I Can Hear I Can Hear!
A Letter from a Patient
Yesterday I spent time with Jack Adams who is an audiologist. A very kind and patient man. The week before I had gone to his office for a hearing evaluation. After several interesting tests, he informed me that I had lost 45% of my hearing. This wasn’t a total surprise to me that I had lost 45% of my hearing. This wasn’t a total surprise to me, because I had become very much aware that women were harder to understand than men! However 45% was rather shocking.
I could hear my voice…
So yesterday was the day to deal with a new toy. They are so tiny, and I was all thumbs trying to do what he was telling me to do. Wow, eventually with his help, those little things called hearing aids were inside my ear. Holy cow gee whizz, I could hear my voice, the scratching of my pen as I signed the papers, the slap of my foot on the floor as I was ready to leave. My house keys were hitting my cane as I walked into the elevator. My natural instinct is to locate my house keys before I leave, sparing e from having to empty my purse on to the table when I arrive home.
The Cuckoo clock is not broken…
To continue, the directional signals in the car went click, click. The palm trees were hissing as the wind blew through them. As I approached my front door I heard the swishing of the fountain as the wind blew water over the atrium. Walking inside the door, I heard Millie’s meow as she approached. Every raindrop hitting the window was a sound. The Cuckoo clock is not broken, I heard it tick-tock. Also heard the dancers come out to play their tune on the hour.
I can hear, I can hear…
I felt like telling everyone I meet, I can hear, I can hear. Yet I know half the people here are wearing them, and would not be too impressed with my new found joy. I could hear voices before, but I didn’t realize I had lost all the extra sounds. Putting them in my ear this morning, demanding patience and perseverance. When I discovered I was putting them in upside down, they stopped falling out. This calmed me down a little. I do think some changes have to be made to them because some voices on the phone are distorted making it almost impossible to understand what they are saying. Female voices are still harder to understand on TV but in casual conversation, I can relax and listen easily.
Life is awesome…
Wow. Of course, this all requires more time in the morning, Getting dressed has to be done in the correct order but it is fun to hear all the wake-up sounds that excite Millie so much. Now we can run to the window together or answer the door or complain about the noise upstairs. Wow, life is awesome!