Four years
have gone by in a flash.
I stopped
writing when I felt I would get repetitive, boring or inconsequential.
“A deaf person who sees two men
in conversation may nevertheless understand from the attitudes and gestures of
the speakers, how well their discussion is getting along”.
~ Leonardo da Vinci ~
The above
skill has not left me. So many times I have been confused between what I
hear and what I see. The difference is that now I don’t automatically doubt the
hearing side and can mistrust the sincerity behind the words instead. My old
deaf ‘aides auditives’ are still put to good use. Like lip-reading, they may
have diminished now they get less practise but they are still definitely there.
What have I gained and what is just the same?
The list of
gains is way too long for here.I will endeavour to introduce them a bit at
a time. Likewise the annoying bits that have not returned to what I remember
them to be.
Although my
Cochlear Nucleus 6 processor is designed to recognise and enhance speech sounds
over distracting background noises, I find the reinstatement of the mundane
sounds of everyday life to be the most satisfying. I hear the kettle boil, the
gas flame ignite, the microwave ping, the postman knock, the indicator click
in the car, the leaves rustle in the trees and things that fall from my pockets and drop on the floor! The
clock ticking, like many new constant sounds has passed from a new itch I can’t
scratch to something that can be ignored and fades away.
My favourite statement now is “when everything is quiet I no longer look around just in case I am missing something. If I don’t hear anything it is because there is no sound.”
What is the
same, is when I go to bed and remove the processor. I am now totally and utterly
deaf as what little hearing I once had in my other ear is now gone. When away
from home I must inform my host that in case of a fire or danger they have my
permission to knock down the door and force entry into my room if necessary as
I will otherwise sleep on unaware. Alarms must be by vibration alert as before
if they are to be effective. Telephones, smoke alarms, fire alarms doorbells and neighbours no longer
exist when I go to bed.
Conversation
can still be difficult with unfamiliar voices. I am more annoyed with how
people speak than what they say. It is as if I have missed a whole generation
of language deviation. I detect much more nuance in sounds, accents and
inflections that make voices richer now that all my concentration does not have
to go into just noting the words. It is still very easy to become distracted by
another sound or when the voices are hard to follow. I still do best with a
face to go with the spoken words. My brain prefers it, to help out. This means I am
not a casual listener. Overhearing conversations in public has to be a
deliberate act of concentration. This does get confusing with my lack of
directional hearing. The closest or loudest is not necessarily the best heard.
I can easily recognise a speech pattern though not all the words said. This
loss of definition is no longer a problem, I am happy to note the buzz of
conversation as a sign of life and accept it as a part of the background. If it
impinges on my own conversation it can be annoying but learning to concentrate
in those surrounding is a work in progress. Trying to decipher two people
speaking at once with equal volume is impossible for me. They merge and confound me instantly.
I now
understand the enormous part my brain plays in the hearing process. The
physical part of the ear to transmit sound is very basic compared with the
processing undertaken by the brain afterwards. It is this ability to adapt and
change and redirect that is bringing my hearing back to a version of normal
again.
The appreciation of music has been a long time coming. Most of it is still uninteresting and, on occasions, unpleasant. I would make a very controversial music critic. I would just call it all rubbish and hate every thing! Slowly single instruments are being identified and singing appreciated without trying to understand the lyrics as long as it has a good tune!
A new Cochlear processor, the Nucleus sound 7, is now available. I hope to be upgraded to this in the near future. Loads of improvements, computing power and an even smaller device. More on that when it happens.
 |
| The Nucleus Sound 7 |
Most of all I am now relaxed. No longer so tired. More sociable and much more content.
Next time something about my new found freedom and experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment