God Save The Hearing: Queen Elizabeth Rocks the Ear Plugs

Even those without Meniere’s Disease appreciate the value of good hearing.

After sixty years in the business, Queen Elizabeth has had to attend more twenty-one gun salutes, female falsettos and rowdy state affairs than one should ever have to endure. But like all who are at the top of their game, she has a few tricks tucked in her tiara to get her through.

Those with (or without) Meniere’s Disease would be wise to embrace Her Royal Highness’s use of protection… ear protection. One doesn’t need fancy shmancy, diamond encrusted ear plugs. Just send Jeeves down to the local pharmacy with a mere 50p (AUD $0.80) and you too could be enjoying the benefits of minimised tinnitus and noise related hearing loss after the big event.

Ear plugs aren’t just for concerts; they’re great for everyday use such as:

·         when blow drying your hair at home or at the salon

·         when visiting noisy construction sites

·         on a tarmac or plane jetting to far off colonies

·         when minding the grandkids (or anytime you’re forced to be with other people’s children ;) )

·         water proof plugs while swimming or in the shower after an intratympanic Dexamethasone injection

·         or anytime you just want some (world) peace & solitude

Foam ear plugs come in packs of two or more and are easy to insert. Just slowly roll with a clean or gloved hand, compressing the plug into a thin crease-free cylinder, then insert well into the ear canal. Hold plug in place with fingertip until it has expanded. Simple!

If you accidentally drop one behind the throne, don’t despair, grab a fresh plug from the multipack and notify the staff to vacuum the soiled one up (Note: Ear plugs may be a choking hazard to Corgis, so don’t leave them lying around.) When not in use, keep your ear plugs hygienically protected in the container they came in.

Take it from the Queen, ear plugs are the cheapest insurance you can buy to protect your ears now and into the next jubilee. God save the hearing!

Above picture: Queen Elizabeth sports foam ear plugs which can be seen in the side view and ever so slightly in the three-quarter view. She then discretely removes them before going on stage with a beaming smile. Oh the joys of saved hearing! J

3M - EAR Classic SuperFit foam ear plugs

WHEN DO YOU USE PROTECTION FOR YOUR EARS? Share a comment below.

Imagine… What it’s like to Have Meniere’s Disease

You know it's funny. When I tell people I have Ménière’s Disease they usually respond by saying, "what's that" or "never heard of it". No one has ever asked me what it's like to have Menieres. If they did I would describe it thus.

Imagine that you have one blocked ear. Feel that sensation. Sense the fullness. Strain to hear the haziness of muted sounds. Feel what it's like not being able to hear in an ear.

Now imagine that in addition to the blocked ear, a couple of crickets have somehow crawled into your ear & are making a constant white noise. Hear it? Hear the shhhh, buzzing or hissing sounds?

Now imagine that as well as the blocked ear & the crickets, you have a head cold or you’re just a little hung over so everything is a more complicated than usual. You feel mentally and physically drained, and need more time to accomplish the simplest of tasks. Light might affect you more. You might start bumping into things and have trouble thinking. You might even feel that it's unwise to drive. You feel it? Feel the fogginess?

 

Now imagine that adding to the blocked ear, the crickets & the hangover you now find yourself on a boat out at sea, rocking up & down, left & right. You look to the horizon to get your bearings but it's moving. So you feel hazy or perhaps nauseous. The waves go up & down; left & right. Can you imagine how that feels? (see video above)

Now to make matters worse you learn that you will likely never, ever get off this rocking boat. That's right.

Now imagine that you are alone on this boat and that all of your friends, family & work colleagues are back on dry land going about their lives with normal hearing & balance; cricket & hangover free (okay, maybe not hangover free). They don't understand what you're going through. Can you feel the isolation?

Now if you are very lucky, one day, after potentially years afloat, the boat you’re on will briefly go back to dry land and dock at a port called Remission. There you will have a chance to stand on solid ground, hear blissful silence, feel unblocked ears & experience hangover-free clarity of mind. And you know what that will feel like? Pure, unadulterated heaven.

While in Remission you will radiate from the sensation that everything good on this earth has been rolled up into one awesome, life changing, musical inspiring experience. For a few weeks or months you'll rediscover your smile, every breath will invigorate you, and everything around you, including the previously banal, will glow will be unabashed glory. Can you even begin to imagine that??

A sense of peace that comes from just the simplicity of good health, one you’ve likely never even noticed before, will come over you and suddenly life will be bathed in hope & optimism for the future... until, one day, you begin to notice your hearing going and the blocked ear coming back. Within days the crickets are chirping again, and before you know it you're on that boat again, alone, heading indefinitely out to rocky seas with no knowledge of when, or if, you will return to port. Now, can you imagine it? Feel the loneliness, disappointment & uncertainty of your future? It doesn't feel great.

That's one example of what it's like to have Meniere's Disease, and that's without describing the addition of random vertigo attacks. I'll save that description for another cruise.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE OF MENIERE’S DISEASE? Please share your experience in the comment section below.