Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. (Flannery O’Connor)
I insert hearing aid number two and notice an immediate change. The refrigerator hums. My husband’s voice adds a decibel—or three hundred. A car coming down the street exceeds the speed limit. I don’t need to see the vehicle to know. It needs a muffler.
Apparently, I am supposed to be learning how to hear. A peculiar notion. Older hearing aids amplified sound. Newer equipment allows for variations in background sound and volume.
I understand the concept of learning to listen, however. After a while, the hard-of-hearing individual retreats. There are only so many times a person can ask for something to be repeated. And what-are-you-talking-about can only be asked a limited number of times.
My mission: hear the birds, the wind, the radio in the background, and sort the sounds out from the telephone and my husband’s question about what is for dinner.
Studies show hearing loss can lead to dementia. Sure, I often wonder why I came into a room. I have not yet reached, who am I or whose house this is?
Example of one of my off-the-wall conversations. This one is partially fiction, but typical:
“Did you bring the de—-?” Garbled sounds come from my comrade’s mouth.
“The what?” I ask.
The answer sounds like de followed by a stifled sneeze. He continues to speak, so I’m not sure how much I missed.
“Bring the what? Demolition?” I close one eye and tilt my head. “Details? Desk?”
“Uh, no. The dessert! The one you spent hours making!”
“Oh yeah. Got it.”
Today I go for my third hearing-comprehension check.
“I see you have only been wearing your hearing aids four to five hours a day,” my technician says as he looks at his all-knowing screen connected to the wiring in my ears.
“Huh? Four to five…?” I think about it. Those times I went to the Y pool and forgot to put my artificial ears back in when I came home. The times I did housework or edits first and remembered hours later… Uh, yeah, could be.
Truth, it’s got me.
“See you in a month,” my expert says.
I wonder if I’ll be any smarter in a louder world.
For anyone else who fights a similar battle, you are not alone!
terrypetersen 