Well, it's with uncertainty and sadness that I post this. More emphasis on the uncertainty, but sad all the same.
If you've read any of my Life posts, you'll remember that when I was little (0-6) I had chronic ear infections that left me profoundly deaf in my right ear. The past few years as an adult have seen a resurgence of ear infections (I've always gotten them, but I'm getting an unusually high number as an adult). Usually ear infections are a childhood illness that goes away once the Eustachian tubes mature, thicken, and become more vertical. (The Eustachian tube also drains mucus from the middle ear. Upper airway infections or allergies can cause the Eustachian tube to become swollen, trapping bacteria and causing ear infections. Earaches are more common in children because the tube is more horizontal and thinner, making the movement of fluid more difficult.)
Anyway. The infections have gotten progressively worse. Over the past couple years I've been getting them in both ears (in contrast to usually only getting them on the right side), and they've been having a much larger affect on the "good one". For the past few weeks I've had them in both ears, and it's been really screwing with my hearing in my "good ear". Much like being underwater, or at least having water stuck in your ear. I'm at the end of a course of several antibiotics, and it's still really messed up, meaning I'm going to probably have to see a new specialist, yet again, and potentially have surgery (this would be #5). There is of course the possibility that s/he could fix the problem, and recover hearing in the 'bad ear', but there is also a chance that irreparable damage is being done, and I'll end up losing both.
Yeah, complete restoration, or profound deafness in both ears; those are the prospects. I'm not sure why I'm blogging about it now, since I don't actually have all my thoughts together on the subject, either way. I guess I'll have to do some thinking/soul searching and post a part II
All I know is that I don't want to have to start thinking about the last time I hear my husband tell me he loves me with his voice, or my kids, or the rest of my family. The last time I hear the sound of rain, or thunder, or the breeze through the leaves, or waves crashing, children laughing, my husband whispering 'goodnight' or the other multitude of sounds that touch my ears, and heart, daily.
2 comments:
Oh, Ash. I'm sad to read this. I'll be praying for a complete healing! God is so big and I know he can heal your ear! Love you!
I'm sorry to hear this- how frustrating and scary. I'm sure you tried everything and don't mean to be annoying by offering advice, but have you ever tried chiropractic?
My friend's daughter has had chronic ear infections her whole life, numerous surgeries and then finally, deafness in one ear. After almost 10 years of various treatments she could not hear, had blood and pus leaking out of her ear and said she felt like everything was muffled and clogged. As a last ditch effort they went to see a corrective chiropractic specialist. He worked on her for 3 weeks and all symptoms and infections disappeared. Two years later she still has a full recovery and goes on a maintenance level to keep healthy. My friend cannot get over this and shares chiropractic with everyone she knows- she said it all finally makes sense.
I don't know how this might apply to your case, but I thought I'd share in case it helped :)
God bless!
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