So, we just got back today from the really, really big city (Los Angeles) and the bad news is I won't be allowed to run for 2 weeks. This is because I had surgery at a very big fancy schmancy hospital that will restore my ability to hear in my right ear. I've been pretty much deaf on the right side for years. I always thought there was nothing that could be done about it and that someday when it got really bad I would just get a hearing aid and be done with it. I realized that time had come because lately I'm missing a lot of conversations. I've developed some good coping skills to handle the inability to hear but lately it just hasn't been working and I knew my hearing was much worse.
So I finally mentioned it to my doctor and asked him to recommend an audiologist so I could get a hearing aid. Being the thorough guy that he is, he wondered what kind of hearing loss I had and whether there wasn't something else that could be done for me; this resulted in a visit with an ent (ear, nose throat specialist) and a really, really in depth assessment of my hearing. So the bottom line is my hearing loss can be corrected with surgery which I had done this week. Now for the bad part-no running for 2 weeks; no weight training or exercising of any kind-for 2 weeks. The only thing I'm allowed to do is walking.
So, you may ask-why wouldn't I be allowed to run, since the surgery was on my ear and that's a long way away from my legs? The reason is because the surgeon took out a very tiny bone in my middle ear that stopped working and replaced it with a high tech doohickey that will replace the bone and actually work. I can't do anything that might dislodge or move the doohickey-so, no running, exercising, sneezing, coughing, burping, or anything that might cause pressure in my ear.
And-the surgeon prefers that I run on the deadmill since I may have dizziness (I don't.). Don't get me wrong-I'm very grateful for the ability to hear. I knew the surgery worked immediately when I could hear the nurses and doctors talking and I wondered why they were talking so loudly. Modern medicine is amazing-I'm truly blown away with the idea that after a one hour surgery I'll be able to hear again. I just wish it didn't cut in to my running...
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7 comments:
Tanya....that is awesome! How amazing it will be for you to be able to hear well again. It is great that you knew right away it was a success!
Sorry about the no running...I am doing that myself and to quote you, "It sucks like a Hoover!"
Hope you have a speedy recovery!
Get well soon! My brother had similar surgery as a child -- 35 years ago. It worked great.
I also want to mention that I have inner-ear/balance issues and the treadmill is much worse for me on that front than running on the streets or trails.
what the heck! I'm catching up on blogs and you are the second person who can't run because of injury. well, I hope you get better soon. I'm just getting back into running but not because of injury, but because of weddings and cold weather and just life stuff. get better! hang in there.
Congrats on hearing again - don't worry, the time will pass quickly.
No running isn't fun, but remember - it's no running for two weeks, but hearing forever :)
Plus, when you come back, any tiny little running injury you might unknowingly have will be healed and you'll be a machine!
Yay for your ear, bummer for the running. A year from now though, you won't miss the miles, but you will be glad you can hear :-)
doohicky! lol
I am so happy for your hearing and i'm sure 2 weeks off running is pretty ok if you can walk for such an important thing!!
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