Lucky, Lucky Girl (Again)

Two Saturdays ago I was sitting on the couch reading and I noticed that my left ear was picking up whooshing noises. Over the course of the day the sounds got worse and included other white noise and my ear also felt sort of full. I thought maybe my Eustachian tube was clogged like when I had allergies when I was little. My mother says I used to tell her I had bluebirds in my ears. So on Sunday I went over to my parents to have my father look in my ears and he thought I should try a decongestant. A couple of days of that with no improvement, and in fact, a decline in my hearing and I was concerned enough to do research (of course), try a neti pot technique I read about, and consult my physician again. He recommended an ENT. I went to the ENT on Monday and after an exam and hearing test I was diagnosed with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Boom! Just like that, almost deaf. I wear ear protection when I work with power tools, I don't have my MP3 player loud, I use noise-cancelling headphones on the airplane, I even keep earplugs in my purse for movies and concerts. SSHL is what used to be nerve deafness. Anyway, my ENT asked me to return in the afternoon for an injection of Prednisone directly into the Middle Ear, which he said would have a 30% chance of success. Based upon my research, however, I believed the chance would be higher. The procedure was 3 days ago and I can now hear a dial tone and words through the phone, although the voice messaging system voice doesn't sound quite the same in both ears. I can hear the words through my headset if I play a video, even if the tone sounds a little weird. There's still whooshing but I am interpreting this as being in the 30% so, with luck and whatever other forces people believe in that surround me, perhaps I'll have a full recovery. We are all a little wigged out about it, but to have reached 40 without any other health crisis, I know I am fortunate. Keep your fingers crossed that I remain my grandmom's lucky, lucky girl. I really need it this time.