What is it like to be hearing?

[khar59]

Depending on background noise I can't hear the oven alarm (especially if I'm upstairs with the TV on), but I think our particular model does have a more high-pitched tone than most ovens. The phone is high-pitched too, and only has daft ringtones that sound like bad computer game music, so I don't often hear that if I have the TV on.

With car alarms, it depends. I think I can hear most of them- they're always going off round here, and are a bloody nuisance! but some are especially high pitched and I just think I have tinnitus until someone else comments on it too

edit: I forgot- I can hear song lyrics, I just don't understand them unless it's a song with very little background music. I have to look them up then I can follow. Eg- Take That, Relight My Fire- when this came out I was 8-10ish (I'm 24 now) and remember hearing it on the car radio- I thought the lyrics were 'Reline...Maf...ia' and Take That were singing about the mafia, or something- it just didn't make sense.

khar59, when I first got my digital aids after not wearing any for years, it was horrible- it was like an assault on the senses, I could hear rustling, breathing, a constant humming that took me a while to figure out- my room is next to the hot water tank and it was the central heating system. Everything was loud, and there was more going on- I didn't realise how much I wasn't hearing until I got them. That scared me slightly. I can hear birds chirping and traffic and people talking, without my hearing aids, but with them there was so much more going on around me.

You explained my hearing loss better than me! Yeah, I have found these hearing aids hard because they emphasize the high pitches. My first ITC hearing aid was a Starkey that had lovely stereo sound, but was not good for me on the high frequencies. AN audiologist pointed that out to me when I went for a test. He said your hearing aids probably sound good but really if I turned the bass off you would have more clarity/hear certain sounds better.

I have Phonax Savia's and yeah, they sound tinny compared to my old Starkey but the clarity is better for me. Just used to get very tiring. I even find that my loop system is too loud but I can't turn it down any further. I went to my audi to ask her to lower the volume of my T-Coil. She said she turned them off, but I still hear. I just move the mat for my loop further away from me so the sounds are more muted!

 

[Berry]

There are a lot of things I enjoy hearing, but there are also a lot of times I would enjoy being able to turn it off.

 

[Lissa]

reposted what I said previously.... oops!

 

[jupitersnymph]

I am going to respond before I read the other responses... I don't want to get sidetracked. It is being subjective to what is going on around you. I imagine there are more opportunities for hearies to get distracted when they are trying to focus. Our concentration span is zilch. We are like puppies when you are trying to train them and they keep losing sight of what you are showing them. If smell were hearing then you would have hundreds of smells wafting in and out of your nose all day. Some would be really strong and impossible to ignore. Others would be so commonplace that you ignore them unless you want to bring them to mind and pick them out of all of the other smells. Some smells would evoke memories, some would give you something to communicate with other people about. And of course there is music...When you smell something new you put a lot of thought into comparing it to other smells so you can describe it to someone else. Music is like that because when you are listening to it, a lot of times you are thinking, this is a lot like ____ and I like it because of the similarity. Extra long sentences, yes, but I am trying to think and type and it happens. Oh but our concentration span is really bad when we hear a lot of noises, and that is why we keep looking away when we are speaking to you. Especially in a group setting. Sorry about that.

 

[jupitersnymph]

Interesting thread... I remember asking my audi a similar question the last time I saw her. I noticed that if I'm not really paying attention to the radio that I can make out the many of the words but not always get what the topic is all about. I have to pay close attention to the radio to get the topic.

I wondered if hearing when they listen to the radio have to listen closely to it or if they can get most of what it says even if they're not paying attention.

I am a hearie and I work with a trusonic music system on the loudspeaker, I hear music 8 hours a day. Then I will be at home listening to the radio and a song will come on and I can mumble along but I don't know the words. So I can remember the tune, I don't know why, but no I rarely remember the actual words unless the song is really repetitive. There are hundreds of songs that I have never heard outside work. I never know what the songs are about or what the lyrics are but I know them anyway.

 

[jupitersnymph]

Relaxing to music.

I read in an earlier response that people listen to music to relax and I thought I would elaborate on the difference between relaxing music and rock music. When you rock babies to sleep there is a rhythm that they adjust to. When I am having a hard time falling asleep, I tap my foot against the bed. It gives me something mindless to think about. When you listen to relaxing music, it is something that you keeps your attention. I listen for the next note to sound and I try to predict it. It is usually a slow beat. When I listen to rock, it gets my pulse going. Like the difference between someone caressing your shoulder and grabbing it and shaking you. Rock is constant bombarding, exhilarating... like strobe lights and disco balls.

 

[lianne]

... If smell were hearing then you would have hundreds of smells wafting in and out of your nose all day. Some would be really strong and impossible to ignore. Others would be so commonplace that you ignore them unless you want to bring them to mind and pick them out of all of the other smells. Some smells would evoke memories, some would give you something to communicate with other people about...

that is an excellent way to describe it!

