How did it happen?

September 9, 2010 is a date I will remember just as easy as I can remember my own birthday. This is the day I lost all hearing in my left ear. I remember getting up that morning and forcing myself to maw the lawn. Everything was fine. I finished and took a shower. While I was showering I got a loud buzzing sound in my ear.A buzzing sound that to this day is just as loud without any interuption. By the time I got out of the shower I realized that I couldn't hear from my left ear. I thought I had gotten water in my ear. I went to work the next day and realized that it had to be something other than water in my ear.

 After work the next day I went to a local walkin clinic and saw a doctor. He examined me and asked a few questions. He asked if I had had a cold or the flu. Which I had not. Looking back on that visit I now realize that the doctor knew what had happened to me. I should have realized from the doctor's mannerisms that he wasn't telling me what I needed to know. What he did tell me was that I should see a specialist an ENT doctor. In the mean time he gave me some medicines to take. Medicines which I later found out had no positive or negative effect on my situation.

It took a week for me to get an appointment with a local ENT doctor. At the time, the buzzing sound in my ear continued and was just as loud with no improvement in my hearing. The doctor examined me and told me that I had Sudden Hearing Loss. I asked what this meant. He said that I must have gotten a virus which attacked my in ear and caused my hearing loss. He said that what was certain was that this condition would be permanent. PERMANENT!

How could this happen? How did it happen? What do you mean permanent? All these thoughts rushed into my head all at once. I don't think that I registered anything the doctor said after he said "PERMANENT". My wife, who I could recognize was in shock, filled in the blanks later.

The doctor did explain that I could get an injection of steroids straight into my inner ear. He explained that steroids had shown to help recovery in some patients. Of course there was no guarantee. Let me tell you, that shot hurt! I asked about the buzzing in my ear. He explained that this condition was called Tinnitus. Tinnitus- a ringing or similar sensation of sound in the ears. I then asked how long this would last. His response was that I would eventually get use to it and that it could suddenly stop or be a permanent condition. He also went on to say that vertigo could also have an effect on me. Which to this point I did not feel any dizziness.

In the end, the steroids had no effect on my condition. I looked up whatever I could about this condition and realized that doctors really don't know why it occurs. It does occur most in people over the age of 30. I'm still searching for articles. But the more I read the less I believe doctors know what they're dealing with and most important how to deal with it.

Two more weeks passed and my wife thought that I should see my primary physician. I have to say that he turned out to be a great doctor. Not for any other reason other than he was understanding of my situation. I say this because the ENT doctor was as cold as he could be and lacked any empathy. Not that I was looking for some emotional conection. But some empathy would have gone a long way. The ENT doctor basicly told me that the condition was permanent and that I should lead a normal life. Really?

I know my primary physician read up on my condition in order offered his opinion. Which,  he stated was not as informative as he wanted it to be. He didn't have to say it out loud; but,  I knew that not much is known as to what the causes are and how to treat it. He did suggest that I have an MRI of the left ear done.

The MRI turned out to be another mile-stone for me. As I lay there, there was nothing more that I want than to hear the machine from both of my ears. Of course "PERMANENT" was the reality. The MRI was a significant moment because the minute I got up I went Vertigo. The first thought in my mind was "AND THERE IT IS".  This is a favorite phrase that my wife uses for those special moments of enlightenment. I now had all the side affects that I could have with my condition. Sudden Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Vertigo!