Day 37

I ended up losing all hearing in my left ear. For days, there's been the feeling that I had water or liquid in there. When I turned my head upside-down I could feel it moving around...just like swimmer's ear or when you have water stuck in your ear. I tried sleeping on that side, hoping it would drain, I tried using a blow dryer to air it out, I tried holding my nose and breathing to make my ears pop. Nothing. Then yesterday my right ear started crackling and making the same sounds inside that my left ear did at first. I got really worried that I would lose that side too! I made an emergency apt. with Dr. Franco. today and he looked inside my ear and said that there was no fluid or wax buildup that was abnormal or anything he could see that would cause me to not hear. He recommended that I go see an ENT to get my ears flushed. He said it's very unusual for this to happen. When I say I can't hear, what I mean is that I'm hearing what you would hear if you plugged your ears. It's like I'm in an airplane 30,000ft up, with plugs in my ears and headphones over that. You can hear inside your head what you're saying but can't hear other people or things. It's very annoying. While I was at Dr. Franco's office, I asked him if he or Dr. Simon would take off my splint. He said either of them could and I asked him to take mine off. He said ok! I was so happy because that thing is really intrusive! He went and got some wire cutters and made a few clips and pulled it out. It was like getting stitches out. A little pinch here and there and it fell out. It feels great to have it out! I can talk better, taste my food and brush! I was worried the splint would be super nasty and full of food but it wasn't that bad. He said that it actually looked pretty clean and not disgusting. Yay! The roof of my mouth where the splint was laying is rough and hard feeling. I thought that it would be a little easier to chew but when I went to have a piece of cucumber I couldn't chew it. I can on the right side but the left is still struggling to chew. I think it will take a few more weeks. After my apt. I went back to work and everyone was like, "whoa! I can understand you!" so at least there's that. Tomorrow I will see Dr. Simon for my first post op orthodontic experience. Might as well throw in some painful braces tightening while I'm at it. Actually, I'm happy to go because the wires are all cut up and some are really stabbing me. I want fresh wires. Next Wed. is my apt. with the ENT specialist who will I guess flush my ears. Gross, who would want to work with noses and ears for a living. I don't really want to wait another week without hearing. Oh, well. Also, I've been drinking the occasional glass of wine. Dr. Franco said it was fine last visit and I found that it feels better to have a glass of wine than take an advil or tylenol. My pain is more discomfort at this point. It's not really that painful but it's just enough and for over 30 days it feels like it will never end. I'm constantly aware of my mouth. It's throbbing in some places and pinching in others. My lips and chin feel burnt and my cheeks, jaws and under my eyes feel sore. The skin feels sore. My swelling has gone down some but still puffy, especially in the jowls. Here are today's photos.