Studying

My life has been taken over at the minute. By studying. I'm even dreaming about studying. That's how sad my life is at the minute; I'm living, breathing and eating studying. (Metaphorically that is - I'm not actually eating my study notes).

So of course, studying comes up in a lot of conversations I'm having at the minute. Apart from spouting random facts (did you know that the Hippocampus [part of the brain] is shaped like a seahores and deals with spatial memory and is located in the medial temporal lobe, posterior to the amygdala which is shaped like an almond and deals with the memory of objects and is located in the anterior temporal lobe? I'll forgive you if you've just suddenly fallen asleep). So, apart from spouting random facts like that at any person that is unlucky enough to talk to me at the minute, we also talk about revision tactics.

So my Mum and I were talking about different ways of studying. I'm very set in my ways and study using small cards with all my notes on them. Mum was suggesting other ways.

Mum: you could record yourself saying everything and then put it on your iPod (not that I have an iPod) and listen to it at night. You'll learn without even realising!
Dad: Hey, that's a great idea! You should definitely do that!

At first I thought they were joking. But they were deadly serious. I waited a couple of seconds, wanting them to come to the realisation as to why that wouldn't work. But nothing. I roll my eyes.

Me: I'm deaf.
*Embarrassed stares*

Moving swiftly on. Lip-reading class was good fun today. Although quite difficult as a) I was tired and b) we were learning the different shapes vowels make.

For those that don't know, vowels are very, very hard to lipread. Especially considering the different ways people pronounce vowels, depending on their accents. They are easy to hear but hard to read. Whereas consonants are easy to read. We were learning how to read the 'ai' sound. Such as 'hair', 'there', 'dare' etc. As English isn't a phonetic language, the same sound can be spellt in many different ways, as I just showed.

Luckily lip-reading is a lot easier to learn than English spelling - which I still get wrong years after learning it!

We were also talking about the way some people try and help you to read their lips, not realising that they are making it more difficult. To read lips, we need to see all of your mouth, so it's best to stand a couple of feet away from us and make sure you're not standing in darkness. A lot of people try and move closer thinking that is easier. After all - if a hearing person can't hear, you move closer to shout to them. If you can't see something, you move it closer to see it.

Not so with lip-reading. At least a couple of feet distance would be nice. And also proper pronounciationg - not mumbling.

Another thing we were also talking about was the way people react to being told that you're deaf/HoH. Some people start shouting. Shouting doesn't make a difference. In fact, it makes it harder, as the pitch of you shouting reacts to hearing aids and makes them ring in our ears. And whispering isn't good either. One person has a habit of whispering in someone's ear. Hearing aids just pick up a 'swishing' sound, not words.

A nice, clear voice is best.

Anyway. I feel I've spent too much time on this blog and have been ignoring my studies. Time to hit the books again. I just can't wait to read more about protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia (various forms of colour-blindness). Fantastic.

(Silently counting the days until the exams are over and my thoughts are no longer restricted to technical terms such as 'bilateral liasons' and 'myelination').

I want my life back...

Deaf Girl

Holiday

I have spent the past week in a glorious paradise called Lanzarote. I went there with my parents and we stayed at a beautiful resort, sipping cocktails by the pool and catching the rays. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, now that I'm back home it means I'm also back to reality. And for the foresesable future, my reality consists mainly of studying for my up-coming exams.

But let's not think about that. Plenty of time to think about my exams when I'm studying, but when I'm on a break from my studies (as I am now), I would much rather think of something else - if I didn't, I'd go crazy.

So. Lanzarote. Beautiful, peaceful Lanzarote.

I'm not a fan of flying. I find it rather boring. And my hearing aids don't like it either. You know that feeling you get in your ears when you take off? The pressure that builds in your ears until you yawn/chew gum and the pressure 'pops'? For me, no 'popping' happens. Seems the pressure in my ears can't release unless I take my hearing aids out - which is annoying when I have to take them out every 2-3 minutes. Which is why I'd rather not wear them when I'm flying, which leaves me deaf. It confuses the airhostesses and my fellow passengers - getting on the plane I seemed to be like every other hearing person. But once I'm in the air, I'm deaf. I do get some odd looks - 'is she making it up? She could hear fine 5 minutes ago!'

The taxi ride to the hotel wasn't much fun. I don't know what the taxi driver had in his car, but whatever it was, it was messing with my hearing aids. All I could hear in his car was a loud, continuous high-pitched tone. No one else seemed to hear it, just me. It wasn't a fun tone - when we arrived at the hotel 30 minutes later, I was about ready to throttle someone. No, scrap that. I was about ready to get a gun and kill his damn tone-emitting taxi!

Why didn't I take my hearing aids out, you say? Because I was being spoken to and it would have been very rude. Next time though, sod being polite, I'm taking my hearing aids out.

But the rest of the holiday was lovely. Peaceful, relaxing, paradise.

We were sitting in a restaurant at one point and a baby started crying. Full out screeching. The I'm-going-to-burst-every-eardrum-that's-in-the-hearing-range kind of screaming. My parents were getting frustrated and looked like they wanted to smother the baby. (Just for political correctness or whatever - my parents aren't violent and this writer [and hopefully the readers of this blog] do not endorse smothering - or any other acts of violence - towards babies or any other human beings). Whereas I was sitting there quite peacefully, enjoying my food and my bevarage. Screaming baby? What screaming baby? I had switched my hearing aids off. Lovely silence. As far as I was concerned, all was well. My Mum responded drily 'lucky you'. Indeed, very lucky me!

The only problem I had during the holiday was that it was very windy. The wind was nice, as it was very hot. But my hearing aids do not like wind. All I can hear is a swooshing sound. You know when you can hear wind on a video-camera? That's what it's like for me if I'm in a windy place. In some places, that was all I could hear.

On one of our sight-seeing tours we had gone to see an old castle. It was very windy. I spent the entire time trying to put my hands over my ears to stop the noise, or tugging at my skirt to stop myself from doing a Marilyn Monroe impression. I did not want to flash our driver (or anyone else for that matter). I must have looked rather comical - hands constantly switching between my ears and my skirt.

The rest of the holiday went smoothly. I had a lovely relaxing time - and on a sidenote, I remembered to put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door when I had a bath!

Unfortunately, it's now time to study again.

Until another time,

Deaf Girl