Monday, April 15, 2013

Ssssh! Did someone drop a pin?



Life has suddenly become a whole lot more peaceful in the Transit household and DH and I are heaving a big sigh of relief. This morning, five weeks after I first had problems with my hearing and three weeks after I had to postpone a doctor’s appointment because of the snow, I was finally able to get my ears spring-cleaned and the difference is well-nigh miraculous.  

Not only have I stopped cupping my ears to follow conversations and TV dialogue, but I’m now asking DH to speak more quietly, rather than begging him to speak up. Radio and TV sound levels are no longer unnaturally (and for DH almost painfully) high and I can again use the phone with ease rather than extreme difficulty. To my joy I’m noticing  a multitude of tiny sounds, which I think I may not have heard properly for a long time and even my tinnitus seems less obtrusive, now that I’m no longer straining to hear.

To add to this general sense of well-being, spring hasn't so much sprung up here as exploded. After only 3 or 4 days of warmer weather, the drab fields are covered by a mist of tender green as the grass at last begins to grow again, and the hitherto empty hedgerows are suddenly starred with primroses and celandines. Though the trees are still bare, the first leaf buds are opening on some of the bushes and I think we may even see the blackthorn blossom very soon. Our first brave daffodils have been joined by a flutter of narcissi and, as the last of the drifts rapidly melt in the sun, I think we can finally wave farewell to this long, long winter.


Image via Google

54 comments:

  1. What a relief that must be for you Perpetua.
    Here too the grass has grown a couple of inches in 3 days.. and buds are coming out. i have some roses.. Spring at last.
    It really was a very very long winter.
    My speakers are out of order, so i cant hear vivaldi..but i will listen once they are fixed.
    Thank you for your support Perpetua.
    I hope that my problems are fixed. I have done all that i can do ..and really all that i understand .
    happy days.. you can enjoy your music now..
    val x

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    1. A huge relief, Val. I'm glad to hear that spring has arrived properly in Portugal too and I envy you your roses, as ours will not be flowering for some time yet.

      Sorry that you can't listen to the Vivaldi, but glad that your commenting problems seem to have been resolved. Blogger can be a bit of a nightmare at times.....

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  2. Hooray!! I'll cheer very softly so as not to batter your eardrums. What a relief - PTL. I've just e-mailed you to ask, and then found your blog! Lovely pictures. We've got lovely little narcissi ('Jetfire' and 'Tête â Tête') out in large clumps, and primroses of various colours - & the BH has had 2 or 3 days (well, a few hours - not too much) in the garden so some pruning of a clematis and a sambucus nigra 'Black Prince' has been completed. He's getting the bit between his teeth!

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    1. Thanks, Helva. It's amazing to be turning everything down rather than way up high. I love the images that have been added to the Vivaldi - they really express my mood today. :-)

      Everything is still very sodden and overgrown up here, but I've found some primulas in flower and we'll be starting some trimming and strimming as soon as things dry up a bit. Tell BH not to overdo it in the garden....

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  3. What wonderful news, Perpetua! I'm so glad that spring cleaning of your ears improved your hearing so much because hearing aids are a pain! And I'm so glad for you that spring is exploding after your harsh winter. So many blessings to celebrate!

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    1. Thanks. :-) I was over the moon, Kathy, as I was really starting to worry that there might be something more serious wrong with my hearing than simply excess wax.

      Our belated spring arrived almost overnight and the temperature has trebled within the past week - from 5C to almost 15C today! That won't sound much to a resident of Arizona, but it feels wonderful here on our Welsh hill. :-)

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  4. Perpetua, so glad that your probs with your hearing are getting sorted. What a difference these couple of days of lovely weather have made. Things are literately leaping out of the ground and now the birds are starting to sing as soon as it's light. What a joy to just listen to them. Joy all round.

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    1. Thanks, Molly, I'm very relieved. Yes, Mid-Wales has been transformed as though by magic this weekend and I'm sure you're revelling in it as much as we are. I'll let you know tomorrow whether the birds are doing their dawn chorus act here too, as I've not been able to hear them for weeks. :-)

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  5. The bluebells must be late too. I'm sure everything will now romp along and catch up with itself.

