Kozlik

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

That would be scary to not be able to see, and not know if you were

hearing what was really happening, or what your ears were telling you was

happening, but was actually a hallucination. YIKES.

Glad you got it sorted out. But indeed, would be sensory overload

considering you didn't have one of the senses for a while, and then

suddenly had lots of it. So very hard to tell what is real or not.

I sometimes have that problem, but then I'm blonde!! LOL. Had one

of my neighbors tell me this evening that I was TOO OLD to go door to

door trick or treating. She's new here. The rest of the neighbors were

looking for me. And one 80 year old woman walked up to my chair so I

gave her a necklace AND a piece of candy. If she's not too old, then

neither am I.

Thanks for sharing, and glad you got things worked out.

It wasn't until I reached a state of total confusion and numbness (in

being

unable to distinguish between reality and the voices I was hearing) that

my

sister decided to take me to a local hospital where doctors concluded

that

my auditory hallucinations were caused by sensory deprivation.

Upon being admitted to the hospital, I was in a complete state of

confusion

and resisted all efforts to get me to stay. I didn't have a tactile

interpreter who could explain what was happening (although the hospital

tried to find one, but couldn't because it was 4:30 in the morning), so

that

made it all the more frightening. I had my CI, but wasn't responding to

anyone who spoke to me because of my confusion. I had my own tactile

interpreter later that morning until my release weeks later.

Of the two doctors I saw, one of them was a psychiatrist and I couldn't

help

but feel embarrassed about what was happening to me. Thank goodness he

and

the MD (bless their hearts!) assured me that what I was experiencing was

normal and not at all surprising given the fact that I couldn't see or

hear.

My auditory hallucinations lasted from my surgery date until the middle

of March. I was given medication, but it took about a week for it to take

effect. The activation helped diminish some of the voices, but since I

still

had difficulty telling the difference between reality and what I was

hearing, it took some time before I could sort everything out. It was a

gradual process and I would say I wasn't feeling 100% like myself until

several months later.

Although the psychiatrist would like me to remain on medication (to

ensure

that the voices do not return), I've been doing quite well without it. At

least I know that if something like this should ever happen again (God

forbid -- it was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced in my

life!), I can recognize the symptoms and act accordingly.