Hard of hearing

I may have mentioned that I have suffered tinnitus for many years now. This constant background noise sets a lower limit to what external sound levels I can hear. In addition loud noise tends to distort in my ears. So for me the so called cocktail effect works in reverse - the more people speaking at once the less likely I am to be able to make out anything, so that I tend to retire, give up, at corporate mealtimes.

After church today we had a special lunch in honour of a student who has just graduated. I had been cooking vast quantities of chips in the kitchen so when I finally made it into the dining area the meal was already in full progress and there was a lot of talking going on. The noise level hit me rather like the heat can when entering a sauna. It was uncomfortable. So I went upstairs to get some ear plugs. A few minutes after returning those sitting nearby noticed and I was conscious of laughter at my expense. Not nasty - after all we are Christians - but laughter none the less.

Why is is reasonably socially acceptable to be lame, or blind, but having a hearing deficiency or going about without shoes on is not? Could I claim discrimination?

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?