I went for an MRI for my ear cos I might have a 'growth'

In the last year it has come to my attention that I am snorer . Apparently it is so bad , according to my girlfriend , that it sounds like a Tyrannosaurus Rex being anal probed . Fast forward to two weeks ago . My girlfriend had been complaining about her sore throat that she has had for a while . So she made an appointment with an ear, nose and throat specialist to see why she still has a sore throat. She asked me to come with her to see if perhaps the doctor could cure my snoring. So I casually tagged along and during the consultation the doctor first checked her out , gave her an ear exam also and found nothing wrong with her. During her ear exam, the doctor would sit behind her facing a computer screen and administer the test by triggering different frequencies sent from the computer to her headphones. I noticed on the doctors screen an EQ spectrum and was intrigued (as this is one area from my experience that I can understand). Once the test was completed I asked the doctor about the hearing test and at exactly what range of frequencies is he broadcasting to the headphones . We chatted a little bit about it and he asked me how I knew about frequency response times and about ‘sound’ in general . I told him I was a music producer and that I have little knowledge on the subject and that I came along to the appointment with my girlfriend to figure out why I am snoring and how I can cure it.

After the tests on my girlfriend , of which everything was ‘good-to-go’ he turned his attention to me. We chatted more and I explained to him that I do believe that I have lost a certain amount of hearing in my left ear due to a booth monitor being turned up too load at a gig I did a few years ago . He wanted to start with the problem of my snoring , so he checked out my throat , had a look at my ear and then told me he would like to stick camera up my nose and then down my throat. In a manner of speaking , ‘I shat my pants’ . I hate it when I am being pronged and probed ( I would think I would have gotten used to it all of these years having had camera stuck down my throat , countless blood tests and all sorts of different medical related exams and tests ). So I didn’t really have much of a choice as this was the only way the doctor could see whats going on with my snoring dilemma. He took out this little black handle and attached to it is a very thin bendable rod , and at the end of the rod is a tiny LED light bright enough to light up a dancefloor. He was facing me and infront of me is 22 inch TV screen where you can watch what’s going on . To my girlfriends delight and excitement she jumped up and took ‘front row’ seats to the ‘Leandro nose and throat show’. I must admit it sounds worse than it is , but in reality it just feels fucking weird having a camera up your nose and down your throat. After 2 tries (cos I was convulsing the first try) the camera was in. I was then told to clear my throat and make ‘eeeee’ sounds. After 15 seconds of this, the camera was removed and the doctor revealed that I have no problems with my throat or nose and that the snoring is coming from somewhere else. Proud of myself , I wished to dash off and get myself an ice-cream for my achievement. But the doctor then wanted to checkout my hearing so he could verify my thoughts on my hearing loss in my left ear. So he gave me a hearing test. After the test was done he revealed, to my surprise, that the left side of my hearing was in actual fact 100 % normal and that I had no loss BUT I had an issue with my right side of hearing. He explained to me , with the help of a frequency diagram, that there were 3 different frequencies that I couldn’t register during the test . He explained further that it could be either damage to my hearing over the years of abuse or that I might have a growth on the nerve of my ear known as an acoustic neuroma , which could be a blister of sorts that can turn into a non-cancerous tumor and that I would need an MRI confirm this . It’s not life-threatening but when you hear the words ‘growth’ ‘MRI’ and ‘cancerous’ bells start ringing and I get into the ‘shit your pants’ mode.

A week from when I was told I had to do an MRI I had a business trip scheduled to go to South Africa. So I scheduled my MRI to be done asap so that I would not have to wait to return from my trip to do the MRI and then wait a few days and then go back to the doctor for my results. I was like ‘fuck it’ let’s do it . So off to the MRI I went. If none of you have done one before , it is a shit ass procedure. To my surprise it was exactly how it was in the movies. So I laid down on this retractable bed then they locked this plastic helmet thing over my head and pushed me in. It was damn uncomfortable , thank goodness there was a small mirror I that I could directly look at ( when looking up) which showed the room where they take the tests. Then there was this horrible sound coming from the machine which can only be described as listening to really bad dubstep (but is there any ‘good’ dubstep ?) for 20 minutes .It was during my MRI that I had a revelation . I remembered a reading from the Bible which stated something along the lines like ‘don’t worry about tomorrow , but instead worry about today. Tomorrow is for God to worry about, but remember everyday is a gift and be thankful for the gift of today’ . Yes I am religious and allot of people might not see the same as I do and but im sure all of us can agree with this notion. Everyday is indeed a gift and that we all should cherish the day and use it to our full potential . Seize the moment , make the most of everyday , work your ass and enjoy it to the max. Sitting in that claustrophobic tube , it all came to me at once . I immediately relaxed, even though I might have a tumor growing on my ear and that I could lose all my hearing in my right ear which in turn would make it extremely difficult to do the thing I love the most in this world , making music. After my musical torture . All was done and now I had to wait for the results. I was going on a business trip that night for a few days to South Africa.

So with this in my mind , I was off to South Africa for my business trip with not a care in the world and enjoying each day as it came. Not worrying what tomorrow has in store. I had never been so relaxed and in control of my emotions of stressing , fear, anxiety and worrying ever. After 4 days I had returned to back to my home of Cyprus with this new found ‘attitude’ . I had arranged an doctor’s appointment the evening of my arrival to get my results from the MRI . I received a call an hour before my appointment and it was my doctor informing me about my results. He said to me to not even bother coming to see him because everything turned up clear and that there was no growth . Naturally I was relieved and felt even better than before. I came out from this experience a better person . Having learnt two very important things that I would like to pass onto you and others alike.

Firstly , GO AND GET YOUR EARS CHECKED BY A DOCTOR and TAKE CARE OF YOUR EARS. If music is your life , like me, you have to protect and take care of your most precious commodity , your ears. It’s easy to fall into the trap of blasting music loud in your car or cranking up the booth monitors at gigs . This is gonna cause you long term damage and you it will affect your production skills and your hearing overall. You can’t take advantage of this . You have to treat your ears like gold. They are so important to us all , especially if you are involved in the music industry. I cannot stress this more, take heed in protection of your ears.

And secondly , EVERYDAY IS A GIFT , SO ENJOY IT . Don’t worry about tomorrow and don’t stress. Stressing will not solve anything that is not in your control . This is a fact. Stress will only cause you to feel crappy and its not going to make you think straight. If a problem arises tackle it and solve it , whether it’s about work or family or anything. Just relax , think and go for it. For example if you have an issue with someone at work, talk to them about it in a cool and calm manner. Don’t be too soft either, cos then you’ll probably beat yourself up (if you’re anything like me ) for being too much of a vagina and not getting your point across. You’ll definitely feel better about it and who knows , you could even solve your issue. I’m no expert on this matter nor am I a therapist/psychologist .

All I can do is help make this world a better place by haring my experiences with you all and maybe help out someone who might one day go through the same situation as me and save them the time and effort by warning them about taking care of their ears and not having to live in stress .

One love to you all