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    1. I wouldn't expect to see bluebells here until the beginning of May as we're quite high, so it will be interesting to see if they're late too or whether they turn up on time. :-)

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  6. Great news! I'll bet you enjoy your belated spring even more this year!

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    1. it's brilliant, Penny, both the renewed hearing and the long-awaited spring. I keep grinning. :-)

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  7. Excellent news Perpetua. It must be such a huge relief to be able to not only see Spring but to hear it too.
    Birdsong is just beginning again here after its early false start, such a lovely sound.
    What a gorgeous picture of primroses. They really are lovely aren't they, not as flamboyant as many early flowers, but with a quiet, innocent beauty all their own.

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    1. Thanks, Ray. I was so surprised at just how clearly I could hear as soon as the procedure was finished. Everything sounded so loud!

      I remember hearing the birds back in February, just before the hearing problem started and didn't realise they'd stopped singing in the very cold weather, poor things. I shall make a point of waking up early to listen to them tomorrow. :-)

      The photo is gorgeous but I can claim no credit, as I found it on Google. Primroses are one of my very favourite flowers for exactly the reasons you give.

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  8. What a wonderful picture you give me of the world around you coming to life....the mist of green brings back the drab days suddenly enlivened by seeing the field across the river changing from brown to that pale yellow green of first shoots in a day.
    And, of course, so glad that you could have your ears attended to....how we miss one of our senses when it decides to have a wobbly.

    So...it's all onwards and upwards!

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    1. These last few days have been extraordinary, with the changes happening so fast. As you say, you can almost see it unfolding before your eyes hour by hour. The weather is very changeable with March winds and april showers all coming at once. :-)

      As for the ears, I still can't believe the difference such a simple procedure has made. At least I now know the warning signs if/when it happens again.

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  9. What a relief it must be for you to finally be able to hear better. Your photo is very pretty. It is true when spring finally comes it looks like everything then comes out fast. When we went to the cabin in the park last Sunday there was a small tree with pink buds and four days later, when we left, the flowers had appeared and covered the tree.

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    1. It's really wonderful and DH no longer has to shout to get my attention. :-) The photo is beautiful but I can't claim any credit, as I found it on Google. My camera doesn't do close-ups like this very well.

      I haven't read your cabin post yet, but am looking forward to more wonderful photos of spring in Georgia. Thank goodness we're starting to catch up with you now.....

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  10. I'm so pleased for you, Perpetua! You've had a terrible spring so far, and now, all of a sudden, you have sights and sounds to make your soul happy!

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    1. And I'm revelling in them, Patricia. It's wonderful to be able to hear the birds singing as I enjoy the flowers. Spring is one of my favourite times of the year. :-)

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  11. Beautiful flowers, and beautiful music, a perfect introduction to Spring. You must feel wonderful, with your hearing mended, able to go out again, and now the new growth of Spring popping up all around. So happy for you!

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the music. I had such fun trying decide which version to choose as I could hear it all so clearly. As I said, the photo isn't mine, but I love seeing more primroses opening every day. You too will be enjoying the spring flowers in Canada before long. :-)

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  12. Thank you for Vivaldi! What a wonderful punctuation to the good news that spring has arrived! Wonderful news that your hearing has so greatly improved, Perpetua! I can only imagine what a relief that would be. You haven't had your cataract surgery yet, have you? You're going to be as fresh as those spring flowers before you know it! Drink in the spring sunshine and get some Vitamin D into your bones! :-) oxo Debra

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    1. You're welcome, Debra. I always try to listen to it at least once during spring. :-) The hearing improvement is fantastic and makes listening to music and everything else such a pleasure again.

      As far as the cataract surgery is concerned, we warned the hospital that we were snowed-in and then let them know as soon as we were free again, so I'm expecting to get notice of the pre-op assessment before long. Oh, it's all happening over here at the moment! :-)

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  13. I love the photo of the primroses...did you take it?

