Huh?

A few weeks back I took Adam to have his hearing tested. Apparently it’s standard procedure after the grommets (tubes) operation. The hearing test involved him sitting on my lap between two big speakers in a tiny dark room. The tester would ask him to look at her, and then she played a sound from each speaker, observing whether Adam turned towards the sound.  The first sounds were fairly loud and each time he turned his head appropriately. I was secretly v relieved because you know me, paranoid that something might go wrong. 

The sounds slowly got softer, and he still kept turning his head towards the speakers. 

Thank goodness! I thought. He is not deaf.

And then my heart sank. We sat in there in the dark silence, and after each pause, he continued to turn his head from side to side. OMG! I thought, the child is deaf! He is just randomly turning his head from side to side. 

Just then the tester's voice piped over the speaker “that’s it, we are done. His hearing is perfect”

“Perfect?” I exclaimed. “How can it be perfect? He kept turning his head from side to side?” 

“No, he only turned his head when I played a sound. The sounds got softer and softer towards the end and he heard every one of them”.

O.M.G!

It is me!! I am deaf!!! I didn’t hear a bloody thing towards the end!! Not only do I have big ears, but I have deaf ears!!

I am laughing now, but I must be honest, it is worrying me. Because, as you know, that is what I do. Worry.  I’ve been kind of putting off doing anything about it and then yesterday I found out it was Deaf Awareness Week last week. Of course I missed it because not only am I deaf, I am also apparently a bit thick. 

I’ve decided I am going to have my hearing tested. Soon! Next week in fact. If I am a little hard of hearing, then I might as well face up to the fact and put in the order for my hearing aid at the same time as I order my walking stick and false teeth. It is obviously all downhill from here. Hey, at least I have perky boobs.

Now speak up, I can’t hear a damn thing you are saying.

Comments

[glittersmama]

I think a hearing aid will go great with your new perfect boobs! Too much time at loud concerts?

[Allison]

You seriously make me laugh out loud, thank you :)

[Heather]

It might be that you only miss certain frequencies or pitches, not that you're going deaf. There are a few higher sounds that I don't hear that the boys picked up during their hearing tests. I hear lower sounds very well, though. Don't worry too much! If you showered that day, maybe it was just water in your ears!

[Sue at nobaddays]

Just about peed myself laughing!

[cathy]

it happens! although i am quite convinced it is not my hearing, it is just that everyone i know has started to mumble!

[Caroline]

I remember reading last year that young children hear a greater number of frequencies than adults do, and at lower volumes. I must try to find that article.

[Lucy Corbin]

Hey Tercia...

Thanks for posting this. I'm a doctor of audiology to be and enjoyed reading your experience in the booth. It's great that you r taking a hearing test!
A lot of people would postpone getting help when they think they might have any trouble... it's common for pp to wait 5 to 10 years, actually!

By the way, if you happen to need hearing aids, they came a long way (very different from you grandfather's). Today they are more of a fashion statement and will match your perky boobs quite well! lol

here is what they used to be:
http://dept.kent.edu/hearingaidmuseum/hearing_aid_eras/pre_electric.htm

Here is just ten years ago:
http://dept.kent.edu/hearingaidmuseum/hearing_aid_eras/digital.htm

here is what they are today: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/business/yourmoney/24novel.html?ex=1189915200&en=4c6340717d1f2582&ei=5070

[Melanie]

I realized recently that I have also lost quite a bit of my hearing... I'll be having my hearing tested and probably fitted for hearing aids too soon. I'm only 21! Maybe I'll stop talking so loud after I get the aids?

[DrJ]

It is a fact that you lose the higher frequencies as you get older. Hence the Mosquito, a loudspeaker which is installed outside shops to play really high pitched sounds only teenagers can hear and drive them away from "lingering". And of course those ringtones that the teachers can´t hear. It´s not going deaf per se, just normal aging.

Here´s a page which has some examples at higher frequencieshttp://www.jimmyr.com/blog/hearingloss.html
I can hear to 17000 Hz still at 32 but my 38 yr old husband can´t hear above 14000 Hz.

[Bev]

Gosh Tertia, this made me laugh! My Mom is deaf in one ear and she just refuses to wear a hearing aid (even though she does have one!). So whenever we need to talk to her we have to make sure we are on the right side... very annoying!

