Talking Hearing Loss

I recently re-watched the movie IT Chapter Two, which is a sequel to the 2017 movie IT; both of which are based upon a 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King.

The story follows the experiences of seven children as they are terrorized by an evil entity that exploits the fears and phobias of its victims to disguise itself while hunting its prey. “IT” primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown to attract its preferred prey of young children. The children defeat Pennywise and make a vow to return if IT ever returns. 27 years later Pennywise resurfaces and the children, now adults, must make good on their promise to finish what they started.

Without a doubt, IT is my favourite novel and I have read it no less than 10-15 times which is quite an achievement in itself as the novel is well over 1500 pages. 

But what does IT have to do with hearing loss??

Back in 2017, after I had my cochlear implant switched on, I faced the task of trying to make sense of the garbled stimulus I was receiving from the implanted ear. I say ‘stimulus’ and not ‘sound’ because what was detected via the implant did not resemble sound at all at first. To tell the truth I can’t even say what it resembled. I detected something and that’s the only way I can describe it.

My audiologist told me that I needed to practice hearing through my implanted left ear and she gave me a copy of the 64 page “Adult Cochlear Implant Home-Based Auditory Training Manual” to work through.

I knew that if I was going to teach an ear that was dead for 26 years how to hear again I needed to work hard. I also knew that I work best when I enjoy what I am doing so I needed to work out a way to make my rehab enjoyable. The added bonus would be if there was something I could not only do during my daily commutes to and from work via train but also while relaxing at home.

I had (what I thought was) a brilliant idea and got my trusted copy of Stephen King’s It down from the bookcase and also purchased an audiobook copy of the same; which I saved to my iPhone. I began streaming the audiobook to my implanted ear and used the printed version of the novel to follow along. It was hard at first because the narrator’s voice made no sense and I wasn’t even sure if I was following along with the printed book at the same pace as the audiobook.

Convinced that this was the best way for me to conduct my rehabilitation, I persevered and eventually my determination was rewarded.

In the early chapters of the novel, during a heavy rainstorm in Derry, Maine, six-year-old Georgie Denborough is chasing a paper boat down a gutter. The boat is washed down a storm drain to the dismay of Georgie, who had received the boat as a gift from his older brother Bill.

I thought heard the name ‘Bill’ as it was spoken by the narrator. I was also pretty sure I heard the words ‘Derry’ and ‘Georgie’ on occasion. And then it happened.. I distinctly understood the words “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” as the antagonist introduced himself to poor Georgie.

Over time more words flowed together…words became sentences…sentences became paragraphs…paragraphs became pages…pages became chapters

I still needed the printed novel to follow along but slowly I was able to look away from it for longer and longer  periods of time until I eventually was able to understand an entire chapter without any visual guidance from the book.

The next step involved putting the book away altogether and just listening to the audiobook. There were a few places where I got lost, especially if I was distracted by something that was going on around me but because I was so familiar with the material, it was very easy to get back on track quickly.

Through this all, I began to notice I was recognising more of the sounds around me and I was understanding more and more things that were said to me by my family and co-workers.

My audiologist was amazed at my progress!!

I recall during my cochlear assessment and in the days leading up to surgery and then my switch on that I was worried that I had left it too long and that my left ear was beyond rescue. I was determined to do everything that I could I get the best possible result, whatever that might be. I feel that the secret to my success was as simple as making the process of learning to hear through the cochlear implant as much fun as I could.

So that’s how Pennywise the Clown helped me to hear again!

*beep* *beep*

_{This post was originally published 16th September 2019}