    I'm very pleased you can hear properly now. It makes you realise how much you miss when one of your senses plays up.

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    1. Sadly not, as neither my sight nor my camera are good enough for such close-up photography. It's a beautiful image found via Google.

      You're so right about missing senses when they are impaired. Poor hearing as well as poor sight was rather depressing, so I feel great that one of them is so much improved. :-)

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  14. I love your expression "spring cleaning your ears" - but so wonderful that it has done the trick. Everything is on the up Perpetua - it really is possible now to feel a change in the air.
    Like Ayak I like the primrose photo - beautifully captured.

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    1. Glad you like it, Rosemary. I needed to find a genteel expression for a rather messy procedure and the transformation was certainly reminiscent of a good spring clean.

      I do think spring is busting out all over, even today when it's cloudy and windy. As I said to Ayak, the photo is someone else's lovely work and I just borrowed it.

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  15. Hari Om
    Golly, it felt like a spring clean of my mind just reading this! I can almost breath that fresh hill air and the sunshine particles from here.

    Speaking of 'hear' - congats! &*> YAM

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    1. Thanks, Yamani. You must have vivid memories of Scottish springs and it's exactly like that up in these Welsh hills, with colour coming back into the landscape all of a sudden. The air is certainly fresh today, even though the sun is playing hide and seek. :-)

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  16. Excellent news that the ear spring cleaning was so succesful. I bet it felt so good to be able to hear clearly again. The sun is still shining here, and although I hear there are going to be showers and high winds, just seeing blue skies, and shoots bursting out in the garden is lovely. Any news about the eye op yet ? J.

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    1. It felt wonderful, Janice, and I was very surprised at just how clearly I can now hear again. I think my hearing must have been diminishing for a good while without my realising it.

      It's cloudy and windy here this morning, but it should brighten up and be less windy later on. Typical spring, really..... As for the eye op, I should be hearing soon about the pre-op assessment, now that we can get out and about again.

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  17. It's good to know that there has been improvements all round - better hearing, weather and the ability to get out and about again. I hope that you'll get a date for your eye treatment very soon.

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    1. Life is definitely on the up, thanks, Linda. It's starting to feel as though I've been hibernating for the last few weeks and have now woken up! Just the eye surgery to go and that will happen when it happens.... :-)

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  18. You give us some beautiful words and images (and of course, Vivaldi) with this really excellent news, Perpetua. A lot of joy and spring in the air in every sense - very positive vibes oozing out of this post! Here, we are enjoying a week of amazing temperatures - up to 30 degrees it was on Sunday - but I noticed ground frost between the olive trees as I took the children to school today. Spring is a wonderful season, isn't it? Especially when you can hear it too.
    Axxx

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    1. I thought you would enjoy the Vivaldi, Annie. I love the marriage of images and music on the video. Yes, I'm feeling immensely positive this morning and more energetic too, after my long winter torpor. Though our temperatures are nowhere near yours (30C in April!) it's great to be able to shed at least some of the winter layers. :-)

      Your new school run must be really wonderful, especially in a Spanish spring. I look forward to the photos....

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  19. I am so happy that your hearing has improved so much, and that your spring has finally arrived. It gives me hope, as I look out my window and see frost covering the ground. It won't last, I know.

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie. Spring has arrived in such a rush that it's been almost overwhelming. After weeks and weeks of frost we haven't had any here for the past 4 days at least. Let's hope that's a sign of good things to come for you too, as you must be getting so very tired of your long winter.

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  20. What wonderful news about your hearing Perpetua. I'm so glad for you that it was purely a build-up of wax & nothing more serious. I can just see & hear you telling DH to speak more quietly :-)

    Likewise, it is amazing the change just a few days of warmth & sunshine can bring. Spring suddenly started here in Prague on Sunday. Yesterday on my day off, Sybille & I were walking around Prague with visiting friends from the UK, wearing short sleeves for the first time in 2013. Today is also warm & sunny & around 20 degrees & all the bushes are rapidly beginning to sprout!

    Finally, thanks for Vivaldi 'Spring' which I've just enjoyed listening to whilst eating my lunch!

