Some of you may remember a couple of posts ago where I talked about my hearing loss.
On March 31st I made the trek back up to Duluth, Georgia where Julie, my audiologist (yes, I have my very own audiologist! Lucky ME.) had my hearing aid ready and waiting for me. My sister, Erin, went with me as Zack was in Dubai at that point and I didn't want to go alone. Erin wasn't about to let me go alone anyway!
I was very...what's the word...very...nervous?
No.
Not nervous.
Hesitant.
Maybe that's it.
Prideful.
That's totally it.
I was feeling too proud to go through with it. Which is weird to write that, but it's true. I don't like being dependant on ANYTHING. I'm chock full of stubborn Irish pride and the idea that I needed something to make me better made my skin crawl.
That, as I read what I just wrote, is RIDICULOUS. I think my heavenly Father has just very gently, with a velvet sledgehammer, pointed out something I need to work on.
(sigh)
Great.
Anyway, we went into Julie's office and she had everything ready to go with the hearing aid hooked up to a computer. The computer had taken my audio test results from the last visit and programmed into my little hearing aid what it "thought" I should be hearing. Julie showed me how to fit it over my right ear and insert the plastic little "tulip" into my ear canal.
I can't describe to you what it was like the second Julie turned it on. Erin said my face registered utter shock. I had the sensation of wanting to lean to my right, as if I were a cartoon character who's ear had suddenly grown to mammoth proportions.
I could hear the fan of the air conditioner. The rustling of paper. Voices from another room. My own breathing. Erin stirring in her chair.
"How does that sound?", Julie asked. "Is it too loud?"
"No! No! It's amazing. I...", I was speechless. I just sat there and started to giggle.
"In a few minutes your brain will get used to the new level of sound and bring everything center and normalize what you're hearing.", Julie informed me, "Now let's go through the different settings."
She turned on two other settings explaining how each one changes the "mics" on my aid allowing me to isolate what I'm hearing. It's really quite amazing.
It's also amazing how discreet it is.
Check it out, when I have all my hairs down, obviously, you can't see anything:
(Wow. How DO I manage to be so sexy.)
And then, even if I were to have my hair up, or in a headband, it's hard to see:
It's made a huge difference in my life. Zack can tell when I don't have my hearing aid in because I'm talking louder. I'll be chattering away about something and he'll pat my arm and say,
"Honey, go put your hearing aid in."
:-)
So, if you've ever met me before this, and you've thought to yourself:
That, is a very loud lady.
Now you know why!
The next step is the surgery on my left ear to try and save the hearing there. The name of said surgery starts with an "m" and is fun to say but not to spell. So I won't attempt that. For those of you who pray please be praying that we can find the money for this surgery as Zack and I both don't have health insurance and the cost of the surgery and hospital is going to be very, very steep. Because I'm a working musician I can qualify for a grant through NARAS (those crazy people who do the Grammys) and their MusiCares program. I've submitted paperwork for that and crossing my fingers that they can help pay for some of the cost of the aid (which was $2K) and hopefully offset the cost of the surgery as well.
Of course this all has to wait until when the baby decides to make his appearance. My due date is technically the 28th so what...3 days left? But, I've resigned myself to him arriving sometime in July. I'm exercising my expectations management here, folks. If I tell myself he's coming in July and he comes early well then, what a lovely surprise!
See? That's how I have to operate in order to not get too peevish. Of course I say all this and yet there is still the follwing on our iCal...
That's all for now.
Oh.
By the by, thank you to everyone for your feedback on the song "What Is Left...". Your thoughts and encouragement are very helpful to me!
What do you think about my posting more ideas like that here? And you could give me your input?