Yesterday I mentioned something about Sudden Hearing Loss (SSNHL) which is an actual thing that is relatively common. It’s something I’d dread for our clients when they would call with this occurrence. It’s unreal that my own child is now dealing with it.
Nicholas was hiking and camping on his own Thursday in Zaleski to spend the weekend acclimating to his new life as he’s been grieving a loss for months. It was with a grateful heart when he sent to me photos of his hike and his campsite that I shot a little prayer out to the unknown that my son had turned a corner, that maybe he’d live his best life during the beautiful weekend. But the next morning he texted me that he woke with no hearing in his left ear. He had “ringing,” but no hearing. Because of my experience as a hearing aid specialist I told him to go immediately to the nearest ER. He walked for miles back to his car, drove to a hospital in Athens, but they had no ENT (ear nose and throat specialist) on staff. They wanted to do a CT scan but I told him to deny treatment and get back up here. I called Ohio Ear Institute in Westerville. I refer a lot of clients there for various issues, and when I spoke to the audiologist there, Sarah, she talked to Dr. Ryzenman and he said he’d fit Nicholas in. Nicholas rushed back here, they performed an audiogram, and the hearing in his left ear is basically gone. Just gone. The doctor then performed what’s called an intratympanic injection, basically an injection into the eardrum, of corticosteroids. He also put him on prescription of prednisone for a few weeks. Nicholas will go back Thursday for another injection and now he waits.
As many know, Nicholas is a gifted musician and his hearing is his constant, and though he takes it for granted, it’s a mainstay for him. It’s his North Star. His perfect ear. When he came home from the doctor’s yesterday his brokenness from the months of grief poured through and he cried out that he wished only for his life back. Not just his hearing but all the mistakes he’s made as he lost sight of himself, unable to pick up the pieces. And now this. He said he just wants to find his way back to his life...
When he was out in the woods just a day or so ago, he got turned around. He walked for miles in the wrong direction until he came to a dead end. The only option for him, to get to his campsite, his respite, was to turn around and find his way back. And he did, and along that long path back to where he needed to go, on the way he saw bald eagle and her nest, a beautiful river, many streams, a forest of thriving new life. He maintained his footfalls, dealt with his frustration, handled those many miles of backtracking, stopped to see the world, and he got to where he needed to go. Even when his left ear ceased to hear, he handled it. He got turned around but got to the help he needed. Now he waits. Hurry up and wait. He waits for grief to subside or not. He waits for his hearing to return or to wait for it to not. But the trek remains the same. Following with his good ear to the ground, listening for his North Star.
Nicholas was hiking and camping on his own Thursday in Zaleski to spend the weekend acclimating to his new life as he’s been grieving a loss for months. It was with a grateful heart when he sent to me photos of his hike and his campsite that I shot a little prayer out to the unknown that my son had turned a corner, that maybe he’d live his best life during the beautiful weekend. But the next morning he texted me that he woke with no hearing in his left ear. He had “ringing,” but no hearing. Because of my experience as a hearing aid specialist I told him to go immediately to the nearest ER. He walked for miles back to his car, drove to a hospital in Athens, but they had no ENT (ear nose and throat specialist) on staff. They wanted to do a CT scan but I told him to deny treatment and get back up here. I called Ohio Ear Institute in Westerville. I refer a lot of clients there for various issues, and when I spoke to the audiologist there, Sarah, she talked to Dr. Ryzenman and he said he’d fit Nicholas in. Nicholas rushed back here, they performed an audiogram, and the hearing in his left ear is basically gone. Just gone. The doctor then performed what’s called an intratympanic injection, basically an injection into the eardrum, of corticosteroids. He also put him on prescription of prednisone for a few weeks. Nicholas will go back Thursday for another injection and now he waits.
As many know, Nicholas is a gifted musician and his hearing is his constant, and though he takes it for granted, it’s a mainstay for him. It’s his North Star. His perfect ear. When he came home from the doctor’s yesterday his brokenness from the months of grief poured through and he cried out that he wished only for his life back. Not just his hearing but all the mistakes he’s made as he lost sight of himself, unable to pick up the pieces. And now this. He said he just wants to find his way back to his life...
When he was out in the woods just a day or so ago, he got turned around. He walked for miles in the wrong direction until he came to a dead end. The only option for him, to get to his campsite, his respite, was to turn around and find his way back. And he did, and along that long path back to where he needed to go, on the way he saw bald eagle and her nest, a beautiful river, many streams, a forest of thriving new life. He maintained his footfalls, dealt with his frustration, handled those many miles of backtracking, stopped to see the world, and he got to where he needed to go. Even when his left ear ceased to hear, he handled it. He got turned around but got to the help he needed. Now he waits. Hurry up and wait. He waits for grief to subside or not. He waits for his hearing to return or to wait for it to not. But the trek remains the same. Following with his good ear to the ground, listening for his North Star.
posted by SPOA | 8:10 AM
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