Speak Up, Sonny
Remember my cold from last week? It morphed into an ear infection and peaked into a ruptured eardrum last night.
That's right, a ruptured eardrum.
As in, worst pain I think I have ever felt, bar none. Labor was fun compared to this. Really.
As in, I can't hear out of my right ear.
As in, all I can hear in that ear is a constant high-pitched ringing that has got to be right at dog-whistle-frequency.
As in, I now have a constant trickle of ear-fluid leaking out of my ear. Gross!
(As if you really needed to know that last tidbit, but it's true nonetheless. While I'm at home, I have been hanging a tissue out of my ear to soak up the yuck.)
So enough about the grossness. How did this happen? Yesterday I laid down for a 30-minutes snooze on the couch while Noah was napping. When I woke up, I could not hear out of my right ear. "Interesting," I thought, and went on about my day. We were preparing for a ladies' meeting at our house, and I had a gigantic mess staring me down, so I started in on that.
About 4:00 I noticed I was in some pain.
By 5:00 I had to lie down again on the couch to try to get the pressure in my head relieved. I took a couple Tylenol because I knew I'd never make it through the ladies' meeting without something to mask the pain.
At 10:30 last night, I was in sheer agony. I would have cried, but I was afraid that would create more pressure in my already-crowded ears. I took 2 Tylenol and 2 Ibuprofen and finally went to sleep.
That wore off about 2:45am, and I groggily opened my eyes and realized the pain in my ear was back. I turned over to try to relieve some pressure, felt a horrendous sharp pain, and then heard a bunch of crackling and popping. Think a bowl of Rice Krispies. It sounded just like that. After that, fluid started leaking out of my ear.
A show of hands: how many of you think I was able to go back to sleep? Right. Not happening.
I called the doctor as soon as they opened, and was seen at 9:15 this morning. It was all pretty matter-of-fact. I told the doctor "I think my eardrum ruptured." She gave me a look and made a sound like, "Suuuurrre it did." She didn't roll her eyes, but she might as well have. Then, looking into my ear, she said, "Oh. Yep! It did!" She issued me a prescription for a very strong antibiotic and a pain prescription, and sent me out the door, telling me my ear should heal on its own within a few weeks.
So it would seem I'm stuck with the dog-whistle ringing and minimal hearing for a while. In the meantime, y'all are going to have to speak up!
If you think of it, please pray that the antibiotic wouldn't cause all the heinous side effects that are emblazoned on the side of the bottle. In this case, I think the side effects are worse than the ear infection. Lord, help me!
P.S. I have to share one more of my "Are You Kidding Me?" doctor moments:
I told no less than three staff members at the doctor's office why I was there before I ever saw the doctor. (Earache, possible ruptured eardrum, etc) I told the appointment scheduler, the front-desk receptionist, and the triage nurse...
Doctor walks in.
Says, (and I'm not making this up!!) "So how long have you been having urinary problems?"
Me, wondering if I've heard her right with my bum ear and all, "Excuse me?"
Doctor, referring to her computer, "Oh. That's not what you're here for?"
Um, no.
I ask you: why can't doctors communicate with their staff or read my chart? I'm beginning to think this is epidemic!
That's right, a ruptured eardrum.
As in, worst pain I think I have ever felt, bar none. Labor was fun compared to this. Really.
As in, I can't hear out of my right ear.
As in, all I can hear in that ear is a constant high-pitched ringing that has got to be right at dog-whistle-frequency.
As in, I now have a constant trickle of ear-fluid leaking out of my ear. Gross!
(As if you really needed to know that last tidbit, but it's true nonetheless. While I'm at home, I have been hanging a tissue out of my ear to soak up the yuck.)
So enough about the grossness. How did this happen? Yesterday I laid down for a 30-minutes snooze on the couch while Noah was napping. When I woke up, I could not hear out of my right ear. "Interesting," I thought, and went on about my day. We were preparing for a ladies' meeting at our house, and I had a gigantic mess staring me down, so I started in on that.
About 4:00 I noticed I was in some pain.
By 5:00 I had to lie down again on the couch to try to get the pressure in my head relieved. I took a couple Tylenol because I knew I'd never make it through the ladies' meeting without something to mask the pain.
At 10:30 last night, I was in sheer agony. I would have cried, but I was afraid that would create more pressure in my already-crowded ears. I took 2 Tylenol and 2 Ibuprofen and finally went to sleep.
That wore off about 2:45am, and I groggily opened my eyes and realized the pain in my ear was back. I turned over to try to relieve some pressure, felt a horrendous sharp pain, and then heard a bunch of crackling and popping. Think a bowl of Rice Krispies. It sounded just like that. After that, fluid started leaking out of my ear.
A show of hands: how many of you think I was able to go back to sleep? Right. Not happening.
I called the doctor as soon as they opened, and was seen at 9:15 this morning. It was all pretty matter-of-fact. I told the doctor "I think my eardrum ruptured." She gave me a look and made a sound like, "Suuuurrre it did." She didn't roll her eyes, but she might as well have. Then, looking into my ear, she said, "Oh. Yep! It did!" She issued me a prescription for a very strong antibiotic and a pain prescription, and sent me out the door, telling me my ear should heal on its own within a few weeks.
So it would seem I'm stuck with the dog-whistle ringing and minimal hearing for a while. In the meantime, y'all are going to have to speak up!
If you think of it, please pray that the antibiotic wouldn't cause all the heinous side effects that are emblazoned on the side of the bottle. In this case, I think the side effects are worse than the ear infection. Lord, help me!
P.S. I have to share one more of my "Are You Kidding Me?" doctor moments:
I told no less than three staff members at the doctor's office why I was there before I ever saw the doctor. (Earache, possible ruptured eardrum, etc) I told the appointment scheduler, the front-desk receptionist, and the triage nurse...
Doctor walks in.
Says, (and I'm not making this up!!) "So how long have you been having urinary problems?"
Me, wondering if I've heard her right with my bum ear and all, "Excuse me?"
Doctor, referring to her computer, "Oh. That's not what you're here for?"
Um, no.
I ask you: why can't doctors communicate with their staff or read my chart? I'm beginning to think this is epidemic!
Comments