Difficulties Of Hearing Impairment

 I was in the bathroom when I heard a sudden, loud noise. I rushed out of the bathroom and crazily looked around the place to find out what the sound was. I wasn't sure which direction the noise came from. I didn’t find anything unusual. I was scared to death because I didn't know what that was.

I was volunteering in Dahab. At that time, I was home alone. My host traveled to Cairo for a week and I was supposed to look after a lot of devices that are connected to electricity at his home. What if this sound was from one of those devices? This could have been a sign of danger, especially while sleeping. Since I take off my hearing aids when I go to bed. I wouldn’t hear anything unless it was extremely loud.

Lack of directionality is another problem I face due to my hearing impairment. I hear loud sounds but I can’t distinguish their directions. It happens to me on the street as well. I hear a car horn and I look behind me to find out that the car is actually in front of me. I have been lucky so far to not have any accidents because of “messed-up” directionality. I try to be very careful when I’m outdoors, especially with my nephew.

In the end, I didn't find out what the noise was. This left me in fear and uncertainty. If I believed in the existence of aliens or ghosts, I would simply blame them for playing with my mind, but I don't. It's just a consequence of being hard of hearing.

Sometimes, I think I should at least be grateful for still being able to hear these noises. I hope my hearing will not worsen one day to the degree that I don’t hear anything at all.