First it was the ongoing saga of the septic tank, which was almost immediately compounded on Monday by our central heating going wrong in the coldest March weather here for 30 years. On Tuesday my brother-in-law generously gave up much of his day helping DH to track down what the problem was, while my youngest sister and I sat in the only warm place in the house, the sunny conservatory, and put the world to rights.
The very next morning I had a extremely nasty shock when I woke up to discover that I’d completely lost the hearing in my left ear overnight! Some rapid googling and an urgent visit to the doctor taught me that sudden hearing loss is more common that I would ever have expected and having ruled out some worse possibilities, the doctor prescribed ear-drops for what he hopes is an otherwise symptomless infection. Two days on I’m starting to be able to hear some loud sounds very faintly with that ear, but it’s still like listening to the world in mono rather than stereo. Most odd…..
Finally, to put, as my Lancashire grandmother would have said, the tin lid on the week from hell, I opened Google Reader yesterday to find the terse message from the Google power-that-be that in July they are going to retire what has become for me one of my essential blogging tools. It’s only a few weeks since I was gently gloating about the simplicity and reliability of Google Reader in comparison with the flaky WordPress Reader other bloggers were bewailing and now Google is planning to pull the plug on it, presumably because they haven’t found a way to milk it for every cent they can get. There are alternatives out there and I’m sure I’ll be able to find one which does the job just as well, but I was perfectly happy with the reader I had. Sigh…..
When things conspire against us, it’s lovely to be able to escape into a world beyond the petty annoyances of everyday life and last Sunday afternoon that’s exactly what I did. As nature froze outside the living-room window, I curled up on the settee with my knitting and lost myself in one of my all-time favourite films, that childhood classic The Wizard Of Oz. Sadly none of us can stay in that world over the rainbow, but a couple of hours of music, laughter and innocent enjoyment make our own world seem so much brighter. Now to see whether an oil-can will sort out my stiff knee. J
You HAVE had week from hell, Perpetua. I'm so sorry to hear all that's gone wrong. But you found the perfect antidote for gloom. That film is one of my favorites, too. And it's timeless! My three-year-old niece is absolutely obsessed with it. My brother says she has watched it at least 1,000 times and they act out scenes and songs from it on a daily basis. Recently, she was saying "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." And he asked her where she considers home (since they have homes in Bangkok, Thailand and in Los Angeles and he is currently working in Bangkok.) She said "Oh, Thailand is Oz. But L.A. is home." They live the film -- very happily -- on a daily basis. I'm glad it helped you escape the gloom, too!
ReplyDeleteThankfully they don't come very often, Kathy and I'm starting to bounce back. :-) So glad to find another Wizard of Oz fan. I still relish the best children's films and literature even at my advanced age and watched the film with a big smile on my face except when I was singing along. I love the thought of your little niece knowing it so well and relating it to her own life and experience. Of such things are wonderful memories made.....
DeleteI hope by now your hearing has returned, and you're experiencing surround sound again. Glad to know you also enjoy escaping into movieland. I read, I write,I garden, I clean and cook, but watching a movie is my favorite activity of all times.
ReplyDeleteIt's just starting to return a little, thanks, though I can only hear loud sounds a little as yet and very indistinctly. Still, it's only been two days since I saw the doctor so I have to be patient and hope the medication works.
DeleteMy most common escape is into books, but sometimes only a film will do the trick. As soon as I saw that this favourite was on TV I dropped everything and escaped into it. :-)
Oh dear, it's amazing how often you get problems one after the other, just to see what stuff you're made of I think.
ReplyDeleteI hope the next weeks are better for you and that your hearing returns to normal.
As my mother used to say, these things are sent to try us and this week they certainly have! Really the only way now is up and I'm feeling more positive, though my hearing is still poor. Hopefully the next few days will make a big difference.
