I Can Hear You Now . . . .

I was thinking of my friend Kathy and how she likes pictures and then thinking that this morning's thick fog does not offer much in the way of picture taking possibilities.

Who wants to see gray when you can dig some color out of the picture library?

Besides, I posted this photo from our former farm for a neighbor from the past.  Greg now lives in Florida, and we reconnected through Facebook.

And, the posies look pretty pleasing on this gray day.  

This was a while back when Miss Kiwi was a young pup.  Annie Love was younger too, as was Annie Dog.

~~~~

Yesterday was a triple-doctor day for our family.  Does that indicate we might be aging?

My mother's doctor Tom Lawrence made a home visit.  He was quite pleased with how she's doing, and he enjoyed looking at all her artwork.

His nurse told me I need to ask about the doc sitting on Mother's lap.  I'm sure there's a good story there.

Anyway, Mother was pleased to see her doctor, whom she always says reminds her in looks and manner of ol' Doc Adams on "Gunsmoke."  

While Dr. Lawrence was visiting with Mother, I took Bill to his foot doctor.  Bill was hoping for clearance to drive again.

The doc said no---not until all the stitches come out.

So, after that appointment, I dropped him off at his office.  I think Bill was getting a little stir crazy about hanging out at home, inside the house.

His stitches come out Monday, so he'll be back behind the wheel after that.

In late afternoon, I mustered up enough nerve to actually go to the ear, throat and nose specialist's office where I had an appointment.

Didn't even drive around the block several times. 

The doctor looked in my ears and said there was nothing he could see wrong, so he sent me down the hallway for a hearing test.

That doctor asked me when I'd had my last hearing test.

I told her it was probably at Lincoln School in "the portable." 

We had a white building on the school grounds, which we called "the portable."  

They used it for things like hearing tests and programs.  

Unlike yesterday's test in a soundproof room, we sat in the building, directly across from Balch Lumber Co. (later Louisiana Pacific).  

We had to decipher soft sounds that competed with the mill noise.

I told yesterday's doctor that I thought we took that test at a definite disadvantage, but I guessed that I must have passed.

The doctor yesterday told me the sounds would be soft but she failed to tell me what to listen for. 

I think I missed the first two cuz I was doing my usual suffering from "test anxiety" and figuring surely I'd flunk this one.

Well, then I realized the three beeps were the test questions.  That thumb was at the ready for every time anything sounded like beeps.

She also asked me to repeat words to her and then she stuck the ear phones at a weird angle on my head.  I heard the beeps, regardless.

Anyway, she told me my hearing was completely normal in the right ear and just one level short in the left ear----that's the high pitched beeps.  

So, the doctor was a bit stymied.  After talking to me a while---to which I heard every word---he asked me to open and close my mouth.

That's when he heard unusual sounds coming from my "Temporo-Mandibular" joint.

And, that's when he told me I might have a bit of degenerative arthritis in that joint, which, just like the knee, has cartilege.  He surmised that possibly the cartilege might be causing the blocking sensation in the ear.

As he described the condition, it all made sense----comes from jaw clenching, chewing gum or hard candy or tough meat----or some other injury.

Well, this Type A, intense soul is a jaw clencher and has been for years.  Plus, over the last year I've started chewing gum while driving.

So, he suggested a mouth guard at night, no more gum chewing and doing whatever will relax my jaw.

I was glad to know yesterday that I can hear and even happier to know there's an explanation.

Now, I have to work diligently to avoid worrying about it.  And, that for me is the challenge.

Nonetheless, just like I wanted to pass my hearing test, I'll work hard to get an A on "relaxation."  

I also hope the ZAGS are working hard to defeat their WCC nemesis tonight, St. Mary's.  Should be a great game.

Go ZAGS!

Just got another note from Brandon Adam, who's competing in the Winter X Games.

He says  Sunday at 1 p.m. PST on ESPN.

GO BRANDON!