First Time Blogger

Decided to take the plunge, more of a journal for myself and maybe far away family members can follow my journey back to hearing. I have had some kind of hearing issues for as long back as I can remember but I guess I got serious about it in 1988 when I had my first operation to restore my hearing in my left ear due to otosclorosis. I had stapes surgery at that time and it was very successful! Complete restore and improved hearing. The problem of course was also in my right ear and over the next 2 years it deteriorated to the point that I had to have another stapes surgery in my right ear. I had no problem making this decision after having huge success in my left ear. Well the right ear operation did not go well, we were never able to restore the hearing and I lost the ability to hear in stereo. Since 1990 I have basically gotten by with just my left ear and considered myself of normal hearing. That all changed in July 2002. One Saturday morning I was talking to my neighbor and noticed I was having a tough time to hear him, I thought nothing of it but as the day went on it got worse. Sunday I went to a walk in clinic and the Dr. there said it looked like I had some fluid build up behind the eardrum and it was probably nothing. My hearing continued to get worse and on Monday I went to my Dr. in the morning and he got me in to see an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist) that afternoon. He did a very though and highly invasive examination and he could find nothing wrong with me, I was perfectly healthy! He gave me some meds to stop the retreat or jolt my hearing back and by Tuesday the decline had stopped. When the damage was done I had lost what little hearing I had left in my right ear and had gone to a profound hearing loss in my left ear. It was chalked up to autoimmune disease basically because we could find no other reason for this to happen. My hearing high point was now 80 dB @ 250 Fhz and a low of 120 dB @ 1000 FHz (off the chart). It was a shock and changes had to be made in my lifestyle and the way I communicated. I learned how to read lips, I guess I had been teaching myself the last 12 years because I got pretty good pretty quick. I was tested yearly for the Cochlear Implant with always passing the test. My hearing continued to decline at about 20% a year and in November of 2006 I finally passed the CI test and became a candidate. I am waiting now for a surgery date with hopes of it being this summer and that is why I started this blog. So whoever is reading can come along on this journey if they want. So hear we go......