Day 2 of the Home Alone saga...

My parents went on holiday on Saturday, leaving me home alone to be responsible and do adult things like going to work and remembering to lock the back door and feed the cats. Saturday was spent doing various things. Sunday I was awoken at 7am by a 'MIAOW!' into my ear and the feel of fur against my face.

My darling Monty has some sort of undiagnosed-possible-GI-problem-but-might-just-be-age which has caused weight loss from 'he's not fat, he's curvy' to 'I can feel his spine'. But he's eating MORE- and he ate a trillion times a day as it is. So I've been on feeding duty from approx 7am-9am/whenever I hide in bed and decide I'd like to stop now. This morning I woke up at 5am, thanks to all the caffeine I've been ingesting, and walked past the spare room where he was wide awake on the bed. I ran in and gave him kisses and strokes, and said hello. The response was 'MIAOW!' and to follow me into my bedroom and sit by my head purring for 2 hours. Then I decided I should get up and do things, like cleaning out the litter tray and getting dressed. The second one is vital for going to work.

Unfortunately, Monty's tummy issues are causing him to be The Little Poop Machine That Could. Profusely. And stinkily. I didn't realise how often my parents have to do these things! I've decided that, although I'd like to move out, I'd like a small flat, with some sort of self-cleaning cat. Yesterday was a) feed cats b) do litter tray c) get laundry in d) peg more laundry out e) feed cats f) feed self g) load dishwasher h) get more laundry in i) fold laundry j) do dishwasher again as the cleaning tablet has stuck to the side of a knife like a limpet k) do litter tray h) feed cats..... and this was for myself and 2 cats, nevermind anybody else!

I'm trying to remember how to look after myself- this morning was put clothes on, brush teeth, feed cats, look for hearing aids, find them on table, do hair, put some makeup on to hide the fact that I'm always tired, sneeze due to makeup and scare Monty out from under the table where he's eating Rosie's food, do litter tray, go into kitchen to get lunch from fridge, go back out, remember I meant to get lunch and repeat, sit down and decide to blog about it.

zzzzzzzzz.........

Motorbikes and birds, oh my!

I was showing/explaining my audiogram to my John. My worst loss is around 4-6000hz, where the picture of the motorbike is on the audiogram background I 'borrowed' from google. It's my first post if you want to look at it. There's also a picture of a budgie at the top of the same hz level.

Now, unaided I can hear motorbikes, and birds (lots of other things too, but I'm just talking about those atm). My evil ex had a budgie and it sounded very loud- I could hear it upstairs with the door shut. Birds sound like cheeep cheeep cheep, ranging from just audible to oww not so loud! and motorbikes sound like vrooooooooooooooomgrrrrrrrrrahvroooooom, very loudly. Ear hurty loudly. This led to a puzzle I can't solve- either birds round here are very loud or I'm misunderstand the audiogram? John pointed out that motorbikes sound LOW to me cos I can't hear the high tones as well as others, but I thought why are they in the wrong place on the chart?? Even aided they go vroomgrrrrr...he said it depends on the engine, some are higher than others.

Any thoughts? Anyone? Bueller....?

Interesting questions!

1. Winter or Summer, explain why?
Winter because I'm pale skinned and summer is just too uncomfortable for me.

2. What's your favourite blog to read?

ooh, I like lots! See my favourites.

3. What's the top thing you want to achieve/do in your life?

At the moment it's learning to drive but I would also like to be a mummy one day :-)

4. Do you think deafness is well understood now?
I think the causes of deafness are understood to an extent but not how to interact socially with people with hearing loss.

5. What's your favourite childhood memory?
Ooh....having soft boiled eggs and brown soldiers with my Nanna.

6. What the best idea of a chill out day for you to relax?
A funny film and some ben and jerrys :-)

7. What fears do you have?
Clowns...and heights. And spiders.

8. If you had to move, where would it be and why?

In this country, Cornwall as it's so pretty, or if it's more northern, somewhere like Chester- very quaint. I'd love to live in San Franciso and New York for a little while.

Belated birthday cake!

I got in late last night so only just got a chance to have nummy cake today! It's Thorntons triple chocolate buttercream ganache cake....very bouncy and very rich!

does not like the heat...

It's too hot here for a redhead. About 19c but stuffy inside and warm outside. My left aid which has recently had a new tube keeps getting condensation really quickly, but I need to redo the tube as the audiologist made it too short- 'looks alright'! It leaves a mark on my ear!

