Ringing in the Old Ear

Dec 26, 2019

by Kevin Butler

Ringing in the Old Ear

The good news? Prayers and medicine and a good health plan brought healing to my body after a 2018 cancer diagnosis. I am extremely grateful.

It did come with some costs and lessons:

• Loss of lung capacity

• Loss of strength and stamina

• Loss of grandchildren time to stay germ-free

• Loss of feeling in extremities when it’s cold

• Loss of heartbeat rate

• Loss of a body part

But I did gain something.

While at home recovering from a procedure, I heard something and looked around for the usual medical equipment that I had grown accustomed to at the hospital. What was that noise?

It sounded like a high-pitched whine of jet engines that you experience while traveling at 30,000 feet. But not really that loud.

Or, the sound of a bathroom exhaust fan gone squeaky or a small space heater. But a higher pitch and fainter.

Or, more like the sound of an old tube radio or TV set when it’s first turned on. That’s closer.

Or, maybe I can’t really explain tinnitus to someone who has never had it.

I discovered that one of the meds in my chemo injections, combined with a drug given to induce the elimination of said chemo, can cause this “ringing” in the ears that affects so many millions of people.

One source lists that 10-15% of people have tinnitus, and about a third of North Americans over the age of 55 experience it. One study in the Journal of Clinical Neurology says that in some patients it “takes the form of high-pitched whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming… whistling, ticking, clicking, roaring, crickets, tree frogs, locusts (cicadas), tunes, songs, beeping, sizzling, or sounds that slightly resemble human voices, or even a pure steady tone like that heard during a hearing test.” See why it’s hard to describe?

The ringing of tinnitus can be intermittent or continuous.

Mine is always there.

I went to an audiologist and got tested. He said that I had a small degree of hearing loss; normal for a person of “my age.” So I can still hear pretty well. (My wife might disagree…) There’s just a constant whine. (My wife might agree…) In normal situations, I’ve learned to simply “tune it out” for the most part. But it seems most obvious when it gets really quiet.

In so many ways, it’s a small price to pay for the healing results of beating cancer. It’s a reminder of the experience through which I can identify with so many who have had or are going through their own health struggle.

The ringing is always there. As is God’s presence and Spirit.

How often do we “tune it out” and forget that He is truly with us?

My ear ringing is a reminder—a reminder of the battle, the healing, and

of God’s constant presence. I can live with that. Thank you, Lord.

Fix your eyes—and ears—on Jesus.