DeleteGood choice, Perpetua! Well, it as if everything that could go wrong did ... at least I hope so. What a shock though to wake up and not be able to hear with one ear. Very glad that you are getting some sounds now. But the septic tank just adds insult to injury followed by the central heating is dire and I so sympathise!!! But that is the magic 'three' things so I hope that is 'it' for a very long time to come!
ReplyDeleteGlad you approve, Broad. I hadn't thought about it being the magic three things, but I do so hope the old saying is true. I want to be able to write about fun things for a change. :-)
DeleteIt really was a huge shock when the hearing loss happened and such a relief when I realised a bit of sound (other than the ever-present tinnitus) was getting through again. Still, onwards and upwards and fingers crossed that stereo hearing will soon be restored.
Poor you P. Hope next week is all hunky-dory.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been feeling rather sorry for myself recently and am really looking forward to a completely boring and uneventful week. :-)
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteI am a new follower of yours - and a new blogger also. Already I understand what you mean about things appearing to be always in the wrong! Somehow that is what makes the news - are we learning what the media knew all along?
Now that's a sobering thought. Gotta see the bright side though - and OZ certainly helps. Thanks for that little reminder. Hope your weekend brings some spring sunshine and other improvements!
Hello Yamini and welcome to my blog. Sadly we sometimes find that the media's propensity for bad news seems to be reflected in our daily life, but thankfully as bloggers we also celebrate the good things in life. My blog isn't usually as full of things going wrong as this. :-)
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the glimpse of Oz. It's such a good and enjoyable film! Sunshine would be nice, but what would be even better would be temperatures in double figures for a while. I can't remember such a cold March, even when the sun's been shining.
Oh dear, Perpetua, this isn't good, is it? I hope by now a few things have got sorted out - the septic tank, the central heating and that hearing problem! Google Reader is another thing altogether - not one that's affected me as I don't use it. If only I'd known, I promise I would have used it excessively to bolster up the statistics.
ReplyDeleteI adore the Wizard of Oz; we did a memorable performance of it when I was in the Upper Sixth and I shall love our own very special version forever. For cheering me up, I love to watch 'A Room with a View' - for some reason it never fails to make me feel good and I find the controlled English humour and frustrations of it hilarious. I think all performances are outstanding and I know every single word of it!
Do take care, sit in the sun whenever you can - it's a real tonic. Best wishes,
Axxx
The saying about raining and pouring did leap to mind, Annie. :-) The septic tank will be sorted as soon as the weather improves and the central heating will heat if we fiddle with it, but not automatically, and thankfully I've seen the first small signs of improvement in my hearing. As for Google Reader, it's always been my preferred way of keeping in touch with the blogs I follow, so I must find a replacement.
DeleteI might have known you would love The Wizard of Oz too and I now have a marvellous mental image of you as a sixth-former in your own production. :-) DH and I have a small collection of feel-good films we turn to when in need of light relief but A Room with a View isn't among them, though it's a wonderful film.
As for the sun, if it cares to return I'll happily sit in it......
Before you imagine me in one of the roles - I was the musical director. I 'conducted' the stage goings on and kept them in line with the pianist. It was actually such a good production we were asked to take it on tour, but with so many of us having A and O levels coming up, we couldn't do it. Our Scarecrow went on to be a professional actor... Axxxx
DeleteAw shucks! And there was I picturing you in those red shoes or Gilda's floaty dress. :-) To be the musical director of a musical is a crucial role and I bet you worked very hard as well as having a lot of fun.
DeleteSo sorry hear about your week P and just hope it gets better soon. I trust your ear is improving too. There's nothing quite like curling up on a sofa and indulging in some relaxing and film watching. I'm sure it did you a power of good. Have a good weekend. xx
ReplyDeleteWell the week is nearly over, thank goodness, so I'm hoping next week will be much better. :-) A slight improvement in the hearing, thanks, so I'm trying to be patient. The film escape was wonderful and I also almost finished DD's birthday socks at the same time!
DeleteThese things are sent to try us...and succeed beyond their wildest hopes!
ReplyDeleteI do hope that the hearing clears up soon...it must feel very frustrating.
