Huh?

Eva
I'm so pissed at the gun-toting idiot who unintentionally harrmed our Eva. Grrrrr!

Farmerman was very encouraging. Have you spoken to Sozobe about the hearing loss. She may have good info for you.

BBB

(((((Eva)))))

That's just a lousy reward for being a good sport.

Definitely sounds like the corticosteroids need a chance to get the inflammation down. I had a similar result, of some hearing loss and tinnitus, following a viral infection about 15 years ago. The hearing came back comparatively quickly for me - less than 6 months. The tinnitus hasn't gone away completely - I'll probably always have to sleep on my right side, to sleep well, as a result. The phone, ack, that was the worst. I had to have other people leave my voicemail messages for me, and pick up the messages I received.

The flashing lights are a great aid. In fact, there are many little assistive devices that are useful for all of us as we age, and our hearing gets a bit funky in any case.

Have you figured out a suitable punishment for the gun handler yet?

ehBeth
Beth asked Eva: Have you figured out a suitable punishment for the gun handler yet?

I suggest a penis padlock. :wink:

BBB

Re: ehBeth


Now that's a loaded statement! YIKES

Eva, will you say thanks to me too? And tell me how thoutful and caring I am. Thanks.

You are thoughtful and caring, SCoates. Thank you.
(Did I get it right that time?)

Thanks also to littlek, ehBeth, Algis (what did that mean?), husker, farmerman, BBB, colorbook, George, dyslexia, Brand X, Ceili, fealola, mac11, dlowan, Raggedyaggie, Noddy and cavfancier. Your kindness means more than you know.

EhBeth and/or farmerman: can you describe "tinnitis"? That may be some of what I'm experiencing. (I forgot to ask the doctor about this.)

BBB, I am an avowed gun-hater. This has just made me even more so. But despite my frequent quoting of statistics (e.g., gun owners are 11 times more likely to harm themselves or their loved ones with a gun than to use it in defense,) my husband, son, and many of our male friends still have them. (Sigh. Must be a Southern/Texan thing. My son shoots rifles regularly as a Scout, even.)

The friend who owned the cabin was the shooter. He wanted to show my husband and son this "great" .44 magnum pistol that his partner (and co-owner of the cabin) kept out there. Little did he suspect when he unwrapped the gun that his partner had left it loaded & cocked. The minute he picked it up, it went off. Fortunately, he is a big advocate for gun safety himself, so he had it pointed away from everyone and at the floor. Everyone was shocked, no one more so than our friend. He was VERY angry at his partner and called him up immediately on the mobile phone to ask him why in hell he'd leave a gun lying around in that condition. Someone could have been killed! GRRRRRRR!!!!! His partner replied that an alligator had wandered up as far as the cabin door a few weeks back, and he wanted to make sure if one ever tried that again, he'd be ready. (Still a bad excuse in my book.)

I was standing about 4 feet away...same as everyone else. Ironically, I (the only gun-hater) was the only one affected. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hate guns. (Did I mention that?!) And I am NEVER going anywhere like that again, no matter how much my husband and son want me to.

Sheesh. I shoulda been at the Hyatt.

Crikey.

My sentiments exactly, lil'k.

Everyone else, however, continues to act like it was no big deal. I think they're all crazy.

I guess that kind of ended the little vacation.

Maybe they're dumb.

No offence to your family or anything. But one time I knew this guy who was dumb... and he would do things like that.

Yep, it ended the vacation. (It was time to head home anyway.)

Nope, they're not dumb. My husband manages the industrial control division of a major electrical supply business...negotiates major deals and teaches control engineers on a regular basis. His friend is a super-qualified professional engineer. The partner who kept a loaded gun lying around is a highly respected doctor. But yes, you are right. SOMEBODY was dumb. I just haven't quite figured out WHO to be mad at yet. So for the time being, I think I will just be mad at all of them.

Eva, good thing you have great peripheral vision. That Dys is as quiet as a panther. Maybe it's the Indian in him.

We are both rooting for you to have a quick recovery. I'd be interested in hearing what your doctor says about tinnitus. I have hearing loss that is very near needing a hearing aid and I've had tinnitus for years. It is more irritant than harmful.

Anyway, those menfolk should treat you to a long stay at the Hyatt with all the trimmings including use of a spa everyday and champagne for breakfast and dinner. You might as well make the most of a bad situation!!

A 44 magnum left loaded and cocked?
That's unspeakable negligence. Thank
God nothing worse happened.

Amen, George!

Never mind the menfolk, Diane. I'll check myself into the best hotel/spa in town as soon as my hearing improves (positive thoughts, positive thoughts). Or maybe the best one in Kansas City. Or Dallas. Haven't decided. But I am already planning on it. Damn it, I deserve it.

I am offended by Kansas city.

American Tinnitus Association
American Tinnitus Association
http://www.ata.org/

Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is a common problem, affecting about 17% of the general population around the world (44 million people in the USA). It causes significant suffering in about 4% of the general population (10 million in the USA). Typically patients are told "to learn to live with it."

The development of a neurophysiological model of tinnitus (Jastreboff, P.J. Phantom auditory perception (tinnitus): mechanisms of generation and perception. Neurosci.Res.:221-254, 1990) and based on it a new clinical approach have created a totally new treatment for tinnitus that results in significant improvement for more that 80% of the patients treated at our center (Jastreboff, P.J., Gray, W.C., Gold, S.L. Neurophysiological approach to tinnitus patients. Am.J.Otology, 17:236-240, 1996).

This method, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), uses a combination of low level, broad-band noise and counseling to achieve the habituation of tinnitus, that is the patient is no longer aware of their tinnitus, except when they focus their attention on it, and even then tinnitus is not annoying or bothersome.

Tinnitus is accompanied by hyperacusis in about 40% of the cases. Hyperacusis is a decreased tolerance of sound and can be a serious problem. Some patients experience hyperacusis without tinnitus. A modification of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy can restore totally or partially the normal level of sensitivity to sound.

Oh, Eva, I just saw this.

Big big hug.

Yes, I can answer any and all questions about this. It sounds like it's a 40 db loss (not really any percentages in hearing), that is right down into the speech sounds area. Yoiks. That is also an area where hearing aids REALLY REALLY help, though. (80 db, where farmerman is, or 120 db, where I am, they don't do much.)

I'll just give you one place to start, but feel free to ask ANYTHING here or privately -- not sure if you know my story, that I became deaf as a teenager, and was hard of hearing (40ish range) as part of that process. Also have worked with people with hearing losses extensively.

Anyway, here's the little start-off:

www.shhh.org

One more thing, technology-wise, you would not BELIEVE what's out there. Great stuff.

One more little start-off on the STUFF side of it:

www.harriscomm.com

Sozobe
Thanks, Sozobe, I knew you could help our Eva.

BBB