Where I live you have to wear a mask.  At airports you have to wear a mask,
in stores you have to wear a mask, when curling you have to wear a mask. I
have no problem wearing a mask but I do have a problem hearing.I was born with a hearing loss and I have hearing aids. The thing
about hearing aids is it’s not a cure. It’s not like you put hearing aids in
and suddenly you can hear perfectly. One doctor described it like when you
listen to a radio station and it’s not quite tuned in so you turn up the
volume to hear it better. The static gets louder, but you can hear the words
a bit better.When I was little I remember being fitted for new hearing aids. When they
were first put in, I heard someone in the hallway walking in sandals. I had
never heard that sound before. My Mom said my eyes got really big and I
questioned what it was.

There are certain sounds that I just can’t hear, so to understand what is
being said I rely on reading your lips and your body language. I need time
to process that information and come up with my best guess at what I think
you said; a bit of a guessing game.

This is where Covid has really impacted my ability to hear you. Last week we
were curling and of course everyone was wearing a mask but I struggled hard
to hear and understand anything. Hats off to my third, Monica, who went the
extra mile for me. She got a mask that is clear so I could read her lips.
How nice is that! There were problems with it tho because it kept fogging up;
almost needed a windshield wiper in it! Some people made fun of her for
wearing it but she was not swayed and did it for me. Thank You!

A hearing loss can be very isolating and I appreciated so much that my team
tried to make it better for me. I will continue to wear my mask, I hope you
wear yours and I hope this pandemic is over soon. Do you hear what I’m
saying!?