My choice of something to help me unwind?
Spiral.
I can thank my lucky stars I'm no longer living in France.
One of my mother's favourite sayings - and certainly true this week. The hearing is improving very, very slowly, but I shall be good and use the drops and head back to the doctor's on Monday as instructed if I still can't hear properly by then.
DeleteI'm afraid I've never managed to get hooked on Spiral as the French is too fast and idiomatic for me and my eyesight isn't up to constant subtitles. But I know what you mean about it making you glad not to live there. :-)
What a horrible week you've had! Loved Wizard of Oz but haven't watched it in years! Like you every now and then a book won't do and I just have to 'escape' into a film.
ReplyDeleteHope your hearing sorts itself out very soon.
It's definitely one I don't want to repeat, thanks. I hadn't seen the Wizard of Oz since our children were small, but when I spotted that it was on Film 4 I just sat straight down and lost myself in it. :-) I think the hearing recovery may be slower than I would wish, but at least it has started to improve a little. Fingers crossed.....
DeleteYes, Big Sis, I agree that we sorted the world out between us earlier this week; I asked The Husband in the car going home had he felt it shift slightly on its axis when he was helping your DH with the CH fault-chasing.
ReplyDeleteAs you know our life has been unnervingly trying recently at well. Here's hoping when we hit the Vernal Equinox it will signal a change for the better. Longer days and more light should help, for starters.
Don't we always, Baby Sis? Once we start no topic is safe from us. :-)
DeleteI'm very aware that I'm not the only one to whom unwelcome things have been happening and I love your suggestion that the Vernal Equinox may signal some improvement for us both. Longer days will be good, but some sunshine and warmth and real signs of spring would be best of all. :-)
Dear Perpetua - it never rains but it pours.
ReplyDeleteThings going wrong always seem to come in threes. When everything is fine in the home, I find myself wondering how long it will last.
At least Google notify you, I do not seem to be on their personal mailing list - I wonder if it depends on the template we use?
Spot on, Rosemary. let's home the rain lets up soon and we get some sunshine, real and metaphorical. :-)
DeleteThe blog template doesn't make any difference. The message popped up when I opened Google Reader which I keep separately bookmarked and use for scanning new posts from all the blogs I follow, before clicking into the blogs themselves to comment. If you don't use Google Reader I don't think you get the message. I find the reader helps me not to miss posts and to be systematic in my blog following, so I will definitely look for an alternative.
Sorry to hear about your hearing which must have been worrying remembering you have the tinnitus problem also. Glad that it's not a permanent hearing loss. It has certainly been a trying time for you and I hope all will be well soon.
ReplyDeleteIt was really scary at first, when I realised that all I could hear with that ear was the tinnitus, but thankfully the slight improvement since makes me hope it will only be a temporary problem, though a frustrating one. I never appreciated before just how quiet my husband's voice is. :-)
DeleteDear Perpetua, we don't mind at all if you blog about things going wrong. You have had a rotten week, and I so hope your hearing gets back to perfection very soon. I have a temporary hearing loss sometimes after flying, and it is no fun at all! Good idea to watch a happy old film favourite. All the best to you.
ReplyDeleteThat's very kind of you, Patricia. I really don't want to bore everyone with my trials and tribulations, but it's been hard to find fun things to write about recently. Roll on spring and sunshine and some outdoor photos. :-) It's reassuring to hear that you occasionally get some temporary hearing loss and makes me hope mine will sort itself out before too long. As you say, it's no fun at all.
DeleteA little bit of Celtic wizardry for you Perpetua. Not only is your sister right about things changing at the solstice,(just 5 more days to go), but also, it is the dreaded Ides of March today.
ReplyDeleteAs my birthday is the 16th, I always feel grateful that the Ides is past and that there is St Patrick's day and the Spring solstice (vernal equinox) to follow, so the signs and portents are good.
I do hope your hearing returns to normal asap quickly followed by your other problems being solved.
What a chapter of woes.
