Unusual Sounds

When you get a cochlear implant, the world opens up to you in a variety of sounds you might have never before heard, or you heard it so long ago you don't remember ever hearing them.  I'm constantly hearing new things and when I do, I go on a hunt to figure out where the sound is coming from and what's making it.

One time I was home alone and I heard a weird noise, like the rhythmic ticking of a clock.  I knew it couldn't be a clock because the only clocks nearby were the digital ones on the microwave and stove.   I stood quietly in the middle of the kitchen listening intently, trying to figure out the direction of the sound.  When I couldn't locate the source, I decided to wait until someone with reliable hearing could help me.  Later that day when I was fixing dinner I heard the sound again and this time I asked Tom what it was.  He went to the sink and pointed in the direction of the drain.  It was water dripping from the black rubber shield that protects unwanted things from falling into the garbage disposal.  I thought, "You've got to be kidding me!"  All these years I assumed something like that would create a soft sound, but that's probably because with a hearing aid sounds were amplified and blended together.  With a CI, sounds are much crisper, something I'm slowly adjusting to.

And speaking of noises that come from the sink, our water softener cycles at odd times and when it does, it sounds like someone is playing with water in the cabinet below the sink.  It's amazing to me how loud gurgling water can be.  I can hear it clearly in the next room, even with the TV playing.

A couple of weeks ago I was working in our home office while Noah was practicing the piano in the next room.  I had just noticed a sound I didn't recognize, at least since getting my CI.  Before I could stop what I was doing and search, Noah ran into the office to tell me it was hailing like crazy.   I'm not sure if what I heard was the hail hitting the cement of the sidewalk and driveway or the branches of the tree.  Maybe it was both, but either way, it was such a cool sound.  

All of these sounds have one thing in common -- water, or some form of it.  It is amazing to me how loud water can be.  With nothing but blue skies forecast for the next week, I guess I'll have to wait to hear more water from Mother Nature.  In the meantime, I'll keep alert for more noises coming from strange places.