The Sweet Sound

If you ask me if I heard you, my answer would depend on which side you were speaking to me on. Truth is, I can barely hear out of my left ear. Truth is better than actually trying to be engaging or clever. For years, I though my hearing loss was due to a manicure orange-stick mishap with a two year old. Holding the phone to my left ear sounded like the person was a Munchkin from the Wizard of Oz...all I heard was a lot of high-pitched gibberish. I can hear sound, but not words.

Years later, tests showed that I actually had no damage to my eardrum but had lost 72% of my hearing in the left ear. It turns out that I'd lost my hearing due to Meniere's Syndrome. I'd never even heard of it. All I knew is that I got struck down by the worst case of Vertigo ever! Imagine not being able to work, drive for nine weeks straight. Or having to move from one room to another on all fours.

A spinning merry-go-round that you want to get off and can't...no matter how much you vomit and plead. A nightmare. People then started to make comments about my talking louder, or raising the volume on the TV. I soon discovered that as long as people spoke to my right side, I could hear every single word they said. On the left, nah...not so much.

We all take things for granted until we don't have it. It's reasonable to think that as we get older, we may experience some hearing loss. In my case, mine seemed as if it happened overnight rather than a gradual change. I didn't understand when I was told a hearing aid wouldn't help me. It seemed so illogical, and it was. In fact, mine is practically undetectable...if I wear it, that is. So,

have empathy for anyone with a sensory impairment. I can't imagine not being able to hear the sound of music, or the voices of my children. Embrace the sweet sound.