Prayers and blessings to you.
I should have remembered about it being the Ides of March, Ray, especially as I did Julius Caesar for O Level. :-) No wonder my world has been going pear-shaped recently! Roll on the solstice and especially the clocks going forward on Easter Day. I just love the long, light evenings......
DeleteThe other problems will get sorted sooner or later, but sadly I can do nothing but be patient about my hearing and patience doesn't always come easily to me.
Wishing you a very happy birthday tomorrow.
Oh dear you have had a time of it. I hope your hearing returns soon AND completely! Very disconcerting. i'm afraid I am probably in a minority in that I don't particularly like The Wizard of Oz!!! Heresy I know! But I do love the old black & white films for comfort movie days! Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteYes, the calm, if not boring, tenor of our lives has been a bit upset recently, but the most frustrating aspect is undoubtedly the hearing loss. Thanks for the good wishes. I hope so too.
DeleteI'm sure you're not alone in not being a fan of the Wizard of Oz. We all have our own favourites and DH and I certainly don't always share the same taste in films. :-)
I'm so sorry to hear of the onslaught of frustrations plus maladies, Perpetua. I've always wondered why it seems these things come in multiples! LOL! I'm really sorry about the hearing, as that is more than an annoyance, that's for sure. The Wizard of Oz is an excellent coping mechanism. I LOVE all things OZ! I have read most of the Frank L. Baum books, and I can sniff out anything that even remotely connects to the Yellow Brick Road! :-) Glad we have that in common, my friend. About the Reader...every change seems to affect all of us, whether something is our primary source or not. When it comes to blogging, I'm not crazy about change! :-)
ReplyDeleteI do sound like a classic Grumpy Old Woman in this post, Debra, but It really has been one of those weeks! The hearing is improving very gradually, I'm glad to say, but I can still only hear loudish noises and no detail as yet.
DeleteVery glad to learn that you're another Oz fan.:-) It's such a well-made film and so totally endearing that I could never tire of it. I seem to remember reading the books when I was young and I certainly know DD did when she was a child.
As for the reader, I'm planning to look at a couple of the highest recommended alternatives today and perhaps subscribe to both, so that I don't have all my eggs in one basket in future. Oh, bother Google!
Poor Perpetua :-( I'm sorry the apple tree of life has been lobbing rotten fruit at you lately..... You should have told me you were watching it, I'd have come by and watched it with you. (I'm scared on my own when the wicked witch has a house fall on her). I love yoyur Grandma's expression ;-) Go and see a specialist for your ear if it hasn't cleared up (yes, I've spent too long in France...). Hugs xx
ReplyDeleteYes, another Wizard of Oz fan! I was brave enough to watch it on my own this time, as I think I'm just about all grown-up now, but your company would still have been very welcome. :-)
DeleteOur Lancashire grandmothers had such a lot of wonderfully expressive sayings, didn't they? I must search my memory for more of them....
As for the specialist, you know how it work over here unless you go privately. First the GP, then the referral... Unless it is markedly better by Monday (which I doubt at the present rate of progress) I'll go back to the GP on Monday and take it from there.
I do hope the hearing is still improving Perpetua. I can imagine how distressing that must have been, in your week of disaster after disaster....and something like that makes dealing with other practical things even harder. However, the sitting in the sun with your sister sounds to have been an excellent way of coping, as does watching W.o O.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great film, I still want those shoes....and now I want to know what part Annie played when she was in the 6th form. Keep smiling.....spring will be here soon, septic tank will be fine, heating will cease to be as important....and the medication will sort out that ear. Jx
Thanks for all the positive thoughts, Janice. The hearing seems to be improving, but very slowly, and I've got used to turning my good ear towards DH when he speaks to me (he has a rather soft voice) and having the TV on louder than usual. It's amazing how quickly we can adapt our behaviour when we have to. Sadly the sun's visits have been very fleeting since Tuesday and it's still SO cold for March. Sigh....
