Dead as a Dodo

My proverbial namesake

Deaf? Actually, not that bad, thankyou. I am not extinct (yet). And yet I struggle to hear when the noise level is high. Like when we eat together, 35 of us including three infants who can be LOUD. Often it is actually uncomfortable and I find myself withdrawing from conversation, not even trying, and occasionally even leaving the room. And I note that Meg's hearing is getting worse. I habitually run (barefoot of course) first thing Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Simply opening the latch on the back door used to be enough to wake Meg, some 30 yards away in her kennel, but now she doesn't hear and I have therefore given up taking her with me on my morning runs. I do not want to call out loudly for fear of waking the more sensible of our folk who stay in bed.

It is not so much sheer volume that causes my hearing difficulty as cacophony. I am very pleased with most of Celibidache's Bruckner because I can generally make out the individual instruments: the recordings I have have clarity in this respect. But with some music, especially home-grown such as our praise services, all the sounds can muddle together and become, for me, harsh and verging on painful. And why does music now-a-days have to have constant drum beat?