Today I got new hearing aids. Now I can hear all the noise from the kids down the block, the garbage truck as it rumbles down the street and the train. The tracks are a mile and a half east of us and I seem to remember crossing them a few times without giving it any thought. Now, I can hear the whistle several times a day and can feel more than hear the vibration as the trains go by.
When I was a boy we lived in a house that was only a block from the tracks. I have to tell you we were on the "right" side of them, but not by much. The sound of a train a block away is LOUD. When we first moved there I had trouble sleeping through the night. Every couple of hours a train would pass and wake me. After a while though, I got used to it. The train became a comfort; the reliability of it's arrival told me all was right with the world. The whistles and fury of it's passing became a lullaby that assured me I would be alright through the dark hours until the Sun would rise.
The hearing loss I experienced was a gradual thing and I really didn't notice it. My ability to hear decreased at roughly the same rate the noise level in the world around me increased, giving the perception that neither had changed. TODAY I LEARNED THE WORLD GOT LOUDER. A lot louder. I am not sure I like hearing aids. But, the trains are back. And, during our dark hours, that makes up for the rest of the noise.
Yeah, I lost probably half the hearing in one ear during a gunfire exercise in the Pacific. The rest wasn't helped by loud music and shooting without ear protection. One of these days that is going to be me.
ReplyDeleteHey Nova. Welcome! I imagine mine was caused by loud music and being around airplanes all my life. I am trying real hard to convince myself the enjoyment I got from these things were worth the price I'm paying.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid we lived across the street from the tracks. I don't remember the trains ever kept me up -- I loved them, even as a three-year-old. Though later I stayed in an old wooden house my aunt was renting that was maybe 20 feet away from the tracks, and that thing danced like a jumping bean when the freight trains went by at night. I didn't sleep too well there.
ReplyDeleteOur house is right next to a four-lane highway. The house is well-insulated, so you don't hear much. But the traffic noise is quite loud out back, so I don't spend much time out there. My wife Rhumba is hard of hearing, so she didn't care. A few years ago she got good hearing aids for the first time and went into the back yard. She came out a couple of minutes later and asked, "WHY did you let us buy this house?" She'd never heard the noise before.
I enjoy your blog. Keep it up!
Welcome Boomer. Thanks for dropping by and thanks for the encouragement. Knowing you enjoy it is high praise. You and Steven played major roles in my decision to give this a try.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I grew up between the tracks. 2 blocks west was the switch yard with slow trains that had the the horns blaring every city block. Three blocks the other direction was the high speed freight and passenger trains. 40 years later, I still miss them. At the fly ins in Casa Grande, others complained about the hotel rooms near the train tracks. I've always loved them as they remind me of my childhood when the world was much simpler.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Jeff, and thanks for commenting. Fly ins in Casa Grande? We must be old friends! A fellow aviator is very welcome here. As welcome here as I was in a different lifetime in your hanger.
ReplyDelete