DeleteWe must twist Annie's arm to tell us more about that school production. Perhaps a future blog post....?
Gosh what a bloody awful week, scuse my French... :)
ReplyDeleteI hope your ear infection clears up soon. It must have been very unpleasant to wake up half deaf!
I don't think I have a favourite film that I watch in times of distress, but I like to sit in front of all those murder mysteries I mentioned on my blog for a bit of relaxation, or dive into my Kindle and get lost in a thriller. I good walk in the sunshine also does wonders for the spirit. :)
My thoughts exactly! Wednesday was a really weird day and it's good to be seeing a bit of improvement, however slow.
DeleteWatching this particular film was pure serendipity as it just happened to be on Film 4, but a good murder mystery can certainly distract me very satisfactorily, when on film or in a book. The walk in the sunshine will have to wait for some sun and a wind not straight from Siberia. :-)
Big sympathy from over here, too! A week like yours comes up and colours the whole of the world - the news looks worse, the weather seems worse and one looks carefully around the corner of the next day, in fear of what may come. I hope your hearing is soon restored and that septic system troubles are well in the past!
ReplyDeleteWhen I need a pick-me-up I watch Enchanted April and dream of hyacinths and sunshine.
That's so true and yet I can't help thinking it shouldn't be. To quote my grandmother yet again, worse things happen at sea, but somehow the cumulative effect of so many negative things did knock me back a bit. The hearing improvement is continuing extremely slowly and I live in hope.....
DeleteEnchanted April! What a good idea. I haven't seen it since it was first broadcast, but with a birthday on the horizon the DVD is now residing in my Amazon wishlist. :-)
And now the cold and the rain are back! O joy of joys!
ReplyDeleteJust get that knitting out again, switch on the DVD and forget about the world, provided your knees let you and all plumbing problems have been solved.
I'm not sure the cold ever went away up here. It's been warmer in the fridge than outside this week and this afternoon your rain has been falling as snow with us. Sigh...
DeleteThe knitting is going great guns and thankfully the stiff knee proved temporary, so things are looking up. :-)
Maybe you need a nice pair of red shoes and a bit of heel clicking to sort it all out? Hope all's soon back to normal and that you've had your "things come in threes" moment for a while, at least. Meanwhile, venting on a blog is therapeutic, and I'm glad you did it, if it helps you!!!
ReplyDeleteA good idea, but I'm guessing that clicking the heels of my slippers won't have quite the same effect. :-) The hearing improvement is being very slow indeed, but at least we've found a work-round for the heating and I've now replaced Google Reader with Feedly, so I'm feeling a lot more positive today. You're right about venting being therapeutic though....
DeleteLike Friko so wisely says - get the knitting out, switch on the DVD and according to Murphy's Law, things should well improve next week. So much hope that they do.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Molly. I've been knitting like mad over the past couple of weeks as it's such a soothing activity. DD's birthday socks were finished in 8 days and I'm now working on a warm woolly pair for myself on the basis that I'll probably get plenty of wear out of them before spring finally arrives. :-)
DeleteDear Perpetua, going off on that yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz, with all the hope one can muster, is a perfect escape for woes; and what woes you have had. Hopefully, you hearing will return at full volume and you will find yourself doing better soon. What a fright that must have been for you, and then, all those other "bothers" as Winnie the Pooh might declare. I've had those days where one just wants to crawl back under the covers for the duration. I'm thinking of you here, hoping life settled down soon.
ReplyDeleteBothers! Exactly the right term, Penny. Pooh always has a word for it. :-) Inconvenient and annoying but still only bothers, except for the hearing and that of course is because there's nothing we can do to put it right, other than the doctor's drops. DH and I are both 'fixers' by nature and don't do so well with things we can't sort out for ourselves. I keep telling myself that patience is a virtue and one I really have to practice right now..... :-)
DeleteYes, I can see these last weeks are of the kind you'd like to leave behind you ... I do hope things improve rapidly from here.
