Do You Hear What I Hear?

On Thursday, 7th January 2010, I got my 1st hearing aide!

I had to have a long session with the audiologist, in which he measured what my ear could hear on it's own, and what it could hear through the hearing aide. This was done with a wire put down my ear canal, as tiny as a piece of hair, and tickled creepily as it went in and came back out!

At first, voices sounded as if everyone were talking through a microphone, I don't mean just loud, but sort of that altered sound your voice gets through a mic, slightly echoed. Many adjustments, rustling of paper, clapping hands, clicking fingers, was almost amusing all the things my audiologist did to get me to the best hearing level.

See this nifty little device in the palm of my hand in the pic below?

It's my new hearing aide!

Tiny huh ;)

The pink part sits behind my ear, while the clear wire wraps around and goes into my ear canal.

The mike is actually on the top of the pink part, then travel down through the wire, and into my ear, which means I can now even hear my hair, lol!

It feels odd in my ear canal. Imagine, or even try, having a cotton stick in your ear......swallow, talk, eat, yawn, with it in there.....your ear actually moves, constricts as all these functions take place. I almoss]t feel as if I could squeeze the aide back out of my ear! Hopefully after a little wearing, I won't so much notice this.

This pic below is what you can see of the hearing aide, behind my ear, with my hair out of the way. Small compared to all those skin coloured aides you'd see on kids in our primary school days!

The next pic is a side/back view, without pulling my hair away(but my hair is half pinned up)

The next pic is a side on view.....you gotta really look to see anything huh!

I said to Tyler I look like a cool secret agent with an ear piece, but he shot me down and said you can't see it ENOUGH for that! lol

So here I am, all audible, it will take some getting used to. Te audiologist said my brain will adjust to what I should be noticing and what I don't need to notice so much. The walk out from the rooms to Tyler and Jack waiting in the car was freaky! I walked across a gravel car park *CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH* went my feet! The breeze picked up and *RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE* went the leaves and branches in the trees, *CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP* went the birds. As I neared the car I could hear the engine revving away.

As I got in the car, Tyler was laughing, I became aware of the faces I was pulling as I heard every new noise, it really was a funny experience!

And then, the most delishes sound in the world came from the back seat.........

"Muma! Muma! Muma!"

Oooh my darling boy, JackJack, you sound even more sweet!!

I CAN hear you!

Mr Noisy!