Plugged

Walking with Sue these days requires an adjustment that may necessitate milady walking on the curbside. On one recent stroll in order to avoid having her walk on the outside, we deliberately chose a counter clockwise route, so that she could speak to my good ear.

If you don't already know that I have quite a hearing loss, I am, hereby, informing you that I am only about 50%. With hearing aids, I get by although discriminating some words can occasionally be problematic. I always choose to turn on the captions when I am watching tv. I started with the British programs and now employ captioning ubiquitously.

Unfortunately, I have run into an additional problem. To wit: my left ear feels plugged, and the volume that I am getting is greatly diminished with or without the hearing aid. I had the hearing aid checked and was told that it is in good working order. Then, I went to the doctor to check for fluid. I had fluid on my right ear earlier this year, and it took me three weeks of treatment for the ear to drain.

But no! they say that it isn't fluid buildup this time around. The doc feels that it has to do with allergies. I am to use a nasal spray daily and take an antihistamine tablet, but that hasn't worked yet. She feels that I may have to continue to follow the protocol until the first frost.

Oh good grief! The first frost is still three weeks off, and that is if the average holds. 

The extra kicker is that is has usually been my left ear that is my better ear, but now I would say that it is working at, perhaps, 25% efficiency or less as I rely on my weaker right ear.

As you might imagine, there has been a lot of repeating of whatever is being said. It is aggravating for all parties but perhaps more so for the speaker. What I discovered a long time ago is that people are used to speaking at a certain level. Even when someone knows that I have a hearing problem, and I have just asked for something to be repeated, their very next communication will frequently revert to their lifelong normal. It's just natural.

I try not to have Sue repeat everything. Sometimes, I make a judgement about whether or not something sounds important for me to hear, and I may choose to just let the sentence slide away into the ether.

As soon as I leave you, I will apply the nasal spray and take my antihistamine and hope, likely against hope. My wish is that I don't have to wait for three weeks or more until the first frost for relief. And what if it that doesn't solve the issue? What then?