Ears...
We all have them... they grace each side of our head giving us a place to display jewelry, an area for lovers to nuzzle and in some cases helping us fly ;)
I was born with some amazing hearing, when I was around 13 my hearing was tested. The doctor was amazed at what he found out, then he ordered more testing to make sure what he was seeing was right. I could essentially hear the same sounds as bats.
Now most of my life I thought it was a blessing at how very well my hearing was. I could hear everything around me, every conversation, someone whispering in the other room. Everything! But that also meant that I heard *everything* at once. It was hard to concentrate on the person in front of me talking. Because I could hear the couple at the table 3 rows over arguing quietly. The other couple behind us cooing love words at each other. The job of trying to shut out these other conversations was a constant job and caused some major migraines. There were other exceptions also, like driving under or near power lines. The buzz made me want to rip my ears off, speaking of buzz. A buzzing drone of a TV left on down the hall in another apartment would keep me up all night. It would make my head feel like it was stuffed with a bee's nest and cotton. Late night parties down the block... omg why didn't they just invite me so I could at least have enjoyed being kept up all night?
I dealt with it for years and grew to enjoy it and control it, it was kinda like my super power. My kids knew they could not get away with anything. On the phone in the bedroom with the door closed whispering in the middle of the night. Caught ya! Cussing outside thinking I could not hear you while I was washing dishes in the kitchen. Thought wrong again. They knew they could not get away with mumbling under their breath when I was around.
All this came to an abrupt end last year though. I woke up one day and the side of my face was funny feeling. Without going into great detail 2 days later I was diagnosed with Bells Palsy, my neuro was a bit confused about the amount of pain that I explained coming from the side of my head and ran a test and found out that I also had a case of Shingles that decided to tag along since my immune system was so weak. Let me tell you folks, you do not ever want that combo of crap to ever hit you. I seriously thought I was going insane, the noises and clicks and deep throbbing pain, it was enough to make me wish I would just die.
Because of the ordeal I lost a good percentage of my hearing in my left ear. My kids still don't believe I can't hear like I used to and are convinced I am just trying to fake them out. It has been really hard getting used to not hearing things I was used to. I always thought I would dance the day I had hearing like a normal person.
But... to me, it seems like it is going to take me many years to unmaster being a Super Hearer.
]]>