Welcome to "LITTLE TAKES ON LIFE"
I will be talking about being a mom and wife, my journey through a Cochlear Implant, to my environmental and sustainability passion, anything that I feel could bring living in this world a little easier for my audience!
A little of this and a little of that! Simple, easy, and hopefully someplace you will find as part of your day.
For the first time in years I heard the sound of cellphones ringing on TV. :D
Let's see what else is new? Hmmm oh... the cling of the light pull on the bedroom end table lamp against the light. I never knew what those sounded like.
The clicking of my laptop mouse... It's not silent after all.
The Scene: In a salon, a woman sits down in a
chair and removes the towel from her wet hair. She puts her hearing
aids back in and looks at herself in the mirror, chatting to the
stylist.
Tell me honestly, do my hearing aids show? I mean, like a lot?
I know I’ve always worn my hair long to cover my big ones – my big hearing aids, I mean. They felt like two huge satellite dishes on the sides of my head, and people would stare, you know? Well, it felt like they were staring; I guess sometimes it was just me being insecure – but other times they were definitely staring.
Even with these new smaller ones, some people aren’t too subtle – and I’m not talking children. I mean adults. Children are more honest. They stare, but then they’ll point and say ‘what’s that?’ But adults – they stare and then pretend they’re not looking.
Then I have to pretend I don’t see them looking and let me tell you,
all that pretending gets exhausting – and embarrassing.
I don’t know why I get embarrassed; I just do. Or I end up embarrassing Jake, my son.
OK, I get that all his friends were in McDonald’s and no one likes to
be singled out at that age – but it was just so noisy and I couldn’t
understand the cashier. She got tired of repeating herself, I guess, but
did she have to bellow like a bull, “Your COFFEE, ma’am! What do you WANT IN IT!?”
That was not my fault. And in church yesterday…I mean, how was I supposed to know my battery was going to die? That’s what batteries do,
they die – that’s what keeps the battery companies in business. So I
take out my hearing aid and once I’ve got the new battery in, the little
sucker drops to the floor and rolls under the pew! I had to get on my
knees to reach for it. As I fumbled to get it back in, the feedback
was screaming blue murder and I thought I’d die of embarrassment. There
was not a lot of ‘love thy neighbor’ going on, I’ll tell you
that. Some of those church people weren’t giving me their Sunday-best
look.
I always seem to be feeling embarrassed – or left out or ignored. I
hate that too. You’d think that friends you’ve had for years would
understand that you can’t follow conversations in noisy restaurants. But
oh no, they just keep yapping away without me. And you’d think a certain husband could watch the hockey game with the closed captioning on. It does not cover up the puck and even if it did, it’s only for one second out of a season that lasts nine months. Well, not this year, I guess…
You know, I’m just so damn tired of all of that….and I’ve made a decision.
I am just not going to put up with it anymore. I am not
going to turn into that old hard of hearing woman who sits in the corner
at family events, the one smiling dimly, nodding, saying the wrong
things at the wrong time, or just “Eh, what’s that, eh?”
That is not going to be me! I need and want to understand, to be involved in what’s going on. So, I’m gonna start changing how I do things, you know?
Yeah, I’m gonna start wearing my hearing aids – all the time. And if people stare – I’ll just stare right back at ‘em!
And if people don’t face me when we’re talking, I’m gonna spin them around.
I’m going to tell them when I can’t hear them – and they darn well better speak up and not even dare to say, “Oh, never mind, it was nothing.” If they said it once, it must be worth repeating. If not, don’t say it, period.
And from now on when I’m in the TV room, that captioning is ON!
I’m gonna tell people what I need and if someone snaps at me, it’s
they who should be embarrassed, not me. I’m not being difficult, I just
want to understand – that’s fair, isn’t it?
I’m gonna tell the bank people to look at me, not the computer! I’ll show you the money – you show me the lips!
I’m gonna tell movie theatres that if they want my business, then give me captioning! And if they keep it up with these loud movies, pretty soon everybody’s going to need the captioning!
