Sounds From The Hockey Playoffs

Obviously I wish Max and Claire had been born with normal hearing, but there are times when I am “happy” that my kids were born with a hearing loss. Here are a few of those times. I hope you enjoy them!

1.Sitting in the nosebleed seats at Nashville Predators games, particularly after the Preds score a goal. “Na na, na na na na na na, Hey! You s*ck! We’re gonna beat the h*ll out of you! You! You! You! You!” This is the cheer that the fans yell at the opposing team after we score a goal. So far, I have been able to edit “h*ll” to “stew” and I don’t think that Max has picked up on the word “s*ck”!

2.Any time that Daddy loses his temper. Even though I try to catch myself, I know that I’ve let a few explicative fly in front of Max and Claire (mainly in Nashville traffic). I’m pretty sure that the kids have not deciphered any of these choice words or phrases.

3.Whenever anyone in my family is discussing politics these days. We are not big fans of the current administration, but I don’t want to show disrespect for the President in front of my kids. Hearing loss has edited some comments or conversations when I have been unable or unwilling to do so, on my own!

4.On the occasion that Stephanie and I get in to an argument after Max and Claire have gone to bed. Waking up to the sound of your parents yelling at each other can’t be a good thing. Not that Steph and I would ever raise our voices to one another!

5.Any time that I want to watch a movie or sports after bed time. When the kids take their Bionic Ears off, I can turn the movie up or yell as loud as I want to and not suffer the consequences!

6.In the future, when Max and Claire go to college. I can’t count the number of times when I wished that I could not hear in the dorm or in my apartment. How many more hours of sleep could I have gotten if I had only been able to “turn off my ear”!

Hopefully you know me well enough to realize that I am being sarcastic. There are no times when I am truly happy that my kids were born without natural hearing. Thankfully however, they are doing well enough with their cochlear implants, that I can find the humor or practicality of hearing loss in certain situations. I hope that you are able to do the same with your specific situation!