[Amy]

Seems to me that I'd be a bit deaf, too, after 2+ years of having twins. :)

Hope it turns out to be nothing.

[Sister Mel]

You are such an arsehole! Hey, maybe you must test that arsehole too? You need a hobby!

[elzabe]

The person who said something about "normal aging....",please do not do that. It is very insensitive and RUDE. We realy do not whant to hear that it is normal to be deaf, blind, droopy (except T)saging al over, etc. We still whant to make believe, for time being, that we are 30 forever!!!

When we can't hear, it is because people MUMBLE. Got it?

[Emma]

I read your post to the man in the house and we both had to laugh out loud. You are so assertive though, having a hearing test planned for next week. I would worry for weeks and then forget about it, probably.

[legalmama]

Very common to have some loss of hearing by the time you are a wee bit older. Only children have perfect hearing. Your ears have been bombarded with loud sounds for decades, so it is only natural. Do get it tested if it concerns you, because I have a friend who is basically deaf in one ear because she ignored her hearing loss.

I had my hearing tested for some reason in my 30's, and I was shocked at how much hearing loss I had, while the tester thought my hearing was pretty good for someone who lived in NYC.

[RainbowW]

only thing i ever say is, "jesus i'm horny." you'd take your hearing aid out for that i'm sure.

[Compa]

The same thing happened to me when we when in for Compaito's post-tubes hearing checkup! I still haven't had my hearing tested though, as I am secretly afraid that they will tell me I have ruined my hearing by my religious Q-tip use. *Sigh*

[Chickenpig]

You're fine! As we age we just lose a little bit in the upper and lower ranges with use, and abuse. When he's a teenager and starts cranking whatever crappy music teens will be listening to then, his super hearing will be knocked down a peg or to. :)

[Luann]

same thing happened to me at Jordan's hearing test. We can go deaf together.

[sheilah]

HEY! HEY! I am one of those who does not want to hear about normal hearing loss. I believe and will continue to believe that people just mumble.

Eh? What was that?

*fingers in ears* LaLaLaLa Bibbity bobbity boo...

[Lisa S]

haha! One of the funniest posts ever. I sat with Charlie for his hearing test (pre-tubes) and I can picture the scene exactly.

[kirstyphysio]

Relax (hard for worriers like you, I know) But - your lack of hearing the softer sounds is no doubt from all those nights spent clubbing! Remember how your ears used to ring for ages after being in a club?? Well - that loud music has now killed your higher levels of hearing. (Just like all the coke has now ruined your sense of smell - although with your big schnoz you probably got away with it!!) And - not to mention how the E has now made you paranoid and panicky!!
So - just blame it all on a mispent youth - not aging!!

[amy]

Too cute! I would have probably panicked too. I heard all the sounds during my son's hearing test, so I'm not worried... yet.

[Maddy]

Too funny. I tried that hearing test that your commenter posted. I could not hear at some of those ranges. I read somewhere that kids 10 and under have better hearing and that it continues to drop as you age? Goin downhill since age 10...

[victoria]

I had my hearing tested at 14. It was so acute that the tester couldn't believe that I actually heard everything (she thought I might be reacting to some subtle cue in her face instead o the sounds), so she made me face away from her and signal when I heard a sound. I still had freakishly acute hearing.

Now I'm 42. I still have pretty good hearing, but it's not nearly as acute (though I can still hear bats). But we all lose some auditory funciton as we age.

[Orange]

Okay, you people who say you want to be in denial about age-related losses in hearing are seriously pissing me off. First off, don't think of it as age per se, but as accumulated exposure to loud noise that has been killing off the sensory cells in your ears. It happens.

I've been hard of hearing my whole life, and hearing aids do help a lot. If your hair covers your ears, nobody even knows you have them. If your hair doesn't cover your ears, those teeny in-the-canal and in-the-ear hearing aids, flesh-toned, aren't so glaringly obvious. What is glaringly obvious is hearing loss. If you turn the TV up loud, if you misunderstand what people have said and reply inappropriately, if you keep asking people to repeat themselves—believe me, people will notice your hearing loss more than hearing aids. And hearing aids don't bother anyone else, whereas blaring the TV or accusing people of mumbling does bother them. So don't be selfish and vain.

