I was getting dizzy when I turned my head a certain way, or
when I got up.
It even happened when I rolled over in bed at times.
Was I having a hangover, was it my blood pressure, was it
something in my brain, what the hell was going on? Balance has never been a
great strength of mine, in anything, even walking.
It had to be my age, old geezers seem to stagger around, and
I was on that road.
I went to my local doctor, here, in the town where we live
in Greece.
He happens to be a cardiologist, and we have a drink in town
when we meet up.
After a bit of a chat, discussing the quality of the
barbounia (fish) in the taverna where we meet, he tells me it is not my heart
or my blood pressure. It must be my inner ear.
We are about to leave for the States and I figured I would
see our general practitioner there.
I visited our doctor in NY and as usual he sends me to an
“expert,” actually to a specialist in dizziness.
In reality to an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Turns out he is a Greek, we are all over and evidently
experts in dizziness.
Great office, 30 diplomas on the wall…very impressive guy,
he even has a beard.
I start to feel that he will cure my dizzy spells. I tell
him what is going on and he says,
“Crystals are loose, they are roaming in the labyrinth.”
That is one hell of a diagnosis! I love it.
All this within
15 seconds, and he also tells me, all of this, is in my inner ear.
“ What is the treatment for these rambling crystals?" I
assume it might be surgery or something equally complex.
He makes me lie on a table with my head lower than my body.
He turns my head to the right and then to the left, he then has me sit up and
says to hold on to the table, not him, since I will be dizzy.
That is it…he managed to get the crystals where they
belong…no more dizziness. I figure he should be wearing horns and furs…seems
like witchcraft to me.
OK, let me explain a bit, the inner ear is like an octopus
with channels going all over, somewhere on top is a platform with crystals
balanced on it. This platform sometimes weakens and some crystals fall off and
get into the channels and cause havoc, vertigo, dizziness. It could be caused
by age (me) or an accident.
Voila, crystals in the labyrinth.
He thinks I should have a session of physiotherapy. The
therapist is a great looking Russian girl, she puts a mask on me and tells me
to keep my eyes open, she makes me go through the same thing, head to the
right, then to the left, sit up. All this while connected to a computer.
Shazam! It is done.
No more dizziness. This should last a while. If I get it
again, follow these instructions: head back, to the right, to the left, sit up
and those crystals scramble back where they belong and out of the labyrinth.
All of this is available on the Internet. I could have done
it myself, but I would not have had as much fun.
No Greek doctor, beard, diplomas, Russian therapist, masks,
computers and amazement.
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