the positive side of having a deaf left ear

Nick Bradbury created the application that has transformed my internet-use behaviour - FeedDemon (RSS / feed reader).

Nick has recently gone through some tough times and has shared his journey on his blog. I find his openess humbling. He's just had a brain tumour removed and is describing his recovery in detail. What I love is the support and good vibe he receives via the posts comments - his customers (and friends obviously) really care and show it.

It makes me wonder about how much of my personal life I share (or more to the point - don't share) on my blog. I've kept it as a general rule that this blog is about my web/tech thoughts (I do err from time to time - not wise), I don't think this will change. If I do err, I'll try to post elsewhere (er, should I have posted this post here I wonder...?).

Anyway, back to Nick. It turned out that the surgery, although meeting its objective of removing the tumour, had the downside of severing Nick's left hearing nerve making him permanently stone deaf in that ear. The balance nerve was also severed causing a short-term issue (around 2 days) that made the room spin constantly (you know the feeling - 1 Guinness too many and you lie in bed - room spins horridly and the bowl inevitably beckons).

He's very positive about it all and managing to retain his sense of humour - his recovery making progress. Enough so that I felt I could share with him (and you) the positive side of having a deaf left ear (which I also suffer):

"thanks for sharing with us Nick, great to hear the surgery went well.

I'm pretty much deaf in my left ear since my brother decided it would be a good idea to get a kitchen towel tube, put it against my ear and scream. I was 13.

Brendan makes a good point. Your brain will reconfigure to allow your other ear to compensate. You'll notice less the loss of hearing over time.

Here's the bright side of the bad ear:

- If you're a light sleeper (I am), going to sleep on your good hear (bad ear up) makes for a great natural and cheap noise-reduction system.

- You can ignore people on-deman and not offend them. Simply place your corresponding the index finger over the good ear's Tragus (see below). Useful for those mother-in-law moments.

- When things get too loud (such as an ambulance screaming and wailing as it passes) you only need to cover one ear, leaving you with a free hand to drink your Starbucks.

Anyway, have speedy recovery!

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