Vim & Vigor - Spring 2017 - Parrish Medical Center - 13

FROM DEVASTATION
TO DEVOTION

Ruffalo never gave up on willing the
paralysis away.
"Every day I'd get up and try to make
those muscles move," he says in the video.
"I'd spend an hour doing that every day,
to no avail."
He also tried alternative therapies,
including acupuncture, massage, herbal
therapy and craniosacral therapy, which
involves a therapist touching and applying
gentle pressure to the head. "I did every
alternative thing I could find to make me
feel like I was in power," says Ruffalo, who
also started a video diary of his recovery
to address his fears and watch for signs of
improvement in his face.
Then it happened. After nearly a year
of paralysis, Ruffalo felt a slight twitch in
his left cheek during a car ride.
"At the 10-month mark, my face started
to come back, which was itself kind of
unheard of because after about seven
months, if your face stays paralyzed, they
sort of think the nerve is dead," he says.
As feeling returned, so did Ruffalo to
the spotlight. Since his diagnosis, he's
appeared in more than 35 films, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
13 Going on 30, Collateral, Zodiac, Shutter
Island and, of course, the Avengers franchise, in which he plays The Hulk. He's
been nominated for three Academy
Awards, for The Kids Are All Right,
Foxcatcher and Spotlight, which won
best picture.
It wasn't long before Ruffalo was able to
see the positive in his experience.
"My relationship with my wife deepened
enormously at that time. ... And I've been
really lucky." He even jokes about a perk of
permanently losing hearing in one ear.
"Sleeping on my good ear-it is amazing," he says in the video. "I could sleep
through anything. I've had two other
kids since then, and I could sleep through
babies screaming right next to me. I could
sleep through anything. That's probably
the greatest gift of single-sided hearing."

OTHER CAUSES
OF HEARING LOSS

Acoustic neuromas are rare, but
hearing loss is not. In fact, by age 65,
1 in 3 adults reports some degree of
hearing loss, according to the Hearing
Loss Association of America.
"The most common thing we see is agerelated hearing loss and then hearing loss
from noise damage and ototoxicity, which
is hearing loss caused by chemotherapy
drugs," says Alan G. Micco, MD, president of the American Hearing Research
Foundation and chair of its subsidiary
research committee.
The signs of hearing loss may surprise
you. Not being able to hear is the obvious
symptom, but you may also feel as though
people are mumbling or talking too fast,
even if you think their volume is adequate.
You may also hear just fine one-on-one but
have difficulty conversing when there is
background noise. Often a loved one will
notice your hearing loss before you do.
Unfortunately, there's not much you
can do to prevent age-related hearing loss
beyond wearing ear protection around
loud noises. "Genetics are genetics," Micco
says. And once hearing is lost, it can't
be restored. But there are some very good
assistive devices on the market today.
Don't let pride get in the way of asking
for a diagnosis. After all, if The Hulk can
do it, so can you. n

BEHIND
THE
BENIGN
The body is constantly making new
cells and shedding old ones. But the
process doesn't always go smoothly.
Sometimes the body mistakenly grows
new cells when it doesn't need them,
without ever shedding old ones. This
results in an excess mass called a tumor.
Some tumors are malignant, or
cancerous. Malignant tumors grow and
can spread to other areas of the body
and attack healthy cells. Benign tumors
are self-contained and do not spread
to other areas of the body. Still, some
benign tumors can be problematic if
they grow large enough to put undue
pressure on nearby organs, particularly
the brain, spine or prostate.
Benign tumors, just like many
malignant tumors, may be removed
by surgery. Some also can be treated
with radiation therapy. Unlike cancerous
tumors, benign tumors are unlikely to
grow back.
It is impossible to know whether a
tumor is benign or malignant by touch.
Always report new or suspicious lumps
to your physician.

WEBSITE

Help with Hearing Loss
Hearing loss affects relationships, social activities and careers. The Hearing
Loss Association of America can help you cope. Get started by downloading a
free toolkit today at hearingloss.org/content/workplace.

SPRING 2017

13
http://www.hearingloss.org/content/workplace
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2017 - Parrish Medical Center
