All the concerts, drives with the music cranked, and study sessions with the Discman blaring have left my ears at less than 100%. And there have been plenty of times where it wasn’t even my fault.
- One July 4 on Lake Michigan, some guys (jerks) were shooting fireworks on the beach while we were hanging out at the end of a dock. One of their bottle rockets veered right by my head.
- Driving around with the windows open and a nasty-loud car/truck zooms by.
- I was just on the phone and the volume was apparently CRANKED, so when my friend said “Hello?”, I think I heard my eardrum cry.
- The boy’s high-pitched cries and squeals that have me covering my ears and running.
So, I learned a while ago to not take your hearing for granted. Hearing loss never heals. I have a mild form of tinnitus, a constant ringing in my ears. I can only hear the ringing when it’s quiet, like laying in bed at night.
I have earplugs for concerts and loud situations like mowing the yardwork or trying to soothe a particularly upset Cool Baby (is that an oxymoron?). If you’re frequently in hearing-perilous moments, I highly suggest getting some earplugs for yourself, too. I think we all want to hear our grandkids’ high-pitched cries and squeals, too.
(photo: Kadeeae)
my hearing is shot…
Take his advise.
If you ever meet me and I don’t seem to respond that much it’s because I have no idea what you’re saying, and I don’t feel like making you repeat the same words over and over….
My best friend and I haven taken her baby girl (who is 6 months old now) to a few concerts. Per the suggestion of her husband, we definitely went to Wal-Mart and got the kid some gigantic headphones. I think they were in the hunting section…they were gunshot noise reduction thingamabobs.
We got quite the kick out of the whole ordeal, as did everyone who saw the poor kid. But they worked like a charm. Now to get some earplugs for ourselves…