If you know someone who's hard of hearing (even with hearing aids--they help but they don't provide perfect childlike hearing levels), keep these in mind:

1. Speak clearly, with your face towards the person, and don't cover your mouth with your hand, a restaurant menu, etc. Lip-reading cues help.

2. If the person asks you to repeat yourself, don't say the exact same words again. Rephrase it! The different arrangement of sounds may be easier for the hard-of-hearing person to understand correctly.

3. If you want to tell them a secret, speak softly face-on. Whispering straight in their ear means no lip-reading or face-reading cues to help get your point across.

And if you'd like to preserve your hearing, don't blast your iPod or MP3 player. Younger generations will be hard of hearing much earlier in life because of those damn earbuds with the volume too high.

[Orange]

And Compa, I'm also a Q-tip abuser. My hearing level has remained constant despite that. So go get tested. Don't be afraid. :-)

[Stefanie]

That is too funny! We had to do that test with both kids. I was a riot watching their little heads turn back and forth.

[Andrea]

While some may be attributed to frequencies, pitch, etc., the reality is that aging often comes with hearing loss. Why? Well, for some it is after years of exposure to loud concerts, parties, and so on. For others, it is from particularly noisy jobs. Still others have more sensitive hearing from the get-go and are more prone to loss from things that other individuals wouldn't normally see significant changes from.

Back in high school, I had a band director who at 27 or 28 years old had to have hearing aids. He made a point of sharing this experience with the class to ensure we didn't feel his hearing problems were part of the reason he constantly thought our pitch was off, telling us his doctor attributed the problem to his many years of playing the drums. As an earlier poster mentioned, this next generation is going to face some serious problems, because of the volume on those iPods and whatever else they shove into their ears to listen to music. Remember the Walkman? :)

[Andrea]

You kill me, I nearly choked on the water I was drinking.

[Catizhere]

SHALL I TYPE IN ALL CAPS SO THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME????

So glad that Adams hearing is fine.

[Julie]

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR HEARING. IT'S JUST THAT WE ARE ALL WHISPERING BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE NEW PERKY BOOBIES!!!

[Diane]

I have prosthetic middle ear bones and am HoH in both ears, most particularly the left. I was completely deaf in the left ear for seven months while I waited for a "second look" surgery with hearing reconstruction.

Orange was spot on with her suggestions for HoH people. I'd like to add that the person who initiates the conversation *go* to the other person. Shouldn't be a problem with the twins, but Marko or Rose should approach you if they want to say something. You need to go to them when you want to talk. Facial and lip cues are so important to me that I miss too much of communication without them.

While it's great to have a sense of humor about hearing loss (my family is ruthless and I love them for it), it is SO important to take care of hearing loss ASAP. Sometimes it's not reversible and the longer one waits, the harder it can be to recover what's been lost. Even when aided.

I have a history of benign, but recurrent inner ear tumors called cholesteatoma. I had my first for over ten years before I was diagnosed. I've had at least six surgeries to deal with something that might have been simplified had I not had it so long.

So...anyone...if it's getting harder to understand without visual cues, everyone is mumbling or saying apparently nonsensical things (toddlers, small children, imaginary friends excluded), Go. Get. Checked. NOW!!

/end public service announcement.

[Geohde]

It is entirely normal to hear less high frequency than a child, you lose the ability as you age. :)

[marta]

This is your so-called stalker, stalking you to admit that this was a funny and well-written post. Can you hear me?

[Rebekah]

I have an auditory processing disorder, meaning my brain doesn't always properly process what I am hearing, particularly when there is a lot of noise to process through. I'll be interested to hear (no pun intended) what the results of your hearing test are. As you already know ... it's painless. Except for the crushing blow to one's ego, that is. ;)

[Stef]

oh t, you crack me up! don't worry about your ears...its normal ok... apparently small kids can hear amazingly well...there's a test somewhere online (that i did...) that shows that the younger you are you hear a certain frequency that adults can't hear...it's shocking...so don't start saving for those hearing-aids just yet...

[Keri]

I'm Deaf (yes, with a capitol D) and don't worry, it's not all downhill from here. ;-) Glad to hear that South Africa has Deaf Awareness Week!

[kitchenengla]

natural for the came even by helping accomplish in a hollow came Years later, tree