Well, that's an understatement of the year! Anyone who knew me well enough would know that I am deaf.
On my right ear, to be exact. Thanks to the old days when there was no MMR immunisation, and when it was thought to be ok for children to get 'childhood illnesses'. I had mumps, a contagious disease (courtersy of one of my classmates) that made my glands behind my ears swell up, and I looked like a bull dog.
Now now, be nice, I know I look like that permanently now, but not back then ok?! Anyway, the mumps virus attacked my right side, then my left side, then for some strange reasons, attacked my right side again, this time, destroying the hair follicles in the inner ear which, in lay man terms, were supposed to whoosh and vibrate the sound received and send the signals up to the brain, telling the brain what message was received.
So, after the illness, we didn't think of going back to the doctor's. The fever subsided, the swelling went down, off i went to school. This is the strange part.
I didn't know I went deaf.
You see, I could and still can hear. With my left ear that is. So I didn't realise something was amiss until quite sometime later. I thought it was water in the ear after swimming lessons, or that, as most adults accused us of, that we were imagining things.
It's amazing how quickly children adapt though. I had become used to answering the phone on my left ear and turning to sleep on my left side if it was too noisy.
When I finally told my parents, only dad believed me. Not mom. She thought I was seeking attention. We went to a 'specialist' who ended up dishing out vitamin pills and she had to pay through the nose for it too... So yeah, guess mom was rather mad at me.
After that, I didn't talk about it anymore. I just accepted that I have one ear, so I can hear. Technically, I am not deaf.
I learnt to adapt quickly, knowing that noisy environment affects the hearing more. I turn to look at the person on my right when we talk, not so much to lip read, as to turn my ears towards the source of the sound.
I became a good 'listener'. Haha! Since I cannot hold simultaneous conversations, people find a friend who is totally interested in what they are saying. (I am generally, honest!)
When I was studying in UK, the environment is so quiet that I was able to pick up the faintest sound. During my 'A's, I was listening to low volume music one evening when I heard a soft, faint 'meow'. I kid you not. Another 'meow' came as i cut the music and ran 3 storeys down our old mansion-like boarding house, rushed into the drawing room and informed the house mistress that her cat was meowing outside. She was just sitting next to the window where the poor cat was.
In the summer I used to wake up at the sound of squirrels and rabbits coming out for their morning food at about 6 am.
Perhaps this would explain why no one believed I was deaf.
My deafness was confirmed finally as I needed a medical for my training as a registered nurse. The doctor at King's College London told me that he had good news and bad news for me. The good news is that I am not imagining things. The bad news? Yes I am profoundly deaf in my right ear. Gee whizz, I could've told him that!
I managed to go through my training, excelled in midwifery by being able to hear fetus' heart beats and basically have a pretty normal life.
I act, teach and even sing. By and large, I do lead a pretty normal life, except that stereos are lost on me, who will forever stay mono.
But as age is catching up, I realised that my hearing is going. My girls now help to speak to the person who has been trying to get my attention on my right side. Or they would call me to get my attention. Sometimes I have a blank look that offends newer friends as they thought I was a snob, when it was because I didn't hear their talking to me. These misunderstandings are usually cleared when they realised I didn't hear them.
Any ear infections however, makes my now slowly deteriorating hearing even worse.
So this time, this ear infection that I am having now has affected my hearing quite badly, so badly that I actually feel and experience for the first time proper, what it's like to actually be deaf.
Name: charisMA Home: Singapore About Me: Mom of 2 amazing n different girls. Love to sing, act n help people, even if it's just with a smile. See my complete profile Earworm:
