Author Archive
An o is the difference
Like all small boys and puppies, I too, detested haircuts. A monthly visit to the ‘saloon’- that’s what barber shops are called in Mumbai- was a crying match between my parents and me. As I grew older I learnt the basics of negotiation- chocolate or a coke in exchange for sitting quietely. Fortunately, when I was in college and medical school, long hair was cool; so, what haircut! After that it was a once in two month visit to the local saloon and a quick half hour job. Instructions were rudimentary- in summer, cut it short, otherwise medium-cut and don’t cover my eyes and ear. The bonus was after the cut; head massage (my well healed friends insist that it’s a maalish) with cooling mint oil and a little ‘press’ of the arms and back. All this, even today at the neighbourhood saloon costs a princely ₹250, tip included. Just for comparison I began by paying ₹1 for the cut in the early sixties!
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Perfect surgery=good result =happy patient?
Human beings react differently! Repeatedly this has been brought home to me as an ENT surgeon. A successful result regarding hearing or an improvement in voice or even abolition of a long standing complaint does not mean that the patient and the family will be happy.
I operated upon a 76 year old man for thyroplasty. This sprightly old gentleman had lost his voice 13 years ago due to viral vocal cord paralysis. His voice was down to a whisper. He couldn’t laugh heartily and had become a recluse since he couldn’t communicate well. Using a carved Teflon implant-yes, the same substance on your non-stick pan-
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Iran!
“you can’t be serious- Iran, of all the places”, “the police will arrest you”- these were some of the reactions that friends had when we let folks know that Sunita and I along with five other inteprid traveller couples were planning a ten day trip to Iran this May. It didn’t help that our travel agent and tour operator was a 25 year old lanky guy who agreed to all the unreasonable requests that my group made- “we shall move out of the hotel if the room is not good “or “we shall order a la crate meals” or “for the group of twelve we need a forty seater bus etc etc. ” I had nightmares of being stranded at Tehran airport on landing!
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I hate pigeons
Piazza San Marco in Venice to Kabutarkhana near the Gol temple of Dadar West-they may look good in picture postcards but I detest the pigeons.
Snoring and sleep apnoea
‘He’s such a sound sleeper that he snores !’ Nothing can be further from the truth; snoring and sound sleep is almost oxymoronic.
Treating hearing loss: a primer
Hearing loss is a silent but debilitating handicap. If it strikes before language acquisition occurs- before the child is two or three tears old- an untreated child with profound loss may never speak. Children with partial hearing loss tend to lag behind their peers in class and may not rise to their scholastic potential.
‘Can I use oil for my ear, doc’
In the clinic, I am often asked ‘ can I use oil for my ear?’ And which ‘oil is better- garlic, mustard (ugh!) or olive’. Many other home-grandma-remedies are also enquired about.
Remember me
I pride myself with a more than decent memory for names and faces. But even after thirty years in medical practice, giving relief to patients with ear nose throat disorders, I still get uneasy when the ‘familiar’ patient , whom I do not recognise, pops the ‘remember me?’ question. Two stand out stories …