ReplyDeleteKnitting is one of the best remedies for the blues that I know :D
Let me know if the oil works on your knee, I might try it ;)
By the law of averages I think things have to get better now, Annie, and I'm crossing my fingers that includes the weather too. What happened to spring?
DeleteAs I just said to Molly, my knitting has been on a production line recently. If I go on like this I could set up a small business in hand-knitted socks.......
Thankfully the knee unstiffened with some exercise, so I haven't had to test the efficacy of the oil-can. :-)
What a rotten week....and I do hope your hearing is restored to normal very soon.
ReplyDeleteThe Wizard of Oz is also my favourite film of all time. I have watched it so many times that I'm sure I know every word of every scene off by heart. I used to bore my children rigid when they were young, by saying "let's watch the Wizard of Oz"..you could see their eyes glaze over.
I've known better, but it's now the beginning of a new week, so I'm looking forward not back.
DeleteThe Wizard of Oz is certainly one of my top ten favourite films, but I can't say I know every line, except of the songs. :-) But I'm sure I used to bore my children in the same way with my favourite books and films.
I hope that your problems are being solved and that your hearing will soon be back to normal. Perhaps there is a little man behind a curtain, making things go wrong. Dorothy, or more precicly ToTo should be along shortly to find him out, then things will all be well. :)
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh, Bonnie! the inanimate problems will be sorted out sooner or later, but so far the improvement in my hearing is very slow. I'll be seeing the doctor again tomorrow, so hopefully I will know more after that.
DeleteIt came back to me: Cave Idus Martias! How disconcerting/upsetting/all-consuming sudden hearing loss must be, and how beastly when bits start malfunctioning randomly. I'm so impressed that you are able to blog about it - I find that if something is *really* bothering me I don't have the energy to do anything creative with it and retreat into a sort of self-obsessed stupor instead. I hope your hearing will come back to you soon, and that we both find a suitable successor to Google Reader!
ReplyDeleteIt was all of those, and what with the impending cataract operations I started to feel like I was falling to bits all of a sudden. Interestingly it wouldn't have occurred to me to blog about such things when I first started, but the grpwth of real friendship other bloggers over the past two years means that I now feel able to write about the bad as well as the good bits of my life and know I will find support and encouragement, as well as a lot of good advice at times.
DeleteThe hearing is proving very dilatory in returning, but yesterday I subscribed to Feedly and am already finding it has advantages over Google Reader, especially in the index format.
I am so sorry to read about all of your troubles Perpetua but so glad you felt able to blog about them. Blogging can be very therapeutic as I know from writing about all my various battles with Czech bureaucracy :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone in wondering where on earth Spring has got to. We continue to have freezing temperatures here in Prague, but longer hours of daylight & many hours of bright sunshine during the last few days have made the cold much more bearable. There was a lovely light in St. Clement's this morning with sunshine coming through the windows.
Glad to know you've found a suitable successor to Google Reader. I'm afraid I'm not so systematic. I have couple of WordPress blogs where I've signed up to be advised of new posts & comments by email. The rest including yours, I just have bookmarked and check every day or two to see if there is anything new.
Thanks, Ricky. It does read like a real chapter of accidents, but after a peaceful weekend I'm quietly hopeful that the coming week will be better. You're right about the therapeutic value of blogging - like talking things over with good friends.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear that your spring is proving as backward as ours. The sunshine must be some compensation and I'm now thinking pleasantly nostalgic thoughts of a sun-filled, if chilly, St Clement's. :-)
I don't follow any blogs by email, because new posts have always popped up so quickly and reliably in Google Reader, from where I can click straight through to the blog to comment. The blogroll in my sidebar updates itself with new posts (one of Blogger's best features) but if I listed all the blogs I follow there it would be unmanageably long, hence the reliance on a reader. So far, so good, with Feedly.
Goodness me, Perpetua, how utterly grim for you! I *do* hope that things are starting to look (and sound) up for you and that this new week will be a better and warmer one.
