32. The Blind Lady ~ 2nd July

I met a blind lady today called Julie. I was by myself in the hotel lounge making myself a cup of tea when I saw her sitting by herself. Her guide dog gave it away. I walked over to her and asked her if I could stroke her dog because it had a coat on which said something along the lines of 'working dog, do not distract'. I ended up sitting by the lady and we had a long conversation about all sorts of things. I don't know how it came into conversation, but I revealed I was deaf. She was asking me questions, wanting to know more. I briefly summarised that I had perfect hearing and then unexpectedly lost my hearing within two months earlier this year.

"Do you have those hearing things in your ears?"

"Can you do that thing with your hands?" she asked, imitating sign language with her hands. "Are your parents deaf? Do you just have deaf friends? You're very young to be deaf aren't you?" Her questions went on and on as though she needed to know everything about me. I didn't have the same need to hear about her history, just her dog!

When I first started my blog, you may recall that I wrote about being so thankful to have my sight despite the fact I was losing my hearing and I have never doubted that since. However Julie told me how lucky we both are as we have both had our sight / hearing for a period of our lives (she became blind in her early forties) and I agreed with her. Julie then said that she had already built an image of me in her head and she could only do that because she remembers what things looked like. I am ashamed for feeling this way but I actually felt envious of her because contrary to what she believed I can't remember sounds. I know that a bird makes a 'tweet-tweet' noise but I can't remember the actual noises. She could create an image of me whether accurate or not, whereas I can't create noises in my head. 

Despite me being able to remember things said by close relatives who have passed away, I cannot actually hear their voice. Whist all the hearing people I have spoken to about not remembering sounds and voices have the same problem as I do, there are people who claim to remember the actual noise years later.

Despite meeting Julie just a few hours ago and having just written about her, it has just dawned on me that I can no longer hear her voice anymore.

31. Dialling 999 when you're deaf ~ 30th June

You're with a relative and they suddenly collapse, so you dial 999. You witness a traffic accident, so you dial 999. You see someone's house in flames, so you dial 999. What do you do when you are deaf as you won't be able to hear the emergency services operator?

I picked up a leaflet whilst on my course but I have only just looked at it properly. The leaflet talks about how to register with a text message service run by the emergency services. I am now registered to text 999 in an emergency and provide specific information ie location etc. It took very little time to register and could save not only someone else's life but yours too. If you too are deaf, I urge you to register.

For more information, please click on this link: www.emergencysms.org.uk   

I'm afraid that I don't know whether this service is available in other countries. If any of you know, please let me know.

30. A bit of DIY ~ 28th June

I went back to see the audiologist for the third time this week to sort out my other painful hearing aid. I was surprised to see the electric-sander hadn't been replaced. Inevitably as soon as he turned it on it kept making terrible noises that even I could hear. After a few questions I discovered that the machine isn't even an audiological piece of equipment, but rather something you get from your local hardware store! I thought it looked very similar to the one I have in my garage! I would have brought mine along if I had known! He shaved a bit off both hearing aids, but I cannot tell at the moment whether they are comfortable because of the blisters and cuts they have already caused on my ears.

29. Rainbow Eyes ~ 26th June

I have to apologise for being behind with my blog, I've been away and also submerged under life's stresses - I'm sure you know the feeling!

I went to the audiology clinic today for an appointment to see if I fit the criteria to be given some equipment to help me lead as normal a life as possible.

The lady almost immediately commented on me having different coloured eyes. All the usual thoughts sprung to mind when someone says "oh my goodness you have different coloured eyes!" such as 'duh..do you think I have never noticed that before?' (of course I didn't actually say that to her!). Rather than the normal "wow, that's so cool" or "that's so unusual" or "they are amazing" or " have they always been like that" or "they are so beautiful", this time was different with the lady saying "interesting". I asked her why they are interesting and she started telling me about a condition called 'Waardenberg Syndrome'. She told me that two of the symptoms of this condition are different coloured eyes with one eye having a different coloured iris eg one of my eyes is blue and the other is a mixture of blue, green and brown. The other symptom I have is being deaf. I looked into the condition when I got home and other than those two traits, I don't have any of the long list of symptoms such as a white lock of hair, premature greying etc, so it has been ruled out).

Then the questions began:

"Can you hear your front door bell ring?

Can you hear the telephone ring?

Can you hear the person at the other end of the line when you're on the telephone?

Can you hear the television?

Can you hear someone shouting from downstairs to you upstairs?

Can you hear the fire alarm ring?

Can you hear your alarm clock?"

........ The questions carried on and on. 

She said that I met all the strict criteria and in a few weeks time a man will come to my house with lots of goodies and gadgets. I wanted to jump up and down, finding it hard to contain my excitement knowing this will be life changing for me.