(yes, I am going to go to the doctor)

[ysobel]

For the past few days, my right ear has been completely and utterly clogged. It feels sort of like swimmer's ear, except I don't swim. I suspect it's either a) wax that's built up enough to impact the area, b) some sort of otherwise-asymptomatic infection, c) swelling for an undefined reason, or d) a wacky wacky combination of the above.

At any rate, I have (temporary) severe hearing loss on that side. Left ear's totally fine, but right not so much.

I have discovered the following things:

1) My auditory directionality is way off. If I'm moving or turning or whatever, fine, but if I'm just sitting still? Everything registers really far to the left. (A ringing phone right behind me sounded like it was coming from the other room. And when I was in the hallway, Suri was scratching on a cat post in a room to my right, but it sounded like it was coming from the couch, back and to the left.)

2) Hair-washing is funky, because there's more sound coming from inside the head (percussive drumming from the water and ratchety scrubbing type noises, but all conducted through bone instead of air)

3) Testing new headphones is not the best idea when one ear is behaving abnormally.

4) Singing is *really fucking weird* - I'm used to hearing myself sing, but again I'm getting more from inside the head than out

5) Noisy restaurants take waaaay more spoons than I actually have. Went out with a group of people, had problems ordering, and couldn't hear most of the conversations even at my end of the table, but still got exhausted from trying.

(Disclaimery thing: I know that abnormal-for-me is normal (or better than normal) for other people, and I am not trying to speak for anyone else's experiences. I just ... don't have any coping mechanisms, and I am all flaily, and yes I realize the dorkiness of this disclaimer and stuff but whatever. *fails at coherency*)

Comments

[synecdochic]

Sounds like wax buildup -- I get that all the time. Usually it will then lead to a mild infection, so a few days of antibiotics and then syringing out the wax clears it right up. Your doctor will probably try the syringing first, and see what comes out.

(It's really gross, but really cool.)

[ysobel]

What I am finding kind of hilarious (in the not-really-all-that-funny way) is that I have SEVERAL TIMES brought up concerns about ear cleaning, and my doctor tends to be all "oh don't worry about it, ears are self-cleaning."

(like hell they are)

... I don't usually get problems with wax per se, but I do get gunk (oil and dead skin, is my best guess) that itches like crazy. And I can't use any sort of anti-itch eardrop because that would require tilting my head to the side. And he doesn't listen to me when I tell him I have problems, because hey, self-cleaning, right?

yeahno.

[synecdochic]

Ha. Well, yeah, in the normal course of things, ears don't tend to get all that much buildup. But you and I are not the normal course of things! (In my case it's the psoraisis and the Ehlers-Danlos related "your skin cells turn over like four times as fast as a normal person's".)

[ysobel]

Gosh, isn't it FUN being Medically Weird?