50 Per cent Improved

I have suffered from hearing loss

since I was a small child.

It has worsened some as

I have gotten older.

Whether it is caused by

genetics

or from having measles

has not been determined.

I didn't have problems hearing

my teachers in school;

I don't have problems hearing

the Sunday sermon.

I usually don't have problems on

the phone.

Some one-on-one conversations

go pretty well,

but some don't go well at all.

I can hear birds singing,

and babies crying.

I can tell when someone is

singing off-tune.

Whispering?  Forget it!

Meetings?  Very difficult.

Voices from another room?   It's just noise.

So ...(drum roll) I have invested in a hearing aid.

Just for one ear, mind you.

The cost of one was more than $1,500,

so for now, I will have to be

50 per cent improved.

With the hearing aid,

I practically have to learn to listen.
A person with hearing loss

often avoids talking to people,

sometimes just tuning them out

rather than asking someone to repeat.

A person with hearing loss hates

having to ask "what?" too many times,

and will finally just give up,

since that is easier.

The first day I wore my  hearing aid:

I wondered if there was something

wrong with my car - I could hear all kinds

of rumbles and rattles!

I walked downtown and could hear
someone arguing in their home.
(No, I don't know what they were arguing about)

I noticed that I could hear someone

talking to me from across the yard.

and I could understand what was being said.

I know this is the norm for most of you,

but for those of us with hearing loss,

this is big.

Some days I forget to put in my

new hearing aid...

I don't wear it when I am home alone.

I haven't been wearing it to church on Sunday.

I also don't like to wear it in noisy stores,

such as Wal-Mart.

I have lived in a quiet world for a long time!

If I am in a restaurant, I turn it off - too noisy.

Paper rustling drives me crazy.

There will still be times I may have

to say, "what?"

But hopefully, not nearly as often.

So for right now, I'm only 50 percent improved,

but it is a nice improvement!