I went to the hospital today for a check-up at ENT and they seem to be pretty happy with my progress. The doc checked my ears for vesicles (blisters) but everything was OK and then gave me a run down of the results from the hearing test carried out a fortnight ago. The chart showed a significant difference in response from the left and right ears... but it wasn't as I had expected.

My hearing has been affected by the illness to the point where I have a constant high pitched ringing (tinnitus) and sounds are definitely more 'muffled'. This was anticipated from the outset and it is a recognised symptom of Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

However, the chart showed that the hearing on the left side was worse than the right so I explained to the doctor that I have had problems with the left side since my first hearing tests in infant school... problem solved.

Hopefully the damage to the right shouldn't be permanent but we'll have to see. Both sides were also showing signs of noise induced hearing loss (indicated by a notch around 4hz) and I believe this to be a result of loud music in the car and nightclubs!

I mentioned the earaches too but this is something that will go away. In the meantime a couple of Aspirin would help me if needed.

The vertigo was a different matter though. As I have been previously told, the recovery period varies greatly from person to person so it's hard to give an exact time-scale. I mentioned that I was quite frustrated with the drunken feeling... not being able to walk around properly and not being able to drive so he explained that drugs could be prescribed to suppress the imbalance. I've been told this before too by the neurologist. However, if they were taken frequently they would slow down the natural healing process.

I've got some Cyclizine tablets left over anyway but I think I'll leave them in the draw because I don't believe in masking a problem for convenience. It's like taking a load of painkillers so that you can carry on playing football with a broken foot.

Just before I left he asked me for the URL to this site. Apparently, they have been looking at the site in the hospital so he wanted to take a look for himself... HI DOC! Nice one.

Back for another check-up in a month.

After the hospital I got a taxi into work for the first time in nearly two months. It was good to see everyone but I got a bit of a shock when I saw the state of the work carried out on the building site. The short plank will be brought out again on Monday.