deaf and dizzy invalid

Mary’s ear infection was misdiagnosed and she was given painkillers rather than antibiotics, and as a result her eardrum perforated and required an operation to patch it – but permanent damage had already been done.

“The operation – my very first one, and I hope the last – was successful,” says Mary. “The surgeon took a graft of skin from behind my ear to make the patch, and after a period of having ‘packing’ in my ear the eardrum healed and I was given the all clear.”

“Unfortunately, though, the distressing symptoms of hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ear) and dizziness that had developed before I was properly diagnosed did not abate,” says Mary. “I was cleared for a Meniere's condition, and was told that my hearing had been permanently damaged, there’s no cure for tinnitus and I would just have to adjust to living with these disabilities.”

“For the first time in my life, something that had ‘happened' to me was ‘unfixable’ and I couldn’t believe it,” says Mary. ”I had often and repeatedly risked my health by working late, not eating, not sleeping, and drinking to excess, yet I had always landed butter side up.”

“Never once had any of the lifestyle risks I had taken caused me lasting harm,” says Mary, “and this time it was different because the damage wasn’t my fault – I had been misdiagnosed – and I couldn’t believe that there was no magic bullet or procedure that would fix me up.”

“For three months after the operation I held onto hope - no, not hope, just an arrogant belief in my immortality -- that I would soon bounce back to life with a vengeance, none the worse for the ordeal I had been through,” says Mary. “I refused to accept that I was now a disabled deaf and dizzy invalid listening to non-stop screeching in my head, but finally I was forced to adapt.”

“It’s amazing what you can put up with when there’s no alternative.”

Read more of Mary’s story:

listen to your body

body language

get a regular doctor!

listen to your husband!

get a regular doctor!

Had she listened to what her body was telling her and sought proper medical attention immediately - from a doctor she knew and could trust - Mary's story of permanent hearing loss might have had a happier ending.

“I didn't have a regular doctor because I was rarely ill,” says Mary, “but I can see now how important it is to develop a good relationship with a primary care practitioner – just to have a checkup when you are feeling well – so that when something does go wrong, you’re dealing with someone who knows you.”

“When I experienced a pain in my left ear I ignored it, expecting it would sort itself out,” explains Mary, “but by the fifth day, the pain was excruciating and I dropped by a medical center close to my workplace, thinking that I all I needed was stronger painkiller and I’ll be OK.”

“The medical center was extremely busy that day and if it were not for the fact that my head was screaming in pain I would have walked out.”

“Instead, I waited my turn and when I got to see the doctor I did not mind that I was not thoroughly examined,” explains Mary. “I just wanted to get out of that place as fast as I could, get my pills and get back to work.”

“For three more days I literally stuffed myself with painkillers and carried on as best I could at work,” says Mary. “Rather than listening to what my body was telling me, I put my faith in the painkillers and kept on working.”

“I was working, but the painkillers weren't.”

“On the third day at work on painkillers, I picked up a ringing telephone and received a fax screech in my painful left ear that sent me reeling,” says Mary. “That screech remained in my ear and was so alarming that I made an appointment with a specialist who diagnosed a massive ear infection and a perforated eardrum so big it needed an operation to patch it.”

“It’s possible that a regular doctor, if I had done, may also have been too busy to examine me properly,” says Mary, “but had I taken time out of my busy life to develop a relationship with a good doctor, I think he or she would have been more inclined to take care of me better than someone who didn’t know me.”

Read more of Mary’s story:

listen to your body

body language

deaf and dizzy invalid

listen to your husband!