The Silence of Deafness is an Abstract, not an Absolute.
Slooooow day at the office over here 
Do you guys ever wonder what _______ really sounds like? I thought it’d be interesting to see what everyone wonders about - for instance, I always wondered what water sounds like when I swim/shower. What’s yours?
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December 12th, 2005 at 6:12 pm
well…. the blank would have to be…. Clarity!!
I can remember how sounds ’sound’ but can i trust my memory?? i dunno, i still ‘hear’ to an extent but its all basey and muffeled and non distinguishable!
December 13th, 2005 at 8:58 am
Haha - Lette, wouldn’t ‘clarity’ be a good one
I know you said that you can’t really trust your memory, but is there really a huge difference between how things sound for you now vs. in the past? Since I was born deaf, I have no idea if, clarity aside, I hear things the same way as others Though, one time, a boyfriend of mine wanted to try on my hearing aids (and yes initially he starting yelling ‘turn it down! turn it down!’) and he said that the hearing aid made everything sound like a recording - interesting…
December 13th, 2005 at 10:26 am
yeah, very interesting, to be honest i find aids more confusing when there on!! i prefer not to wear them at all, but i suppose it saves me from the road and stuff!!
as for the one sound i really miss, i have to say, waking up to the sound of birds! I live in the country, and really miss waking up to that sound, and even when i walk out side the lack of the birds singing is so sad to me…
December 13th, 2005 at 10:27 am
there i a MASSIVE difference to how i hear now compared to the past!! my hearing has progressivly dropped every year since the age of 7, now 22, my hearing is bearly there..,
December 13th, 2005 at 10:29 am
clarity…is silence
. I’m fortunate I could hear most sound only with my left ear but sometimes I wonder what subtle sounds are like. Mostly it’s the music I’m curious..so usually I put on the Sony headphones (the ones that have heavier bass) for richer tonality and quality rather than the iPod headsets.
I have a cell phone too but it does’nt always sound exact like a land-line but it’s very close..I used to have a HATIS headset which is hearing aid compatible at www.hatis.com..they’re expensive but so nice since it’s only for t-coil mode..blocking the background out and only you and your callers’ voice are heard.
December 13th, 2005 at 10:57 am
Subtle sounds are definitely a mystery to me - and whenever I’m reading a book and it describes a certain subtle sound - like someone’s breathing or water dripping - I draw a complete blank, ugh.
Birds chirping, I can just BARELY hear that, seems to be right on the very edge of my hearing comprehension, and so it’s really annoying because I can’t tell if it’s just my mind playing tricks on me, and so I sit there - straining to hear if it’s really a bird or not - drives me NUTS!!! Who the heck spends their time sitting there debating if tweety is making noise or not???
December 13th, 2005 at 11:01 am
Clarity would be nice… There is a huge difference between how I hear now with aids, and what I used to be able to hear “normally” before I became deaf. And it’s the whole jumble of sounds that is the biggest difference – either a very quiet jumble (unaided) or a very loud jumble. So yes, give me clear sound every time
December 13th, 2005 at 11:23 am
Who the heck spends their time sitting there debating if tweety is making noise or not???
well ur one!! and im two!! and im sure there are others!!
with music, i cant distinguish between instruments anymore, just the basic tone and fuzzy jumble of the songs!! that pisses me of a whole lot! i cant seperate the different things going on! its just a low muffle!
December 13th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
Yes, music is challenging that way - can’t tell the difference between bass, guitar, and drums really. Probably why I’m such a electronic/techno freak - the sounds are pretty easy to decipher and the repetitive beat is somewhat relaxing - er. I joke around with my friends that I’ve always been a techno lover even as a kid because I can play/experiment with the feedback on my hearing aids - DJ JULIE!
December 13th, 2005 at 2:02 pm
HAHAHA cool!!
ill be ur groupie 
December 13th, 2005 at 6:23 pm
I’d like to hear my fiance’s voice. Or my future children’s voices. Or even my own voice.
My mom’s voice, my brother’s voice.. All these things that are familiar to everyone but me. I’d like to hear how they sound to everyone else, as if a tape played back to me- I wouldn’t be able to pick their voices out of a crowd of strangers, or even distinguish among them.
For some reason, this is profoundly sad to me.
December 13th, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Julie- I sit around trying to figure out if a sound is imagined or not. :p In fact, I seem to have a lot of phantom sounds going on, as whenever I have my hearing tested- I seem to score pretty high on the “sounds that don’t exist” chart. :p In fact, one time my tester was taking a break, and I kept hearing things, and finally she told me to stop pressing the button because I was messing her up. :p
December 13th, 2005 at 6:27 pm
Lette- I can’t distinguish between the instruments, although I can hear the tones/pitches/tempo/etc. pretty clearly. But I can’t tell if it’s a drum or a whistle or a guitar or a violin or a piano. =\ I regularly confuse drums, violins, guitars, and pianos. :p
December 13th, 2005 at 6:29 pm
Oh- Odd thing. I can’t understand vocals, but I *love* songs with vocals, and will become unhappy if a song I’m listening to doesn’t have someone singing. I used to have a hard time with classical music because of this.
