Loyal readers will know that I underwent surgery last Tuesday. I had a growing cyst inside my middle ear, which started corroding my auditory chain and invaded the skull behind my ear. I know many people sympathize with my condition so I’d like to give a small status update.
The surgery went well, in the sense that my head has been cleaned out and my auditory chain has been preserved successfully. It is wonderful what they can achieve these days, filling up cavities with synthetic bone, replacing eardrums and all that. I’ve left the hospital and I’m resting at home, quarantained for four weeks.
On the other hand, it is clear that my chorda tympani (the taste nerve that passes through the middle ear) has been affected. Currently I have no taste whatsoever on the left half of my tongue. Apart from passing along taste signals, this nerve also seems to balance out other taste nerves, so it’s not just half the taste, everything is simply a bit off. Yesterday I tried a very small drop of whisky, a dram for which I wrote tasting notes right before the surgery. Let’s just say I would now write things differently.
It feels quite unfair to sacrifice taste, which I enjoy and explore every day, only to avoid any hearing problems, possibly, in the future. But then again, there’s really nothing to choose.
Anyway. A while ago I started stockpiling reviews so I can overcome the next six weeks or so, but I’m afraid the disruption could take months. And it may not even recover at all. Needless to say this would be a heavy cross to bear. I’ll be getting more information next week and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Until further notice, you’ll be reading reviews written in better times. Take care.