It had been weeks that it seemed I was partially deaf. The ringing in my right ear became consistent and higher in volume. I was not even myself - silently irritable, anxious, and ineffective. I hate asking what somebody had uttered but I had to ask what was it that he or she said – because I cannot hear audibly.
When I felt that it’s becoming worse, I asked Papsie that we go to Doc Rico, his otolaryngologist cousin. It was feeling like a lump inside was growing into a larger lump, the inside becoming more itchy, and the ringing won’t end. The fact that I have to repeat what the people around me were saying added to the problem.
Doc Rico told me that I have a fungus inside my ear. A fungus??? Did I hear it right? And I heard it right, though faintly. I was told to buy an eardrop for the fungus and I had to make an appointment with him in his clinic at the Philippine Heart Center, which was yesterday afternoon. Today, I felt relieved – I AM NOT DEAF! What seemed to be a lump inside my ear was a black and green tissue (the fungus) which had grown inside my ear. The cause – my frequent (which was almost everyday, sometimes twice a day) cleaning with cotton buds. Doc Rico emphasized yesterday that cleaning of the ear should be done once a week, and only the outer ear.
When that tissue was gone, a feeling like a bubble popped off, welcoming the clear voice of the otolaryngologist, when he asked, “How does it feel now?” I smiled, felt like yelping with joy, and told him, “Wow, I hear you! Loud and clear.”
I am sure that there are other people who are like me – ignoring the fact that the ear is one important and delicate organ of the body. It should be treated with care. It pays to remember that acute ear diseases could cause not only partial deafness, but also TOTAL deafness. If only I learned my lesson well the first time that my left ear had trouble hearing also. Doc Rico had to make a surgical incision then to drain my ear of the slight effusion caused by the infection on my left ear.
Daryl asked, “Do you hear me clearly now, Ma?” “Yes, I hear you.” smiling with relief.
diyosmiyoh! I am guilty of that...cleaning my ear with buds everyday. thanks for the tip and I am happy that you are feeling better! :)
ReplyDeleteGosh! Baka may fungus na rin ang left ear ko ah, It's been bothering me for years now that I feel there's a big lump there and I couldn't hear clearly on that side kahit na linisin ko na mabuti yan. But I always brush off the idea of going to the doctor kasi magbabayad pa ako nyan. But wait a minute, anong ginagawa ng medical insurance ko nga pala. Salamat sa paalala BING.
ReplyDeletesome doctors actaully advise their patients not to use cotton buds in cleaning the ears kasi it just cleans the sides of the ear canal & you just tend to push towards the middle ear what is in the middle of the canal. they advise we use those spoon-like things na lang to clean the ears. :-)
ReplyDeleteu-oh... patrice, clean your ears ONCE a week only... it'll save you money and will keep you from harm..
ReplyDeletenaku, sol... kahit anong kalkal ang gawin mo with the cotton buds, that will not remove the lump feel.. go and see a doctor na. ha ha ikaw talaga, mas magastos pag malala na, hala ka..
ReplyDeletehi, nikki! EXACTLY. when my left ear underwent a surgical incision, Doc Rico kept telling me that... and here was i, spending money because of being stubborn.
ReplyDeleteeyyy ako minsan d2 sa bahay nagbibingi bingihan ako pag tinatamad ako makinig sa sinasabi ng dad ko pero ang linaw linaw ng pandinig ko pag sinabi niyang punta tayo sa mall o kaya magtatanong siya na o," may budget ka pa ba dyan?"malinaw yun .pero pag sinasabi niyang o babad ka na naman sa computer haaaaaaaay tumataas ang kilay ko at immuned na immuned na ako(bakuna)-tama ba translaysyen ko?ayan tuloy sira mood ko sa kwento sa sunod sunod na pangangaral niya nagbibingibingihan ako pero ang totoo niyan nakikinig ako at tatak na tatak na sa utak at puso ko mga pangaral niya.haaaaaaaaaaaaaay o shige tapos na ako.thank's:)
ReplyDeletecheers! sinsitib ako pagdating sa tenga kasi dati may nakatabi ako na lalake as in kita ko yung pagtulo ng yellowish pa pero di naman maamoy kaya regular habit ko after maligo ang paglilinis ng tenga.
okay period.
lws, loka ka talaga ha ha ha ibang klase ng pagkabingi yan, more deliberate than accidental.
ReplyDeletemuntik na 'kong maduwal dun sa yellowish na tumulo. di pa naman ako umabot dun, that's why hanngang maaga, punta na ko ke Doc.
I have the same experience, though its with my left ear. Pinagamot ko na, gumaling for a while pero pabalik-balik pa rin. I'm looking for a specialist now to have it checked again. Dalawang beses na kasi akong nagpatingin sa isang EENT doctor lang.
ReplyDeleteGlad to 'hear' that your ear is now fungus-free. It must have been really a cause of great discomfort to you.
ReplyDeleteI used to be partially deaf (due to chronic tonsillitis and sinusitis; you know, too much blowing of the nose also), and it was hard. I had to interview a lot of people for my job back then (journalist). But somehow, I got healed after a Filipino missionary from Japan prayed for my healing in 2000. A miracle indeed!
Good to remind us that too much ear cleaning is actually bad for our ears. Somebody also mentioned that to me before.
God bless and Happy Independence Day!
hi jayred... yes, it was a great discomfort. i am glad that a miracle happened to you and cured you of the ailment. GOD bless!
ReplyDeleteGod works in mysterious ways...
Hmmm. Sometimes my left ear seems to itch as well. Probably because I have this rather nasty habit of scratching it with my finger as well as prolonged use of earphones...
ReplyDeleteThis post is a good reminder for everyone not to neglect our ears...:-)
hi tita bing. i clean my ear every second day. is that bad? i hear fine though. i don't clean it to the very end coz it might damage my eardrum. a childhood friend of mine became cross-eyed when he cleaned it everyday. his eardrum got infected and the nerves of his eyes were affected too. he wears glasses now. it's been years last time i heard from him. pogi nya! *hehehe* sayang taken na sya *lol*
ReplyDeletegood to know your ears are fine now. ingatz always.
I hear you. My problem is that I overproduce ear wax but I can't clean much because the natural reaction of the ear is to produce more wax to the cleaning...
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing people should learn, my ear doctor told me: that overcleaning of the ears can be be bad. But they don't seem to want to listent. Ironic, isn't it?
ka uro, oo... dapat once a week lang daw at sa outer ear lang.
ReplyDeleteyes, ronallan, they should'nt be taken for granted. glad that this post educates people.
ReplyDeletei visited your blog last night, kaya lang nainip sa tagal lumabas nung recent post, and i had to sleep na, hubby was calling me na.
for thesearemyconfessions - maybe hindi naman masama basta wag ipapasok ang cotton buds hanggang sa middle ear. but mabuti na rin ang maging cautious and limit the frequency, k?
ReplyDelete