There is a Tampon in my Ear - aka I have Otitis Externa

At least so far that was what the ENT doctor diagnosed me with. I used to have an ENT but he retired so my neurologist has been handling my Meniere's Disease meds for the past couple of years until I found an ENT I liked. Well, no time like pain to find one real quick!

Of course, the day I decide to find one is the same day as a Jewish holiday and it seemed that a lot of the offices were closed. So I had to choose one from another hospital (it turns out though he's on staff at our hospital too). So I have Otitis Externa and have had for at least a week (that's when I began noticing symptoms but figured it was my normal fall cold). When the pain and the sound of the ocean started when I did the least little thing like putting on my glasses or moving my jaw as in eating or drinking, I knew I had to break down and see a doctor.

I am on Levaquin orally and to treat the Otitis Externa, the doctor put this thin sponge type thing into my ear which spreads out like a tampon (it's really called an ear wick but I swear it looks like a tampon complete with strings! - picture above). This sponge stays in until it falls out or I take it out as it is really really annoying. I then have to put 5 ice cold drops into the ear three times a day which is exactly what it feels like I need - more fluid in that ear! PLUS the ice cold drops put me directly into a dizzy spin that feels like an acute attack of Meniere's. So I go back on Friday and the doc examines the ear again to see what else is going on because right now he can't even see the eardrum or ear canal and pulls the tampon that is if it is still in there because I don't know how I will last until Friday with this in my ear. The doctor offered me narcotics for the pain. I told him no but might change my mind. The pain is tolerable but I am thinking one needs the narcotics to dull the feeling of being stuffed with a tampon in your ear and make you just not give a s*** it is there. Joy joy. And this is not helping my Meniere's Disease one bit! I am once again loopy and dizzy!

In other news, Trouble is still living up to his name. Besides making our employee sneeze like a zillion times when hubs came home to take out the garbage between offices and couldn't resist playing and holding him (employee is highly allergic to cats and hubs didn't wash his hands or change clothes before going back to the office)....... Trouble tonight chose to walk across the keyboard. Yes, the same keyboard he dumped a full glass of water on last night. This time all my toolbars at the top disappeared. I had to call my son-in-law to log onto my computer to fix it. Trouble got banned to son and off my desk.