Hello Readers,
This is Kim once again, "guest blogging" with an unfortunate new development in my life.
I
have learned this week why it’s such a good thing that our bodies evolved with
so many redundancies: two ears, eyes, limbs, etc. When you lose one, you still have
the other! As many of my acquaintances know, I’ve been suffering from an “ear
blockage” and deafness in my left ear for the past six weeks. On Monday I
finally saw the ear specialist and my official diagnosis is SSNHL (sudden
sensorineural hearing loss). She gave me the unwelcome news that I am now
permanently deaf in my left ear.
I
learned that the feeling of “blockage” had nothing to do with a head cold or
trapped fluid in the ear; that there is no known cause for this condition, but
it affects about 5 in every 100,000 people; and that the leading theory is that
a virus causes inflammation of the inner ear, which destroys the nerve cells.
Had I seen a specialist in the first two-four weeks, I would have been treated
with steroids in an attempt to reduce the inflammation, which sometimes works. But
although I first went to a CVS Minute Clinic and then my own nurse-practitioner
in the first 12 days of my symptoms, neither of them referred me to a specialist
immediately. My NP flagged the possibility and called Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and they advised us
that I should see a specialist, but the first available appointment was
four-and-a-half weeks in the future. When I finally saw her, six weeks after
the onset of my symptoms, she told me the hearing loss is untreatable and
irreversible.
Now
that we’ve read several articles about it (see links below), it is clear that
anyone experiencing sudden hearing loss should
go to a specialist or the ER immediately. But as the articles explain, this
condition is actually so rare that few medical practitioners know how urgent it
is to receive speedy treatment. And the symptoms are very similar to head colds
or fluid blockages, which is what everyone thought I had. Those conditions are
treatable or resolve themselves, and I was taking lots of decongestants, nasal
sprays, etc. to try to clear the blockage when that was not my problem at all. Yes,
I am feeling some anger and incredulity over how it happened that although I
sought medical attention twice within the treatment window, and even had MEEI on the
phone, I somehow never got advised to seek urgent treatment for sudden hearing
loss.
Still,
what’s done is done, and even if I had been treated, chances are iffy that it
would have worked. I definitely had additional issues of vertigo the first
week, and the articles say that hearing is recovered less often when those symptoms
are present too. Sometimes one just gets unlucky, and that seems to have been
my fate.
 |
| Enjoying London in February with one good ear! |
As
to where I go from here, I found out that hearing aids can’t help since amplifying sound, just to reach a non-functional nerve, would be futile. There is a
type of “transmitter” they can implant in my skull on the left side, which
would send sound over to my right ear, theoretically improving my ability to
hear sounds from my left. The doctor says most people find this doesn’t help
enough to be worth the effort, and that most make do with their one good ear,
but it is something I can explore. I also asked what would happen should my
right ear suffer the same fate. She said that was highly unlikely, kind of like
being struck by lightning twice. SSNHL is almost always in one ear only, and
chances of it happening to me again are 5/100,000. They told me at the doctor’s
office that if I ever DO feel the slightest problem in my good ear, to rush
immediately to the ER at Mass Eye and Ear. Also, no scuba diving, loud
machinery, or rock concerts in my future – a “monaural” person has to keep
their good ear as safe as possible.
Anyway,
although it must be recognized that this is somewhat life-altering, (yeah, I can't hear a lot of stuff now), I am
focusing on being grateful for my general good health and all my blessings.
Robin and CJ are going to be very supportive and remember to talk to me in my
good ear. I’m also feeling appreciative that here in the US the driver sits on
the left side of the car, so my passenger can still talk to me (wouldn’t work
if I were driving in England!). Thanks be for my good ear, as I’ll still be
able to enjoy life “almost” to the fullest. I guess when I think back on the
past six weeks, there have been some irritations and inconveniences, but life
in general has gone on. I have much to look forward to.
