We've Never Ever Had The TV On So Loud

[poliphilo]

My mother has gone very deaf. It seems to have happened quickly, but maybe we just failed to notice the early stages. We're treating it as a case of ear-wax- and maybe it is. I was communicating through written notes this morning- very short ones- because she can't hold onto long sentences. They say things like, "Doctor's Orders" and " Olive Oil".

Not being able to hear doesn't seem to have upset her. She lives in the moment and it's only now- right now- that she can't hear you. She experiences it as a blip, not a condition.

I'm reading a novel which has scenes set in a care home. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. At least we're not in that situation...

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Himself's mum's hearing went very badly later in life too and I know how frustrating it can be!

[matrixmann]

I don't know if this can also mean very bad news...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

She's been deaf for a long time- but now she's gone very, very deaf.

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

hope you can pop some ear plugs in
and protect your hearing.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not good...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

What I do is go sit as far away as I can

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

when mike is on the speaker fone with his sister
downstairs its still clear-
it drives me out of the house

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

She needs headphones lol!

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

She should probably be seen by her doctor but yes, so difficult. She probably has the right attitude about living in the moment, though.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

When I called my grandmother Friday evening she had a really hard time speaking - and hearing what I said on the phone was clearly really hard work for her, being tired and all. Lesson learned: Call grandmother earlier in the day!

(So I drove across the country to visit her Saturday and Sunday in the nursing home with my kitten... I don't think he's ever been petted as much as during that weekend; perhaps when you can barely hear and barely see, petting a kitten is one of the few sensory experiences to be had. They do have a dog at the nursing home, but she's too old and fat to sit on an old woman's lap - and my granny can't possibly reach down to the floor.)