![\"Jalal](\"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Man-with-Horn.jpg\")
<\/a>Jalal gerald Aro\/Expo HEY! Pathe S\/Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n
The past week has seen the resumption of a familiar activity: twice daily drops of olive oil into my husband’s ear. The rationale is that, within a week he can trot up to the doctor and the kind nurse will flush him out.<\/p>\n
But what a performance. Why are we made like this? Could we not have been designed with ears like the horns of old gramophone players which are less likely to get clogged?<\/p>\n
In the weeks leading up to this state there have also been other tell-tale signs. The TV’s audio rating is above 40, conversations when walking or socialising are a no-no, and in the car likewise (a tendency to want to lip read). Journeys are currently conducted in complete silence.<\/p>\n
The family as a whole is now counting the days to his return visit to the surgery, then another to have his hearing retested and an end to his (and our) frustration.<\/p>\n
I am starting to realise, albeit belatedly, how blessed we are with perfect hearing and sight. The activities and pleasures that would be denied when isolated in your own world. So I do sympathise with said husband when his eyes glaze over as he tries to pretend he has heard what I’ve just said when he patently hasn’t. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to murder him when he accuses me of muttering (I don’t) or speaking softly (I do).<\/p>\n
There is also the worry that I might confuse him with the dog, for being of the long-haired and big-eared variety she has similar problems. No, not potential deafness but the need to keep spotlessly clean. So once a week we enjoy the same dance: chase her down, squirt, wipe and then avoid the onslaught as she beats you up in search of her reward, her favourite teeth cleaning chew (note: two heath procedures in one).<\/p>\n
I just hope that I don’t one night find myself putting cotton wool in her ears, or trying to entice him with a vegetarian chew bar… Or there again?<\/p>\n
It has also been a week when daughter is pole-axed by a bad back. It could have been brought on by anything: reorganising her room and shifting furniture around or even carrying shopping home. But whatever the cause, I was woken in the early hours of Friday morning by whimpers and the sight of her climbing the stairs sidewise, carrying her overnight bag in one hand so that the wheels did not make a noise and a glass of water in the other. Pale as a sheet.<\/p>\n
Since then she hasn’t risen (turns out she’d also got food poisoning from a well known burger chain), although appears to be on the mend.<\/p>\n
So it’s been a bit like living on a hospital ship. Normal work carries on round the invalids, the day-to-day money earning stuff, the cleaning, the dog walking, the cooking. At least two of us are feeling hale and hearty. Actually it’s been rather a good week, but thank heavens for weekends.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hearing needs to be treasured, ’cause it’s a hell of a thing to lose – at any age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2379"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2400,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379\/revisions\/2400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/damesnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}