The hearing loss wasn't so much a surprise as it was a nuisance. In the past, I'd had occasional trouble with my left ear, but every time, through my own prayers and often with the support of a Christian Science practitioner or a close friend, my hearing had been restored fairly quickly. So when some kind of difficulty developed in that ear, I initially shrugged it off and hoped the issue would resolve itself. I did pray about it briefly, but I was so busy with work that I didn't really give it the attention I normally would have.
After several weeks with no improvement, though, I became discouraged. Not being able to hear properly was interfering with my life in significant ways. I was favoring my right ear and found myself asking people to repeat themselves in conversation. And listening to music, not to mention playing guitar as I love to do, had become a frustrating experience. Perhaps most discouraging, though, was the fact that the previous healings hadn't been permanent. I knew that Christian Science was effective—I'd seen proof of that through many other healings in the past—so what was going on here?
I prayed off and on as the months went by, but there was no change in the condition. And after more than six months, I began to wonder if I would just have to live with the hearing loss. Then I had a couple of experiences that got me really questioning the idea of incurability.
