Tigers lost … but the sound wasn’t

So the Tigers lost again. Thought I called in a favour with those guys, but I guess it fell on deaf ears. (Groan!)

But even though I didn’t get to hear 40 odd thousand voices singing ‘Tigerland’ in victory, on Sunday, I did get a better auditory experience than I could have hoped for.

When we first arrived, I said hello to a fellow member before settling down in my seat. She’s a lovely lady, very vocal during the games and loves to converse. In our allocated seats last year, she was originally sitting beside me. I could never understand her over the noise of the crowd though. She was very sympathetic when I first explained I was almost completely deaf – told me she wore hearing aids herself, but didn’t need to wear them at noisy football games. I wound up swapping seats for the season so she could sit next to Jase instead – at least that way, they’d both have someone to talk to.

This year, she’d opted to sit a few rows in front of us – she explained that it was because in last year’s seat, she’d often get elbowed in the head by people walking to their seats. I think of all the Tigers supporters who drown their sorrows by carrying tray after tray of beer back to their seats. Yep, I can see how that’d be a problem. Hope my CIs stay dry all season!

(Anyhow, I'm glad she explained because I did wonder whether it was because she got tired of talking to my left cheek all year.)

I played around with the programs on the remote and discovered I preferred ‘Focus’, to the recommended ‘Noise’. It was easier to understand Jase that way.

We were there pretty early, so had a great chance to soak up the atmosphere. I realised I could hear quite a lot. The sound of the television above us was coming through very clearly. If I concentrated, I could understand what the presenters were saying. I was also tapping my feet to some music I could hear, coming from some other speakers way behind us. Then there was the general background sound of the people in the stands. Not bad at all.

Jase disappeared to go and buy some water bottles. I sat and smiled, enjoying the atmosphere, watching the Melbourne players warm up on the ground. Then my friend, a few rows in front, turned around.

Momentary panic. No Jase here! Uh oh. Going to have to get through this conversation by myself.

‘Aren’t the Melbourne players looking good out there!’ she said.

I took an extra second to reply, shocked when I realised I’d heard every word. 

Then I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

‘It’s a bit of a worry, isn’t it? Not a good sign for us today.’

Wow! Was going to have to work at my small-talk conversation skills, but gee! I’d heard her!

The game was just about to start. Our ‘Tigerland’ club song was being played through the speakers – it was very clear! I readjusted my tiger stripe sound processors nervously, and waited for the MCG siren.

Oh, I’ve missed that siren. The hearing aid never picked it up – the roar of the crowd was always louder than the siren. So many times I’d be caught by surprise when I’d realise the next quarter had started, unbeknownst to my ears. Even with the hearing aid off, my natural hearing couldn’t pick it up.

I was pretty sure my CIs were going to pick up the sound of the siren, but I wasn’t sure how clearly. Would I have to strain to hear it, amongst all the background noise?

No!

I jumped when I heard it. It was loud and clear! Definitely louder than all the background sound and impossible to miss. I laughed and Jase grinned, realising I’d heard it, all right. It didn’t sound quite as I remembered it – it sounded … a little sick … off pitch! But by the end of the game that day, after I’d heard the siren about 10 times, it sounded perfect once again. Funny – the more times you hear something, the more ‘normal’ it starts to sound.

Then there was the sound of the crowd. What depth. What richness of sound. If I closed my eyes, I’d be able to follow the game by the sound of the crowd alone. There was volume! When the ball approached the goal posts, I could feel the excitement of the crowd based on the sound. If the player missed, I’d feel the crowd’s disappointment (or satisfaction, from the opposing team). In quieter moments I could hear distant chanting from supporters sitting in stands much further away. Cheering. Clapping. Booing at the umpires. (Quite a lot of that.) Nothing like the static noise the hearing aid used to give me, the packs of wild dogs fighting inside my head. No. This was the sound of the crowd as I remembered with natural hearing.

So the Tigers might have lost … again … but I certainly walked away feeling like I’d won. 

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Tiger art: the coloured-in processor covers that I wore to the game. No skin reactions, and all yellow still standing!