Yeah, they’re something you’re supposed to grow out of when you turn 5. But not me. I narrowly avoided having tubes put in my ears as a kid, only to start getting ear infections again when I was fourteen or so. Since then, it seems like every time I get a cold I come down with an ear infection too.
If I’m lucky, it’s a bacterial middle ear infection. There’s some pain, some stuffiness, some temporary hearing loss, and some ringing. Then I get antibiotics and it goes away within a few days.
If I’m not lucky … well, if I’m not lucky it’s a viral infection. It gets into my labyrinth, the organ that controls the body’s sense of balance. I feel dizzy and fatigued. It can’t be treated with medication. And the best part? The best part is that it lasts from two to six weeks. Yeah. Good times.
Since I’ve gotten the house decluttered and organized, there have been fewer things to collect dust. I’ve been able to vacuum more regularly. My dust allergies have been much better controlled. All of this means that the viral ear infections that used to plague me several times a year have been fewer and farther between.
As I discovered last year though, that doesn’t mean they don’t happen; for instance, I spent most of my spare time last fall sick, dizzy, fatigued and lying on the couch. This weekend I came down with a cold, and with it the familiar intermittent ear pain that I dread so much. Here’s hoping it’s bacterial and not viral.