Did You Hear That?

Noises have a huge effect on this family. It all depends on who is doing the hearing at the time. That sounds pretty fancy to realize that we each have individualized audiological reports. Woo Hoo!

I’ll start with the easy one who also is the youngest, hairiest and has the most legs. I’ve said for a long time that Einstein was named for his hair, not his brains. This is basically true. He also was the darn nosiest pooch this side of the Mississippi. Whenever he heard any noises, that little head would pop up and complete almost a 360^o revolution. Just cough once and he will immediately be by your side. A sneeze has Einstein peering into your face from about 2.1 centimeters from your nose. Our first dog was afraid of noises and would continually dash for safety by jumping into the bathtub. (Of course the slippery surface meant he was stuck there until somebody came to his rescue.) Einstein has quite a different reaction. Turn on the vacuum and he runs, but to the vacuum, not the tub. He likes to actually ride the vacuum while gazing around the room. Remember, he was not named for his brains.

Noises have more recently had a major impact on me. Loud noises for a persistent length of time (over 3 minutes) can start the old migraine spinning in my brain. I still need to leave our sanctuary at church when our big pipe organ plays more than a verse or two for the vibrations create vertigo that has me dancing down the aisles. In a Lutheran church, I really stick out of the crowd. I’ve had tinnitus – persistent ringing in the ears – for many years now. I’ve learned to ignore it most of the time. My timid little voice is more aptly described as a thunderous explosion because I try to talk over the noises that rattle in my head.

My husband once again shows his unique style when it comes to noise. He has the typical male lack of ability to hear even the loudest of my pleas. It’s definitely selective hearing. He also prefers any of his sporting or Discovery Channel TV shows to be broadcast at a volume slightly higher than a sonic boom. Lately there has been another change due to Lewy. He has audiological hallucinations. (Even typing those last two words makes me feel smart.) This simply means that Bob hears stuff that isn’t there. Sometimes he believes that he hears someone enter our home or crashes in the basement. It is much worse at night – our all time horrid time of the day even before these new audio hallucinations. Bob hears an earsplitting ringing noise that wakes his slumbers. Even awake, he hears this shrill bell that brings him to his knees as he begs for its conclusion. I try my best to comfort him, but instead his reaction is consistently only his huddled form morphing into the floor. Last night this alarm lasted eleven hours. That meant another night with less than an hour of sleep for my darling Bob.

It all comes down to a pretty quiet home. Our sense of solitude is the highest in the neighborhood. Here’s hoping Lewy isn’t in the house tonight.

God Uses Our Love to Prove that Life is Good

          We understand the audiological reports for each other and can hear God whisper his love through the changing decibels.