pressure in my right ear, and a small loss of hearing. After visits to my GP and two ENTs (the first of whom was a nitwit, and my encounter detailed in an earlier post http://sagaciouslu.livejournal.com/102361.html), a myringotomy was performed last May with the hope that my hearing loss was a result of Eustachian tube dysfunction (my eardrum has, apparently, collapsed, and negative pressure due to a malfunctioning Eustachian tube is one of the theories as to cause). No improvement. To make matters worse, about a week after the surgery my hearing dropped to about 10% normal. The ENT immediately put me on Prednisone (nasty stuff) under the assumption that there was an infection that had affected the nerve in the middle ear, and the Prednisone was to reduce any swelling, and return hearing.
No dice.
The next step in another operation in December or January of this year. Dunno what it’s called, but it involves the removal of some cartilage from my outer ear, and the implantation thereof behind the eardrum in an attempt to both support it and compress the incus, malleus and stapes such that hearing will, hopefully, improve. (While it is the next logical step, I can’t say that I expect much; the ENT suspects the problem is neurological (although I do seem to have good hearing via bone induction) and the surgery addresses ‘mechanical’ issues. What’s next, then; hearing aid?)
So, from what my reading has told me, I have sudden onset unilateral hearing loss. And it’s a bitch. I can no longer hear conversations in a crowded environment. Parties are particularly difficult. I cannot determine the direction sounds are coming from (I’ve nearly been taken out several times crossing the street - either I’m not hearing cars, or I’m misinterpreting the sounds, and the car I’m looking at is not the only one on the road). I’m shocked at how much information about the world I take in through my ears. And the loss of one is proving really depressing. Playing the guitar and piano has become - difficult - to say the least. I can no longer hear the balance between treble and bass on the piano. And the guitar? Heh. I look at my left hand, but can’t hear what I’m playing (which probably means I should practice shakuhachi more…).
Now. I don’t mean to be utterly negative. I can still read books. My balance isn’t completely fubar. I have no issues riding the motorcycle. It is simply that a major portion of sensory input is gone. It’s frustrating and depressing, but not completely debilitating.
And so. I go on. And keep poking at this ‘til I find something resembling a solution…