I received a huge gift this week, one that will possibly last me for the rest of my life.
And that's the gift of hearing. By virtue of my being a MediCal recipient (that's Medicaid in California), which provides a full range of healthcare services, for low-income people, not normally covered elsewhere, I was able to see an audiologist and then have hearing aids custom made for my particular hearing loss.
I got them on Tuesday, and other than when I'm sleeping, I'm wearing them all the time now.
Previously I had a pair of hearing aids that were reconditioned devices, matched as well as possible to my hearing loss but not made expressly for me, through the Hearing Foundation in CA, which is part of the Lions Club...that outfit that collects and distributes used eyeglasses to people in need.
I hated those hearing aids and rarely wore them. They were an older technology, didn't work well, and were uncomfortable. They were more trouble and pain than they were worth (and did cost me $400 at the time I got them).
So I kind of assumed I'd rarely wear the new ones, because I spend so much time on my own. Now that I have them, though, now that I'm hearing the normal sounds of life being lived, I'm hooked. It kind of feels like all of my senses have come alive again because I'm running on all burners.
Just a few of the delightful everyday sounds I'm enjoying again ~~ my wind chimes outside. BeeGee talking to me, and he's quite vocal, especially when he's hungry. BeeGee purring. The birds outside. The sound of my own voice.
I'm really looking forward to the next rain we have, because I haven't been able to hear it unless I had the window wide open or was standing out in it.
I'm feeling extremely grateful. You can't take anything for granted in life, especially when you're poor and older and it seems like things are routinely being subtracted from our lives. And then a true gift arrives.
Happy Holidays to you all. Have a blessed week. xx
And that's the gift of hearing. By virtue of my being a MediCal recipient (that's Medicaid in California), which provides a full range of healthcare services, for low-income people, not normally covered elsewhere, I was able to see an audiologist and then have hearing aids custom made for my particular hearing loss.
I got them on Tuesday, and other than when I'm sleeping, I'm wearing them all the time now.
Previously I had a pair of hearing aids that were reconditioned devices, matched as well as possible to my hearing loss but not made expressly for me, through the Hearing Foundation in CA, which is part of the Lions Club...that outfit that collects and distributes used eyeglasses to people in need.
I hated those hearing aids and rarely wore them. They were an older technology, didn't work well, and were uncomfortable. They were more trouble and pain than they were worth (and did cost me $400 at the time I got them).
So I kind of assumed I'd rarely wear the new ones, because I spend so much time on my own. Now that I have them, though, now that I'm hearing the normal sounds of life being lived, I'm hooked. It kind of feels like all of my senses have come alive again because I'm running on all burners.
Just a few of the delightful everyday sounds I'm enjoying again ~~ my wind chimes outside. BeeGee talking to me, and he's quite vocal, especially when he's hungry. BeeGee purring. The birds outside. The sound of my own voice.
I'm really looking forward to the next rain we have, because I haven't been able to hear it unless I had the window wide open or was standing out in it.
I'm feeling extremely grateful. You can't take anything for granted in life, especially when you're poor and older and it seems like things are routinely being subtracted from our lives. And then a true gift arrives.
Happy Holidays to you all. Have a blessed week. xx