Although just because we hear it, it doesn't mean we listen to it! hehe my boss can be blabbering on to me all day and although I know I SHOULD be listening, and Im watching her mouth move, I chose not to connect sound and meaning and am therefore left in blissful ignorance hehehe I guess its like if someone is signing to you and you just watch the movements and think about what you want for dinner...mmmmmm....dinner ....

 

[Em903]

I imagine there are more opportunities for hearies to get distracted when they are trying to focus. Our concentration span is zilch. We are like puppies when you are trying to train them and they keep losing sight of what you are showing them.

During my ASL class, sometimes there are noisy people out in the hallway (grr which there are signs stating, no talking, only sign!) and I have to mentally tell myself not to react to the sound, not turn around and look out the door. And my teacher can always tell when the other students are actively listening to what is going on outside. Then she goes and tells off the students in the hall! *cheers*

My deaf friend put it to me like this. While we were sitting at a starbucks, he kept on looking over at someone. I asked him what was up and he said, "That person over there is really big with their movements, it's annoying."

Later, I reacted to the loud noises the baristas were making while on bar. I told him what was up and he said, "Your ears are sharp like my eyes. You get bothered by noisy sound, I get bothered by noisy movement."


*waves to Lianne* hey girl! long time no see

 

[Jessie Marie]

hey i am completely 100% hearing, but i used to go to boarding school and one night when i was asleep a girl was sleep walking and set the alarms off but i slept through it and didnt hear it

in the morning when i woke up everyone was talking about the alarm and since i didnt hear it i felt really left out, when i think about it i guess that would be how it feels to be deaf

 

[kipourgos]

I find it interesting that you compared the voices with the colors. While it makes sense to use the analogy, would it still be somewhat different if it were monotone as well? I'm curious.

There are people who speak in an almost monotone way, and I think if we compare a speaker with a good vocal range to a colorful picture, then a person with a monotone sort of speech could easily be compared to a painting with washed-out colors, grayness in everything.

In my year or so of close-at-hand experience with deaf people, it strikes me how aware they are of body language. I once remarked to a friend about how one woman signed so expressively that I felt I got a lot of at least the emotional part of what she was saying while with others, I had no clue. (Another analogy to colorful versus gray too?) My friend said, "yeah, she's completely up front and honest, she puts herself out as she is; those other guys are trying not to be too obvious about what they're thinking." Of course we might pick that stuff up through a voice. But I remember an account of some people with aphasia watchign a presidential speech. They were laughing uncontrollably. Though they didn't process the language at all, his body language said it all: fake, contrived. They found it hilarious. I'm trying to learn to watch people more now.

As for being able to shut it off - yeah, it would be nice at times. Of course being awoken by sounds is what helps us be safe against an intruder in the house, or a mother to hear her baby in the night. Lots of "white noise" does get turned off by the brain, just as people with cochlear implants begin to hear things differently as the brain learns to compensate. But sometimes you can't turn it off. I'm a musician, my brain automatically tunes into music, even if it's not easy to hear. When I'm trying to sleep, a bass line coming through the wall will keep my attention even when I try not to pay attention, and I can't get to sleep to save my life. Then there are the taxi drivers who honk their horns at 3:00 a.m. outside the window. And while some people love the sound of a ticking alarm clock in the room at night, it would keep me up all night and I've been known to put the clock in another room or take out the battery when I'm a guest somewhere, so i can sleep!

I also get sensory ovarload sometimes, like at the mall, when there are lots of conflicting sounds, the music from several different stores blaring at once. I used to actually get physically exhausted, and found that if I wore ear plugs it really helped! Not the same as turning it off completely, but it allows us to shut things out.

 

[shel90]

I have read about noise pollution getting worse. Hearing people, is it true from your perspective?

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I can remember the first time I heard a paper bag! I was shocked it was so noisy! And I did not know rain made a sound when it hit an umbrella ! So I guess hearing is being able to hear every sound all the time! My daughter said everything we do made a sound , I never thought of that!

 

[KristinaB]

I have read about noise pollution getting worse. Hearing people, is it true from your perspective?

It was when I was still hearing. Mufflers, car stereos, jack-hammers, airplanes, children, restaurants and sirens. It was mind-boggling. I'm glad I can't hear it anymore. Blessed silence!!

 

[pink-studs]

You know, from time to time, We would get questions from random strangers asking us what is it like to be a deaf person? Naturally, We would explain how we get by being as a deaf person. It's already hard enough to explain to someone when they have not exactly experienced it themselves.

This came to me and I wondered what is it really like to be hearing? As an hearing person, What are your likes and dislikes of being able to hear? How is it different in the atmosphere, environment, things that you've experienced and/or encountered with?

