Can You Hear Me Now?

Over a year ago Mark was diagnosed with otosclerosis. It's a disease of the ear that over time has caused him significant hearing loss. The bones in his ears don't vibrate as they should, which keeps him from hearing well, particularly in quieter settings. The only cure is surgery, which isn't 100% effective and can actually cause more damage than good in a lot of cases. So instead of surgery, he opted to fight the symptoms of the problem and get hearing aids. He picked them up yesterday.

Having only experienced a few hours with him being able to hear normally, I can already tell you that getting use to him being able to hear may be harder than getting use to him not being able to hear. I've gotten in the habit of talking loudly and repeating myself often to make sure he heard me. It's strange to have him ask me to be quieter instead of louder and say he heard me the first time. And the constant questions from him are going to get a little old, I'm sure. Here's some of what I was asked in just a few hours time:

Is the TV always this loud?
When did Charlotte start to annunciate so well?
Can you always hear the planes inside the house?
Do you hear all that road noise?
Does your voice always sound like you're sick?
How do you sleep when the ceiling fan is so noisy?
Why does the bathroom fan sound like a rocket ship?
Does Charlotte always scream so loud?
Did you know that our front door squeaks?
Is that the neighbor's piano playing?
What is that banging noise?

Ugh, it's like living with a two year old! Well, another two year old. It'll take some getting use to for sure, and the hearing aids will have to be tweaked over time as the disease progresses and his hearing deteriorates even more, but I'm so happy that he's able to hear the way the rest of us do, maybe better even. I don't think he really realized how far gone his hearing was until he spent this first evening with the hearing aids on. It's fun to see him so excited about this whole new world around him. Best $400 we've ever spent!