I was born in Lennox Castle, Glasgow 1951, same place as Lulu pop singer. I was born with Phneaumonia & Deaf Left side, also parralised all down Left side, had severe Lisp, and when i got to walking i always wandered to my left side. I was averaging 2/3 operations a year on ears. When i got to 5 It felt like soldiers marching, so loud and it just never stopped. I was at normal school even though i couldnt hear. I had to try learning by reading whatever was put up by chalk on Blackboard

had Speech therapy for many years.

you wouldnt believe the accidents i had, i was standing at kerb, lost balance slipped, and school bus run over my bloody foot breaking my bones, I was paying cricket one day with my brother, he got angry but not deliberately threw stump it bounced and pointed end broke of, YES in my ear, Operation right away, in hospital 3 days, gosh Ward 11 still haunts me now, also when i was taken for Operations, it was travelling in cast iron lift, that creaked, clanged, scraped as it went down.

i still had pulsatile Tinnitus until i was 11 or 12, where it changed to all sorts of noises both sides, everytime i told Consultants, they would bloody operate, saying its infection, needs suction and bone scrape, I played football a lot and obviously ears always got hit by balls.

I was having so many operations, mastoids, bone scrapes, Polyps, bone infections, cholesteatoma. I was having fun in park pushing my brother on swing high as possible to scare him, oh brotherly love, it backfired swing hit me, where, Yeah on bad Left side of ears.

i done a lot of things i shouldnt have, karate,Judo, Football,Swimming, come on i couldnt sit on my arse doing nothing

im Deaf looking for work, I got interview for Upholsterer & Carpenter, guy said your Deaf but can see, you can watch and learn, im still in & out of hospital having Operations suction clean, bones rapes,perforated ear drums. When I got to 17 I was having strange feeling lightheadedness, headaches, everything felt like i was at Itchy Coo Park, but i wasnt smoking pot at that time..

Tinnitus driving me nuts, i used to round friends get the little motorbikes out, go to the wood jumping hills and landing on snakes, it took my mind away from Ugly Tinnitus.

finished my Apprentiship, but became ill again with those strange feelings, i was lopping about at my mums house, i went to toilet, then felt crazy and shouted “ MUM IM DYING” she ignored until i tumbled down all the stair steps, i was out, not knocked out, i went into a Coma, rushed to Southampton Neurological, ina coma 5/6 months, had 5 Priest readings im told. Then awoke, after a few months my mum & dad were allowed to take me out in the car for couple hours, couple times a week.

Then i was tranfered to General hospital right next door to Neurological, i was going to be 1st person in the World to have New type of cavity built in ear to stop what had happened to me, it was discharge travelling UP to Brain causing Abcess on and in the Brain, so i hope i saveda lot of people. Sadly this was caused by Left ear. 2 years later it happened again, where least expected the other ear,same procedure all over again. I spent overall about 3/4 years in hospital.

im actually making this factual story brief there is way way way too much and i cant remember all dates, I just know it was real it happened.

Now we move along acouple years, the odds of Cochlear Implants working were very low,so medical council and Social Security, Dr’s, Consultants took 2 years deciding i should be given a chance in life.

sadly i cant tell all im getting choked up, they operated then few months later, the big switch on, it was like having electric shock. It didnt work, and decision was to remove everythingin ears, COMPLETE OBLITERATION BIT EARS, THEN SKIN GRAFTED.

I still find it difficult to come to terms with and Tinnitus blaring away, pulsatile and Tinnitus now been with me over 60 years.

minor details i had special caps made just so i could go swimming, that was a waste of time & money.

This isnt the end this is 50% of my life in hospitals, to follow: balance, Broken Ribs, broken Ankle, Deep Vein Thrombosis, Labrynthitis, Labrynthectomies,Heart Attack while waiting for injection to sleep for ear operation, rebuild behind ears,after so many Operations, the skin wasnt strong enough to hold much longer, as last Op proved.

Going back to middle school years, i used to be put in front row of class to hear, haha i still couldnt hear, but sadly 😢 wasnt there long before being put at back of class, the discharge would trickle out of ear down side of face, and the smell was really horrid, so back of class, in a world of my own. My reports often mentioned by teacher “ CJ‘s mind tended to wander” bloody hell where else could it wander but out of window I couldnt hear anything, I couldnt see anything. Schooling was nightmare until swimming lessons arrived 🏊‍♂️ 😊. also going back a bit i saw balance specialist, “ no names” but he said my balance was fine and nothing to do with ears.

1 week later i was rushed into hospital to have Labyrinthectomy, yup nothing wrong with ears, balance fine, only had Labrynthitis, i wont say his name. Few years on Brain tumour, oh isnt my life grand.

theres more to follow.

BUT IM STILL HERE.