The Ear That Was No More

It's been awhile since I've done a personal post about me.  So, here goes........I was cleaning out my ears on August 5th a few months ago, when I noticed my hearing was seriously diminished in my right ear.  I was using a Q-tip, and I know that is not a recommended cleaning tool for ears, but I was doing it anyways, in order to clean the wax out.  Immediately after taking out the Q-tip, I noticed my right ear seemed clogged.  About half of everything was foggy to my hearing and discerning words.

We were just about to go camping, so I didn't really stress about it.  Not being able to hear out of my right ear bugged me of course, but I didn't want to wreck the trip over it.  So I started a home remedy to unclog my ear with Hydrogen Peroxide.  Basically, you pour a capful of the liquid in and let it sit and bubble in your ear for 10 minutes, then dump your head over a garbage can to drain it.  This is supposed to heal your ear or unclog it.  So I did this for a week, and it did not work.  In the middle of camping, I was so bothered by my clogged ear, that we took a day trip over to a Walmart and bought some over the counter earwax unclogger called D-Brox.  This is supposedly the thing to do the trick  of unclogging ears.  It's an oil that you slosh around in your ears for 4 days and it's designed to loosen the wax.

Needless to say, 4 days went by uneventfully.  So I was really annoyed by my clogged right ear now.  We got home and I looked up an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor (ENT) online and randomly chose one that looked competent; Dr. Jason Gull, from the Murray Tosh Clinic.  I made an appointment for the soonest possible time they had; 4 days out.

I went to my appointment and explained my situation of how I was hoping there was earwax they could help me unclog.  I also admitted that I had cleaned my ears with a Q-tip on August 5th.  They took one look in my clogged ear and told me that there's no earwax whatsoever in the canal.  That was unsettling for me......

So I had a hearing test and a pressure test, and sure enough, my hearing was poor in my right ear.  I am missing a lot of low notes, bass notes, and deep sounds.

Dr. Gull promptly put me on a powerful steroid for the next 20 days. This medicine had a 50% chance of restoring my hearing loss.  It also came with some pretty unpleasant side effects, but I knew I had to keep taking it for that chance of restoring my hearing.  I was up every night wide-awake at 3AM and wired.  I hung out with Scott plenty, since he works graveyards.  I also cleaned out cupboards and drawers.  I completed tricky puzzles.  I also had to take at least 2 showers a day since the medicine made me so hot and sweaty all the time.

Anyhow, my hearing was retested at the end of the 3 weeks and compared with the initial test.  No hearing had improved.  It had stayed exactly. the. same.

Dr. Gull gave me a last ditch effort idea of inserting a different kind of steroid into my ear drum!!  This steroid had to be given 4 times over the course of 2 weeks.  The needle was easily 4 inches long.  It made me so dizzy that I had to wait around for 20 minutes afterward, just to make sure I was alert enough to drive home.  Oh, and this was less of a chance of working: only a 25% chance of success.

I was also ordered to get an MRI of my brain to rule out any tumors causing my hearing loss.  That was an emotional day for me! I had never had one of those before and the uncertainty of not knowing made me a nervous wreck!  Afterall, my mom informed me that 2 of my cousins have had brain tumors.  Thank goodness my test came back negative for tumors!  Oh, what a relief!!! Seriously!

At the end of the 2 weeks of steroid shots, my hearing was tested yet again.  Not even a bit of improvement, sad to say.  After several minutes, Dr. Gull happily came in.  "I have some good news, and some bad news," he exclaimed.  "What do you want first?  Okay, I'll start with the good news...... It's sunshiny outside!"  .......What?!..... I thought to myself.  Then I started to cry because that meant my hearing hadn't changed.  He went on, "The bad news is that your hearing hasn't improved."

Dr. Gull and his crew explained that my hearing loss was caused by a virus.  A what?  I don't even remember feeling too terrible this summer.  I guess it's possible for your body to get a freak virus that attacks random parts of your body internally, and for you to not even know it.  So I guess that's what happened.  That's the only logical explanation since no-one blew a trumpet or yelled in my ear, and I didn't attend a loud concert.  There was nothing traumatic that caused this.

Dr. Gull told me how the liquid steroid shot is the newest technology available today.  "You can look yourself square in the eye, and know that you did everything possible in this year 2015 to restore your hearing," he advised me. There might be more hearing loss restoration ideas created in the future, but today, this is all the ENTs have to work with.

My hearing loss is the exact opposite of any elderly person who loses their hearing.  Usually the high notes drop off first, and then gradually the lower notes.  My hearing is most of the lower notes, but I seem to be able to hear the normal and higher pitched notes.

The best way to explain what my damaged ear sounds like is if there is a song playing, I can't hear any of the beats, no drums, bass, etc, and if it's a deep voice, that's gone too.  Oh, and songs are a half note flatter sounding when compared to my good ear.

Also, if someone is talking, it sounds as if they are in a different room with the door closed, and facing the far corner.  I really can't make out complete sentences with my right ear.

When I have the water on, like a shower or toilet flushing, it's extremely echoey and sounds like a raging river of many waters.  I've gotten more used to it, but it's still annoying to deal with.

So what are my options?  One, I can do nothing and learn to live with the loss.  Although, I would probably drive my family nuts, asking them to repeat themselves 3 times for every request.  Or, two, I can wear a hearing aide.  I've already tested one for 10 days, and I'm liking it so far.  I just can't get over that I'm only 35 and am in the "hearing aide group". Seriously?!?  I am not even close to being a senior citizen.  I've been on my knees plenty, asking for my hearing to be restored.  Maybe I am supposed to go through this.  Family members have even fasted for me, and I really appreciate that.  I have been greatly humbled by this experience.

I am in the middle of testing 2 hearing aides now, the 900 dollar one verses the 1,400 dollar one.  I'm not hearing much of a difference between the two, so I'll most likely go with the lesser one.  The only difference between them is the computer chip inside.  Supposedly the more expensive one has a higher quality chip, but I'm not able to tell much.

The ear that was no more is still half functioning.  I can be grateful for that.