Maybe four or five years ago I suffered what is called in the medical word SLH----sudden loss of hearing

My right ear was "dead"---thankfully my left ear was fine. This literally happened in the middle of the night---with no warning and with no answer as to why. I was told that it likely was caused by an infection in the inner ear and that I had little chance of ever regaining hearing in that ear. That said, they did do an MRI to be sure that it was not a brain tumor. I was also told that hearing aid(s) would be of no use.

For the first few months I did self testing using ear buds and an online hearing test---there was no change. Eventually, those online tests were no longer available. After about two annual trips back to the doctor's for testing with no change I didn't even return there.

Having hearing in only one ear is far worse than simply not hearing well on that side---it impacts my balance and worst of all when there are multiple sources of sound I am left in confusion---my staff has learned that if they try to speak over each other or even worse try to have a "private" side bar at the table the old man is going to stop them short. All I have to do is raise my finger (index).

Now, things seem to be changing About a week or so ago, I got the "sensation" of hearing something in my right ear. I did my homemade test using ear buds and music. At first I could more sense the sound than hear it. There was no tonal property---it was purely a low frequency monotone.

This morning I repeated the test and now I can actually hear the tones---it is not nearly as loud as my left ear---but definitely there. I am hopeful that it will continue to improve.

In the event I do recover that hearing, I think I shall not tell my staff