Return to noisy office with hearing disability

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Shouting

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uploaded by YankeeJim

Today, I returned to the office to see how I would perform with ability to hear human speech at the cusp of discernment. I am recovering slowly from something that caused fluid or swelling to build in my middle ear to the point of creating deafness. It happened over a week ago; I am taking the steroid, Prednisone and had one shot of medicine through the ear drum this past Monday. I had a blood test and have an MRI scheduled for the morning, so by Monday, the ENT doctors should have a fix about the situation.

Now, the funny business is that I speak loudly. I mean, I am shouting and don’t realize it. My business associate pulled me aside and suggested that I need to tone it down.

I want to describe the sensation. You see, when the outside world gets quiet, for me in my situation, the inside world seems to crank up. I can hear what sounds like the rush of internal body fluids. I can hear myself talk and cough and such.

Interestingly, there are saxophones playing in my head. It is a tenor sax playing a run against the backdrop of a bass. I normally sing and whistle, but I can’t really hear what I am doing so I have stopped. Still, there are echoes and remembrances of music in my head.

If I had been deaf all of my life, I may not have this sensation. Having lived in the noisy world, I have memorable artifacts.

I hope my hearing comes back, but I have also enjoyed the very quiet nights in which to sleep.