okay, so here goes for the second and last time!
In order to see the ear specialist, I had to first see my primary physician and then see him again when what he prescribed didn’t work and then get a referral from him to see the specialist. I was told the specialist couldn’t see me until the 22nd!! It has already been two weeks since I lost my hearing, so that would make it a good month or so when I finally could get some help. But what do you do? In the meantime, I had to take Ginger in and that doctor told me I probably just have some fluid in my middle ear and that it should be gone before long. Her explanation helped me to relax a bit until I got a call yesterday from the ear specialist’s nurse. She said that she was just reviewing my notes and felt that I needed to be seen right away. She asked if I could come up that morning.
Thanks to Shari (mother-in-law) for driving me around in her jeep (my car would have never made it in all this snow!!) we made it to the 11am appointment. They did extensive testing and found out that I have no fluid in my ear. They also learned that I have 100%hearing in my left ear and 28% in my right ear. The doctor said that it was good I got a little back, but that my pattern on the chart looked very bad and that my situation is an emergency case and that I should have been treated a day or two within losing my hearing. (that would have been impossible since I have to go through my regular doctor first etc. like I explained earlier). Through the testing, he was able to eliminate some possible causes, but won’t know for sure until my lab results come back and until I get my MRI done on Monday. He said it could be something viral or a tumor. I was shocked about both. I haven’t felt sick at all and I didn’t know a tumor could cause hearing loss.
But since talking to my mom, I’m guessing it’s a viral thing. She said there are different viruses that attack different parts of the body so you won’t necessarily feel “sick”. She said that two of her patients lost their sense of taste and never got it back because of some virus they got. I thought that was sad. (I can’t imagine never tasting chocolate or cheese again.)
Anyway, I’m am now on another medication (Prednizone) which is supposed to help me get some of my hearing back, but because I’m starting it so late, I won’t get it all back. The side affects of this is no fun! Major headaches, feeling sick to my stomach , achy muscles and it keeps me awake. Blah!
16 comments:
♥ So what's the prognosis?
Man that is good you got to see a specialist but gosh that stinks that you have to go through so much. I hope all goes well.
Oh, Summer! I am so sorry...and all this after having just had Jack. When it rains it pours. You've been in my prayers. It's good to get an update! ...and good to know you have 100% in one ear at least! I hope that it heals as best it can and you can feel normal again soon. I'm anxious for more updates already...but I'm sure you are too. I'll continue to pray for you.
Oh, I'm sorry Summer. That sounds like a pain, but I'm glad for the nurse who took this seriously. Hopefully it's not a tumor, and you can get most of your hearing back. I keep thinking about the blessing you got and wondering how that will come into play. Thanks for the update. We've been keeping you in our prayers.
Ask your mom - I knew your primary physician was full of it when you told us what he said. Partial hearing loss isn't catastrophic, but it sure gets annoying after a while. I guess this is what you get instead of a rotten kid.
Suggestion: write your blog entries in your word processor first (save the file often) and then copy-paste into the blog. :0)
Hi Summer,
I am so sorry to that you are experiencing hearing problems!
I have enjoyed your blog and look forward to an update when you get to it.
You are in my prayers, hoping for a complete healing of your hearing.
Love ya lots
Aunty Linda
Oh man I am so sorry to hear about your hearing - that just doesn't sound good :( I hope everything turns out okay. BTW your son is adorable!! He sure is a cutie.
~Gail
That is lame that you didn't get to the right doctor soon enough! One of the theories on Morgan's hearing loss is that it was a virus when she was very young (like an infant). But since her hearing loss is almost identical in both ears, they lean more toward it being congenital - all then they are all confused because their is no family history of it - so they really don't know for her. The good news is that she can hear at almost normal levels with hearing aids - is that even an option for you? Makes me rethink the doctor just tell Kevin this morning to wait for the fluid to drain to see if his hearing comes back! He is getting over an ear infection so it isn't exactly like your situation. Good Luck!! We will be praying for you.
Yeah, I know what a pain it is to spend time typing out a big long thing and have it....poof! disappear! grrr....
So sorry to know that prednisone is making you miserable. That's awful when you have a tiny baby and a toddler to care for. I wish I lived closer to help out. You must be exhausted between Jack's wake-up times and not being able to sleep. : ( Hopefully, the medicine will help. You're in our prayers, as always. ♥ Mom
I wish you all the best Summer and know you'll be in my prayers! I hope all goes smoothly. Keep a journal and read lots so you know the right kind of questions to ask next appointment. You'll have more peace of mind instead of trying to remember everything yourself. Things like this can be so time consuming! Thank goodness you have the wonderful support from your family! Also, That's so neat about your baby and now Wendy's being so close together! Take care my friend!
Wow Summer! I hope everything turns out ok!
How frusterating! I hope they can figure something out for you. Good Luck!
Wow- I am soo sorry to hear about your hearing problems:( I will pray that you get all your hearing back- I hope you are doing ok:)_ Arielle
Sorry to learn (notice I didn't say hear) of this Summer. Hearing loss is not fun! I recently purchased a hearing aid due to a 90% loss in my left ear. My loss is hereditary where a part grows into and attaches to another part. Can be surgically corrected if the hearing aid does not work, which it does, but not perfectly. However, I must say that while I would rather have my hearing back, the loss does come in handy when you or your spouse snores----simply put the good ear on the pillow and voila blissful sleep again! I certainly hope that you can regain all or at least most of your hearing though. It is a frustrating loss.
Marge
Holy cow Summer! I just was finally catching up on blogs and saw what happened to you! Wow. I hope things get better - I'm certainly thinking about you.
Summer! When this post showed up in my google reader, it didn't have all of the details for some reason, and I am just NOW reading this!! I am so sorry! How completely frustrating. It is becoming increasingly hard for me not to be angry with some aspects of how the medical field is run and the prices they can charge for their mediocre to poor prognoses. Argh! My thoughts and prayers are certainly with you and I hope everything turns out alright!!
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