It has been almost a week now. And I am still trying to adjust to the new condition. The medical officer told me that I will need at least 2 weeks of adaptation period. Hmm…
The embarrassment of having to ask the speaker I am facing to repeat his/her words is almost a thing of the past, well not quite so. Maybe out of habit or what. Like today, I still couldn’t make out what my colleague next to me was saying . Maybe it was because I had only one side of the aid on. Having both on would amplify everything a lot times more. The first time I had them on, it was quite unbearable. The sounds of the car tyres spinning from what was once a ‘silent’ car, the sounds of the fan blades in the bedroom twirling rather loudly, turning down the volume of the car audio system , down 5 notches . For the first time, the children are telling me that I am talking in whispers . Everything around me is being amplified almost 100 times more than the usual state of sound that I am used to.
I could hear the voices of the men staff chatting in the canteen once I stepped out of the car, and that is about 100 metres away. Loud and clear their topic of conversation. But having said that I can also hear other noises because this device amplifies all sounds , regardless.
But of course, it is a definite no to be in a noisy room. The noise level is too much to handle. Perhaps , by next week everything would be okay.
On the hand, I am anxious to register my status at the Welfare Department to get the official disabled person status. Well, not that I would want the whole world to know my current state of being, but maybe it is going to be of much help later on.
Now, the next mission is to get my throat checked. The lump is getting bigger.