Day 41...Company comin'...woo!
My brother- and sister-in-law are coming this weekend, along with their toddler daughter and young German shepherd, Bob. Muchly looking forward to that, and not just because they're good folk.
When my hearing was on the fritz, I tried to enjoy being around people. Sometimes I succeeded. But the barriers were always there. The wall between me and multivoice conversation. The moat between me and another person if my functioning right ear was so bad that the hearing aid couldn't help.
It made me tentative and often withdrawn. I pulled closer to people like my son, who seemed able to get around our conversation barriers with a combo of compassion and whatever ESP fathers and sons develop. It allowed me to keep my social self on life support, but that was about it.
I'm looking forward to talking to my in-laws. I mean reeeeally talking to them. My bro-in-law is fascinating and sharp and loves music and makes a living messing around with web-site design. How cool is that? And the sis-in-law is equally sharp and funny and a uniquely kind soul. And I'll be able to converse without reservation (well, almost). How cool is that?
One of my assignments after the May 16 mapping was to decide between Programs 1 and 2 for speech and music. I've largely concluded that P1, which provides a fuller sound, does the job for me. I'm such a sound hog. As my brain starts to filter out some of the hisses and pops that P1 provides -- an apparent trade-off for the broader spectrum of sound than P2 -- I find I hunger for more. I play music I'm familiar with (like -- go ahead, sue me -- Journey) and can sense certain high pitches just aren't there. It's like someone rearranged the score and left out of the piccolos. I hope, when I return for a mapping in July, that my brain will be ready to accept/deal with some of those higher pitches.
When my hearing was on the fritz, I tried to enjoy being around people. Sometimes I succeeded. But the barriers were always there. The wall between me and multivoice conversation. The moat between me and another person if my functioning right ear was so bad that the hearing aid couldn't help.
It made me tentative and often withdrawn. I pulled closer to people like my son, who seemed able to get around our conversation barriers with a combo of compassion and whatever ESP fathers and sons develop. It allowed me to keep my social self on life support, but that was about it.
I'm looking forward to talking to my in-laws. I mean reeeeally talking to them. My bro-in-law is fascinating and sharp and loves music and makes a living messing around with web-site design. How cool is that? And the sis-in-law is equally sharp and funny and a uniquely kind soul. And I'll be able to converse without reservation (well, almost). How cool is that?
One of my assignments after the May 16 mapping was to decide between Programs 1 and 2 for speech and music. I've largely concluded that P1, which provides a fuller sound, does the job for me. I'm such a sound hog. As my brain starts to filter out some of the hisses and pops that P1 provides -- an apparent trade-off for the broader spectrum of sound than P2 -- I find I hunger for more. I play music I'm familiar with (like -- go ahead, sue me -- Journey) and can sense certain high pitches just aren't there. It's like someone rearranged the score and left out of the piccolos. I hope, when I return for a mapping in July, that my brain will be ready to accept/deal with some of those higher pitches.