Can You Hear Me Now?

Helllooo, can you hear me?  If not too well, perhaps you need your hearing checked.  I can recommend a great ENT here in E Mesa, I went there today.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I'm practically obligated to share everything I learned.

First of all, I went because I have tinnitus and it seems to be getting worse... The cicadas are always out there for me, they never sleep.  (I was calling it tin-EYE-tuss, but the doc kept saying TINN i tus  - both ways are correct.)

The next thing I learned was that it is not coming really from something in my ear, but rather my BRAIN is inventing the noise to compensate for something, like loss of hearing.

I have minor hearing loss in my left hear, which I suspected, and they kept quizzing me about hearing loud noise at some point which could have caused the damage.  Nope, not that I could name.  (I do always put the phone to my left ear, so now I wonder if THAT has something to do with it. )

In the initial exam I asked the doc what causes ear wax...  the 'wax' is dead skin cells mixed with body oils.  Some people just make more of it than others. "This is the first time all day I haven't had to clean out a patient's ears... your ears don't have much wax at all."  I didn't offer up that I clean them out with Q-tips, since she'd just before told me that the worse thing to do is use a Q-tip, it just shoves the wax further in.  I use cheapo off-brand kinds so their cotton is skimpier and they don't do the verboten shoving-of-the-wax. (I do so right after I  shampoo, it seems easiest after a hot shower... and apparently it works.)

I felt like a 7 yr old when I sat in the soundproof booth and raised my hand when I heard a beep.  Perhaps this was because the audiologist spoke in a slow and steady manner - I'm guessing she speaks to a LOT of old people and young children.

What actually got me to make this appointment was that I also have had some vertigo this past week.  On my own I rectified the situation by employing an Epley Maneuver 

 which moves the 'rocks' or crystals- octonia - in my inner ear back into their proper position.   After watching several vids online - most from doctors and hospitals- I got brave and did it.

You have to first figure out which ear is causing this, and just that part of it made me SO NAUSEOUS, I had to refrain for 30 minutes till my stomach calmed down.   But when I did the Epley, it worked and my vertigo was gone.  A week later I needed to do it again.  Amazing that it's that simple.

Next month I get to go for further tests to see more in-depth what might be causing my hearing loss. It isn't an issue for me, I still hear really well.  But I figure since I'm insured, I'll follow through.  Perhaps there is something we can learn to prevent further loss.  

For now I'll try switching my phone usage to my right hear, in case there is some connection.  And I guess I'm just going to have to live with the cicadas and their continual cacophony. 

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