Thursday, April 10, 2014

What Did You Say To Me?

Did I Hear You Correctly? 

What did you say to me? --
My husband and I laugh a lot.  Like, a ridiculous amount. We have so many inside jokes that some days our entire dialogue is baby talk, movie lines and our own little unique sayings. 
One such saying is, "What did you say to me?"
It's not what we say, its how we say it. 
and it's only funny if 
I can hear it.
One of the symptoms I deal with continually is hearing loss.  
Initially, after my decompression last year, my hearing was greatly improved. I could hear birds singing. I could hear leaves rustling in the trees. I could hear the dryer beep when it was finished.  Currently, I can hear none of the above. I can hear fine conversationally, as long as I'm in the same room with someone. I knew my hearing was decreased, but until I had it tested yesterday at work, I didn't know the extent.  
I have a PRN  job working as an occupational health nurse.  One of my duties is to  perform hearing tests on our clients that come in for physicals.  As part of my training, I had to go through the same testing so I would understand what it's like for the client. 
I was SO embarrassed after my testing yesterday. 
I failed my vision test with and without glasses. 
Tonometry test showed increased intraocular pressure.
and I totally demolished the hearing test. 
Below is a chart of hearing thresholds. 
Most of mine where at 40dB/HL or greater. 
I even had some 55 and 60db/HL. 

 
Degree of Hearing LossThreshold Hearing Level (dB HL)Effect on CommunicationUse of Hearing Aids
Normal−10–15no hearing impairment 
Slight16–25speech understanding not affected 
Mild 26–40speech understanding reduced, especially in noisy environmentsmay be helpful
Moderate41–55conversation noticeably difficulthighly beneficial; strongly recommended
Moderately severe56–70speakers must raise their voice to be heardessential
Severe71–90conversational speech cannot be heardof less benefit
Profound91 or higherdeafof little benefit; cochlear implants may be considered 


How depressing!! I know it's just hearing loss..but I failed ALL of the tests. Even my EKG was abnormal!
Sometimes I think these symptoms, this pain, the dizziness is all in my head. 
I mean, I was told that for years.  "There's nothing wrong with you..the doctors can't find a thing-it's all in your head!!"
Surprisingly..it REALLY was and still IS all in my head. 
Grasping a second surgery is still very surreal.
I look forward to the pressure being relieved and being able to hear again. 
I don't look forward to the whole having my head cut open part. 
That's the downside. 
Upside- I can get back to being a bit more normal.
Six days sports fans. 
Six short days.
Counting them down and making the most of every one.

6 comments:

  1. A good response to the doctor who says "it's all in your head: OMG, I have finally found someone who will listen to me. Where have you been all my life?" Another option is a little more professional (if we feel that is indicated): "Just because you don't know what it is doesn't mean it isn't there."

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  2. Vonda..You are so right..two very good responses. Sadly it's hard to stand up to a physician when no one in your life believes you...that's where I was for many years..While this diagnosis isn't wonderful..it's still validating. Validation is worth a lot! Looking forward to our next visit!

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    1. Oh my goodness, I can.t believe we have the exact same thing. My doctor told me it was not common because he had never operated on one before,but he is a wonderful surgeon. My surgery date is April.22 at Centennian in Nashville,TN. After,many doctors,much frustration and a lot of humiliation I finally found a doctor who listened and cared. Best of luck to you, and when I tell you I feel you, trust me, I really do. Tammy in TN

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    2. Tammy--I hope you are recovering from surgery well..please contact me again and let me know how you are!

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  3. Good luck with your surgery, sending up lots of prayers for you. I hope the fix is permanent this time.

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    1. Dave, so sorry for the late reply-I feel like I'm constantly apologizing these days. I'm 2 weeks post op and doing great! I recently read your latest blog posts..keep up the writing..I love it!

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