SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL

This entry is not about the movie See No Evil, Hear No Evil, a 1989 comedy film starring Gene Wilder as a deaf man and Richard Pryor as a blind man who became each other's eyes and ears when they became the prime suspects of a murder. They worked together to tracked down the real killers while evaded the police and ultimately cleared their name when the killers were captured.

It is not about the Japanese Three Wise Monkey either. According to the wonderful Wikipedia, the Three Wise Monkey are Mizaru, covering his eyes - sees no evil; Mikazaru, covering his ears - hears no evil and Mazaru, covering his mouth - speaks no evil. There are a less well-known fourth money, Shizaru, covering his middle body with folded hands - does no evil. I have always thought the sayings, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" was about not to be snoopy, nosey and speading gossips. I learned from the page that the expression is also used to describe someone who doesn't want to be involved in a situation, or someone turning a willful blind eye to the immorality of an act he is involved in.

This entry is about an ordeal that happend to me this week when I was not able to hear and see clearly while driving home from an annual eye examination. Early in the week, I experienced full feeling in my left ear when I woke up one morning. The next two days, it got worsen as my hearing became muffled, blocked and the rustling sound added to the already buzzing noise from existing condition of tinnitus. About ten years ago, I had bronchitis for almost two weeks. I developed tinnitus from the constant whooping cough which somehow damaged my ears.

After a couple of days using over-the-counter drops hoping that it would provide relief of the wax builds up. By the end of the week, I called my doctor for help as the loss of hearing gotten worse. Doc told me to stop using the OTC drop. He wrote a prescription that cost me almost $40 plus a box of Sudafed for nasal congestion. I also had an eye exam the same day.

It was a sunny afternoon when I left the ophthalmologist's office. Because it was an annual exam, my eyes were dilated for a complete exam for any sign of glaucoma as many in my family have this terrible disease. There I was, unable to put on sunglasses because I was wearing my nearsighted glasses, not the regular contact lenses. My vision became blurry as the brightness reflected thru the windshield, bouncing off the dashboard and straight into my dilated eyes.

It was the longest 15 minutes driving in my life as I could not hear well and see well beyond the bumper of the vehicle in front of me. I decided to get off a major six-lane road as I began to slow down and could not keep up the speed limit. As luck would have it, after I exited and got on a four-lane road, about a mile or two down, the right lane was closed due to construction. Unable to see, I did not dare to merge left and had to stop completely, with my blinking left turn signal, I waited for a driver with a kind soul to let me in. Of course, with my left ear unable to hear well, the driver had to honk loudly to let me know that he/she had stopped to let me merge. I waved to thank him/her and hoped that he/she did not think I was an illegal immigrant, not knowing how to drive or don't even have a driver license or insurance.

I am glad to report that I got home safety without causing an accident. I tried not to get nervous and hope that the condition is only temporary. Unable to read nor hear, I decided to take a nap. Originally, I wanted to schedule the eye exam and six-month appointment with the dentist on the same day. I would have been truly, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

I did become concerned when my husband came home from work and asked me to turn the television down because it was too loud. Normally, it was me who complained to my husband about the volumn when he watches his macho movies such as The Terminator or Gladiator. Call me vain, at 46 years old I am not ready to enlist the help of a hearing aid. Let's give the $40 prescription a day or two more.

To my adoring fans, thank you for your get well wishes, I heard the wishes "loud & clear" :0 :)