Hi everybody,

It has been several weeks since I have been able to post anything here, and I wanted to touch base to communicate, and bring you up to date.

About 6 weeks ago, I woke up one morning, and could not hear. I have had some hearing loss and tinnitus in my right ear for years, but always had very good hearing in my left ear. But this particular morning, I literally could not hear from either ear. I could hear noises, but everything sounded like it was in another room with the door closed. All music was distorted, and I could tell I was hearing human voices, but not clearly enough to understand, unless I was watching their mouth move while they are speaking loudly to me.

I went to my doctor, and he prescribed a steroid for me, and said if it didn't get better, to see my ENT specialist. Last week it started getting worse, so I went to my ENT. After a series of tests, I have been diagnosed with Bilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (BSNHL) - a rare neurological condition which causes sudden and often permanent hearing loss. I am scheduled to have an MRI to rule out any brain tumors. I have a neurological condition called Charcot-Marie_Tooth, which is known to cause BSNHL, and I am sure that will be determined to be the culprit.

My doctors are taking an aggressive approach to try to bring life back to the affected nerves causing my hearing loss. I am on a very strong steroid treatment, and have further tests scheduled to determine if steroid injections in my ears may be an option. Hearing-wise, I have some days better than others. But it is very difficult for me to listen to music.

Please forgive the length of this post, but the last thing I want any of you to think is that I have simply disappeared from this forum due to lack of interest, or dedication to all my friends here. Music has been an extremely major part of my entire life, and PG Music has probably given me more musical satisfaction than just about anything else this side of Heaven. I so appreciate all of you here on this forum. Please keep writing from your hearts, and as soon as I can, I will be back here with a vengeance!

I am doing well. I am upbeat. I am hopeful, and more importantly, I have faith! I thank God for all He has done for me, and for all He is doing in me now. I do appreciate your prayers! You will be hearing more from me soon!

God bless,

Steve Young

Steve Young
Music
"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann