Somewhat Silent

The Sunday Before Christmas

by athina @ 7:23 am. Filed under Misc

(Note: It’s Christmas season anyway so I’m posting my blog post here, and sending you merry wishes and happy new year greetings. Athina)

The Sunday before Christmas, le famille attended a Sunday worship at a church downtown being pastored by my brother in law. Bro in law led the worship singing and a visiting preacher preached the word of God for over an hour. I’m wearing my pocket talker but I did not try to use the extension cord so that I can position the mic near the speaker. We were just visitors in that church and I thought not to bother with the hassle of installing my ALD all over the place. Oh how a I endured and suffered an hour of not understanding anything the preacher was passionately saying at the pulpit. I kept pinching my arms so I can stay awake. You will never know how hard it is to sit for an hour trying to understand a preaching but failing miserably. The proper word is angry. I was very angry that I didn’t understand. I heard sounds but my mind cannot proccess the sounds as meaningful speech.

Then after the preaching a little girl sang a special number. I was delighted because I can lipread and understand the song as it was my childhood Sunday school song.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

smile like the storm, smile like the storm

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Sailing, I’m sailing home

Sailing, I’m sailing home.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Anyways God is really good and His mercies never end. He saw my anger and He aproached me by letting me “hear” the song. I shed a tear secretly not because of self pity but because I experienced God’s love at that moment in church, the Sunday before Christmas.

We are only whole to the extent that we are experiencing God’s love everyday, as my eldest sister loved to say.

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December 20, 2007

Hearing Dogs For Deaf People!

by lette @ 1:54 pm. Filed under Misc, Thoughts, Accessibility, Discussion

Ok I obviously dont get out enough! I never knew this! I can only find a UK link, but i think its a wonderful idea to have a dog that can be your partner and be your ears! they are trained to alert their owners to alarms, car horns, traffic, doorbells, factory and work related sounds, every sound both work and home related to help you feel secure in your hearing difficulty!

WOW!!! I want one! :p haha no really I think its a great idea, heres the UK link to read about it,: http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/

is this service available anywhere else in the world? I cant find any links for here in Ireland, but ill keep digging!

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I took a risk and sent him an Email!

by lette @ 10:29 am. Filed under Thoughts, Accessibility, Experiences, Discussion

I have just sent an email to my Specialist, I hope he doesnt think im a wierdo or anything, Im just deeply interested in finding out this puzzle that is the ‘Breathing through my ears’ phenomenon! This is the Email:

Mr Fenton, My name is Colette McNamara, a longterm patient of yours, please forgive me for emailing you on this email, as it was the only one I could access through the web to get in contact with you.

I realise you are busy, and I never get a chance to speak with you in the clinic, but I was hoping when you had the time if you would check out this weblog about the condition I complain and research about.

I write for a site called Somewhat Silent, and international weblog about deaf and hard of hearing and also medical issues.

The one subject I wrote about was well recieved with over 150 responces respectively about the title, ‘Breathing Through My Ears’

The condition of which I originally came to you with, and of which you have worked excellently to figure out, In april I got T-Tubes inserted and only called into see you last week about an irritation in my left ear which you perscribed ear drops to solve, and I have to return to you again in January.

I appreciate your help in trying to solve my ear problems that have been with me for 17years now! Prior to you there was Mr Keogh and now yourself!

I wanted to thank you personally for your efforts and wanted to share with you the responces I have recieved in trying to figure out this problem, of which many people all over the world also live with and have no name for, I started to write about this problem in June 2006 here is the link to that initial discussion:

http://somewhatsilent.com/2006/06/25/im-breathing-thru-my-ears/

Then I updated the discussion as I had met you and had worked a little through it:

http://somewhatsilent.com/2007/02/03/breathing-through-my-ears-discomfort-continued/

The Site itself is Somewhat silent and its link is here: http://somewhatsilent.com/

We would also love to have your say on the site, please feel free to email me back with your thoughts on the matter, I have undergone all this since I was 7 and have a deep interest in the medical side of things, not just the basics The face that there are an infinate ammount of people out there and their specialists are just saying its a simple ear infection intregues me, and I hope you too, I would love to learn more about it!

I hope you find it of interest, I go under the name Lette on the site.Thank you for your time, and I apologise for emailing you here again.

Colette McNamara.

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December 13, 2007

Merry Christmas :)

by lette @ 5:20 pm. Filed under Misc

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