No, I'm not coming out of the closet that way.
I have been hard of hearing most of my life. Maybe all my life, who knows? Whether I was born that way, or I got an ear infection as a small child that didn't quite clear up, I don't know. It doesn't really matter.
I started wearing a hearing aid in sixth grade. I never told anyone. For some reason I felt embarrassed about it. It fit behind my ear, and it was hardly noticeable at all.
When I was older, maybe 19, I got a new one, because they don't last forever. This one fit in my ear, but it was huge. It was darker than my skin, and I had really, really short hair, so it was right out there for everyone to see. I hated it. I didn't wear it much, and I still feel a little guilty all these years later. Sorry, Mom and Dad. I know you weren't exactly rolling in the dough when you bought it.
Then I cruised around for a long time, maybe a decade, without one. I thought I was doing ok. My husband was getting increasingly frustrated though. I guess it's hard to live with someone who keeps saying, "What? What? WHAT???" all the time. So off I went to Miracle Ear to get a tiny aid that fit neatly in my ear canal, practically invisible.
Unfortunately, those little things don't last forever. The one I bought at Miracle Ear lasted for 7 years, and then it bit the dust. One day this spring it was it my ear and it just quit working. Kaput! It was beyond repair.
So all summer long I cruised along without one. I admit, it was getting hard to have a conversation with me unless I was sitting in a quiet room right next to the person talking. My coworkers would talk to me from across the room, and I could hear that they were saying something to me, but as far as actually hearing them, forget it!
Finally I boogied off to Miracle Ear again, but I did not like the man who worked there. He made me feel really bad, like my hearing had deteriorated to the point that I might as well be deaf. Well, phooey. I knew I needed to do something, but I wasn't going to give him any of my hard-earned money.
I did my shopping for a new audiologist by doing a Google search. That's probably not the most responsible way to shop for something so important, but I did it anyway. I ended up at a place in Minnetonka called The Hearing Stores. I didn't want to end up in a small place with musty old furniture and another crabby audiologist. Well, I didn't. I actually hit the jackpot. The audiologist's name there is Jan, and she's about my age. She's also a huge Twins fan, which I found out because I showed up for my first appointment wearing my Morneau shirt.
She worked with me, she was patient, she answered all my questions, and I actually enjoyed going to my appointments as she fit me with two hearing aids. (Yeah, I got two this time. It's called binaural hearing, and apparently the brain processes speech better when it's getting proper input from both ears.)
They're actually kind of cute. Here's a link to a picture. They are so, so tiny, and bright pink. If I ever feel like mixing it up, Jan can change the casing and make them lime green or bright blue instead.
The most important thing, naturally, is that I can hear about 1000 times better. The difference is astounding, and I could list endless things that I can hear better now. My husband and my co-workers don't have to repeat themselves all the time. I don't listen to the TV at a deafening volume. And I don't miss jokes and wonder what in the world is so funny anymore.
I guess now that I'm an adult, approaching middle age actually, (gulp!) that it's time to quit being all weird and secretive. I figured this is a good place to share, because I feel like all of our regular readers are our friends. If anybody else stumbles on this entry, that's fine. I'm offically out of the closet.
--Tricia--
This is after they beat the Dodgers to advance to the World Series, but I suspect the the scene tonight will be very similar!