I’m gonna tell the church that if they
want me to hear the Word, they better say it louder. How about
installing a loop? I mean, let’s loop everything!
I’m gonna tell the flight attendant that I
don’t have a clue what the pilot is saying over the PA, so she’ll have
to come tell me. Otherwise, I may assume the worst and become
hysterical.
I’m gonna tell my boss that if he wants a job well done, I need a phone well amplified!
I’m gonna tell the doctor that I would feel a whole lot better if I could understand what he was saying.
And I’m gonna tell my family – I love you to the moon and back, but that trip would be a whole lot sweeter if you wouldn’t talk to me from another room, or roll your eyes when I say the wrong thing. We’re in this together.
I am NEVER going to sit in that corner. My ’ears’ are in and I am looking into the face of the world and I am saying: Bring it on, world, because I’m LISTENING!
Oh my, wow- I really did get going there, didn’t
I, dear? But I meant what I said - this starts today, now, here. So
cut my hair, darling, and this time cut it short around the ears –
because I’ve got nothing to hide.
The End
(Picture courtesy of Shanna Groves, “Show Me Your Ears”)
Dr Ranit De explains how cochlear implant surgery will allow a Toowoomba mother to hear her children’s voices this Christmas.
AFTER a decade of silence, Toowoomba mother Sandy Trinham has been given the gift of hearing just in time for Christmas.
Toowoomba Hospital ear, nose and throat surgeon Dr Ranit De performed a successful cochlear implant surgery on Ms Trinham yesterday.
The $25,000 device is due to be switched on in a fortnight to allow Ms Trinham to hear her children's voices and the sound of Christmas carols.
It was the first time the groundbreaking surgery has been performed at Toowoomba Hospital, as it is near-impossible for adult patients to receive without private health cover.
The internal component of one of two $25,000 cochlear implants donated to the Toowoomba Hospital.Kevin Farmer
"Sandy will be able to manage both home and work life much more easily," Dr De said.
"The sound heard through a cochlear implant is very different to that of natural hearing but with time and rehabilitation the hearing will become second nature to her."
Dr De has performed six of the procedures in Toowoomba since he moved from the United Kingdom in March, but all had been under the private health system.
The surgery is commonplace in the UK, but is still in its infancy in the Garden City.
A handheld device that will allow Sandy Trinham to control the volume and frequency of her cochlear implant.Kevin Farmer
"The public health system in Queensland funds cochlear implants for children however there is a long wait for adults," Dr De said.
"There are two parts to the cochlear implant device - the external device which has a microphone, processor and power source and the internal device which contains fine electrodes that direct current to the nerves of hearing."
He called yesterday's operation "a milestone" made possible by a donation of two implants from Cochlear Australia and funding for the $3000 rehabilitation program by the Rotary Club of Toowoomba.
"In August this year I went to Kazakhstan to conduct charity work (implant surgery) and the Rotary Club of Toowoomba asked me to speak about my experiences," Dr De said.
"When they heard about the ongoing costs for patients following cochlear implant surgery, they offered to help."
The Neurosensory Unit Toowoomba has also donated the time and resources so Ms Trinham has the support she needs in the coming years.
"After our patient has the surgery she will have two weeks for the surgery site to heal and then the implants are switched on," Dr De said.
"This will be just in time for her to hear at Christmas and a wonderful Christmas present for her and her family."
12/7 - adjustment #4. Over the past 2 weeks, I took that last programming increased it 2 programs and added two more volume increases to that. This is the setting that was the basis for Friday's adjustment.
When I first came home I was overwhelmed with the new program.
On Friday and Saturday I took it back to the old setting plus some. As of this morning I took it back up to the newest setting. This morning I heard:
water under car tires going by as I was walking into work
the security badge scanner beep in the lobby
the squeak of the one bathroom doors at work
I wonder what else will pop up!!
Group/noisy settings are still a challenge for me... I'm not sure if that will ever change.
