The Deafening Sound Of Silence

My flights to and from Texas over the Christmas holidays were made extra fun by the fact that I had and still do have a head cold which made the pressure changes during the take offs and landings some of the most excruciating experiences I've ever endured. When I got to Houston I was rendered virtually deaf for about 20 minutes after the flight until my right ear finally cleared itself; the left followed about 45 minutes later.

The flight back to Cali however was even more exciting: my congestion had gotten worse during my vacation so the landing was akin to having 2 icepicks inserted deep within my aural canals until they pierced brain; pride and dignity kept me from crying out but I'm fairly certain the people on either side of me (yes, I got the bitch seat: joy, joy) thought I was a writhing psychopath.

Again, the right ear cleared first after debarking only this time it took about 45 minutes but the left was taking considerably longer: I went to bed last night with very little hearing and a high pitched ringing in my left ear and awoke this morning with the same. When I got into the shower I could hear the water hitting the top of my skull as a dull echo in the left side of my head. I spent all day taking decongestants in the vain hope that my ear drum hadn't burst during that landing and that I would again be able to hear out of that side of my head and by the time I sat down to a late dinner I was preparing myself to accept the fact that I might have suffered permanent hearing loss.

Naturally I was very concerned since this had never happened to me before but I had decided that I wasn't going to really worry until my cold was definitely gone but who can keep from worrying when faced with the possibility of a somewhat life altering change like that? I laid down to go to sleep about ten minutes ago pondering the very real possibility that I might need some kind of artificial hearing aid for the rest of my life when suddenly: POP! After 31 hours of chronic hearing loss my left ear finally cleared itself minutes after I laid head to pillow. I hadn't shattered my ear drum; I could hear again! I can't describe the relief I'm feeling right now as I repeatedly snap my fingers on either side of my head. Whew. Well, that's about all I have to say about it. I'm just feeling very joyous right now and I had to tell someone. Good night all.