ReplyDeleteThanks, DB. The housekeeping problems were a nuisance, but nothing more, but the hearing loss was a huge shock at first. I'm starting to be able to hear a bit on that side now, but it isn't yet working hearing, if you know what I mean, just faint and indistinct sounds. Let's see what the doctor has to say tomorrow.....
DeleteBeen away for a few days break and just read your post. Do hope things are improving especially with the hearing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a lovely trip, Susan. Things are looking brighter now, thanks, though the hearing improvement is still very slow.
DeleteDear Perpetua, I so hope your hearing has fully returned. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI'm delighted to say that it came back today, Dee, as suddenly as it went. It must have been wax blocking my ear canal.
DeleteOn Readers, someone gave me a link to a different one, I'll try and hunt it out, it was a recent comment. Needless to state your posts don't come up on WP Reader :D
ReplyDeleteOn W of Oz, I am pleased to say I hated it. Frightened me to bits. As I didn't notice anyone else saying that on my rapid scan through your comments, I claim a prize for my dissension.
Hearing. I could write a whole blog post on this one, and will do at some point. I've had the total loss in one ear for a few days. No idea what the cause was, it went after a few days.
I've also had tinnitus on and off for years. For which I categorically blame my father as I followed his example in cleaning my ears with Q Tips (at least I didn't use matchsticks), but at one point I had excellent hearing presumably to compensate for my appalling eyesight. I've had a tinnitus bout now for weeks, maybe months.
I read your comment elsewhere about using olive oil but not cotton wool. Trouble is, unless you do it when you go to sleep and lie on the correct side, it just drips out if there is nothing to keep it in. I normally use olive oil, although I didn't bother going to the doctor to discover that one. You can also add a couple of drops of essential oil eg lavender. At the moment, I'm using aloe vera gel (from a leaf from the finca). As with before, the ringing and the muted hearing will disappear when it chooses to.
I am pleased your hearing has returned, I write the above in case you have a recurrence. Sometimes simple non-invasive remedies work well enough. Sounds like your olive oil worked well.
Feedly seems to be working well at the moment, but of course it's taking its feed from Google Reader until its own back-end is up and running, hopefully well before GR waves farewell at the end of June.
DeleteI'm sure you're not the only Wizard of Oz hater, but since no-one else has put their hand up the prize is yours. :-)
Unfortunately, unlike this bout of temporary deafness (thank you, olive oil) my tinnitus has been permanent for the last 6 or 7 years at least. It's pulsatile tinnitus, so no ringing or whistles, but a constant pulsing hiss as I hear the blood circulating through the tiny vessels around the ear.
I will admit that I've resorted to cotton wool at night to avoid oil all over the pillow, but during the daytime I'm managing without. It's only until I have my ears syringed next Monday, after which I hope my troubles will be over for a bit. This episode has certainly made me realise how much I value my hearing and would hate to lose it.
Sorry to hear of the troubles. I'm sure knitting will help the blood pressure and take your mind off worrying about everything (although it is very odd only having hearing in one ear; that's happened to me once or twice).
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing to compare with Google Reader: even similar products rely on Reader for the "back-end" processing, so its loss will be a major blow to many users. I suppose that Google haven't been able to think of a way of monetizing it: how do they generate ads to show?
Anyway, I was sent a link to a Keep the Reader petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/google-keep-google-reader-running
At the time of this comment, they are just over 7000 signatures short of the target of 150,000. It may not make a difference, but signing it can't do any harm.
How nice to see you here again, Andrew and thanks for the good wishes. I'm very relieved to be able to tell you that my hearing has now returned as suddenly as it vanished.
DeleteYou're right that there is nothing to rival Google Reader, which is why I find it so hard to understand their decision to axe it.
Lack of profitability. I suppose, but it's such a shame. I'm now using Feedly, which assures us that it's working on a back-end to take over when Reader is unplugged. So far so good, but I hope they are able to deliver.
Thanks for the link to the petition which I actually found a few days ago and signed. As you say it may make no difference, but we have to try.