The battle between ear and doctor : Removing the Fungal Invaders

The story of a fight between me and the excruciating pain in my ears.

Photo by Taisiia Shestopal on Unsplash

I can't exactly pinpoint the month, but I was a 7th-grader when my ears were infected by a dangerous fungal infection. It was so excruciating that it still haunts me, especially when the rainy season rolls in.

This saga unfolded right before my 1st-semester exams. One day, out of the blue, my right ear decided to start a protest – it started hurting. At first, I just ignored it as a minor cold, but it quickly escalated. Concerned, my mom took me to see a general physician.

There we were, waiting, or rather, sitting in line at the doctor's office. Finally, it's my turn. After I explain my symptoms, the doctor whips out a colossal flashlight, inspects my right ear with intense concentration, and delivers the decision – there's some kind of rash inside my ear causing the agony. He writes out a prescription, reassuring me not to worry.

Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash

The little optimist in me begins the medication regimen right away. But instead of relief, the pain cranks up a notch every day.

A painful week later, and I’m back at the doctor’s, this time with unbearable pain. Once again, he pulls out his epic flashlight.

I can’t say for sure what he checked this time, but he suggests I see an ENT specialist and hands over a contact.

Off we go to this unfamiliar lane. The narrow streets look like something out of a gloomy movie, and we’ve never visited this part of town before.

We ring a few doors, embarrassingly mistaken, until we locate the ENT's house. Alas, he's not home, and a family member informs us he won't be back from the hospital until 8:30pm.

So what now? I'm on the brink of pain-induced hysteria, and there's no place to wait for over an hour. My mom and I spend the next half-hour killing mosquitoes and standing in that lifeless, eerie lane where no one seems keen on chit-chat.

Finally, the ENT arrives. I get checked out, and this time, it's water causing the earache, or so I'm told.

I keep insisting I didn't get any water in my ear, but who's listening? Medications are prescribed based on the diagnosis, and I get taunts at home for not mentioning the water incident. Even though I swear it never happened.

Again I hold onto the hope of speedy recovery, my school exams begin, and this time, I have a blessing – my left ear decides to join the party. Talk about rotten luck!
I'm drifting even further from the blissful land of painless ears.

Almost another week and a few nights of screaming later I gave up on those meds.
Back to the same ENT, but this time, it's a different story. He mentions something about seasonal fungi and suspects that's the culprit behind my ongoing ear saga.

Photo by Jesse Bauer on Unsplash

He whips out a solution and a long, steel-like rod (ENT equipment) that he proceeds to insert into my right ear, nearly touching the back of my throat. I let out a scream that could be heard from other parts of the world.

As he proceeds to clean out a whole lot of squishy, grim-looking stuff from both ears. Ouch! It hurt, especially because my ears were already infected.

That day, probably after some thorough research, the ENT reveals that it was indeed a fungal infection that had attacked both my ears, and it had probably been the perfect weather that invited these fungi to party in my ears.

So, it turns out I was wrong all along, and I suffered through the pain for nothing. But hey, at least we finally discovered the root of the problem.

To this day, if I feel even a tiny twinge of pain in my ears, I'm ready to seek out the best ENT specialist in town.

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Oishee Chatterjee đź’Ž || Blogger| Writer| Dreamer||
Oishee Chatterjee đź’Ž || Blogger| Writer| Dreamer||

Written by Oishee Chatterjee đź’Ž || Blogger| Writer| Dreamer||

Welcome to my world of scribbled thoughts and musings! I am a passionate Lifestyle blogger, dedicated to sharing the essence of life through the art of writing.

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