Thanks to the wonders of medical science and an uncharacteristically prompt service from the NHS, I can now hear properly out of my right ear.
Whut?
Mrs Sane has nagged me for a long time about my bad hearing so a few months ago I went to see my GP about it. A nice student doctor asked me some questions, stuck a tuning fork behind my ear and referred me to an ENT consultant.
A week before Christmas I went to the hospital and had a hearing test which showed a bit of a dip in the mid range which is where human speech is and it drops right off at the high range which is things like running water, rustling paper, birds, etc. The consultant shoved a camera up my nose to see whether there were any blockages up there that might be causing the problem (not a pleasant experience and there was nothing wrong up my nose) and then pronounced that I needed a hearing aid, an MRI and they would send for me shortly.
I was expecting a 6 month wait at least but was pleasantly surprised to get an appointment for a month later for an MRI and then to be measured for a hearing aid the following day. I was even more surprised to actually walk out with a hearing aid on the day, expecting to have to wait months for one to be ordered or for someone to die so I could inherit theirs!
So that was a week ago today and what a difference it’s made. I walked out of the hospital and the first thing that struck me was how loud the world is. I could hear people talking, car doors slamming, birds singing – I really hadn’t realised how bad my hearing had got. It does take some getting used to though. Running water is particularly loud, especially the toilet flushing. I’ve had to ask for a new keyboard at work because the clattering of the nice Dell keyboard I had was too loud and noisy places can be a bit overwhelming.
It’s well worth having though and if anyone is experiencing problems with their hearing I would definitely recommend going to get it checked out. Saying it’s been life changing would be exaggerating a bit but it’s made a real, positive difference. It’s a tiny thing and unless they’re looking for it, most people don’t even notice it’s there. After a while I forget I’m wearing the hearing aid but when I take it out it sounds like I’ve got cotton wool stuffed in my ear. Even after just a week, if I didn’t have it I’d really miss it.
