Semi-deaf

For the past( umm..let's see ) 2 months , I often woke up from bed with a semi-deaf left ear. My right ear, on the other hand, worked just fine every time. From what I notice, it happens when I'm tired and/ or when I happen to sleep on my left side( with my left ear against the pillow). Even while I'm writing this, I can barely hear the music playing from my laptop at all. However, this is nothing new. Going back about 8 years ago, I once had to go see a doctor.

I remember my sensitivity with the ear. The obvious time was when I went swimming and got out of the water with some water left in my ear. Sometimes, it ruined my whole trip. It was so annoying but as a kid I could do nothing to prevent it. The most serious time was when I, somehow, got home with water still in my ear and, losing temper, used a cotton-bud to get rid of the water by sticking it as far as I could into the ear( without destroying my ear-drum). The result was interesting. Not only did I reached the drop of water in my ear but I also hardened my earwax, and thus, my ear went from semi-deaf to REAL deaf with painful ache. After a couple painful days I spent, I realized that the cause was related to the amount of earwax I had. ( just like my High school teacher used to say " Why you never understand what I tell you. Try taking out some of your earwax, kid ! " ). No longer able to resist the pain, I told my sister that I needed to see a doctor. Literally taking out my earwax this time.

The first thing the doctor told me to do was laying down on an operation seat. I did as told. He asked me several things about what I did and one of the things I told him was that I sticked a cotton-bud in my ear. He got a little upset and lectured me that a cotton-bud is for cleaning around the ears not ruining your ear-drums. At the moment, I learned my lesson but, the generous doctor, helped me further. He used what it looked like a vacuum cleaner but was smaller in size and had a tiny nozzle about the size of average person's ear hole. He sticked it into my left ear and started the machine. It hurt a little bit at first but after I got used to it, it was kinda fun. You could literally feel your earwax being sucked leaving you with a good old, empty, sound-resonated ear. Another good thing was that, in Thailand, the medical cost wasn't that expensive so I felt so satisfied and came home happily.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much does it cost to get my earwax sucked in the US. It would cost more I'm sure. The semi-deaf that I have now is likely caused by the amount of earwax I had in my left ear. Good thing is during the day it normally goes away and I will be back to normal usually after some hours of waking up. But what if one day I woke and it went completely deaf with no returning? How much would it affect my music making lifestyle? Like hell! Even if that happens, I just have to become a second Beethoven. Losing an ear or two would not stop me.