Are My Crystals Loose?

Jacqueline Schmidt — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:31:00 GMT

Thanks to Ken Combs, RMR, CRR, who sent in an explanation of the term "crystals loose," which was published in one of those funny excerpts in the September JCR. Ken writes:

The submission of an excerpt from Dorothy Linda Minor of a witness’ testimony about “had my crystals loose,” brought a smile to my lips. After a heavy evening of partying and wine tasting, I’ve more than once thought I had crystal or two loose.

Having reported probably more than my fair share of medical cases, I can vouch for the numerous times a witness has tried to come up with a medical term he/she thought she could pronounce and ended up slaughtering it.

After reading it, I showed it to Kathy Lund of our office and found it very interesting how she reacted to it. She said if she were proofreading a transcript and saw “my crystals loose,” she’s look it up just to make sure there wasn’t some phrase or word which sounded close.

And she did exactly that. Here’s what she found: “Degeneration of the salt-like crystals (otoliths) in the utricle which break free and float into or attach themselves to the semicircular canals. Symptoms include: attacks of vertigo with rapid and pitched head motion (e.g. rolling in or out of bed or simply looking up). “

So this is one time the witness was correct.

Do you have a good excerpt from a transcript? Send it in to me or add it here.

JCR : Language

Are My Crystals Loose?