So, with that, It has piqued my curiosity.

i became deafend over night 3 yrs ago so ill do my best to try to tell ya, and wat i think the differences are.
like anything n everything, theres both pros n cons in both the hearing or deaf world
like 'Ocean' stated its like living with the environtental sounds... things like cars, trains, voices, the wind howling, chewing food etc etc.... even sounds ur body sometimes makes but u dnt realise it (eg. when ur tummy growls from hunger, when u burp, accidently fart or something like dat) everything makes some kind of a noise really... loud or soft... jus imagine almost everything dat u see has a sound dat accompanied it (which sometimes we hearings dun even acknowledge it) i guess the good part of being a hearies is jus... u can hear....
which allows u to do those things which u often see others doin....things like talking, listen to music, hear who is verballing swearing or saying things about u (bitch behind ur back)

the bad part: so u can hear.... but wat comes with it is u gotta hear everything. u cnt choose not to hear something, unlike being deaf... u can choose to shut ur eye n block out the image but u cant choose to shut ur ear n block the sound... u get me? (u can try... but jus like being deaf, once u see something u dun wanna see... the image stays in ur mind for yonks.... sometimes forever. same principle applies to hearing with a bigger possibility of hearing wat u dun want to hear)

theres stil many things i gota learn about the deaf cultures and being deaf, but trust me as far as i see it... being deaf is great! ur not missing out, n if u feel dat u are then... dont... trust me sometimes (when i was hearing) i wished i cld be deaf, now dat i am deaf....lol... i do miss the hearing world but if i did have a choice , i wld choose to be deaf. but im getting used to it, its not that hard actually not hard at all... jus sometimes abit annoying and for me... knowing wat some sounds are like, i often wonder 'is dat loud enough'

 

[herewego]

Hey

I think of hearing differently since becoming involved in deaf culture. Honestly hearing like constant sound, sometimes it is like watching 4 people sign at the same time all talking about something different. Why because, sounds come from most things and you hear multiple sounds at a time normally. It's really hard to explain noise to those who have never heard it. Sometimes I would rather be around deaf people over hearing, because many hearing people ramble about nothing important a lot. Being an introvert most of my life I can appreciate the silence from time to time as well. Lastly in regards to is noise population higher yes especially music and kids toys. Music is being play everywhere now stores, radio and concerts and often it's too loud.

 

[CJB]

Being an introvert most of my life I can appreciate the silence from time to time as well. Lastly in regards to is noise population higher yes especially music and kids toys. Music is being play everywhere now stores, radio and concerts and often it's too loud.

One of the things I love about being HOH is that it is so much easier to get a good night's sleep.

 

[luvelychild2695]

Hearing...i'm bothered by how easly distracted I am, and how weak my other senses are. Using colors is a GREAT visual compairson. Another one that my teacher was sharing was how he likes rain because it is like music to him. The storms are like the drum.
The following is what came to mind in my attempt to bridge my two thoughts.
The wind moves, beckoning the trees to begin their conducting. Swaying to and fro, the rain drops begin their dance. Slow…drop, drip, drip, drop; getting faster…faster…bigger…bigger…feeling the cold beat upon your head like the rhythm of a drum. Gaining momentum like the speed of the fingers gliding over the strings of a violin; collecting in pools you see the rhythm that is a symphony.

 

[society's_child]

I have read about noise pollution getting worse. Hearing people, is it true from your perspective?

Meh. :roll: I don't believe so. Then again, I do work in the city..I have the awesome ability of tuning stuff out.

 

[chip]

that is an excellent way to describe it!

Although just because we hear it, it doesn't mean we listen to it! hehe my boss can be blabbering on to me all day and although I know I SHOULD be listening, and Im watching her mouth move, I chose not to connect sound and meaning and am therefore left in blissful ignorance hehehe I guess its like if someone is signing to you and you just watch the movements and think about what you want for dinner...mmmmmm....dinner ....

I HEAR ya...!!!

 

[stealingmay]

This is interesting thread, as I can't imagine what it would be like to be 100% hearing. As I have been Deaf since birth.

I wonder if some sounds (ie: high pitch or low pitch) can be very sensitive to hearing people.

For me high pitch can be startling... like if someone were to suddenly throw something at you that you weren't expecting. A high pitched sound might be annoying like the way a bug bite just nags at your attention. For me, low pitch sounds are like trying to see in the dark. It just sort of floats around your senses like you can't exactly grasp it. Sometimes low pitch sounds can be soothing too... they remind me of being in the pedicure chair (they're heated and have a vibrating massage feature- nice and comfy!).

In my opinion, the most annoying sounds are the repetitive ones, like when girls tap their nails on the desk, clicking a pen over and over again, popping gum, tapping your foot, zipping and unzipping a zipper... things like that can be very distracting like someone following you around tapping on your shoulder all day. The sounds aren't really loud or high pitched or low pitched... they're pretty normal sounds but it's the repetitiveness that gets annoying. Those are the sounds I'm usually most sensitive to.