Just now I kept hearing this very high, quick sound and thought my hearing aid was broken- figured out it's my nose making a slight whistle! My boyfriend says I'm not allowed to stamp on the moulds to get new pink ones ;-)

I tried the new directional program last night and it seemed ok, though I changed from my usual seat and sat in the corner next to John and opposite my friends, plus I was quite tipsy so I'm not sure if my opinion is accurate!

The occlusion is bothering me lately, I can't hear myself speak as clearly with them in, and I'm sure I'm hearing better in my right ear. My mum says I'm focusing on it too much. When I take out my aids (eg in the pub to get the condensation out of the tubes) it feels like I'm talking really loudly- but people say it's normal volume- so I talk quieter without them. This is probably why people have always said I talk quietly sometimes and mumble.

It's my birthday!

I'm 25 today, at 2.22 after lunch! I weighed 2lbs 2 and a half oz so 2 is my lucky number :-)

I already got my present from my parents, a driving theory test dvd as I have my test on July the 3rd- eek! Also my lovely boyfriend John gave me my present early; a beautiful scarf/shawl/throw in velvet with beaded peacocks on- I love peacocks! This morning my mama gave me some little treats; a bottle of my favourite tonic water drink, some chocolate, a card and some funky stripy socks.

My mum wrote on the back of my card (family tradition to write a little message there) that 25 is a good age as she had me when she was 25! My broody-o-meter doesn't need much to start it...

John's coming over later and we're gonna grab some lunch but I'm not sure where. We're going out later for curry with friends- a regular Thursday thing- so I'm excited to try my new directional setting on my aids. That or I'll just sulk and fiddle around on my phone again as I can't understand anyone. I taught myself some BSL from the internet (I've never been formally taught) but all I know is slow chocolate cat dog coca cola love deaf! I wanted lemonade but they didn't have it. If I get a bit tipsy I can understand even less of what people are saying.

listening to football

...on the radio at work- I'd rather not.

what I can hear:

nyerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr of vuvezelas throughout

"thatpartwhatshisnameiswazzsomethingvampireunleashingdisasterrooney

somethinghiswaycontrolddeliveringtothecrossareafgerrardsomethingtotheright

clearandtheballdownforcetryallovertheballjohnsonmemoryinsideontothefarside

crossingINTHE*UNINTELLIGABLE* cheering" ....LoudNigel tells me that's a goal

I think my brain's making up the words it can't understand. This is why I don't listen to the radio.

Am I rude?

At work the phone rings and goes DERDOODERDOODERDOO painfully shrilly and loudly (I actually measured it with an app on my iPhone which measured only 72dB) and it's often for me; Drs surgeries wanting to arrange foreign-language interpreters.

LoudNigel goes BLAHBLAHMATEYEAHKNOWWHAT. He says he needs to speak loudly to people as it's a bad line/he's calling people on mobiles etc.

Then the receptionist from the surgery says '...hello...melissa...interpreter...tuesday...please...' faintly- pressing the volume control buttons on the phone won't increase the clarity, and they make a loud beep which drowns out conversation. I'm mostly ok with people I know on my mobile phone, so it might just be the landlines.

Then I say Nigel do you mind, I'm on the phone! and he says....yeah..I know...but I'm in the middle of something. I give him a Look. Then he says YEAHYOUKNOWI'MLOUDIT'SHOWIAM.

Then I say excuse me just a minute, and go into the corner. Faint Receptionist repeats herself and I say 'It's so and so from the surgery? You want a Polish interpreter for next Friday at 2pm? Ok, I'll call you back when I know. Thankyou, bye!'

Am I rude? I have snapped at him several times for his loudness which hurts my ears and when I'm on the phone it's bad. Work sent the surgeries an email which explains I have hearing loss but knowing the managers they don't tell the staff.

Thankfully the interpreters will be working for themselves soon so I won't have to deal with it anymore. I'll still get phone calls though asking for an 'insert-language-we-don't-do' when we have emailed them three times explaining the procedure, which makes me want to smack my head against a wall.

my audiogram

This is a computerised version of the most recent audiogram I can get my hands on- from 1998!! until I get my records from the NHS. I made this in Photoshop over a blank one I found online. I'll try to scan in the bad photocopy I have later.

My hearing has always been described at school as 'very good', 'mild loss' and 'unusual'. Read for yourself! I can hear without my aids in but conversation is difficult to follow. I still need help with them in to follow conversations and have people face me, slow down etc.