It's now ten days that my ears have been blocked due to URTI and I can appreciate the difficulties of the hearing impaired, and how much of life passes by without this essential sense. Perhaps the pressure build-up adds to the sense of isolation, but the main effect is to eliminate background noises that enable us to be aware of what is going on around us.
By not being able to perceive their presence, people approach outside my range of vision and give me a huge fright as I suddenly notice them. I can't hear traffic and have to ensure that I look both ways before crossing the road and not rely on sound as I sometimes do. Pots bubbling on the stove go unnoticed until they boil dry and the food is well and truly burnt at the bottom. I can't hear the dialogue on the TV (not that this is particularly important!), or hear the music (which is!). I irritate people who have to repeat what they have just said, and the pressure causes a constant chorus of cicadas to ring in my head.
But the really important sounds that are missing are the birdsong as dawn starts to break, the crashing of the waves down in the bay and the whispering of the wind in the trees. I cannot imagine what life must be like for those who have never heard or have lost the ability to hear the gentle vibrations of nature. Yet another reason to be grateful for life's blessings and ignore the minor inconvenience of temporary hearing loss.
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