Tuesday I
ditch the final exam in astronomy in order to report to VA at Mountain Home for
visual fields studies and follow-up semi-annual intra-ocular pressure checks to
determine the status of my diagnosed pigment-dispersal glaucoma. I will also be treated to pupillary dilation. Therefore, driving home will be an exercise
in withstanding brightness. Since Tuesday
is forecast to be mostly cloudy, the trip may be less painful than
anticipated.
Saturday is
going to be incredibly busy. At 1200, I
am scheduled for an audiometric re-examination to determine the progression of
my tinnitus and bilateral hearing deficit.
I believe, as does Gloria, that I have lost additional hearing
capability.
While I have
never been a social standout, I find that communicating with others is now much
more difficult. Simply ordering a meal
in a noisy restaurant has become an exercise in frustration and anger
management. If a waiter offers a verbal
list of specials or asks questions about my choice of menu items, I find that I
miss 90% or so of what is being said.
This is also
true in other situations. If we attend local
contra dances, I am too often unable to hear the opening instruction for a
dance. That leaves me standing there
looking like an incompetent and blowing the dance for everyone else in that
line. If I opt out of dancing and work
the admission gate, I have to ask people to repeat their questions and answers,
often multiple times. Again, it is quite
unpleasant for me and delays admission for others.
The inability
to hear clearly is making it more difficult to audit classes. Classrooms are noisy places at best. High background means low comprehension.
Then, even
more worrying is the increased difficulty in reading and cataloging classroom
material and textbooks. What was once a
90+% first pass retention is now a 25% forth pass retention. I have to wonder how much I’m missing.
If we meet on
the street, in a classroom or anywhere else, that blank look on my face is just
me trying to puzzle out what you said.
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