Impending labour symptom # 1

Our son was born one month premature, as I think I might have mentioned on here. It is tricky, in a first pregnancy, to recognise genuine labour symptoms. For me, there were a couple of major hearing-related ones that I’ll be sure not to ignore the next time around.

The first one?

When tinnitus starts roaring for seemingly no reason at all, recognise that there are serious hormonal issues at play and be prepared!

My tinnitus is always present but it is reasonably quiet when both processors are on. However, about two weeks before I gave birth to our son, those ringing and roaring sounds became so loud and distracting that I barely had the energy to try and listen over them.

I’ll never forget the silence that greeted me the morning after my c-section. At first I thought I wasn’t wearing my processors … but I was. Then I realised what was so different – the tinnitus had quietened down again. Thank goodness!

A long time ago in a galaxy (not so) far away ...

A new planet is born. It’s a cosmic sort of place. One where R2-D2 commands authority over all sounds. Where chipmunk voices are often heard. Where males sound like females, and females sound like children. 

It’s a place where coffee grinders sound like helicopters landing overhead. Where a human blowing their nose sounds like several pigs in a pen. Where the shake of a water bottle produces tinkling sleigh balls! (Note to self: yes, it’s a rather lovely sound, but do not repeat that with the soft drinks. People still haven’t let you live down the ceiling mishap with the Coke last year.)

It’s a place where plastic bags sound like hailstones on a window. Acoustic pianos sound like xylophones.

Where pendulums tick. Even at night. When there’s supposed to be silence.