Totally Tubular

I got one.  A tube in my ear yesterday.  One of the worst pains I've ever experienced.  I was not prepared for that.

I described it to Gene like this... you know when you stick a q-tip in your ear, just a little too far and you get that piercing pain.  Imagine that for 30 seconds at a time, a little break, and then again.  Repeat 5 or six times.  Oh and in between, stick a suction tube in your ear (like the thing at the dentist), and have it tickle your ear for a few seconds. He applied lidocaine to the ear drum, but my ear drum is all scar tissue.  So I don't think it did a damn thing.  I certainly didn't feel numb.  It felt like he had to do a lot of extra digging.  He seemed to request things that the nurse wasn't ready for, so I got the assumption that it wasn't a easy as it should be. 

I wanted to jump off the table.  When I left, my whole body hurt from cramping up. And, I was nauseous and dizzy, but the nurse said that's normal.  Probably from my body rapidly adjusting to not having all that fluid in the inner ear.  He said there was a lot of fluid.  I can understand why they anesthetize small children.  It only took 5 minutes, but that was the worst 5 minutes!

I got immediate relief from swishing sound.  I still have a ringing but its subsiding.  I can hear better, but I'm not sure its as good as the left ear.  That might not get better till the tube comes out.  I'm not really sure.  The doctor really didn't give me time to ask questions.  He was very personable, but really quick.  I understand that there are patients to see, and time is money, but I would have appreciated a little more time. 

I go back in a month for a check up.  Hopefully I never have to do this again.  If I do, I'm going to need a sedative to get me through it.