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    1. Thanks, Ricky. I'm incredibly pleased that it turned out to be something so simple, but which I'd never have suspected until it happened to me. Now I can be on my guard for any recurrence. It's odd to be telling DH to speak more quietly, as he has rather a soft voice as you know. :-)

      I'm very glad to hear that spring has arrived in Prague too, in the same hurry as it has here. Prague in spring must be so beautiful and of course it will warm up much more quickly than in our maritime climate. I'm not in short sleeves yet, but at least I could take my coat off in town yesterday and my gloves and hats are taking a well-earned rest. :-)

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  21. Spring is a glorious time of year. So positive and energising. I'm glad you've got your hearing back so you can hear the birdsong and your favourite progs on the tele/radio. It's the little things that make life so much better. A little thing like sun helps too.

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    1. It's certainly on the brink of being glorious here, though we're getting a few delayed March gales too. :-) After a cloudy day the sun is shining beautifully this evening and everywhere looks reborn. I didn't realise how much I valued my hearing until it became so bad, so I've been listening so carefully to every small sound today.

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  22. We went to Shrewsbury today - Spring is definitely springing in Shropshire, with blackthorn and forsythia flowering their socks off, and daisies and dandelions together with primroses dotting the verges, not to mention 'a host of golden daffodils' lining the roads. Everything's coming out at once, and even our winter jasmine is flowering again, having looked as if the snow & frost had done for it! Easter's promise of new life (a bit belated this year - blame the Church calendar for the early Easter and the Clerk of the Weather for the unseasonable white-out) fulfilled.

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    1. I can well imagine how spring in Shropshire and Shrewsbury looked on your trip. Whenever we drive that way in spring we always notice that the trees and hedgerows are that bit further forward than in our area. But even up here everything is suddenly bursting into life and each day shows a difference from the day before. Spring in a rush, rather than a leisurely unfolding. :-)

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  23. Whoops of joy - sorry.... quiet whoops of joy for the return of your hearing. That is marvellous. And hooray (said very quietly) for the arrival of Spring!! Long may both returns last long!

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    1. That made me giggle, Sian. :-)) I'm gradually getting used to the new sound levels, but it's very helpful to be able to hear things like the cooking timer properly again. Fewer chances of a burnt meal now.....

      As for spring, I'm rejoicing all over the place!

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  24. Joy supreme! I'm sure you are relieved to not only be able to hear more acutely, but to know there is nothing more wrong, Perpetua. What a long winter it has been for you, in so many ways. To see those primroses and the greening of your land must feel like a gift. Enjoy, dear one, and thank you for the Vivaladi.

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    1. You've hit the nail on the head there, Penny. It was hugely reassuring to know that the hearing loss was due to something so simple and that otherwise my hearing is pretty normal for someone my age. It's lovely to be able to put both winter and that worry behind me and enjoy the wonder of spring, accompanied, of course, by Vivaldi. :-)

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  25. How wonderful to be, once again, able to hear and see spring. Love those primroses; I can almost smell their gentle sweetness.

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    1. It's fantastic and I'm loving every minute now. The primroses are flowering in greater and greater profusion every day and look so pretty.

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  26. SO gald to read that your hearing is back! :-)

    We have one primrose plant under an old apple tree; for the rest it's a sea of cowslips. Now with the warmer weather our tulips have exploded.

    The season of mowing the grass has begun :-)

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    1. But not as glad as I am. :-) SUCH a relief!

      I saw the cowslips on your blog and thought how pretty they look. We have primroses in our French garden but are rarely there to see them in bloom. But I do plenty of mowing when we're there. :-) Thankfully we're not quite into the mowing season here yet....

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  27. How wonderful!

    I once had an eardrum "blow up". I was stone deaf in one ear for almost four months. It grew back, but the temporary loss gave me some real insight...

    Pearl

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    1. Oh, it is, Pearl. I was completely deaf in one ear for a few days and partially deaf in the other for weeks and it's not an experience I want to repeat. Your eardrum problem must have been horrible and I'm very glad it repaired itself.

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