Feeling alive; Feeling normal
Kelly had a normal childhood and grew up to realise a dream of joining the Navy. But one day she got an infection which would simply not go away. She had many treatments, numerous operations and eventually lost her job. This is Kelly's story
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I grew up as a fit and healthy child and was encouraged to take advantage of all the opportunities available to me. In 1998 I completed high school and followed my ambition of joining the Royal Australian Navy. As far as I was concerned life was just beginning and everything was going to plan. But it all came unstuck in early 2000 when I had an ear infection. No one knows how or what caused it. Little did I know this simple infection was going to change who I was as well as my plans for the future.
To combat the infection I took many courses of antibiotics but still it lingered. My ear drum perforated and I had a constant discharge from my left ear. After seeing a specialist and being prescribed even more antibiotics I had my first surgery. This seemed to clear things up and the Navy relocated me to Sydney. Things were looking up, but it didn't last long. A short time after I arrived in Sydney the infection reappeared and I became a twenty year old with a grommet. The infection didn't let up and the grommet didn't help. After a mastoidectomy I suffered from tinnitus and mild hearing loss but I could get by.
Unfortunately in early 2001 the infection returned yet again. Another mastoidectomy and, to every one's disbelief, two weeks later the infection was back. I began to wonder what I had done to deserve this. I became depressed, lost my confidence, struggled to concentrate and was always tired. The tinnitus got worse and I couldn't hear on my left side.
I was referred to a new specialist - Professor Paul Fagan who promised to give me a dry ear and get me well. After that he would treat my tinnitus and hearing loss. By now the Navy had decided that perhaps a career on the water wasn't a good place for me so I received a medical discharge.
Between 2003 and 2005 I was at my lowest. The tinnitus was severe and my hopes and dreams were shattered. I had to concentrate to hear if someone was on my left side. I isolated myself. By avoiding group environments like pubs, clubs and restaurants I saved myself from either embarrassment for saying the wrong thing as I misheard or being thought of as rude for ignoring a question.
In 2005 the infection returned once more and I went back to Professor Fagan. Once more I had a mastoidectomy but this time my ear canal was closed. This finally meant the end to the infections but it also destroyed the residual hearing I had in my left ear and ensured the tinnitus continued unabated. After I recovered from the surgery I was referred to the Hearing and Balance Centre. I was determined to regain my life.
During all this ill-heaIth I met Mick a beautiful person who is incredibly supportive and accommodating; he always walks on my right side and, when he can drag me out with friends, saves the best seat in a restaurant for me. Mick supported me in working to overcome the tinnitus and even attended appointments with me while I undertook Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). During this time I learnt a lot about myself, the fact that it was no one's fault that I became sick and that I was not alone - there are others like me, in fact far worse off than me. When I completed the therapy it was suggested I trial a BAHA. I'd already had so much surgery I was against any more, but wondered what it would be like in my new job if I could hear. I could talk to people without having to hunt around the room for where the questions were coming from.
Although I promised myself the BAHA wasn't for me because I was doing really well with my career and hadn't felt this good in years, I still made the appointment. Mick and I attended a support group to speak to people who were using the BAHA. The people there, although very nice, were all considerably older and less active than me. This didn't help me to make a decision because I felt I had nothing in common with them and I guess I thought the BAHA wouldn't help me because it is for older people with different lifestyles to me.
However, I did go to the BAHA trial. Words can never capture the feeling I had the moment it was switched on. Even with a BAHA on a headband I could hear so much more than I had for years. I was supposed to take it home for a week to help me make the decision, but I could tell how good it was going to be and as I walked past Professor Fagan's rooms I immediately booked in for surgery. A few weeks later I had the abutment implanted and then had to wait for three long months for it to heal before I could get connected.
The big day came and Mick was with me for support. It was instantly amazing. I could hear things like light switches being flicked on and off and the sound of my jeans brushing together as I walked down the hall. I no longer had to worry about missing a conversation or where I was going to sit in a room. My BAHA goes everywhere, camping, bush walking, to work - in fact it is on from the moment I get out of the shower till I go to bed. I finally feel alive and feeling alive makes me feel normal.