Day 4 - Does hearing loss=more sleep?

So the answer to "Will volume control be out of sync?"  ....The answer is yes!  I was teaching vacation Bible school Sunday night on the courage David had in his confrontation with Goliath.  Each class comes in for about 15-20 minutes and is accompanied by teen "chaperones".  I was immediately told....Danny you don't need to yell.   Well these kids probably needed a rise in the sound level to keep their attention so I just pretended that I was doing it on purpose....lol.

I think the timing of my hearing fast must be a coincidence but I have been having stomach pains and sleeping issues.  I am tired a lot and have been sleeping more than normal.  I don't know whether this is due to some sort of weird illness, my hearing loss, or my diet (Lots of tomatoes, figs, and peaches).  Regardless, I am going to adjust what I'm eating the next couple days and see if it makes any difference.

My father, was legally deaf.  I believe he had only 25% hearing which was jacked up to about 50% with his hearing aids.  My grandma and grandpa didn't want him to have to go to a special school so they worked with him on his hearing and speech to make sure he could function properly in school.   I need to learn some of these speaking tips so I quit shouting at people.

I can talk some on the phone by cranking up the speaker phone.  I can have conversations as long as folks don't mumble and face my direction.  I can't hear a thing when I'm eating because all I hear is the crunching of my food.  If I'm trying to have a conversation while eating....I have to stop mid chew when the other person starts to speak.   I only wear the ear plugs, when I'm sleeping at night, and have taken them out twice while showering to try and rinse out some of the wax I'm sure is building up in my inner ear.  Its also very itchy.

Phil Weatherford suggested getting headphones just playing static to keep me from hearing anything....but the static of course.  I may try that in a couple days once I get a good feel for my routine and figure out what is messing with my physiology.

The ear is really a fascinating little organ.   Look at that little fella.  Lots of detail and intricacy I could never have conceived of.   I'm glad God thought to give it to us and I'm glad I have it.  By the way, the "external ear canal" is where I shove those plugs everyday.  I hope I don't get it too irritated.

The hardest part of the experiment so far became evident in worship Sunday morning.  I felt I was worshiping alone.  All the toddler chatter and pitter patter, songbook preparation, sermon giggles, coughs, clearing of throats, whispers......gone.  Its as if all the little sounds I have been accustomed to hearing in the background of my daily routine are threads in a spider's web.

The spider can feel the slightest vibration in his intricately woven masterpiece.  This is how he knows when something is caught in his trap.  Losing 30 decibels of sound is like losing half these threads.  The sensitivity is lost.  I feel somehow disconnected from folks.  The subtleties lost isolate me somehow.  I don't like it.  I try to connecting via other means, but there is an undeniable separation.  My breathing is loud.  Its as if I am snorkeling underwater looking at a foreign world for the first time.    How am I going to interact?

I'm sure I'm going to adjust......its just really weird.  Of course my big ole ears don't quite fit in the muffs so they get sore....but I'm sure I will get used to that.   What i don't think I will get used to is that feeling of lost connection.  I'm glad we don't have to hear God to know he is with us even though we can hear him daily in his creation.

Well hope you guys are doing well!  Enjoy God for he is good!