Nightfall
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2002
- Posts
- 1,937
- Likes
- 11
Well,
Thanks, first of all to everyone for their good wishes, thoughts and prayers regarding my ear surgery on Tuesday. I cant tell you how much it meant that so many of you took the time to offer positive and hopeful comments and more. It certainly helped to buoy me as I made my way down to the hospital early that morning.
Sadly, things didnt go well at all. The area damaged by the chronic infections, over the past couple years, was much more extensive than they had thought it to be. This was only discovered when they got inside. When they removed the "pocket" that was the major issue, they discovered that it was holding together major portions of my inner ear bones, some of which collapsed at that point.
What it means, in the end, is particularily difficult to accept, or even attempt to cope with. I suppose that I am still a bit too numb to grasp it fully. Per my surgeon/ear specialist's comments, due to the unexpected amount of internal damage, that somehow took place over an unusally accelerated timeframe, when I am more or less healed from the surgery, about six weeks from now, I will have lost 40% of the hearing in my right ear.
And so I sit here, with the right side of my face looking as though I was hit by a truck, a black eye, and an ear completely numb due to an apparently severed nerve (which they claim "should" fix itself)realizing that it was all for naught, or even less than that.
The only "supposed" good news is that down the road, again, per my ear surgeon, somewhere between 9-12 months from now, when internal healing is sufficiently complete, ANOTHER operation, this time reconstructive, "should probably" be able to restore me to normal hearing in that ear.
Music, and its reproduction, as well as films and home theater, have been the most significant non-human focus in my life. Now I am left with the apparent realization that at a minimum, for the next year, I will be unable to listen to my headphone system, watch films on my home theater, or go to the theater to see films. Neither my headphone amp, or any that I know of have balance controls, and even if they did, the end result would likely make it impossible to tell whether I were listening to a set of Eggos, or an Orpheus.
As for home theater and the movies.......while I had 50% hearing due to blockage of the ear during an infection over the holidays, I made the mistake of attending a showing of the new Star Trek film with some friends who insisted I come along. I can only say that I cannot even tell you if the film was good or not, the disparity in my ability to hear the soundtrack was all that I was able to focus on. Essentially the same thing happened at home, no meaningful film can be watched/heard this way.
Most of all, I wonder what I could possibly do to replace the 2.5 hours each night, following my current, and extremely stressful job, that I would spend before sleep, using my headphones and good cds to finally escape into a place of peace and relax. I cannot even imagine the idea that I will be able to survive a year without that solace.
If I sound a bit despondent, I am..........I feel like a man without a country, and especially lost here. I love being part of this forum, and spending time amongst you. But given my current situation, it is akin to me continuing to remain as a member of an online forum that discusses great art, when I cant even see what they are talking about for at least another year.
I sit here looking at the Philips 963SA, whose wondrous sound I was able to experience for only three days, and it feels as though it is nothing but a cruel joke, taunting me about that which was. Perhaps I should consider selling it, and the whole headphone system. I cant fathom even making plans for anything based upon something that might "possibly" be usable again a minimum of a year from now.
Forgive me if I appear even more distraught by this than seems likely. It comes as the crescendo of a number of great and momentous unfortunate events that have occurred within my life in the past two years. Music, my headphone system, films, and my home theater were very close to the only things left to me that allowed me any peace, solace or escape from the onslaught.
Once again I close with my entreaty to enjoy every moment that you are allowed the gift of listening to the wonder of music with your headphones. I am still fumbling to grasp the enormity of what I have lost.
JC
Thanks, first of all to everyone for their good wishes, thoughts and prayers regarding my ear surgery on Tuesday. I cant tell you how much it meant that so many of you took the time to offer positive and hopeful comments and more. It certainly helped to buoy me as I made my way down to the hospital early that morning.
Sadly, things didnt go well at all. The area damaged by the chronic infections, over the past couple years, was much more extensive than they had thought it to be. This was only discovered when they got inside. When they removed the "pocket" that was the major issue, they discovered that it was holding together major portions of my inner ear bones, some of which collapsed at that point.
What it means, in the end, is particularily difficult to accept, or even attempt to cope with. I suppose that I am still a bit too numb to grasp it fully. Per my surgeon/ear specialist's comments, due to the unexpected amount of internal damage, that somehow took place over an unusally accelerated timeframe, when I am more or less healed from the surgery, about six weeks from now, I will have lost 40% of the hearing in my right ear.
And so I sit here, with the right side of my face looking as though I was hit by a truck, a black eye, and an ear completely numb due to an apparently severed nerve (which they claim "should" fix itself)realizing that it was all for naught, or even less than that.
The only "supposed" good news is that down the road, again, per my ear surgeon, somewhere between 9-12 months from now, when internal healing is sufficiently complete, ANOTHER operation, this time reconstructive, "should probably" be able to restore me to normal hearing in that ear.
Music, and its reproduction, as well as films and home theater, have been the most significant non-human focus in my life. Now I am left with the apparent realization that at a minimum, for the next year, I will be unable to listen to my headphone system, watch films on my home theater, or go to the theater to see films. Neither my headphone amp, or any that I know of have balance controls, and even if they did, the end result would likely make it impossible to tell whether I were listening to a set of Eggos, or an Orpheus.
As for home theater and the movies.......while I had 50% hearing due to blockage of the ear during an infection over the holidays, I made the mistake of attending a showing of the new Star Trek film with some friends who insisted I come along. I can only say that I cannot even tell you if the film was good or not, the disparity in my ability to hear the soundtrack was all that I was able to focus on. Essentially the same thing happened at home, no meaningful film can be watched/heard this way.
Most of all, I wonder what I could possibly do to replace the 2.5 hours each night, following my current, and extremely stressful job, that I would spend before sleep, using my headphones and good cds to finally escape into a place of peace and relax. I cannot even imagine the idea that I will be able to survive a year without that solace.
If I sound a bit despondent, I am..........I feel like a man without a country, and especially lost here. I love being part of this forum, and spending time amongst you. But given my current situation, it is akin to me continuing to remain as a member of an online forum that discusses great art, when I cant even see what they are talking about for at least another year.
I sit here looking at the Philips 963SA, whose wondrous sound I was able to experience for only three days, and it feels as though it is nothing but a cruel joke, taunting me about that which was. Perhaps I should consider selling it, and the whole headphone system. I cant fathom even making plans for anything based upon something that might "possibly" be usable again a minimum of a year from now.
Forgive me if I appear even more distraught by this than seems likely. It comes as the crescendo of a number of great and momentous unfortunate events that have occurred within my life in the past two years. Music, my headphone system, films, and my home theater were very close to the only things left to me that allowed me any peace, solace or escape from the onslaught.
Once again I close with my entreaty to enjoy every moment that you are allowed the gift of listening to the wonder of music with your headphones. I am still fumbling to grasp the enormity of what I have lost.
JC
