Nakibuuka needs Shs10m to repair eardrum

Beatrice Nakibuuka, a journalist, recalls having a chronic ear infection since childhood. She routinely got treatment for her left ear because she always developed an infection all the time she got flu or went to a dusty place.

The infection has been on and off despite the constant treatment and several visits to Ear Nose and Throat specialists.

“I would feel pain in the ear all the time I got the flu. The ENT specialist once warned me against exerting a lot of pressure on the ears, especially when I had flu. I would try as much as possible not to blow my nose but it was inevitable to sneeze. This would usher in another episode of the infection.”

The doctor told Beatrice that she was suffering from otitis media, an infection that causes inflammation of the middle ear as a result of a cold, sore throat, or respiratory infection. The infection causes reddening of the middle ear and itching.

“With the onset of flu, fluid is trapped behind the eardrum, which causes the eardrum to bulge. Along with an earache, I get some fluid drainage from the affected ear. I have had several treatments with injections, tablets, ear drops but the infection keeps recurring,” she says.

With the recurrent infection, her left ear had developed reduced hearing and had buzzing sounds. After a conversation with a friend, she was advised to visit an ENT specialist at Doctor’s Hospital, Seguku.

“The specialist told me that the eardrum in my left ear had been eaten away by the bacteria from the recurrent infection and that it is perforated. This is the reason I am getting reduced hearing. She recommended surgery which has to be performed in six months’ time to fill the hole in the eardrum to help me recover from the hearing loss,” Beatrice adds.

If the surgery is not done, Nakibuuka is likely to get permanent hearing impairment.

“The ear infection is reoccurring because the eardrum is open. If the surgery is not done, the infection will continue and will cause more complications such as damage to the facial nerve and the bone that protects the brain.”

She, therefore, needs Shs10m for the surgery to fix her eardrum.

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