Isn’t that weird? I can’t understand the human voice, but I still LOVE the sound of it.
December 13th, 2005 at 6:46 pm
nope that sounds pretty understandable, like with music, sometimes i dunt distinguish between the instruments like i said, but i know if i like a song over another one!
December 14th, 2005 at 10:37 am
What is up with the ‘Phantom’ sounds? You know what I have noticed, though, is that on days where I’m drinking pop/coffee by the gallon - I get more of those mysterious sounds that force me to turn off my hearing aids just to see if it’s me or what. I even go as far to ask the person next to me ‘do you hear that???!!!’ - and more often than not, this cause them to stare hard/uneasily at me like I must be from planet Pluto, heh.
No doubt, vocals are great - I always viewed the human voice just to be another musical instrument. With my favorite songs, I always memorize the lyrics so the song has a little more meaning for me. For those of you who use iTunes, I found this really cool free software called Pear Lyrics - basically it automatically displays the lyrics in a separate window as the song plays. My IT guy said there’s a way to make it work on my iPod as well - hopefully will figure that out soon. OMG! I just went to the website for the link, and apparently they’re been sued by Warner for COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!!! HOW is displaying a song’s lyrics illegal???? This makes no sense to me - I GIVE UP!!! *$*%&#^@&$(%!!!!
December 14th, 2005 at 11:37 am
Phantom sounds? Could be that you had too much caffeine that your brain was going ‘cloud 9′..or woozy..wonder if that causes the ears to ring? hmm.
December 14th, 2005 at 11:51 am
Seriously, it (phantom sounds) must be due to our wonderfully legal little drug - Caffeine. I swear, I cannot operate without this stuff. Last night - I was CRAVING a diet coke like lungs demand air - so I actually sped to 7-11 in my pink paisley pajamas just to get a fix - hee haw, crazy. Or how about those people who shell out $8 a day for their Starbuck venti Lowfat Mocha Coconut Frappuccino? Caffeine will do that to ya
Forget the phantom ’sounds’, if I ever started hearing phantom ‘voices’ - would be VERY concerned, lol.
December 14th, 2005 at 12:39 pm
Venti Lowfat Mocha Coconut Frappuccino? Now you’re scaring me…I work for that company as a barista…last thing I want is a headache
December 14th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
sorry! want some IBuprofen?
December 14th, 2005 at 2:25 pm
Ibuprofen? Nah…I know there’s something stronger than that..but I don’t think I should say what it is……..:X.
December 15th, 2005 at 7:25 am
Sanctum- You’d like me, I always order a grande cappuccino. :p Simple.
December 15th, 2005 at 7:32 am
hehehe u all crazy, they not phantom sounds, its the little man living inside your head!!
Im not allowed drink caffiene drinks, Red Bull i adore, but makes me very ill, and i cant stand the tast of coffee!
December 15th, 2005 at 9:49 am
Ahhh - Red Bull…I guzzle that stuff like a SUV does gas.
December 15th, 2005 at 11:08 am
Cappuccinos are okay…but a Maple Latte is great for those who don’t live in the New England area
. Even Maple Macchiattos are fine, too.
December 15th, 2005 at 11:10 am
a Maple Latte is great for those who don’t live in the New England area
Why not those who live in the NE area? Maple overload?
December 15th, 2005 at 11:48 am
Julie..cute. I think it goes from Maine, NH, Connecticutt, Vermont, some of NY state, and such. That’s where the market is for..when I was in Ohio, I never heard of it until I moved here.
You probably have Wheat Bran Lattes >:). Or a Tornado Latte.
December 15th, 2005 at 11:54 am
actually, I have tried the Cherry Vernors Latte - hmm hmm good
December 15th, 2005 at 12:48 pm
…uh huh…anything else..such as 7-Eleven’s Slush Puppie iced 10 pump vanilla with whip cream latte? Or is it a iced Venti Red Bull 7 pump raspberry frappuccino?
December 15th, 2005 at 5:47 pm
hahahahahaha, did u know slush puppy, is Irish
hang on a min!! how did we go from sound to lattes?? :p hehehe!! i love this place
December 15th, 2005 at 7:39 pm
I just had the weirdest memory of the sound of slush-puppy ice falling into a paper cup. Odd, I haven’t had a “clear snippet of sound” memory in a long while now.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:11 pm
Irish slush puppies?…oh kay…now this is getting interesting…..
December 16th, 2005 at 6:39 am
or is it Slushee thats Irish…. Yeah they are an irish company!
December 16th, 2005 at 9:41 am
they have 7-Elevens in Ireland??? No sh!t
hee hee
December 16th, 2005 at 9:47 am
no shyte…:)
December 16th, 2005 at 9:52 am
touché - I stand corrected.
TGIF!!!
December 16th, 2005 at 11:15 am
awww, no, but we do have Tesco’s Finest hahaha!! *finest crap!