You shouldn't be able to hear... at all!

Sunday before last I rode a nice Sunday afternoon ride. The weather was great and I was enjoying myself. What I didn't do was remember to take the vent plug out of my hearing aid ear mold in order for the heat and sweat to escape. That's a recipe for ear infection heaven. Sure enough, I got one. No big deal really, just leave the aid out when I can and drops at night and it's clear in a couple of days. This time there is something not quite right. I thought it was my hearing aid so I called Mary to ask if she would look at it. that's the nice thing about working at the hospital. I have quick access to an Audiology dept. Mary takes my aid and puts it in a machine I've never seen before. Looks like a little gray doll house with no windows. It's actually mini sound proof booth for measuring hearing aid output. I love technology! Ok, the aid is working fine. She puts me in the testing room and we run a hearing test then she leaves the room. Seems like I sat there for a long long time then she came back in and it was bad news. Really bad news! I saw what she was about to tell me which I knew already. My hearing dropped. Actually it sort of jumped off the cliff. It's almost completly gone. My stomach was in knots and I could taste bile in my throat. No now, please not now I thought to myself. Mary went through the drill as a medical person sometimes has to. She told me that that was why it took so long for her to come back to the room. She was the one that was going to have to tell me that I was a hairline away from deaf. With my hearing aid in and turned all the way up I could still hear fairly well for this to me happening. She was asking me about if i had been sick and i told her about the ear infection but that it was gone. No draining at all. Then she looked at me a moment and said, hang on, let me try a pressure test. She did the test which it nothing more than an ear plug and sound waves bouncing off my eardrum. It was a flat line. She did it again and once more, a flat line. Flatlines are bad right? Not this time! It's great! She said I awas going to be fine and that I had a lot of fluid behind my ear drum and that was what was cause the sound blockage. Big smiles in the room! I was told to pop my ears 3 times per hour and the fluid will slowing drain over the next couple of days. So I've be popping all afternoon. In fact I need to pop right now! HA!

I have thought about this a few times thoughout the afternon. What am I going to do when my hearing finally drops? Who will tell me? Where will I be? Just a bunch of what if's. but then I tell myself over and over... no what if's allowed.

I've gotten addicted to the Biggest Loser show and tonight had a new twist! The guy from Arkansa has returned! Man has lost something like 79 lbs! Come on Arkie! Come then again it has it's chop it it and edit it all different and make it "good backstabbing I hate your guts" reality TV. Too bad for that. I like the show without the drama effects.

Speaking of biggest loser we start our finess center Holiday Challenage. You have the choice of maintaining your weight throught the holidays or dropping a few lbs. I marked "Lose". Lose during a holiday? Are you insane? Well, yes, I've been told I was! HA! If I can not eat after 6 which has not been going so great lately and going to the gym, which I've not done ALL week. I could make all sorts of excuses but I won't. I have to do the weigh in next week so do I blow it off til next week then go after it and lose the weight or do I do the right thing and get my tail back to the gym tomorrow? It's going to be 81 degrees here tomorrow and a bike ride sounds so nice. Maybe I can talk Terri into riding home with Eva and I can use the car to to get a ride in down on the river. I really miss having my own car a lot right no but the money we are saving by not having another car payment, insurance and gas is great.

So did you vote? I did! Some of my candidates wona d some lost. I was more concerned about my Sherwood officals than the Arkansas officials. I was really tired of the ads. Got to be a bit much this time and you know it was double on '08.

Well, make it count!
Geo.