The Color of Hearing

I have been blessed with a genetic disposition for deteriorating hearing. In fact, I am the only male in my immediate family who does not have hearing aids... yet. To be clear, I am not deaf, and in certain frequency ranges I hear quite well. Some sounds, however, like the general pitch of my wife's voice, and I really do not mean it as a joke, are challenging for me to pick up. Consequently, I frequently ask Anna, and other speakers, to repeat themselves. 

I appreciate that this may get a bit tiresome, planning to say everything twice. The obvious fix to this issue is the purchase of some good quality hearing aids. Herein is the crux of my writing - I resist using hearing aids. It is not vanity that deters my purchase, nor cost. I resist because I know that when I commit myself to the use of a prosthetic I am forfeiting the freedom and joy that is the birthright of our natural abilities.

I hear well enough - I get by. I can still hear the swish of wings cutting the air when the Canadian Geese fly low overhead in the fall. I can hear a bee buzzing in the apple blossoms in the the spring. When Anna has my attention, and I'm looking at her, I take in and savour every word. I do forgo though some of the high-range sounds in music, the whisper of a breeze in the long grasses, the trickle of water laughing in the creek. I know those sounds exist for when I cup my hands behind my ears I taste in my mind's eye sounds that I've almost forgotten.

“If I were deaf, I’d wear loud clothing.

My clothes would also be covered in coffee stains,

because Helen Keller is my hero.” 

(Jarod Kintz, I love Blue Ribbon Coffee)

Many people have less than stellar hearing, and even those with hearing aids do not always catch all of the conversation. Those of us with hearing loss are not trying to aggravate the world, we are doing our best to navigate a very noisy world through the lens of rather foggy discernment. Sometimes I sense judgement from speakers whose words I did not quite pick up. My "pardon" or "I'm sorry, what was that..." often elicits a response of frustration flavored with condemnation. Perhaps some speakers do not understand the incredible honor that those with hearing loss are bestowing upon them when they ask for something to be repeated. We are saying, with humility, that your words are incredibly important to us - every word, every nuance. Please say again,  so we may delight in your voice, your thoughts, your heart.

When next you converse with someone whose hearing is not so acute I counsel you to patience. There is a very good chance they are not trying to be rude, that they do not desire to ignore you, but that the mechanism of hearing is simply malfunctioning. If what you are saying is worth saying once, it is worth repeating at least once.

I leave the last word to FRAN:

The color of hearing...

the sound of silence.

to the colorblind

all shades

of grey

are

delicious

in hearing loss

volume

gives the world

color

Be gentle

breathe deeply

Listen long