Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Old Timer's Disease

I recently had a severe ear infection that left me temporarily partially deaf in my right ear. I was at home one evening, talking to a friend on the phone. Naturally I held the phone against my left ear so I could hear her side of the conversation. While talking on the phone, I had the water in the kitchen sink running so I could wash some dishes. Nearby, the dryer was also humming along.

I finished up the dishes, turned out the kitchen light and walked into the living room only to notice out of the corner of my eye that there was another person in the house with me! I literally leaped off the ground as I let out a yelp and did a sort of pirouette in the air. As I landed, I started hysterically laughing...the kind of laughing that comes from nerves...as I realized it was my friend Erin who had let herself in with her spare key.

She stood there with a shocked expression and said in a tiny voice "I rang the doorbell. No one answered."

Yeah. I was so deaf I couldn't even hear the doorbell.

1 comment:

Sarah said...

I have been there! Last May I had an ear infection in both ears, and I could not hear anything for the life of me. Working in the ER was REALLY fun; when I'd listen to the little asthmatics, I'd have to get the respiratory therapists to tell me if they were wheezing because I heard NOTHING. Not very good for a doctor! :)