Tears of Joy

I went to have my new hearing aids fitted today. The appointment had been postponed because of my husband's illness and, having waited so long, I was a little nervous about how I'd get on with the devices. I couldn't help remembering how I persuaded my mother long ago to have some hearing aids, and a chap came to our house to fit them them for her. However, she didn't find them at all helpful and wouldn't wear them, so they had to go back – which didn't please the salesman one bit. The glib promise that there was no obligation was window dressing of course.

With this in mind, I made my way to my appointment. Obviously technology has come on vastly in the last twenty years, and I was fascinated by the process of setting them up for my exact requirements. By the end of the appointment I walked out of the clinic wearing my new aids and set off to walk home. 

The first part of the journey was in an urban setting with all the usual traffic noises but within about fifteen minutes I came to the Green, which is edged with hedges and trees. And all of a sudden I was aware of what sounded like an orchestra of bird song. I was entranced, I had no idea how much sound I had been missing all these years, and I fumbled in my bag for my iPhone to try and take a photo of one of the birds to blip.

As I was searching in vain for the source of the melody, a lovely lady stopped and remarked how difficult it is to see the birds up in the trees, and a conversation ensued. I explained that I was excited because I had just had some hearing aids fitted. My eyes filled with tears as we spoke. After I left her, I walked on towards home and the tears kept flowing. I was still hearing birdsong, even though I was now reaching a more residential area. 

Not long afterwards a familiar and much-loved silhouette appeared in the distance. My husband had come to meet me, and was smiling broadly at the sight of his wife, dabbing her damp eyes with joy. We walked home together and for the first time in a long time I was aware of so many sounds around me; it will take some getting used to I think.

When we got home I had a bit of a surprise, because indoors the sounds were very different. I could hear a constant 'rustling' sound, as though I was wearing a crinoline and every step I took made a crackle! I could even hear it when I rubbed my hand on my trousers or jumper, and as I am typing this I can hear the keyboard clicking quite loudly. Clearly a bit of tweaking is required, but hopefully that will be sorted on my follow-up visit next week.

In the meantime, I am just so full of gratitude for these amazing devices. I feel so blessed and fortunate, given what is going on in the world around us at the moment, and which is breaking my heart.

My photo was the best I could do to illustrate bird song. We went out for a walk in the afternoon with the express intention of finding some more birds singing up in the branches, but although we could hear them, I wasn't successful at photographing them, so these birds having a feast at the sunflower seeds will have to do.