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DEAF IN ONE EAR Les Bryan was deaf in one ear. His inner ear was damaged from measles. As the damage worsened it became very painful and discharged blood. His mother took him to the doctors. The doctor gave his mother some peroxide and told her to bath his ear once or twice a day. The pain from the peroxide was excruciating and Les would run away and hide whenever they wanted to to cleanse his ear. Consequently, the infection ate the inner bone away and put a hole in his ear drum making him permanently deaf in his right ear. He wore earplugs in the water and although a very strong swimmer he gave it up after having water enter his inner ear a few times which resulted in having to deal with a great amount of pain. |
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The condition kept him from the army during the Second World War. He was called up twice but the government would not enlist him because there would be a good chance of him loosing his one good ear. The forces were not ill served by the decision because he was given high security clearance for working on military aircraft. It was during those times, a doctor prescribe a new drug called penicillin and within weeks of taking the medication he was finally without pain. In 2001, near age 86, he purchased a hearing aid for his good left ear but sometimes takes it out because he misses the quiet.