And the challenges begin...

So, as of two days ago, I've been living in Austin for two months! It's a huge change of pace and culture, of course. I love this, I like that, I don't care for this, I... I'll probably grow to hate that... But it's a new town, a new life, and I'm looking forward to a bunch of new challenges.

Unfortunately only about a week after I landed, this started happening again:

With the magic of insurance I got in to an ENT today. Ménière's disease is what he's going with for now. I'd be lying if I said I was surprised. During my last bout, a friend introduced me to the disease[*] and suggested this could be what I was experiencing.

I think, in retrospect, I clearly entered the "denial" stage of grieving...

The first time? It was terrifying and new. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know why. I didn't know how long it would last. But then it was gone and, while I was shaken, it was in the past.

The second time? Not as new and not as unknown. Yes, it was a recurrence. But that could just be bad luck, right? Both ... outbreaks had revolved around a trip to my grandparents' place in CA. Maybe something environmental or allergies or... But then again it was gone.

Well now it's a third occurrence and much harder to ignore. I still think it *could* be something else. But... the reality of the situation is starting to firm up. The "but it could be something else" voice sounds more petulant than promising.

A little googling comforted me to see that Kristin Chenoweth suffers from Ménière's. It gives me hope that my musical career isn't completely in the bucket. Lord only knows my self confidence has been shaky. At the prospect of having random bouts of unable-to-hear-properly? I damn near fall apart.

I've got some prednisone now and I'll start taking that tomorrow. With luck my hearing will return to normal soon. And then it will be off to see what sort of changes and further challenges I'll have to adapt to.

In the meantime, it's National Drink Beer Day. So let me go out and celebrate. Could be my last one for a while!