I'm a musician. Help me save my hearing and my voice.

Hi!

I've dealt with a lifetime of increasingly severe chronic illness, mainly neurological problems and acid reflux. I have C-PTSD which is probably partially responsible for this. On May 21st, I had a concussion, which caused a drastic increase in physical anxiety symptoms and extremely severe acid reflux that is minimally responsive to medications and antacids, as well as extreme diet and lifestyle changes. The anxiety is mostly in the form of physical symptoms such as chest pain, and is also unresponsive to any treatments that I've tried so far. It is basically a neurological issue where I can't control my fight-or-flight response.

Making music is my passion, it is really the one thing that keeps me going in life. But my medical issues have started to get in the way of this. My throat and ears are getting damaged from stomach acid. I've developed Eustachian tube dysfunction from acid getting into my ears. I have worsening symptoms including tinnitus, pain, popping, and crackling, and a feeling of clogging or pressure in my ears. The hearing loss has so far been minor, but is making my anxiety much worse, which makes the acid reflux worse, and therefore causes more problems with my ears.

It turns out I have a hiatal hernia, in other words part of my stomach is protruding into my esophagus. After doing some research I think this has probably been pressing on my vagus nerve, and I could have gotten more damage to my vagus nerve from the concussion. But likely the PTSD is also a factor. I've been referred for a surgery consultation, but it can take a long time to get into surgery, and in the mean time my symptoms are still getting worse at an alarming rate.

I have little income due to being on SSI disability. I'm trying to raise money mainly to afford ketamine therapy, which will cost a little under $5000 for 6 sessions. If it is effective, there's a good chance I'll need more than 6 sessions. I've also been losing money due to other medical-related factors, for instance my diet is increasingly restricted so I keep buying food but then later become unable to eat it; I'm spending a lot on supplements that turn out not to work; and I have to take loads of these expensive Canadian antacids to avoid hypercalcemia because the only ones without calcium in the US are full of aluminum (which is neurotoxic).

Please consider donating or sharing this fundraiser. Any amount helps. Thanks so much!