The silence is terrifying. Silence traps a man in an unknown world, taking away the beauty of the sounds of the world around. I feel like I am in a place where I can still escape the life in silence.  Unfortunately, each day of the delay brings me further away from the happy ending.

It all started in April 2018 when I was diagnosed with cholesteatoma in both ears. In my right ear cholesteatoma destroyed my eardrum, auditory ossicles and temporal bone. I lost my hearing in this ear and I have not got it back until now… I had CT scan done and luckily the inner ear and nerves remain intact. This gives me great hope! But the disease destroyed the stapes, anvil and part of the eardrum in my left ear.

I live in Ireland. It was here that I had my right ear surgery. However, the doctors in Ireland decided not to take the risk of operating on my left ear. In my left ear cholesteatoma located itself in a place which is hard to access. Hence, the doctors in Ireland decided not to proceed with the operation as it would put me under risk of a complete loss of hearing. 

Learning this bad news made me feel hopeless. I started to fear that silence might become a permanent part of my life and that I might lose one of the most important senses. I had numerous conversations with my family and friends and eventually I decided to have a treatment in Poland. Polish doctors performed an operation on my left ear. 

I suffer from mixed hearing loss. Hearing in my left ear has been reasonable but unfortunately for the past three years I have been struggling with persistent squeaks and noises called tinnitus. One of the side effects of tinnitus is  hyperacusia, or sonic hypersensitivity. I was afraid of silence but now I cannot withstand the sounds of the surroundings ... Dog barking, crying or a child's laughter can cause an extreme discomfort. I feel very tired of this ...

There is hope for me though. Hearing implant seems to be a solution to my health problems.  Getting hearing implant is my hope that I can get my hearing back.  The implant gives me a chance that I will hear in my right ear again! 

The only thing that takes away hope is the cost of the procedure. The operation will cost 160 000 Polish Zlotys which is 32 000 euros. I feel powerless myself - with your support I know that I can do it!

Please help...

Igor