Talking About Illnesses

How many of you are comfortable talking about your illnesses with other people? In Finland people seem to have this weird habit of listing everything that's wrong with them, and then we have to top other people's problems. Hahaha, I have more issues than you! I know, we're a weird people.

I'd rather keep my mouth shut. I only tell people about my Meniere's disease if one or more of the following conditions are met:

It's somehow relevant to the situation at hand
I can offer information important to the other person because of my disease
It somehow affects our interaction at the moment
They ask
It comes up naturally in a conversation, never forced

I'm not ashamed to have Meniere's disease, nor will I ever apologize for it. I can't help that I have it. But I'm not comfortable talking about it just because. I'm not telling you about my disease to get sympathy points from you, because frankly, I don't need them. I'm also not seeking any attention with this - I get enough of that when I have to ask people to repeat themselves due to not being able to hear them the first time. And I have a feeling once I get my hearing aid, number 4 on that list will happen a lot.

Even though talking about Meniere's disease is not my first choice of conversation topics, I don't mind talking about it. I'm happy to tell someone about it, who doesn't know about it, and I'm happy to fill in the blanks for someone who knows a little something. Asking is always better than making assumptions.

In light of my hearing problems I wanted to make sure Meniere's disease would get the attention it deserves. I'm only one person, but if writing this blog brings awareness to even a few people, then I've done my job :)

Comments

What I Want You to Know About Me and My Life with Meniere's Disease

If you know someone with Meniere's disease, you should read this. If you know me, and are a part of my life, then you should definitely read this. 1. It's completely fine to ask me about anything related to my condition! I would rather have you ask than make assumptions. MD is not a sensitive subject to me, and I'm happy to fill in the gaps! 2. My condition is permanent. My hearing loss is permanent. Please don't ask me a year from now if my ear is all better - it won't be. There's no cure for MD, and this is something I'm stuck with until there is one. 3. If/when I say I can't hear you, I mean it. Please accommodate to that, and speak up, or write or type what you need to say to me. Or, if you know Finnish or American sign language, you can sign to me ;) 4. When I have vertigo, please know that it's quite debilitating. If I ask you to drive, it literally means my world is spinning out of control and you do not want me operating heavy mach...

How Others React To My Meniere's Disease

I had never heard of Meniere's disease before I found out I have it, so it wasn't really realistic for me to expect others to know what was going on with me. When I started telling people I have MD, the most common replies were: "Okayyy..?" "What's that?" "Neverheard" "A what disease?" "Ooh, what a cool name!" Yep. My chronic illness does have a cool name, I do agree. It's sad how Meniere's is so little known. My friends were interested in learning about it, but since my disease is pretty well under control and it doesn't have a direct affect on anyone besides myself, they tend to forget about it. They'll ask things like: "What was the name of that condition you have, again?" "You had some ear thing, right?" "Are your ears all better now?" I don't take it personally if someone I know forgets the name of my disease or if someone remembers the name but doesn...

Hearing Aid Update

I have been living with a hearing aid for about a month and a half now, so I thought I'd give you guys a little update on how everything is going. It's going pretty damn well! When I first got my hearing aid the ear piece was a very general one - one that could fit into anyone's ear. It worked fine, but it was itchy from time to time. At first I didn't notice too big of a difference with or without the hearing aid on, only some certain noises and stuff. It took a few weeks for my brain to adapt enough for me to be able to notice how my hearing drops when I take the hearing aid out. I also noticed how it helps with my tinnitus :) Almost a couple of weeks ago I got my own individual ear piece, and was introduced to whole new sounds! I didn't know there could be that big of a difference between the general ear piece and the individual one! I hear so much better now. The ear piece fits my ear perfectly (as it should, of course), and doesn't itch. Plus it...

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