(Tax) Free and Clear (Ear)

A couple of hours ago I freed myself from taxes. Or, tax filing anyway. I felt much the same kind of relief that comes the day after Christmas. You know, that "it's finally over" feeling, followed by "a whole year before I have to worry about that again" giddiness.


But prior to my taxing experiences, I got to enjoy the sweet sound of... well, sound. For the first time in nearly a month I am able to hear clearly from BOTH ears. Man am I glad that's over with. My left ear was nearly completely stopped up, despite the conclusion of my ten days of antibiotics. And my right ear even started to feel abnormal in recent days. Well, at my follow-up doctor appointment this morning, after verifying that my infection had cleared, my doctor gave me an ear-nema. He used some equipment that I had never seen before, along with a peroxide/water/antibiotic based solution that was squirted with much force into my ears for many repetitions (and when he put that contraption of his up to my head, I just knew he was going to say "dodge this").

You should have seen the gunk that came out of my ears. The solution that started out clear was anything but, and there were big ol' chunks o' wax floating in it when he was finished. Eeeew.

But even worse than that was the roughly dime-sized, solid piece of hardened wax that he ripped out of my right ear. I say ripped because that's what it felt like. He stuck some super tweezer thingys (that didn't look like they could fit) deep into my ear (which felt like it tickled the back of my throat), twisted, and yanked, revealing the chewy, waxy center of my ear-pop. Again with the eeeew.

He said that I have "longer than typical" ear canals. And that my ear canals angle upwards rather than downwards like most peoples', which helps ward-off infections. But considering that I got an infection anyway, it must have gotten pretty bad in there.

So right now, the depths of my ears feel strangely naked, but in a very relieving way. It feels like that itch that can't ever be scratched actually got scratched. It's a weird description, but that's what comes to mind.

I'm actually having a strange time of it, my restored hearing. I guess my brain had adjusted to the extended duration monophonic operation, but now that my stereophonic reception has been restored, it's taking some getting used to. I find myself over-reacting to insignificant sounds to the left of me, so I'm actually a little jumpy. Not that I'm complaining. I know that my car stereo is MUCH easier to appreciate in full-fidelity.

THANK YOU ear-sucking, gunk-obliterating doctor-man!